Ch#83
Ch#83
Ch#83
Chapter 83
“I don’t know.” Cedric muttered shortly as he poured himself another glass of water and drank it.
He wasn’t sure how much of that drug he had ingested, and honestly, he didn’t care much. He understood why Edgar looked so worried and anxious beside him. If a friend got drugged in the middle of a social party, anyone would react that way.
But Cedric had no interest in pinpointing the exact type of drug or investigating its effects.
He was simply relieved that what had been in the glass wasn’t poison.
Death held no fear for him. What mattered was that if he were to die suddenly without an heir, the Kailas Ducal House—built with such painstaking effort by his father—would crumble away like dust. That was the sole reason he couldn’t die yet.
‘The butler would throw a fit if he knew. He’s already fretting day and night over checking everything I eat and drink. This incident will drive him mad.’
He reached out to drink more water, but a wave of dizziness swept over him.
“Damn it.”
Cedric pressed his fingers to his temple and spat a low curse.
Thanks to Harriet’s advice to drink plenty of water and use the bathroom, he wasn’t in an uncontrollable state like before. The drug-induced haze and the overwhelming heat that had engulfed his body had subsided. Still, his speech and thoughts hadn’t fully returned to normal. His movements and words were slower than usual, as if weights were tied to his limbs.
Edgar sat as close as possible, shielding Cedric from people’s eyes as much as he could. As his friend, he was protecting Cedric not just physically but from those unavoidable stares as well.
“Hey, you’re lucky it was Harriet by your side. If it had been anyone else, this would’ve been a massive scandal. Honestly, who’d turn down a night with Cedric Kailas?” Edgar added teasingly.
Cedric answered with a dry scoff.
Edgar wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t know the full story. It hadn’t been a coincidence that he was in that seed pod. Harriet hadn’t simply been there—Cedric had followed her. It was no accident or chance. He had chased after her.
‘Was it a coincidence that she met Tez Locke…? Or was it planned?’
He didn’t want to believe Harriet had arranged to meet a man like that in such a secluded corner of the garden. Tez was a notorious playboy infamous for his seductive wiles. If she’d truly intended to meet him for that purpose, she wouldn’t have worn such an angry expression when Cedric appeared.
‘Stop it. I’m dwelling on useless thoughts again.’
Cedric downed the remaining water in one gulp.
Cold water alone wasn’t enough to clear his head. Harriet—her face, her voice, the feel of her—still filled his mind.
Strangely enough, it was another woman who snapped him out of those thoughts.
While Edgar was away fetching a new bottle of water, Cedric heard a familiar voice beside him.
“Your Grace. I was worried when you vanished so suddenly. Where did you go?”
It was her. The black-haired woman with pale skin and striking red lips. The one who had pulled him toward the greenhouse earlier.
‘Ah, right. Leslie. That was her name.’
She was one of Albert’s so-called “friends.” A pawn in his twisted scheme.
She approached without hesitation and gently stroked Cedric’s forearm.
“How about going somewhere with me? This place is so boring.”
The voice that had sounded hot and seductive moments ago now scraped at his nerves. Just hearing it sparked irritation.
But oddly, recalling the moments right before he found Harriet—when his body had burned and his mind had fogged—actually helped sharpen his focus.
Cedric gripped the nearly empty glass tightly and spoke in a cold, precise tone.
“Go back to Albert and tell him the price for angering me will be far greater than he can bear.”
Leslie blinked, caught off guard. “Pardon?”
Cedric didn’t reply. He simply turned his head, shot a sharp glare in Albert’s direction, and rose from his seat.
Just then, Edgar returned with the water.
“Let’s go, Edgar.” Cedric said. “I need to find Lord Laurel and bid him farewell.”
“Huh? Leaving already?”
Cedric offered no further explanation and dragged Edgar off to find the host.
Behind them, Leslie bit her lip in fury and stormed toward Albert like a whirlwind.
“I told you this would happen! He knew it was you. He even sent a warning message! I said I didn’t want to do it!”
Albert, who had pressed her to go back and seduce Cedric, stared in a daze. He was convinced the drug’s effects should still be lingering.
“No way. The effect couldn’t have worn off already.”
“He kept drinking water. He must know how to flush it out of his system. And he warned you.”
At those words, Albert swallowed hard.
But moments later, he shook his head. “No evidence. He can’t bring public charges against me. There’s zero proof.”
That much was true.
Without concrete evidence, even Cedric couldn’t take legal action or publicly humiliate him.
“We should’ve used Caberdine.” Leslie muttered. “A chance like this won’t come again.”
“Death alone isn’t enough.” Albert replied. “We have to destroy him first. His name, his reputation, everything.”
Leslie had proposed using Caberdine, the deadly poison from the Firrma Kingdom. It was colorless, odorless, and tasteless—perfect for assassination. But procuring it was outrageously expensive, with even a small vial costing a fortune.
Albert had barely managed to obtain three vials, and he didn’t want to waste them on this so-called “practice game.”
Not out of fear of killing Cedric, but because he wanted to watch him plummet before death claimed him.
“You’ll regret this failure.” Leslie warned.
“Think of it as practice.” Albert muttered, feigning confidence.
He raised his glass again and forced a laugh with his companions, but under the table, his right leg trembled uncontrollably.
Leslie made no effort to hide her disgust. She glared toward the banquet hall exit where Cedric had vanished.
Bang!
The door burst open with a resounding crash.
Leslie, seething with rage, flung her shawl onto the sofa. She was clearly livid.
“What is it this time?” a gruff male voice barked.
An elderly man in the corner of the room eyed her. Officially, he was known as her father. But there was no blood tie between them. Like her, he was a spy and assassin dispatched from the Firrma Kingdom.
“Albert’s useless.” Leslie spat. “He doesn’t want Cedric dead. He just wants to toy with him to feel superior.”
“I told you he wasn’t reliable.” the man grumbled.
“If it weren’t for that idiot, we could’ve killed Cedric tonight!”
That sparked the old man’s interest. “What happened?”
Leslie recounted the entire tale. The elaborate plan, the use of concentrated Angelic, the moment Cedric nearly lost all control, and how close they’d come to success.
“I begged him to let me use Caberdine.” she added. “But he insisted on his precious drug.”
“He’s obsessed with that stuff.” the man muttered. “So why didn’t you just use the Caberdine yourself?”
“Because I already used the emergency supply on some moron who got too close!” Leslie snapped. “I was counting on Albert to use his, but he wouldn’t hand it over.”
“You should’ve taken it by force.” The man’s voice turned icy. “Don’t tell me your resolve is weakening. Planning to betray the homeland?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t even joke about that!” she shouted. “I’m the one out there dealing with all the filth, while you just sit around doing nothing!”
Their eyes locked, brimming with mutual hostility.
They weren’t mere colleagues. They were watchdogs keeping tabs on each other. That was the core of their relationship.
A heavy silence fell.
Then footsteps echoed from the stairs.
“Ugh. Can’t you keep it down? All that yelling—I can’t sleep.”
An elegant woman with sharp eyes appeared. She was their disguised leader, currently playing the role of Baroness Oze.
“I’m tired of all the suspicion.” Leslie muttered. “I endured enough tonight, and I still plan to complete the mission.”
The Baroness gave a light laugh. “Don’t push our precious daughter too hard. She’s essential for the mission.”
“I was just trying to keep her head on straight.” the old man grumbled.
The Baroness pulled a bottle of Firmer imported whiskey from the cabinet and poured three glasses. She passed them around.
Leslie snatched her glass and downed it in one gulp.
The Baroness took a slow, elegant sip, then spoke as if lost in thought. “Truth be told, I understand Albert’s reasoning. Sometimes a simple death is too merciful. That urge to utterly destroy someone before the end—it’s admirable, in its way.”
Leslie and the man turned to her in surprise.
She offered a faint smile.
“Cedric Kailas must die. But if he dies now, the Empire will elevate him to hero status and come crashing down on Firrma like a storm.”
