TTPD 11

Chapter 11

Poisoning Plan (1)

“How else should you handle it? Divorce would disgrace the Reynolds family, so you need to be careful. Under no circumstances should you ever come back here after being cast out.”

While Wyatt seemed too flustered to speak, Mateo answered in his place.

‘Strange.’

It was strange how Wyatt kept talking only about the wedding.

Holding a wedding was important, yes—but maintaining a marriage afterward was just as important.

Yet the marquis spoke as if everything after the ceremony didn’t matter at all.

So Edith pointed it out, and sure enough, he reacted.

His unsettled expression told her everything.

Wyatt’s attitude was suspicious, but Edith hid her thoughts behind a pleasant smile.

“Yes, of course, Brother. I’ll do my best. Father, don’t worry.”

“Hm, hm. Yes. Naturally, there must be no divorce. You can handle it well, Edith. And if you need anything when meeting the duke, tell me anytime.”

“Then… may I say something now?”

“Yes, what do you need?”

“I’d like to bring a small gift the next time I see the duke. Since he’s a man well-versed in business, wouldn’t it be nice to subtly show him the marquisate’s wealth while giving it?”

Unlike Lillian, who received several gold coins a month, Edith had never been given a single coin.

She planned to use this chance to extract whatever she could from the marquis.

“Hm, yes. That sounds reasonable. How much do you need?”

“We agreed to meet once or twice a week, so wouldn’t investing two or three gold coins each time be appropriate?”

“What? What nonsense—!”

Mateo tried to cut in, but Wyatt raised a hand to silence him.

“Yes, that much investment is good.”

“But Father, two or three gold coins every meeting? That’s excessive.”

“I have my reasons, so stay quiet. Edith, then until the wedding, I’ll give you ten gold coins a month. You can manage things well with that, yes?”

Ten gold a month—Lillian’s allowance.

“Yes, Father. I’ll make sure to win the duke’s favor.”

Of course, Edith had no intention of spending even a single gold on Grayson.

“Then Father, I’m full, so may I be excused?”

“Yes, go rest.”

After Edith left, Mateo waited until her footsteps faded, then leaned toward the marquis.

“Father, what on earth are you thinking? Giving her a monthly allowance of ten gold?”

“When you consider what we’ll gain from this marriage, ten gold is nothing.”

“That’s true, but… are you really planning to let Edith leave this house? What if she says something unnecessary to the duke?”

Wyatt let out a thin laugh.

“She won’t.”

“You never know, Father. Edith may be acting like a tame little dog right now, but no one knows what she’s hiding inside.”

Wyatt crossed his arms and let out a contemplative hum before speaking.

“Mateo, no matter what that girl is hiding inside, she’ll never have the chance to reveal it. She’ll be dead before then.”

“What?”

“During the ceremony, when the bride and groom share a cup, Edith will drink wine laced with Plarin poison and die. It’s an instant-acting toxin. She won’t even have time to speak.”

Mateo’s eyes widened.

“But Father, if that happens—”

The marquis smirked.

“She’ll become the tragic woman who loved the groom too much. And Myers, with his popularity… what a useful narrative that will be.”

Only then did relief spread across Mateo’s face.

“In that case, the royal family won’t be able to object to anything we demand.”

“Exactly. I gave them the daughter I cherished so dearly, and she died because she loved a prince… The royal family, the House of Myers—none of them will be able to stand tall before us.”

“We may even be able to extract more from them because of Edith’s death.”

“‘May’? Of course we will take more.”

“As expected, Father, I can never catch up to you.”

Wyatt laughed heartily.

“Listen well, Mateo. People are tools. If you have something to give, give it generously, then squeeze out every last drop of use from their bones. Understand?”

***

So this was it.

Edith lifted her ear from the dining room door.

Wyatt had been far too pleased earlier.

Even with promises from the king, his excitement was excessive.

And the way he didn’t seem remotely bothered about the power she might gain as a future duchess—suspicious.

Since only Wyatt and Mateo had remained behind, Edith pretended to leave, removed her shoes, and returned quietly.

The marquis often dismissed all servants during meals when discussing secrets.

Standing outside the empty dining room, she listened, and—just as she expected—Wyatt confessed everything to his eldest son.

Mother must have gotten information this way too.

Edith hurried away before anyone could see her.

Only when she reached the staircase leading to her room did she slip her shoes back on and flee upstairs.

Even after locking her door, her heart continued to pound wildly.

“They were planning to kill me. Yes… they were planning to silence me by k*lling me.”

Her legs gave out.

Only when she collapsed onto the floor did she realize how violently she was trembling.

Looking down at her hands shaking helplessly on her thighs, Edith drew in a deep breath and exhaled very slowly.

Once, twice, three times—only after several deep breaths did the trembling fade.

“I almost died without knowing anything.”

When the tremor left her body, a hollow laugh escaped.

“Ha… ha…”

A sound like sobbing forced its way out of her throat.

“They were going to kill me… ha… haha…”

She had expected that they would never sit quietly and watch her become a happy duchess.

She had even imagined Wyatt ordering her to dig up blackmail on Grayson or extract royal secrets.

But this—this was beyond anything she had imagined.

Edith had expected them to use her, but she had never imagined they would try to kill her immediately.

She grabbed her head with both hands.

‘I was foolish. They even did that to Mother, who lived beside them for almost fifteen years, and yet I thought they would let me live?’

She had never once considered them her family, but perhaps she had expected a little something.

Maybe she had believed there would be the slightest bit of sympathy or affection.

How foolish. How pathetic.

‘I was stupid, and the marquis was clever. To plan poison at the wedding.’

Who would ever imagine it?

Who would believe someone would plan a poisoning at the wedding of the beloved prince, Grayson Riley Myers?

She didn’t know who Wyatt intended to frame for the crime, but if Edith were poisoned to death at the ceremony, Riley’s royal family would never be able to raise their heads before him again.

The wedding would be held at the palace temple.

‘They really intended to scrape me clean to the bone, then throw me away.’

Knowing Wyatt’s plan made her resolve harden.

‘Never trust anyone, Edith. Don’t take the smiles they show you as sincerity.’

‘Yes, Mother. I won’t trust anyone.’

Edith clenched and then loosened her fists as she stood up.

She remembered reading about Plarin poison in her mother’s diary.

Right after Eliana’s funeral ended, Wyatt had ordered the maids to clear out her room.

They had entered with large sacks and swept up every trace of Eliana into them.

When Edith found out, she ran to the room and swung a chair.

‘“I’ll do it! I’ll organize my mother’s things!”’

That was when the talk about Edith being deranged began.

Wyatt, rushing over after hearing the maids’ report, clicked his tongue at the sight of Edith panting with a chair in her hands, but simply said, “Let her do as she wishes. She’ll give up once she grows tired,” and walked away.

Left alone in the room after everyone had withdrawn, Edith began sorting through her mother’s belongings.

That was when she found two books hidden beneath the bed.

Two thick hard–covered books.

At first, she thought they were encyclopedias.

‘To remember. To pass it on. I have decided to write a diary.’

Only after seeing her mother’s handwriting on the first page did she realize they were diaries.

She didn’t read them immediately.

For a long time, she drowned in endless grief and loneliness, unable to escape.

Then one day, after being slapped by Lillian—who took out her frustrations over her engagement to Count Teador on her—Edith finally came to her senses and picked up the diary.

And the moment she read the second page, she realized something was strange about her mother’s diary.