So the Duchess Disappeared - Chapter 5

“Ha…”

She stopped looking at the Duke’s back.

She was going to leave anyway. She has no right to expect anything from him.

She turned away from the Duke and sat down comfortably. After all, she didn’t think she had much time to see it anyway, so she felt better. Alexa kept carrying food over, not sure if it was to cheer her up or if she wanted to eat it.

It was a simple dessert and finger food, but it appeared quite luxurious because it was a gathering place for nobles. Time flew by as she watched people dance and selected a dessert topped with fruit.

“Wife.”

“Oh.”

The Duke suddenly returned to her side. She frowned at Clint, who stood next to her and continued to eat fruit. She ate mostly soup because she was acting, and everything went well so far.

“Yes?”

Then Psyche, who had suddenly noticed a crowd forming, tilted her head. Clint moved his gaze in the direction of her gaze and opened his mouth to explain.

“The Crown Prince has also come. I have to go say hello…”

Psyche stood up to go to the Crown Prince after nodding to him, but she stopped in surprise. Clint also ceased speaking.

“What is it?”

Something unexpected happened in an instant. She opened her mouth, surprised. It was because the Crown Prince collapsed to the floor unexpectedly. People shouted at him.

“Oh my god!”

“Your Majesty!”

The Duke was the first to approach the Crown Prince. Psyche followed him slowly. The Crown Prince, who had collapsed on the floor, was conscious, but his face was pale and he looked like a corpse.

‘This smell…’

Psyche, who knew the reason for the headache from before, quickly covered her nose. Why didn’t she know of this disgusting smell before?

The scent of a plant with such a strong presence. As soon as she figured out the identity of the plant, Psyche stepped forward without realizing it.

“It’s poison.”

She spoke carelessly and quickly approached the Crown Prince. It was obviously poison. She was sure. Psyche knew better than anyone that he was dying from poison.

Because Psyche’s grandfather and both of her biological parents were poisoned and murdered. Fortunately, the Crown Prince was found right away. The Duke took Psyche’s hand and shook his head as she was about to walk out. It meant not to go.

“Wife.”

She was aware. Furthermore, if she went out of her way, the problem could worsen. But she couldn’t just let people die because of the poison. This was due to the fact that the image of her deceased parents was overlapping with the image of the Crown Prince’s dying breath.

And this poison… Maybe she could solve it.

Clint grabbed Psyche’s wrist and stopped her from going towards the Crown Prince. It was an unspoken expression not to intervene in troublesome affairs.

She gave him a quick glance before vigorously shaking her hand. The Duke was taken aback by Psyche’s unusual appearance for the first time, and he hardened on the spot. Then he hurriedly gave the order to the maid who was terrified beside him.

“Bring gauze and cold water. Oh. I think there is ice. Ice too.”

With the Crown Prince lying on the floor, she faced the tragedy of the past.

“…”

She wasn’t feeling well. Psyche’s parents died a long time ago.

Things from the past tend to fade away, leaving only a faint shape, like a stone weathered by the winds of time. However, some things in life cannot be forgotten even after time has passed. Sometimes, like deep darkness, an event or memory was not buried in time.

Psyche’s parents passed away at a time one day.

Perhaps even if Psyche dies, he will never forget that day.

The whereabouts of the Viscount couple even in the late afternoon remained unknown, and Psyche, who had just turned five, stepped out.

“Mom? Dad?”

The Viscount had always been a very diligent person, so he never overslept. Psyche ate breakfast alone at the table on that strange day, with no one else around. It was definitely a strange day.

No one answered her call. The parents do not answer their children’s calls. As Psyche entered the room, she abruptly turned the corner, and an unbelievable sight unfolded before her eyes.

Even during the day, the couple’s bedroom was dark, with blackout curtains.

It smells strangely hazy and gives her the feeling that she was about to get drunk. As well as humid air. Overall, it was a strange day. Psyche looked at her parents’ bloodless bodies in the darkness with her own eyes. Even though there was no light, the dead person’s face was so pale that she couldn’t take her gaze away from them.

“Mom…?”

Although she was young, she knew the situation was very serious. It’s also something that shouldn’t be happening. The cause of death was poison.

How meticulous it was, even the Viscount, who was knowledgeable about medicinal herbs and poisons, was deceived.

And later when she came of age. She was aware of who had killed her parents. The Viscount’s younger brother, on whom he placed the most trust. Nobody in the world could be trusted. How can you betray your faith in such a way? As a result, Psyche decided not to trust anyone. Believe it or not, it will only make them stick a knife behind your back.

To think about it. Perhaps the Duke was so kind that she had trusted him all along.

‘Okay. I can’t repeat the same mistake again…’

She had a deeply ingrained belief in her heart that if she trusted someone, she would always return to betrayal. And a series of events made her more firm.

She shook her head to clear the afterimage of her parents from the fallen Crown Prince. Psyche spoke to the maid again, who was still astonished despite hearing her command.

“What are you doing? Hurry up, bring it.”

The maid hurriedly followed her orders. Psyche hurriedly checked the pulse between his ear and neck and checked to see if he could breathe on his own.

His breathing was weak. However, the poison did not appear to have spread throughout his body. When she went to check on the Crown Prince’s condition, his servant, who appeared to be in a hurry, saw her and cried out in surprise.

“Don’t touch him thoughtlessly!”

When the servant tried to come forward, it was unexpectedly Clint who stopped him this time. He looked at Psyche with a strange face.

“Don’t be rude to the Duchess.”

His face was so cold that the servant couldn’t go any further. He was unable to do anything between his responsibility to protect the Crown Prince and the threat of the Duke.

“However!”

The Crown Prince’s attendants were quite perplexed. But Psyche didn’t care and placed her face near the Crown Prince’s lips. Her nostrils were filled with the strong aroma of a wine. The servant looked tearful when he saw it.

“It’s not poison. It doesn’t respond to silver.”

At that, Psyche stood up.

“It’s not a poison if you just eat it. Did you bring ice?”

The maid who took the order then handed over the ice in the glass. When she attempted to put ice in the Crown Prince’s mouth, the Duke stepped forward and snatched the ice.

“I’ll do it. Wife.”

Eventually, as time passed, the Crown Prince’s complexion returned, and Psyche stood up with a sigh of relief. She stumbled because she was concentrating too hard, but Alexa next to her held her up so she didn’t fall.

Because of Psyche’s quick response, the Crown Prince, who was having breathing difficulties, gradually found stability. Fortunately, knowing how to deal with it was very helpful because it was something she had been familiar with when she was in the Viscounty.

“He will wake up soon.”

As soon as Psyche finished speaking, the Crown Prince coughed and came to his senses.

“Cough.”

“Oh, Your Royal Highness!”

The agitated servant hugged the crown prince as if he had only lived for that moment.

“Ugh…”

“Gosh! Your Royal Highness!”

The servant helped the Crown Prince get up with a careful hand.

“Ugh…”

Psyche saw him awake and simply added.

“The tender leaves of the Zavia tree are very expensive tea leaves, but they are poisonous when consumed with alcohol, such as wine.”

Her words shook everything around him.

Everyone made a curious face because it was the first time she had participated after always quietly participating in all gatherings and banquets and then disappearing. Psyche concentrated on explaining to the attendant, unaware that she was drawing attention to herself.

“No matter how expensive and good it is, if you don’t know how to eat it properly, it can become poison.”

She smiled bitterly. No matter how good it looks on the outside. It felt like the words were for her and the Duke, so she was upset.

Rather, it was not a toxic relationship. It is now. At her explanation, the servant exclaimed.

“Ah!”

The nobles were alert to the fact that the Duchess had an unexpected talent. Those who had only assumed that the Duke would protect the fallen aristocrat on the outskirts, who knew nothing, were taken aback.

Everyone was muttering and staring at Psyche. The Duke’s power, which was still strong, was not to be consolidated any further. She saved the next Emperor’s life. Hearing her words, the servant asked with a curious expression.

“How did you know it was a Zavia leaf?”

As if everyone was waiting for Psyche’s answer to that question, their attention was drawn to her.