Her voice with its unique exotic accent slowed down. Suddenly Valentin’s vision blurred and the images in his eyes multiplied and shook.

‘Huh… Are there two faces…?’

And their figures receded.

I’m falling. No, am I the one falling…?

For a moment it felt like the floor was approaching his face as if he was plummeting…!

“Valentin!”

Something with steel-like strength caught Valentin’s body. A fast and stable embrace enveloped and pulled him in.

And in that space, as if with a “whoosh” sound, Reynard’s alpha pheromones spread rapidly.

It happened in an instant.

The one who had been meticulously containing his pheromones so that not even the faintest lingering scent could be detected by anyone, suddenly released them explosively in a moment.

It was a habitual yet reflexive action.

Valentin tended to find stability by taking in Reynard’s alpha pheromones when he fell into panic or felt unwell, when suffering from vomiting and nightmares. So Reynard chronically enveloped him with his scent whenever Valentin’s condition worsened.

Therefore, this was a habit that had built up throughout their married life, with Valentin’s consistently poor physical condition and mental issues like depression and panic attacks piling up.

“Ugh!”

“…Urk.”

“No…!?”

The problem caused by the unconscious pheromone release occurred immediately.

Everyone gathered sitting together quickly stepped back. They covered their noses and mouths with their hands and fled, letting out shrill screams and dry heaves.

Except for one person, Lady Sabina Akal.

“…?”

The Emperor covering his mouth with his hand, Clifton shielding his mouth and nose with his shoulder, Evener retching and hiding behind Clifton, Ellison blocking her nose with her sleeve. And even Valentin’s eyes, dazedly observing the situation while held in Reynard’s arms.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards her.

‘She’s completely fine…?’

As if that terrible and frightening alpha pheromone didn’t affect her at all, everyone stared at her in disbelief as she kept focusing only on the patient, checking on Valentin who couldn’t steady himself with Reynard.

“Valentin, are you conscious? Are you alright?”

“…Reynard. I’m okay… Just a bit dizzy…”

“We need to go back quickly. Hurry and call the carriage to the front!”

While the concerned parties moved about busily in confusion, the four people with the Leopold name couldn’t move an inch. They just trembled their eyeballs slightly amidst the chaos.

Truth. It was a moment when more than one truth was revealed.

The Emperor’s eyes shone strangely.

* * *

Deep inside Lution House. An intimate door was opened with a loud sound by a fierce force.

Bang!

“Benson!”

Reynard’s angry shout calling for “Number Two” drowned out even the sound of the door opening. At their lord’s voice filled with rage, everyone sitting at the table with their heads together jumped up. From First to Third. They all focused on Reynard in attention stance.

“You called, My Lord?” 

Lawyer Sir Sedgwick Benson asked with a bewildered face.

“Bring the documents. We’re starting the ‘next phase’ immediately.”

Reynard’s face as he spoke was more ferocious than ever before.

“What? The timing is still…”

“It hasn’t been long since the target took the bait. If you wait a bit longer for a more certainly stable time…”

Despite Shane and Sir Benson’s consecutive attempts to dissuade him, Reynard dismissed them briefly.

“This is enough. I can’t stand it anymore.”

A beast-like growl was detected in his tone.

He roughly pulled out a chair at the conference table and sat down. Despite efforts to suppress it, flames were visible in Reynard’s eyes. He was on his way down after putting Valentin to sleep.

To be precise, it would be more correct to say he was on his way after talking with McClain. As soon as they returned from the Imperial Palace, Reynard watched over Valentin’s examination. While saying there was no major problem, he exchanged glances with the doctor who was holding back his words in front of the patient.

Afterwards, he personally washed the tired-looking Valentin with warm water, had him drink warmed milk, and made sure he fell asleep. Then he left the bedroom, closing the door on his peacefully dreaming husband. As expected, McClain was waiting in front of the door.

[He hasn’t had symptoms like this at all lately. It’s definitely strange. Though not a fatal kind, I suspect poisoning.]

[Is that true?]

[Yes. I’ve already confirmed it with indicator test strips. The reaction is not good.]

Reynard recalled McClain collecting the saliva that came out when Valentin retched earlier. So that was to run tests.

[I absolutely cannot say with certainty exactly what kind of poison it is. It doesn’t seem as fatal as to threaten his life, but… it’s clear he ingested something that strains the body.]

McClain shook his head worriedly, showing a translucent paper that had turned an unpleasant purple color.

As Reynard came down to where his close aides were, he was dumbfounded and incredulous the whole time.

‘Poisoning, they say.’

Of course, it’s not that he hadn’t had similar thoughts before. He was always on guard about that aspect since enemies could be anywhere. But it was too sudden to accept normally.

“This is outrageous…”

The situation of Valentin being poisoned was one of the things he was most wary of since the intruder incident, so he had even switched the suspicious-looking teacup. But he hadn’t really thought there would actually be poison when he took that measure. It was just a habitual action.

Despite taking such habitual precautions, it still happened.

‘Where on earth was it?’

He didn’t even let him eat anything from plates that came up individually during the luncheon. He had secretly made sure he only ate things like the roast suckling pig that the imperial servant demonstrated and carved right there, and soup ladled from the same bowl and drinks poured from the same bottle.

Yet this still happened.

“My husband was poisoned at the Imperial Palace.”

“What?”

The mouths of the close aides seated gaped open in disbelief. That was because it was truly an impossible thing. The most nonsensical part that made them react like this was…

‘That this happened in front of the Emperor.’

At such a public and important gathering? Where the highest-ranking people leading this country were gathered?

It was a place where the Emperor was present. It’s an act that could be accused of treason or shake the country if mishandled. What gutsy person would attempt such a thing? Unless they were insane.

“It must have been done by someone present at that gathering.”

Most likely it wasn’t the Emperor. It wasn’t an action that benefited him at all. Rather, this kind of accident was what that foxy old man feared most.

So naturally the suspects narrowed down to one or two people.

“Prince Clifton… or his spouse.”

Everyone’s mouths snapped shut at Reynard’s words speculating on the culprit. Their expressions became more serious than ever before. The matter had grown bigger than expected, and it was as good as a declaration of war with the other side attacking overtly and aggressively.

“Haha…”

Reynard chuckled. He had laid bait to properly set a trap, but to think it would boost their confidence to the point of carrying out such a reckless attack.

Unless their heads had gone completely mad beyond expectations…. He must have made the enemy’s guts swell too much.

“To think they thought they wouldn’t be caught even after doing this…”

He simply couldn’t stand it anymore. They had done the one thing they absolutely shouldn’t have done. They had completely crossed the line.

“So execute the plan immediately. I won’t accept any objections.”

Along with the sound of grinding molars, uncontrollable anger was chewed out of Reynard’s mouth.

“Understood.”

Powell, who had followed Reynard, gave a detailed explanation of today’s events to Shane, Sir Benson, and Felix who were present. After a few more words were exchanged and they grasped the situation accurately, they began preparing to follow their lord’s orders immediately.

Ledgers and documents flipped over on the conference table with rustling sounds. Then Sir Benson spoke while pointing to a section of various ledgers and contracts:

“As expected, they haven’t managed to open any other routes at all. Our monopoly on the raw materials for the ingredient in question is still well maintained.”

“Start raising prices right away. To an absolutely ridiculous amount.”

“Understood.”

“Let’s watch closely how that vile bastard ruins his own future with his own hands.”

Everyone nodded.