TABML 22

Episode 22

“You’ve worked hard, Mr. Evans.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

Katrina handed a glass of water to Heil.

He was Hildegard’s aide—the one who had cut off all contact and gone off to the countryside claiming he needed rest.

It was enough to make everyone lose their minds.

“How’s the party?”

“I’m honored just to have been invited to the Aviche union gathering. However…”

“However?”

“It seems… the other family members aren’t very welcoming toward me.”

He had a right to be concerned. From the very beginning, the Duke of Aviche had been glaring at him with hostility.

“Don’t worry. It’s not that they dislike you, Mr. Evans. They dislike someone else.”

“Pardon?”

“The truth is… our family doesn’t like my grandmother.”

“…Excuse me?”

A servant carrying wine passed by. Katrina took a glass from him.

“To be precise, everyone kind of hates her.”

The power Hildegard held was overwhelming.

The Duke of Aviche constantly tried to keep her in check, and the Duchess wasn’t all that different either.

“But not you, Lady Katrina.”

At Heil’s words, Katrina let out a small laugh.

“I don’t like her either.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve been humiliated at parties more times than I can count because of her.”

The memories of being summoned and embarrassed by Hildegard were still vivid.

Hildegard despised Katrina’s lowly origins. She’d called her “tainted blood.”

“She even slapped me in the face, right there in public.”

“…What?”

It might’ve been when she got a formal greeting wrong.

She was learning so many things at once back then—it was natural to get confused.

But Hildegard was strict to the extreme about mistakes, and didn’t hesitate to hit her in public.

She was an impossibly difficult person for Katrina to deal with.

Which was why Katrina hadn’t wanted to resort to using Hildegard’s people.

But now, things had reached a point where she had no choice.

It wasn’t the time to be picky about hot or cold water.

“That’s why I don’t like her.”

“…”

Heil went silent, as though at a loss for words. As someone who had worked with Hildegard before, he probably understood.

How could he not?

That cantankerous personality…

They said Hildegard was kind to her own people, but even then, she was far from easy to deal with.

Katrina shifted her gaze.

Selena was moving across the room with a glass of wine.

She was smiling brightly as she offered the wine to Raymond.

Katrina watched them with a blank expression.

Inside, a mix of joy and tension swirled—completely hidden beneath the surface.

‘It’s begun.’

The day the perfume disappeared, Katrina had intentionally left that formula out on her desk—just in case.

As she remembered, the final line of the formula read:

[Mixing with wine enhances effect.]

And now, Raymond had drunk the wine.

Everything was going according to plan.

Just as Katrina had intended.

“Your Highness, here you go.”

Selena offered the wine glass to Raymond.

Her heart was pounding like mad.

“I heard Father had this wine imported from a faraway continent.”

My lips might be trembling right now, Selena thought.

But at this point, she could only hope Raymond wouldn’t sense anything unusual.

“Thank you, Miss Selena.”

Raymond accepted the glass from her.

And drank it.

“Do you remember the promise I made to you, Your Highness?”

“Of course.”

“I said I’d give you Katrina’s formula.”

“That’s right.”

Selena confirmed that Raymond had swallowed the wine and then continued.

“I know everything now.”

“I don’t quite follow.”

“You needed a suppressant, didn’t you?”

“…What?”

“I altered Katrina’s formula. And now I know what you really needed.”

Raymond furrowed his brow.

It seemed Selena Aviche had made a mistaken assumption.

Not that he’d expected much to begin with. He knew Katrina wouldn’t let her formula be stolen so easily.

He had chosen Selena as a partner for entirely different reasons.

Then, a tightness gripped his chest.

Was it another attack?

No… this felt different.

“Katrina pretended it was perfume, but she gave you what you needed, didn’t she?”

“That’s not it.”

In that moment, words escaped Raymond’s mouth without his consent.

“…What?”

He frowned.

His eyes locked on the wine glass he was holding.

It wasn’t hard to grasp the situation.

‘Selena… you stupid girl…’

With an eerily calm tone, Raymond asked her a question.

It was difficult to completely hide the faint chill in his voice, but foolish Selena didn’t seem to notice.

“What did you put in this wine?”

“…!”

Startled, Selena confessed.

“It’s true. But it was a medicine meant for you anyway…”

“Haha.”

Raymond suddenly burst into laughter.

Selena stared at him, wide-eyed.

“You got me good, Selena.”

“…What?”

Raymond set the glass down on the table.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

“Y-Your Highness, did I do something wrong…?!”

Flustered, Selena tried to grab him.

But when she saw Raymond’s icy expression as he turned to look at her, she froze.

She couldn’t touch him.

If she did—he would kill her.

Her instincts screamed the warning.

Selena trembled as she covered her face with both hands.

‘What have I done…?’

“Heil, I’ll take my leave now.”

Katrina had seen Raymond leaving the party.

‘I hadn’t planned to interfere…’

But there was one thing she had always been curious about.

One thing she had always wanted to ask.

So, she followed after him.

‘I know exactly where he’ll go.’

Raymond knew where Katrina often went.

And Katrina knew where he would head now.

The Aviche maze garden.

He’d be trying to hide there.

Katrina entered the garden.

Thick boxwood hedges grew tall and densely on either side.

The green walls stretched endlessly as leaves rustled gently in the breeze.

Katrina followed the narrow path leading to the center, and eventually reached the ornate fountain at the end.

As expected, Raymond was there.

He furrowed his brows upon seeing her.

Serves you right. That’s what you get for pulling dumb tricks.

“Do you know what Selena stole from my room?”

“…”

“It was kind of a truth serum. Something that messes with impulse control.”

Perfect for catching the culprit.

She had left it out to identify who stole her perfume. Never expected Selena would take it.

An unexpected bonus.

Thanks to that, Katrina’s plan had succeeded perfectly.

She had even changed the name of the potion on the paper for good measure.

What had she written again?

Impulse Suppressant? Something like that.

Life really was amusing.

“Raymond, what you drank was that.”

From now on, it would be impossible for Raymond to go against her.