I took Violet’s teacup.

“If the lady doesn’t drink it, may I drink it instead?”

“Your, Your Highness. I’ll bring you a new cup of tea.”

“No. My throat is parched, so I’d like some cold water.”

I looked at the tea.

The purple tea had only tea leaves floating in it, just like mine.

I glanced at the face of the maid who had brought the tea.

There was no change in her expression even when I brought the cup to my lips.

Of course, the taste wasn’t strange either.

No other scent could be detected under the unique aroma of the tea.

It was tea with the same taste and scent.

‘Did I imagine it?’

I must have become sensitive after experiencing various things recently.

“I suppose I should ask for the tea to be brought again?”

She glanced at me nervously as I stood frozen.

“No. I ate a lot of the food prepared today, so I’m full. I think I should only drink this much tea.”

It was just as I was about to continue talking with Violet after putting down the teacup.

She started coughing lightly.

Her face looked redder than before. The guest room was warm, and it seemed too sudden for her to have caught a cold.

She quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, but there was no sign of the coughing stopping.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Nothing indeed.

With blood rushing to her face and coughing continuously.

“I’ll bring you some water.”

I poured water from the jug at the edge of the table and handed it to her.

She received the water with thanks and drank it, seeming to feel a bit better as she caught her breath.

Then she drank the rest of the water in the cup once more.

I noticed red spots that had appeared along her delicate neckline down to her dress.

My face suddenly turned cold.

“Thank you, Your Highness. I think something went down the wrong way. I’m fine now.”

“What’s this on your body?”

“Pardon?”

She hurriedly closed her dress.

Once suspicion arose, it wasn’t easily erased.

“I apologize if this is rude.”

I rolled up her sleeve that had fallen to her wrist. Her fair skin was flushed red and small red spots had appeared in various places.

It was clearly an allergic reaction.

Violet did have a peach allergy.

But there weren’t any peaches in the food.

I started examining the desserts in front of me, recalling the food we had eaten.

There were no foods containing peaches.

The same went for the tea.

“The tea?”

I looked at the teacup again.

Then I turned my gaze to Violet.

“Why did you push your teacup away, my lady?”

She clearly pushed the teacup away, avoiding it. Usually, if one doesn’t drink, they just don’t drink. They don’t push it away.

Violet’s bloodshot eyes blinked.

“You need to tell me honestly. That’s the only way I can understand what the problem is.”

I gently held her frightened shoulders.

She still seemed to have difficulty speaking.

Her throat would swell up before I could wait for her to speak at this rate.

“There was something on the saucer.”

Violet raised her head sharply.

I lifted the saucer in front of her. It couldn’t be confirmed just by looking.

When I wiped it once with my finger, white powder stuck to my fingertip.

To someone without allergies, this would look like just some dust from not being cleaned properly.

But to someone with allergies?

‘This could be a life-threatening issue if mishandled.’

“It’s peach fuzz.”

She blinked and asked.

“Your… Your Highness, did you know that I can’t eat peaches?”

I nodded gently.

“I looked into it beforehand in case there was something you couldn’t eat when I wanted to send a gift.”

It was a lie, but a plausible one.

“Stay here for now. I’ll bring some medicine to alleviate the symptoms.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The peach fuzz is only under Violet’s teacup.

Moreover, she has a peach allergy.

Could this be a coincidence?

Or did someone deliberately do this?

I first found something that could serve as medicine and delivered it to Violet.

She had ingested the fuzz directly, and her face was swollen to a pitiful degree.

It was difficult to continue conversing with her in this state.

“Drink this and get some good rest, you’ll feel better.”

I handed her the medicine and laid her down on the bed. Looking distressed, she pulled the blanket up over her head.

If it were a coincidence, she probably wouldn’t look so upset.

‘Does Violet also think someone did this on purpose?’

If so, she wouldn’t want to show me this side of herself.

“I’ll be going now. Rest well and let me know how you’re doing.”

Leaving her like this made me feel choked up.

But getting involved in the affairs of the Duke’s family would be disrespectful to Violet in its own way.

‘When will Violet’s position improve?’

We were well past the starting point of the original story.

By now, Serdis should be opening his heart to Violet.

But perhaps because of me, Serdis hadn’t met Violet or any other women.

I was afraid that the day she would be loved was getting further away.

My steps felt heavy as I left the mansion.

The Scharpenen family mansion looked particularly dark today as I viewed it from inside the carriage.

As I was lost in gloomy thoughts, the door of the moving carriage suddenly opened, and a face I didn’t want to see right now took a seat opposite me.

“Are you going to leave without even looking at my face?”

It was Havel, looking happy unlike me.

“Were you at the mansion too, Lord Havel?”

“I heard the Grand Duchess was coming, so I spent all my time washing up and dressing properly.”

He showed off his neatly styled hair with a charming smile.

I thought I would be somewhat glad to see him again.

But after witnessing what Violet had endured right before my eyes, my heart had turned completely cold.

So I couldn’t help but meddle.

“It seems Lord Havel had time to groom himself but not to look after his younger sister.”

“Ah, you mean that promise from before? Of course I kept it! I asked Violet to eat together, but she ended up refusing.”

“Then I suppose I don’t need to keep my promise to Lord Havel either. Please leave now.”

Havel had agreed to ask Violet to have a meal together, and in return, I had promised to meet him before going north.

But I had no need for someone who came to meet me without even knowing his sister was sick in bed, when they were in the same mansion.

Havel loosened his carefully knotted tie, looking frustrated.

“Did Violet say something to Your Highness about me?”

“No.”

I lifted my head sharply. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was blaming the sick Violet for gossiping.

“She didn’t even mention family matters. No, I suppose she didn’t even dare to bring it up.”

“Then could you please tell me why you’re suddenly talking about Violet? If I’ve done something wrong, I’ll go apologize to her right away.”

At Havel’s words, I wiped away tears that had unknowingly started to flow.

Seeing me cry, he flinched.

“They say indifference is the scariest thing, and that’s true. Did Lord Havel know that Violet can’t eat peaches?”

“…”

“Is this why Violet just suffers silently, because her family is so indifferent? Today, only Violet’s teacup had fuzz from peach peels accumulated on it. Isn’t that strange? It’s too much of a coincidence that my cup was fine, but only the cup of someone who gets feverish just from touching peaches had this.”

I told him everything as he listened silently.

I hadn’t meant to meddle, but since he was curious, I was telling him.

“Who would do such a thing…”

“Whoever it was, it must be someone from the Duke’s family who knows the lady can’t eat peaches, right?”

It might sound disrespectful.

After all, members of the Duke’s family include both the servants and family members.

“I’ll tell my older brother and father. It’s true that we avoided Violet after she came into the family, but we never ignored her to the point of letting her suffer like this. Truly.”

Havel added an explanation. To me, it sounded like an excuse.

“You don’t need to explain to me. I’m just saying this because I was sad to see the lady suffering. I hope you won’t hate or resent the lady because of what I said.”

“It seems you won’t listen to anything I say right now.”

“I’m sorry, but I’d like you to leave. It’s uncomfortable for me to talk with a smile right now.”

I turned my gaze away from him. Although he was someone who had helped me before, Violet’s face overlapped with his, making it difficult to continue the conversation.

Havel might feel wronged from his perspective. He might think he’s receiving harsh words because of an illegitimate sister he considered a thorn in his side, even though he had been minding his own business.

However, being a bystander is also a form of harm.

Indifference hurts people even more.

“Then I’ll be going. I’ll look into the circumstances of the incident without causing harm to Violet and make sure such a thing never happens again.”

I didn’t respond.

Havel didn’t bother waiting for my answer and disappeared outside the carriage.

I stared blankly at the space where he had been.

For a moment, I regretted meddling unnecessarily.

‘But leaving things as they are would be too pitiful for Violet.’

Everyone would probably whisper that she was just holed up in her room as usual, not knowing she was sick.

I couldn’t bear to see that.

“The carriage shook quite a bit earlier. Is there a problem inside?”

It was a question from the coachman who didn’t know about Havel’s visit.

I said it was nothing and asked him to continue on our way.

The good mood I had when coming to the Scharpenen house had plummeted in an instant.

It’s painful just to watch someone dear living unhappily.

I took my eyes off the receding Scharpenen mansion.

I couldn’t go back feeling so gloomy.

Hertian, who had keenly noticed my crying earlier, would surely be worried.

“I wonder if Hertian has returned from his business today.”

If he was nearby, it would be nice to go together.

I felt like I could shake off this heavy feeling if I met him now.

There was no way to contact him, but I could know where he was.

The incent I had given him as a gift then.

When I rolled up my sleeve, a bracelet of the same color as the one I had given him appeared.

“Do I seem a bit like a stalker?”

Ah well.

Even if he knew, Hertian would understand.

The operation method was simple.

I turned the incent clockwise once.

Then, as if by magic, a small window appeared in front.

Inside was a map modeled after the empire.

It looked like a minimap I’d only seen in games.

“Is the red mark Hertian’s location?”

The blinking light in the capital seemed far away and hard to discern.

When I touched the blinking light, the point gradually became clearer.

“How fascinating.”

I thought it was good that I had bought this.

The events from just moments ago were somewhat forgotten.

“Huh?”

But the point where the light stopped was strange.

“This is the Scharpenen Duke’s mansion, isn’t it?”

The incent had picked up the Scharpenen Duke’s mansion where Violet and Havel were.

I’m certain I gave the location tracking incent to Hertian as a gift.

It was unlikely that Hertian had gone to the Duke’s mansion.

He wouldn’t have come to pick me up, and he didn’t have any other connections there.

“The color is the same as the brooch I gave Hertian too.”

It seems I must have brought the wrong item.

The location tracking ability seemed to have gone to Violet.

Seeing the unmoving light at the Scharpenen Duke’s mansion.

“I can’t go back and offer to exchange the gifts either.”

After some deliberation, I turned off the location tracking device.

I’ll switch them later. Without Violet knowing.

[This is the timeline separator]

When I arrived at the Count’s mansion, I heard that Hertian had gone to the townhouse on business.

I also bid my final farewells and left the Count’s mansion.

I was about to ask my mother what kind of medicine she had given Hertian, but I stopped myself.

Because I didn’t know when I’d be able to see her again.

I only left a message saying that I would come again if I had the chance before going north.

Then I headed to the townhouse where Hertian was.

The townhouse was somewhat chaotic.

The resident servants were busy, and above all, Hertian was moving around busily.

Moreover, various dishes were neatly arranged under lavish decorations.

“What’s all this?”

“We’ve invited your friend today, madam.”

“What? Casian?”

“Yes. Since we received a message at the Count’s residence, we invited him to dinner tonight.”

As expected of the attentive Hertian, he had put a lot of thought into it. There didn’t seem to be anything for me to help with.

“I’m eager to welcome him. I’m looking forward to it.”

But why?

I sensed an ominous sign from his slightly upturned lips.