Callian, who was walking around the garden, stopped when he spotted Esika.

He saw her side profile, dressed in a modest gray dress.

Her round forehead, high nose bridge, and blue eyes in calm pupils.

Her beautiful silver hair swayed gently in the wind.

She appeared to be slightly bent over, admiring the flowers in the garden.

Callian approached Esika.

And standing behind her, he called out.

“My lady.”

He thought she would be startled, but Esika showed no reaction, as if she had already anticipated his approach.

“……”

The wind blew.

A mesmerizing scent, whether hers or the flowers’, lingered at the tip of Callian’s nose.

Only after a few seconds passed did she raise her lowered head and slowly shift her gaze to Callian.

As their eyes met, Esika’s blue eyes with Callian’s, a faint smile formed on Callian’s lips.

Callian raised his hand to brush Esika’s fluttering hair.

However, Esika’s hand stopped Callian’s.

And with a little force, she lowered Callian’s hand.

“……”

Callian’s eyebrows twitched.

Though it was a woman’s weak hand, what was this subtly felt pressure?

Callian couldn’t touch Esika’s skin.

After standing and looking at her for a moment, Callian spoke.

“…My lady. I believe I had too much to drink yesterday.”

“……”

Callian’s gaze went to Esika’s tightly closed lips.

He had tried to kiss those lips that made him thirsty just by looking at them.

“It might sound shameless, but I don’t remember what happened last night……”

Callian’s gaze moved to her collarbone.

There were no marks on her white collarbone.

“…It seems nothing happened after all.”

Callian had hoped, as he woke up lying on her bed in the morning, and somehow his shirt was slightly torn.

But seeing Esika’s reaction now, no different from usual.

Looking at the surface of that clean and transparent skin…… It seemed he hadn’t accomplished anything while drunk.

“You were drunk enough to lose consciousness.”

Esika’s lips moved.

“You’re not someone without dignity to do such a thing without reason, are you?”

A clear and pure voice flowed out.

Suddenly, the incident with Yuri flashed through Callian’s mind, and he slightly frowned.

Esika must never know about that incident.

“…Anyway, next time I’ll come to your room in a prepared situation.”

Esika gave no reply to Callian’s words.

Instead, she looked at the blooming yellow flower.

While the other nearby flowers were white with thin petals, only that flower was blooming bright yellow and gorgeously.

The bright yellow flower seemed to emit a sweet fragrance.

“Do you like the flower?”

“No? I just find it curious.”

“What about it?”

“How did such a sweet poisonous plant come to settle in the middle of the duke’s garden?”

At the word ‘poisonous,’ the tip of Callian’s eyebrow twitched.

“Poisonous? This flower?”

Esika opened her lips with a faint smile.

“If you steep one of these petals in tea, it could kill a person instantly.”

Callian looked at the flower with a startled expression.

No matter how he looked at it, it was just a slightly gorgeous yellow flower.

Callian spoke to Esika with a slightly bewildered expression.

“That can’t be. A poisonous plant in the flower garden……”

“I heard that a gardener who worked here for 30 years was fired a few months ago for the crime of getting fertilizer on your mother’s feet.”

“…Esika.”

As the mention of Riona came up, Callian’s brow furrowed.

He knew about that incident too.

The gardener had pleaded to him, saying he had spread fertilizer away from the walkway and didn’t know how it happened, that it was unfair.

But Callian intended to respect Riona’s wishes, who oversees the family finances, and mercilessly sent the gardener away.

“A gardener’s job isn’t just tending to flowers, you should be careful when firing people.”

However, Esika still smiled faintly.

After looking at Esika for a moment, Callian opened his mouth.

“…It’s an exaggeration to blame that on my mother. Above all, that flower can’t possibly be poisonous.”

At Callian’s words, Esika carelessly plucked the flower.

When Esika held out the plucked flower to Callian, he flinched slightly.

Esika looked into Callian’s eyes and asked.

“Then shall we make a bet?”

“…A bet?”

“Since you said this can’t possibly be poisonous, how about we test it directly?”

At those words, Callian’s eyes wavered.

Esika waved the flower in front of Callian with a calm expression.

“If Your Grace tastes this petal, I’ll admit my mistake.”

“…What did you just say?”

Callian’s expression gradually hardened.

The yellow flower between Esika’s fingers was swaying.

Poison in the petals…… It’s nonsense. But Callian couldn’t take that flower.

Instead, with furrowed brows, he snatched the yellow flower and threw it to the ground.

And he spoke to Esika in a slightly angry tone.

“Your joke has gone too far today, my lady.”

However, Esika only looked at Callian with a subtle smile.

“This is not a poisonous plant. It’s just a common weed. And mother has done nothing wrong.”

Riona used to always say while stroking young Callian’s head.

It’s their fault. We are good and kind people, and we’ve done nothing wrong.

Callian continued.

“And it’s not desirable to speak about mother in that way.”

Callian’s eyebrows were set.

“She’s more devoted to House Klaus than anyone else……”

Esika was just listening to Callian defending Riona with emotionless eyes.

“I understand there might have been some misunderstandings between you and mother, and you might feel hurt. But I hope you don’t forget your pledge to strive for the harmony of the ducal family as the duchess.”

Callian admonished Esika in a low voice.

Harmony, is it. She had never said such a thing, but is that how he interpreted it?

Riona Klaus, the only weakness that could shake his emotions.

Does twisted filial piety so easily overcome even a freshly burning heart?

As Callian was about to turn away from Esika with a slightly hardened expression, it was then.

Suddenly, Callian was seen stopping as he looked at the ground.

“……”

Around the yellow flower thrown on the ground, ants attracted by the sweet smell had died.

In less than a minute, over ten had died, and a few that were staggering also collapsed.

There was no need to verify the flower’s toxicity.

This is a deadly poisonous plant.

Callian met Esika’s eyes with violently shaking eyes.

Esika’s blue eyes were calm as if there were no emotions in them.

‘It really…… was a poisonous plant.’

When Esika said it was poisonous, Callian thought Esika was having delusions.

That she wanted to slander Riona, whom she had been feeling hurt by until now.

But that guess was wrong.

Esika had simply called a poisonous plant a poisonous plant.

And…

“……”

Callian suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Esika had calmly held it out to him.

Saying if he thought it wasn’t poisonous, he should try eating it. Like a test of faith in Riona.

If he had said he would eat it, wouldn’t Esika have stopped him until the end?

It becomes dizzying to think about it further.

With a pale face, Callian abruptly turned away.

‘Why are you doing this?’

He seemed to hear her voice.

Esika watched Callian’s back as he quickly left the place.

Her lips moved slightly in a smirk before returning to their place.

Seeing him disappear with such a pale face, it seemed he would visit her room less at night.

Esika stretched.

Those who planted the poisonous plant would also be the ones to remove it.

**

That evening, an old servant who was temporarily acting as butler in place of Hans stood before Callian.

Callian ordered the servant with a stern look.

“Fire the new gardener.”

“Is there a problem?”

“He failed to notice a deadly poisonous plant blooming in the garden.”

At those words, the servant wiped sweat from his forehead.

“So… it was true.”

“Did Hans hire the gardener knowing his skills were lacking?”

Hans was in charge of hiring servants and maids.

He was away now for other household matters.

The servant looked at Callian’s expression and opened his mouth.

“Yes. But the butler had his reasons, Your Grace.”

“My wife and I were almost in danger. If mother had plucked that flower… I don’t even want to think about it.”

“That… that is……”

“If the circumstances aren’t justifiable, you should also prepare to leave the mansion for neglecting this situation.”

Only after Callian made this threat did the servant let out a small sigh.

And he confessed the truth.

“The new gardener is originally a musician… I believe the Madam ordered his employment.”

“What? Why is a musician managing the garden? We could hire a gardener separately, and a musician separately…”

Callian’s eyebrows twitched.

“Well… since we’d have to pay about five times the usual servant or maid’s monthly salary, given the current finances, it would be difficult… The Madam ordered the butler to fire the gardener who was paid twice as much as servants and hire a musician. The gardener role is just on the side… actually, two young servants are sharing the work.”

The servant scratched his head as he continued.

“The Madam really likes the musician’s performance. We had no choice.”

Callian sat quietly, at a loss for words.

The conversation he had with Esika today swirled in his mind.

The yellow flower that had swayed between Esika’s slender fingers seemed to ripple before his eyes.

A stinging headache came for a moment.

“…Her words were right again.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s nothing, you may go.”

Callian’s weak voice was heard.

After watching for a moment, the servant went outside.