TINOT 33

Chapter: 29

Earlier, Zaira heard the news that Bellatia would continue her meal with Cain.

‘Even after I told her not to, she’s going to do it anyway?’

It irritated her—Bellatia, who refused to listen.

Who did she think she was?

Wasn’t she the one who had managed to slightly improve the illness of Gerard Argent, a disease no one else had been able to treat?

“Still, it can’t be helped. She’s not the type to change her mind as easily as flipping her hand.”

Zaira quickly regained her composure.

Of course she did. Rather than wasting time on something that wouldn’t work, it was far more profitable to find another method.

She knew how to clearly distinguish gains from losses.

Even when she was annoyed, she never crossed the line.

All to avoid losing Bellatia’s trust.

“Trust, huh….”

Pfft.

Zaira burst into laughter.

‘Right, trust is important! If I want her to believe cheap purification stones are medicine and sell them for thousands of times their worth!’

Ha ha ha. She wiped the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.

But stopping her laughter wasn’t easy.

‘She’s so crazy about her husband that she swallows even the most ridiculous lies without question. Is there anyone more foolish than her?’

Everything was for money—and she didn’t even realize it.

After laughing for a long while, Zaira exhaled.

“Well. It’s not like I wanted to live this way.”

Everyone had their own circumstances.

That applied to Zaira too.

“I just don’t want to go back to the old days.”

She shuddered as if she didn’t even want to think about the past.

She was sick of going around villages selling fake medicine to sick people.

That pocket change—barely enough to buy a single gemstone—had never satisfied her.

‘I’m happy now!’

Humming to herself, Zaira reached for her jewelry box.

The magical safe recognized its owner and clicked open.

It was filled with countless gemstones, each one expensive.

Her grin stretched from ear to ear.

In the past year alone, she had amassed more wealth than most people could gather in a lifetime.

All of it obtained by deceiving Bellatia.

But she felt no guilt.

‘The one who believed me is the fool. It’s not like I threatened her.’

Still, she wasn’t stupid enough to say that aloud.

There still wasn’t enough money to satisfy her greed. She needed to extract more.

And the key to that was Bellatia’s trust.

As long as she had trust, she could call dog dung medicine and Bellatia would believe her.

Hadn’t Bellatia believed her claim that the purification stone had simply been defective—even after being caught by Winiel?

“But there’s no guarantee that trust will last forever.”

To make big money, you couldn’t just focus on what was right in front of you. You had to anticipate future variables and prepare for them.

That was why, while there were no purification stones available, Zaira had deliberately tried to keep Bellatia and Cain apart.

‘I don’t even know if that disease is actually contagious or not. But as long as there are no purification stones, I can’t let anyone discover they’re completely ineffective.’

She might have appeared to improve Gerard’s illness once, but in truth, Zaira knew nothing about the disease.

“This purification stone will show temporary effects on Gerard Argent’s illness. So? Will you buy it?”

She had simply gone to the Argent household and put on a show using a purification stone she’d obtained from a stranger at the black market.

She later tried to find that man again—but never could.

Still, she continued her scam. Bellatia already trusted her completely.

“Even if that brat interferes, it doesn’t matter. I just need to earn more trust than that kid.”

Even if Bellatia refused to listen and grew closer to Cain in the end, it was fine.

“When she sees her son collapse, she won’t be able to doubt my words.”

Zaira closed the jewelry box and picked up a bottle of medicine.

The moment she heard that Bellatia would continue dining with Cain, she had formed a plan.

If Bellatia wouldn’t listen, then she would show her—show her that without purification stones, the disease would spread.

So Zaira searched for medicine that would cause side effects when overdosed.

She would feed it to Cain, create symptoms, and make it look like he had fallen ill.

‘That brat suddenly showed up and startled me, but I don’t think she saw this.’

Zaira read the label on the bottle she had taken from the sickroom.

“What?”

Her smiling expression twisted instantly.

“The side effects aren’t that severe?”

This one, that one.

She had grabbed several bottles, but none had side effects dramatic enough to meet her expectations.

“Damn it.”

She hurled the bottles onto the desk. Pills scattered everywhere.

‘Should I go back?’

But Winiel might still be in the sickroom.

‘If I’d known, I would’ve prepared some poison in advance.’

Frowning, she spun her chair around.

Something like this had to be done properly. Failure would only invite suspicion and vigilance.

“Ah.”

As she pondered, something suddenly came to mind. She reopened the jewelry box.

Reaching deep inside, she pulled out a glass vial and a folded piece of paper.

“I got this as a bonus when I bought the purification stone.”

It was black magic that summoned a monster elsewhere.

Normally, black magic summoned a monster where the magic circle on a paper burned.

But this was a specially modified version—when the black liquid inside the vial was sprinkled somewhere, a monster would appear there.

In other words, it was possible to summon a monster from a distance.

It had been hard to believe such a thing worked—but she had tested it once as a demonstration when she first received it.

‘Though it has plenty of restrictions.’

It was weaker than ordinary black magic and activated instantly, so you couldn’t set a timing delay.

The moment you used it, a monster would burst out from wherever the liquid had been spilled—so you had to be careful not to let it drip anywhere unintended.

‘And even if it works from a distance, I’d still have to use it somewhere around the ducal estate for it to activate.’

When she first got it, she had wondered what use something so troublesome could possibly have.

To think she’d end up using it like this.

“Hah… I didn’t intend to go this far.”

But what choice did she have? One had to protect one’s own happiness.

Resting her chin on her hand, Zaira slowly twirled her finger over the vial’s cap.

The next day.

The precious breakfast time Cain had restored was approaching.

“Lady Winiel, it is time for your meal.”

“Yes!”

After checking my clothes one last time, I left the room.

Silven guided me to the dining hall.

“Ho ho, did you sleep well last night?”

“Of course! The beds in the ducal estate are the best!”

Though I said that, I hadn’t slept well at all.

‘Yesterday’s incident kept bothering me.’

After purifying the rain, it had become too late to inform the Duke.

I had thought I could just tell him at breakfast—but my heart refused to calm down.

‘I was also afraid Zaira might try to harm me.’

So I locked my door, but I still slept lightly out of anxiety.

‘This is all Tristan’s fault. I don’t want to develop trauma.’

Nothing had happened, thankfully—but I still didn’t feel completely at ease.

Still, this time should be happy!

The moment I entered the dining hall, I beamed brightly.

“Good morning!”

The Duke and Cain were already there.

As always, they sat as far apart as possible.

“Mm.”

They acknowledged my greeting.

I naturally took the seat beside Cain.

After all, it looked worse for Cain to sit alone than for the Duke to.

And sitting in the middle felt too awkward since they were so distant from each other.

“Thank you for the meal.”

The maid who set down my soup smiled brightly.

She had been quite talkative yesterday, but since she was working now, she seemed to be restraining herself. Very professional.

I clasped my hands and prayed.

After spending so long as a saint candidate, it had become a habit.

‘Dear God, please let my brother eat something delicious too—… no, actually, he doesn’t deserve delicious food. Just let him eat grass.’

Anyway, it was still a prayer.

The meal began.

“The weather looks lovely today. It seems perfect for a walk!”

“I see.”

Nod.

“……”

The flow of conversation was much the same as always.

Just as I was starting to feel resigned—

“…We could take a stroll in the garden together.”

“!”

I whipped my head toward Cain.

That wasn’t directed at me. He had spoken formally.

Which meant—

I turned quickly toward the Duke.

“I’m busy today.”

“!”

It wasn’t a positive answer.

But the important thing was—it wasn’t a “no.”

For anyone else, it would’ve been rejection. But knowing the Duke’s personality, he truly meant today was busy.

‘The atmosphere… isn’t bad!’

Perhaps because this meal had been arranged at Cain’s request, both of them seemed more proactive than before.

My heart pounded. Under the table, my feet swung on their own.

There wasn’t much more conversation after that—but still, it was good.

“This is fruit jelly made with Lanegeil.”

Dessert soon arrived, signaling the end of the meal.

A jet-black jelly studded with pieces of a fruit called Lanegeil.

‘I hope tomorrow’s atmosphere is just as good as today’s.’

I stabbed the jelly with my fork and brought it to my mouth.

A refreshing sweetness filled my taste buds.

‘Wow, I’ve never had jelly like this before!’

Not just the flavor—the way the fruit burst with each bite was fascinating. And there was also a faint murky energy within it…

Hm? Murky energy?

That was when it happened.

“Ugh…!”

Clang!

Cain dropped his fork and collapsed to the side.