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Translator: FusionX

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Cough-

Suddenly, someone sneezed due to an itchy nose.

The occasional sound was nothing special.

Just a sneeze, it was a sound that could be heard often enough in daily life.

Theresa, who heard the sound her brother made, thought the same.

Although it felt a little unpleasant.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

“…No, don’t worry about it.”

“If it’s about the recent broken engagement, don’t let it bother you. I don’t think they’ll make an issue of it either.”

“I know that too.”

-Let’s break off the engagement. Lady Violet.

The voice she never imagined, she never dreamed she would hear it directly with her own ears.

Wasn’t he the man who always smiled at her?

Who would have thought he was hiding such a dagger? Even now, when she recalled that moment, she couldn’t help but feel a chill down her spine.

The face that had always smiled gently was no longer there.

Only the frigid sneer and piercing eyes remained, seeming to rummage through all the feelings she had harbored.

It would be apt to say he was a completely different person.

For a brief moment, she was overwhelmed by Robert.

Since when had he changed?

The moment she heard the name Millian Jewelers, she barely managed to hold back from collapsing.

Didn’t it mean he had known everything from the beginning?

But even so, the fact that he had endured it made Theresa’s shoulders tremble as she recalled Robert’s gaze fixed on her.

So she broke off the engagement. She returned that very day, put the engagement ring back in the envelope, and immediately proceeded with the annulment.

She thought that would be the end of it.

It did bother her that he had mentioned her brother, but that was probably just a bluff.

No matter how prestigious the Taylor family was, the Violet family was also a renowned noble family.

Although they could not compare, there was no way they would fall victim to something like poison.

There was no pretext for them to crumble from within, so what could possibly happen just from using a foolish man?

‘…He’s not foolish.’

Sighing as she corrected her thought. She felt like she had been properly hit.

To think he had been putting on such a foolish ‘act’ despite knowing everything… Even thinking about it now sent shivers down her spine.

The plan she had thought was thoroughly established and going well had crumbled in an instant.

Even those words about breaking off the engagement seemed like he had uttered them after completely deciphering her intentions.

Wasn’t breaking off the engagement what she had planned to say to Robert that day?

Although she had fled like she was running away, she had been anxious all day on the way home, wondering if she was being pursued.

She had worried that by the time she returned, her home might already be in disarray, but even though time had passed like this, not even a minor issue had occurred.

“You’re not making that strange expression these days. You were acting like you had something to worry about.”

“…Something like that happened. There have been a few things recently.”

“Well, it’s understandable. You liked each other so much, and then suddenly breaking off the engagement. It must have been shocking.”

Cough-

Arthur, who had coughed a bit more thickly than before, opened his mouth.

That cough was irritating.

Why was he coughing when he didn’t usually do so?

Theresa’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then she spoke bluntly.

“Did you catch a cold? You keep coughing.”

“Hmm… It’s not that, but my throat is itchy. It’s nothing. It happens sometimes.”

“Drink some medicine later. Don’t go spitting everywhere.”

“I’ll feel better after a nap.”

For a moment, she found herself biting her lip in irritation that rose without her realizing it.

Click, hearing the sound of her teeth clashing, Theresa was startled and blankly stared into the air.

There was no reason to be annoyed, but she had no idea why she suddenly felt this emotion.

Her expression reflected in the teacup she was holding was quite eerie.

It was an expression that anyone could see she was quite angry, so Theresa let out a small sigh and wiped her face.

Perhaps it was because of her pathetic brother’s behavior.

She had thought it was nothing because she always saw it, but seeing it often must have triggered her anger.

“Just quietly take your medicine. Don’t make me worry.”

After clearing her throat for a moment and replying, she seemed to calm down a bit.

It was just empty words or bluffing anyway.

Wouldn’t she also look foolish for being swayed by such things?

Pressing her forehead once, she brought the chamomile tea to her lips.

The moment she savored the fragrant aroma filling her mouth, it felt like she was freed from all worries.

Watching her brother grumble and pour the medicine into his mouth was only momentary, as Theresa closed her eyes and relished the tea’s scent.

Didn’t just drinking it put her mind at ease? It was merely an unfounded fear.

There were worries that kept coming to mind, but Theresa quickly erased those concerns from her head.

Instead, she brought up another matter to think about.

Since she had failed in her attempt to use Robert, wouldn’t it be better to consider the possibility of being exposed elsewhere as well?

‘How did he even find out?’

She was certain she had handled it without anyone knowing.

When purchasing something, she used a completely different name, and when seeking out a designer, she made sure no one but that person knew it was her.

Theresa’s eyes narrowed as she mentally deducted points for the designer Roberta.

Perhaps he truly knew nothing and just stumbled upon those few things.

She could have thought about it a bit more slowly, but in the moment, she was so startled that she immediately acknowledged her guilt on the spot.

If she had responded brazenly there, the outcome might have been a little different.

Rather, if she had gotten angry, saying it wasn’t her fault, even Robert would have been flustered.

Tsk.

Theresa clicked her tongue as she blamed her own foolishness.

It seemed not a bad idea to try contacting him once.

If she sent a letter apologizing appropriately, he would at least agree to meet.

Theresa smirked as she gripped her pen while writing the letter.

If this worked, what would she do then?

She found Robert quite irksome for surprising her, so she had been contemplating various forms of revenge.

Until then, he had sent letters professing his love, so how could she have imagined he would insult her like that as soon as they met?

Even now, when she recalled his mocking face, her brows furrowed involuntarily.

It should have been a relationship where she held the reins and shook him…

She had been shaken for a moment, and it ended up like this.

Theresa, who had scribbled a letter with an appropriate apology and a mildly regretful content, stretched.

Perhaps a response would come soon.

But it was already late at night, so she thought she could send the letter when she woke up tomorrow.

It wasn’t such an important matter, so it was fine. Even if she forgot, she could send it when she remembered.

To Theresa, Robert was still a truly easy target.

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Cough-

Rough and ragged breathing echoed.

The one with a complexion so pale he seemed on the verge of collapsing was Theresa’s brother, Arthur.

Staring blankly into the air with hazy eyes, he then squeezed his eyes shut and suppressed the erupting cough.

He felt like ripping out his itchy lungs with his bare hands.

The cough that escaped against his will stirred up many emotions just by itself.

Who would have thought that what he had dismissed as just a cold a few days ago would grow this severe?

For a moment, a cough that clawed at his throat burst out with every movement.

He wiped his mouth, tasting something metallic.

Even without blood, he felt his body had already deteriorated to that extent.

The cold he knew was not such a serious illness.

Just a sickness that would cleanly disappear after a night’s sleep.

So he had been negligent in taking medicine, but this… seemed like an illness that would not heal no matter how diligently he took medicine.

Cough-

His chest ached from coughing so much.

It had already been three days since he lost his appetite and lay idly in bed.

How did it come to this? But what Arthur feared most was whether this illness would actually be cured.

“It must be poison.”

Theresa, who had been wandering around restlessly beside him, muttered.

Gnashing her innocent nails and fidgeting her feet, she looked quite anxious.

Wasn’t she bringing in doctors to search for poison ever since his condition had worsened?

But Arthur himself knew best that it was not poison.

Poison was originally created to harm someone.

At least as far as he knew, there was no poison that produced symptoms similar to this cold.

“…I’ll have to interrogate the servants. The food you ate is suspicious.”

“Theresa, you know that can’t be true.”

“What do you know? Brother, what do you even know? No matter how you look at it, it’s poison. Why would a healthy person suddenly fall ill… This is poison. Brother, someone sent an assassin after us. It can’t be the Taylor family, can it? No, it must be that person. That person, Robert, sent an assassin to us-!”

Gasp- Theresa, who swallowed a false breath on her own, turned pale.

She seemed to realize it now.

That the words he had said to her were not empty threats, she finally realized it now.

Wasn’t this situation too strange?

In the summer, not even winter, what had started as a mere cough…

It had driven a person to a state resembling a corpse.

At first, she thought it was just a severe cold.

If not that, she thought it would just pass, and that was the problem.

This was a despicable ploy orchestrated by the Taylor family.

Just as Robert had warned, it was clear he had done something to her brother Arthur.

-I would very much like to meet him next time. In good health, that is.

It felt like an electric current zapping through her head.

Her breath stopped, and the chill that flowed from the top of her head seemed to escape through her fingertips.

Her heart turned cold, and at the same time, her dazed mind made her body sway.

Not even realizing her legs had given out and she had slumped to the floor, Theresa began to piece together the fragments of memory fitting together in her mind one by one.

The reason her brother was sick, it was surely Robert’s doing.

Otherwise, there was no way Arthur would fall ill, was there?

Just because a cold had become that severe? No, that couldn’t be.

From the beginning, Theresa had excluded the possibility of many other causes.

Accepting Robert’s words as a warning, her mind filled with that thought naturally clouded her judgment.

There was no way she could make a level-headed assessment.

If she had thought a bit more slowly, she would have realized there was no such possibility, but Theresa had already assumed Robert was the sole cause.

“Ned, summon all the servants right now and ask them. If anyone put something strange in the food.”

“Actually, the interrogation has already been completed.”

The old man called Ned replied with a bowed head.

Naturally, he had asked all the servants, but there was no one who would engage in such suspicious acts.

Moreover, since they did not casually use anything brought in from outside, there was no way poison or the like could have gotten into the food.

But he could not ignore the momentum of Theresa, who had her eyes wide open, so Ned carefully opened his mouth.

“There was no one who acted suspiciously. At least, within this mansion, there is no one who would do such a thing… I believe.”

“Then the reason my brother has collapsed like that is really just because he’s bedridden with a mere cold?”

“Didn’t you call for a doctor? The doctor will treat him soon, and he’ll recover after taking medicine. I’ve also called a priest for any unforeseen circumstances, so you can rest assured for now, can’t you?”

Upon hearing Ned’s words, Theresa finally felt her blurred vision returning.

Yes, there was no need to think so hastily right now.

If she moved too quickly, the Taylor family might put even more pressure on her…

A thought suddenly occurred to her, and Theresa’s eyes narrowed as she looked around.

Could it be that someone was monitoring this situation?

It felt like the blood in her head was finally circulating.

With her vision spinning, Theresa finally realized she had collapsed on the floor.

“…Yes, then we’ll have to wait for a bit. Until that esteemed doctor arrives.”

“Yes, I will call you when the doctor comes. Please rest for a while.”

Click, the door closed.

Left alone beyond it, Theresa’s body began to crumble towards the ground once again.

She no longer even felt the desire to get up.

Her mind was filled solely with thoughts about this situation.

It might not have been the Taylor family’s doing.

Making a judgment right now would be hasty.

Theresa, who had grasped the situation a bit more calmly, wiped her forehead.

If it was truly a cold, medicine should be enough to cure it. If that was the case, the conclusion would be that it was simply a coincidence.

‘Will it really be like that?’

She was suddenly seized by fear. If this was an illness that even a doctor could not cure…

Wouldn’t it mean the Taylor family had truly manipulated her brother?

Theresa’s hand, clutching her chest with quickening breaths, trembled.

With a pale face, Theresa stared into the air with shaking eyes.

Nothing should have happened. This had to be a severe cold that would be completely cured after sleeping a few nights.

If it did not turn out that way, it would mean this was all retribution for the greed she had harbored.

“It will be alright.”

So she muttered. To erase Robert’s voice echoing in her ears like a chant.

To not forget the hope that still remained, however faint.

Theresa… kept muttering like that for a long time.

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