“Ah, no. That, that is…”

The lips that had been chattering enthusiastically until just moments ago began to tremble.

Seeing the maid who looked like she might burst into tears at any moment, Dalia asked again.

“Why are you shaking like that?”

“We, we are…”

The maid, fidgeting like a puppy that needed to go to the bathroom, glanced at Dalia’s face.

It was as if she was saying, ‘Do you know you’ve done something wrong and that’s why you’re shaking?’

And that wasn’t all.

Although she was smiling, her clear violet eyes exuded a coldness that had never been felt before.

In the end, with tears in her eyes, she bowed once more.

“I have committed a mortal sin, my lady!”

Her forehead nearly touching the ground, it was a subservience that had never been seen before.

And looking at the maid, Dalia thought.

‘No, I said it was fun!’

Thinking there might be some misunderstanding, she tried to speak a few more times, but the more she did, the paler the maid’s face became.

As Dalia arrived at the kitchen guided by the maid, all the servants who were working froze and stared at them.

It was because the duchess had barged in here without warning.

It was when Dalia was looking around curiously.

A man who had been watching her from afar with a displeased face approached.

“What brings you here, my lady?”

A man with a face full of complaints, almost to the point of insolence.

He was Max, the chef of the duke’s castle.

“Even if you are the duchess, this is my kitchen. It’s troublesome for you to come in here without notice.”

It wasn’t something a mere chef should say to Dalia, who was the lady of the castle and a noble. Even if there was no respect, there should be a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

He was looking down on Dalia, knowing that she couldn’t raise her voice to the servants.

If it had been the original Dalia, she would have been intimidated by the chef’s cold gaze and left the kitchen.

Unfortunately for him, she was no longer the Dalia of the past.

She lightly ignored the arrogant chef and started rummaging through the kitchen.

And watching Dalia’s behavior, Max quietly bit his lip.

‘How did she know to come here? Could it be… she noticed something and came?’

Today was a very important day for Max, the chef of the Sayer ducal family.

It was the day to put into action what he had meticulously prepared for days.

A week ago.

Someone had handed him an herb, saying it was on the orders of a high-ranking person.

‘Put this medicine in the duchess’s meal. If you do that, I’ll pay off all your debts.’

Jamyeoncho.

Simply put, it was a contraceptive.

The herb itself was so potent that it didn’t just prevent pregnancy.

If someone was already pregnant, it would cause a miscarriage, and it could even lead to infertility.

Not only that, if a man consumed it, he could become impotent – it was a very frightening poison.

But Max, who received the poison, was puzzled. Everyone in the empire already knew that the duchess was barren, so was there a need to go this far?

‘It’s a double-check. As you said, she’s barren and can’t conceive anyway. So even if the duchess doesn’t get pregnant, it won’t be your fault.’

Jamyeoncho only caused infertility, and it didn’t endanger life anyway.

Moreover, as that person said, the duchess was already barren. So it was a very easy task considering the large sum of money he would receive in return.

At least until the duchess suddenly barged into the kitchen.

‘Damn. If I could just serve it at dinner tonight, it would have been over!’

Strangely, Jamyeoncho had a fishy smell and taste.

So no matter what food it was mixed with, there was a possibility of noticing it due to its unique fishy taste.

That’s why Max had persuaded the maids to mix foods with fishy tastes into the duchess’s meals.

Saying that if it was the usual timid duchess, she wouldn’t even complain if such food was served.

But to suddenly visit the kitchen. What could have happened?

As he pondered, Max recalled that Dalia had ordered the food to be remade several times over the past few days.

It was unlike the usual duchess.

‘Indeed… she must know something!’

That woman must have known in advance that he was going to put poison in her dinner tonight.

So she came here in person to find evidence.

As he realized this, cold sweat began to form on his back.

He looked at the face of the duchess who was searching for the poison he had hidden.

At a glance, she seemed to be looking around curiously, but seeing that she was examining even the covered containers one by one, she must be acting.

‘Damn!’

Fortunately or unfortunately, the poison had already been used up before the duchess arrived.

It was already mixed into the food, making it difficult to find traces, but you never know.

To think that the duchess, who he thought was just timid and foolish, was such a frightening and meticulous person.

Max’s gaze towards Dalia changed.

But while Max was biting his lip nervously, Dalia was…

‘I want to eat something spicy.’

Tteokbokki, malatang, chicken feet, gopchang, and so on.

She craved stimulating foods that would captivate her taste buds, but of course, such things wouldn’t be found here.

Still, Dalia, who wanted to refresh her palate with some spicy food, didn’t give up and kept looking around.

“Oh? This is…”

Soon, she discovered a pot with red sauce on its surface.

Delighted, Dalia opened the lid of the pot with a bright expression.

And Max’s face, watching this, turned pale.

‘That’s!’

It was the tomato stew he had put the poison in, meant to be served for the duchess’s dinner tonight.

He quickly approached her before she could notice.

Trying to maintain a nonchalant expression and tone.

“This is the tomato stew, one of tonight’s dinner menu items.”

“Tomato stew?”

Max naturally blocked between Dalia and the pot.

“Yes. You’ll taste it at dinner time, so now…”

But Dalia sniffed and tilted her head.

“This smells a bit strange. Is it spoiled?”

A jolt.

To think she would smell it in that short time.

Max’s shoulders twitched.

“Th-there’s no way. I just made it before you came, my lady.”

“Really? But the smell is somewhat fishy?”

Another jolt.

To notice the fishy smell just from a brief sniff.

Indeed, she must have come knowing about it already.

‘What should I do?’

He had made it in advance when the kitchen was empty because he had to secretly add the poison when no one was around.

There was no time to make it again, and moreover, there was no poison left.

Because of this, he decided to just insist.

“It couldn’t have spoiled. You must be mistaken, my lady.”

Max replied in an even more insolent tone than before to hide his nervousness. It was an utterly shameless attitude.

“Well, you wouldn’t know since you’ve never cooked before…”

“Then taste it.”

“…Pardon?”

“Taste it. You’ll know if it’s spoiled or not if you taste it.”

“Th-that’s…!”

At that moment, he realized he had tripped over his own feet.

‘Could this be a test for me…?’

Good heavens.

Where on earth did the information leak from?!

Max looked at the pot with eyes full of fear.

‘If I eat this, I’ll…’

At the prime age of thirty-eight, he would become impotent.

But if he didn’t eat it, not only he but his family would be in danger on the grounds of attempting to harm the duchess.

The cool purple eyes were pushing him to the edge of a cliff.

Max bit the inside of his mouth to hide his emotions.

Then, as if he had made a decision, he took a ladle and scooped up some stew in front of Dalia and put it in his mouth.

‘For the sake of my family…’

Becoming impotent was a small price to pay.

He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed the stew in his mouth.

Dalia, who had been watching this silently, asked.

“How is it?”

Was she asking how it felt to become impotent?

He unconsciously tried to steady his voice that kept breaking.

“…It’s not… spoiled…”

“Really?”

“…Yes. Now… do you believe me?”

“Well, if you say so… But for tonight’s dinner, please prepare something else.”

It must be the duchess’s implicit threat to never poison her food again.

To this, Max replied in a voice filled with resignation.

“…Yes. I understand.”

He had underestimated the duchess too much.

Although she came from a humble family, she was still a noble and now the lady of the Sayer ducal family.

He deeply regretted following that person’s orders, inwardly swallowing his tears.

Meanwhile, Dalia tilted her head, looking at the chef who seemed to be holding back tears.

Somehow, the chef’s condition didn’t look good after eating the soup.

Sweat was beaded on his forehead, and his hand on his lower abdomen was trembling as if he had a stomachache.

‘See? I told you it was really spoiled.’

Tsk tsk.

Dalia clicked her tongue at the chef who looked like he might collapse at any moment, and picked up a cookie from the basket and ate it.