Reynard sat at his desk, his eyes fierce as he let out a laugh filled with disbelief.
["So, how much exactly do you know?"]
At those words, Evener turned around without offering further explanation. He calmly walked back to the door he had entered through and opened it himself. Holding soone by the wrist, he returned to the center of the room.
The person he had just ntioned—Lady Sabina Akal.
A strange tension wrapped around the trio.
Lady Akal, montarily startled, glanced between Reynard and Evener before quickly composing herself. Then, with the decorum expected in high society, she offered a respectful bow to Reynard, the Marquis of Valkres, whom she had only t a few tis before. As she curtsied, Evener’s expression twisted with disgust.
["There's no need for pretenses. I know exactly what kind of relationship the two of you have, so stop the act."]
Both Reynard and Sabina’s faces stiffened ever so slightly.
Evener, with a serious expression, began to calmly explain everything he knew.
["I know that the two of you are working together."]
[…….]
["I overheard your conversation at the Imperial Opera House. You were handing over information about your business partners. And more importantly..."]
["Enough."]
Reynard narrowed his eyes, cutting off Evener's words. He had a good idea of what Evener was about to reveal. It wasn’t sothing that should be spoken aloud, even among allies. Having silenced him, Reynard leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin.
["It seems you really do know quite a bit."]
[…….]
["But, Princess Consort, I saw you that day. I saw you with Valentin in that dark corner of the opera house."]
This was during a crucial mont when Reynard was tightening his grip on the 3rd Prince’s breathing room by cutting off key suppliers and raw materials. That day, Reynard had been receiving vital information from one of his closest aides, 'Number Six,' Sabina Akal.
As he had been listening, he’d heard hurried footsteps and looked up to see Valentin rushing out. Both Reynard and Sabina had witnessed his retreat, but they weren’t the only ones. The very person now sitting here with a smug expression—Evener Leopold, the 3rd Prince’s consort—had also been present.
These three were the last people to see Valentin on that tragic day.
["Well then, let's hear it. I’d like to know exactly what kind of person could drag my husband to that place and make him run away."]
["…That’s not..."]
["Or should I phrase it differently? Go on, tell . I’m genuinely curious to hear what will co out of your mouth."]
Reynard raised his finger, pointedly singling out Evener.
["The person who may have attempted to poison my Valentin. The one who might have pushed my husband to the brink. The one responsible for hurting my partner and causing the loss of Denox’s heir."]
The accusation was clear: Reynard suspected Evener as the pri suspect behind the conspiracy. Until now, Reynard had believed that all the attacks were a joint effort between Clifton and Evener. After all, the Princess Consort had been the 3rd Prince’s most loyal supporter. Evener’s face contorted in surprise and confusion.
["I didn’t do anything like that…"]
["Oh? Then surely you won’t deny this."]
Reynard pulled a pistol from his waist, the kind issued exclusively to naval officers. He calmly picked up the brass-colored bullets. The sharp, chanical sound of him separating the revolver’s cylinder echoed ominously as he loaded each bullet into the empty chamber with practiced precision. Then, he aid the barrel at Evener.
["Marquis…!"]
Evener’s eyes widened, shocked that anyone would dare point a gun at a mber of the imperial family, much less at the Princess Consort.
["You know I don’t even need this ridiculous thing, right? I could snap your neck right here and now with no effort at all. So, you’d better think carefully before you speak. I’m very eager to hear what soone who has been using their power to aid the 3rd Prince for over a decade has to say."]
At these words, the blood drained from Evener’s face.
Reynard knew about the secret of Evener’s ability, which only he and Clifton were aware of, as well as the imprint. How did Reynard co to know this? What else was he plotting? Was Reynard’s trap not just limited to business affairs?
Evener swallowed nervously as he stared down the barrel of the gun.
["If you ca here to lie or test , don’t expect to leave today."]
The air was growing increasingly tense. As a dominant alpha, Reynard had enough strength to overpower Evener, who was a recessive oga, with his pheromones alone. If Reynard unleashed his full power, an oga like Evener would likely collapse into shock.
Even now, with just the faintest hint of aggression in Reynard’s pheromones, Evener could feel cold sweat running down his temples. He nervously wiped it away and pulled a small pouch from inside his coat.
["What’s that?"]
Reynard asked first.
["…The poison that Clifton used on Valentin."]
At this, Reynard’s intensity sharpened even further. His grip on the pistol tightened as if he might crush it. He dropped all pretense of civility, and in a commanding tone, he barked at Lady Akal.
["Sabina. Verify it."]
Without hesitation, Sabina Akal shifted her expression from one of confusion to a calm, professional deanor. As one of Reynard’s closest aides, known by her number, ‘Number Six,’ she was a master of deception and quick thinking.
["Yes, Marquis."]
Gone was the polite noblewoman from earlier, replaced by the highly capable and efficient operative. With swift, practiced movents, she retrieved gloves from a hidden pocket in her dress and carefully opened the pouch that Evener had handed over.
["Princess Consort, do you recognize this?"]
Sabina’s voice was now firm and cold as she examined the dried herb pulled from the small pouch. Its twisted, shriveled black appearance was unsettling to look at.
["It appears to be a monocot species, but it’s not sothing I’m familiar with."]
Sabina answered truthfully in front of her master and Evener. Given her expertise as a botanist and researcher, her uncertainty was significant.
["It’s remsha."]
["Remsha?"]
Both Reynard’s eyebrows rose, and Sabina furrowed her brow at the ntion of the plant.
As soone from the hot, dry lands of Turka, Sabina had only seen this plant in reference books or illustrations.
But sothing was strange. While not a common plant, it wasn’t considered lethal either. It did have properties that could weaken the womb of won or ogas.
["To be precise, it’s remsha from the Duke of Heatherfield’s territory. More specifically, it grows only in the Duke’s special greenhouse."]
Evener pulled the plant from the pouch with his bare hands. By now, his expression showed the weariness of soone who had co to terms with his involvent in this poison.
["Remsha grown in the Duke of Heatherfield’s greenhouse is particularly harmful to the womb. I don’t know the exact chanism, but when I interrogated one of Clifton’s closest attendants, they ntioned it works by affecting hormones. It can act as a contraceptive, and in pregnant won, it induces miscarriages."]
Evener explained cynically, his face contorted with anger.
["Do you know why the Emperor has had nurous mistresses over the years but not a single illegitimate child?"]
[…….]
["Empress Beatrice has been feeding this to all of the Emperor’s mistresses ever since she took her place beside him. It’s a special drug from her own family. That’s why no one has ever carried the Emperor’s child to term, and even those who did conceive miscarried."]
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Evener’s lips.
["And when remsha is not just ingested but chemically refined… Although I can’t tell you the exact process or what it’s mixed with. I couldn’t get that far. But what I do know is that the refined version of remsha can wreak havoc on a person’s body and mind. Depression, hallucinations, delusions… It drives people insane."]
Evener then pulled out a tiny glass vial from the pouch, containing a thick, tar-like black liquid. It was sealed with a cork and wax. This was clearly the refined remsha drug that Evener had just described.
Reynard gripped his pistol so tightly it seed as if he might crush it. The symptoms Evener had ntioned were eerily familiar—they were exactly what Valentin had suffered.
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