["The Empress has been controlling the mistresses like this for years, ensuring that the Emperor never grows too attached to any one person. Who could tolerate their lover constantly babbling nonsense, driven mad by depression? Especially someone as selfish as His Majesty. Empress Beatrice has always understood her husband perfectly, and she's been using this method all along."]

Evener began to crush the dried remsha plant he had been holding. The brittle, twisted black herb turned to powder in his hand.

["But I never thought it would reach me. I mean, who would dare feed something like this to the imperial consort of the empire? Who would dare give it to someone whose noble body is meant to produce the next generation of royals?"]

It wasn’t awkward for Evener to refer to himself as having a ‘noble body.’ He was a direct descendant of the ruling family of the most powerful empire on the continent.

In other words, he meant it literally. Who would dare? You’d have to be mad. And Evener's words carried a double meaning, one that immediately revealed the answer.

["But I never expected that my own husband would do it."]

A sharp gasp cut through the room from Sabina, who had been seated nearby. A prince who would feed such a poison to his own partner—what a horrifying thought.

Reynard remained silent, his hands clasped together under his chin, watching Evener reveal the shocking truth without any outward reaction.

["At the gathering where Valentin was present, everything—every piece of food and drink—was laced with this. Can you believe it? To target one person, they were willing to sacrifice everyone there."]

The crackling sound of something breaking finally came from Reynard. His eyes blazed with fury. Sabina, who had been holding her breath in shock, spoke up.

["But… but how is it that no one else showed any symptoms? Oh!"]

As she asked the question, realization dawned on her, and her eyes widened in understanding. Evener nodded, confirming her suspicion.

["It doesn't affect men or alphas."]

[…….]

["This isn’t a lethal poison. It's more like a folk remedy. In fact, the prostitutes of Heatherfield's duchy often dry remsha and brew it into tea to prevent pregnancy."]

["My god..."]

["It disrupts the hormones of those who can conceive, weakens the womb, poisons the fetus, and eventually causes miscarriage. That's all it does. So how could someone like you, an alpha, possibly notice? How could the Emperor or you, Marquis of Valkres, ever realize?"]

In the end, the innocent omegas at the gathering were the victims.

["Even as a recessive omega, I couldn’t understand why I kept miscarrying. It wasn’t just once or twice. I lost all of my children. Although, could I even call them children? Clifton, my husband, would simply say, 'Don’t mourn cells that weren’t even a child yet.' He blamed me, claiming it was my own weakness that caused it."]

Evener’s entire body trembled with anger as tears welled up in his eyes.

["To be treated like a useless omega while being fed that poison… No. I could have endured that treatment. But my children, they were innocent. Marquis of Valkres."]

Reynard lifted his head.

["Like your poor daughter, my babies were innocent too."]

[…….]

["I can't forgive him. I gave my life to him, and this is what I get in return."]

Tears streamed down Evener’s flushed face, his voice thick with emotion. Reynard finally spoke, his voice low.

["What about the bond? How can you betray the person you’re bonded to?"]

It was a question about whether the bond between them could be trusted, even now. But Evener broke into a bitter laugh, tears still streaming down his face. The strange combination of laughter and tears left Sabina staring at him in shock.

["You’re still worried about that? You clearly don’t understand what it means to love and hate someone at the same time. I can see now just how pure your relationship with Valentin must have been."]

[…….]

["The more you love someone, the more you can never forgive them. I loved him, devoted myself to him, and he treated me like trash. I endured and endured, only to be tossed aside like this. Even a beast wouldn’t treat its mate this way. To him, children and omegas were just tools to be used. If I had to suffer to put his enemies in trouble, then it didn’t matter what happened to me."]

Evener's words were filled with venom as he spoke about his alpha, the 3rd Prince. Listening to this raw confession, both Reynard and Sabina couldn’t help but believe that he was telling the truth.

And he had brought the evidence to back it up.

["Do you know exactly how Valentin was poisoned?"]

Evener nodded. He was someone who had prepared thoroughly, knowing the horrible truth and having gathered all the necessary information.

["I heard it was delivered in a gift from the Emperor. Was it not? There were various food and drink items included, right?"]

The 3rd Prince’s influence within the imperial court was far stronger than anyone had expected. There must have been someone among the Emperor's inner circle who was aiding him. The Emperor, who had been so heartbroken over Valentin’s miscarriage, would never have ordered something like this. It went entirely against his desires.

["More precisely, it was the incense burner that Valentin kept using."]

Reynard mentioned the suspicious item, and Evener nodded in agreement.

["Yes. They targeted that specifically. Food and drink would have been too obvious."]

It was true. The gift had been suspicious from the beginning, and Reynard had disposed of most of it, except for the incense burner.

["They anticipated that someone as cautious as you wouldn’t use any of the consumables right away. So they used a trick with the incense burner."]

Evener held up the glass vial he had shown earlier and shook it.

["Knowing how meticulous you are, you probably replaced all the incense sticks."]

["Yes."]

["But the poison wasn’t in the incense itself."]

Then where?

["It was cleverly coated on the inside of the incense burner. A thick layer that looked just like the metal surface."]

It was an astonishing plan. Who would have thought to go that far?

["Every time the incense burner was heated, the poison would melt and vaporize along with the incense, filling the air. And the Grand Duchess, being nearby, inhaled it each time."]

["That's exactly what happened."]

Sabina added, and Evener wiped his tear-streaked face with a handkerchief, nodding in agreement.

However, this raised a suspicion in Reynard’s mind. How could Evener know all of this in such detail? The 3rd Prince was a clever and suspicious man. He wouldn’t have shared such specifics with even his closest allies, let alone his partner.

It was better to address doubt early. Reynard wondered if perhaps even Evener had been used as a pawn without realizing it, or if this was a trap. With this in mind, Reynard asked,

["How exactly did you come to learn all of this?"]

["You think you understand my ability?"]

Evener scoffed, clearly aware of Reynard’s suspicions.

["You underestimate the power of my ability."]

Evener had been exposing one of Clifton’s aides to his ability in concentrated doses for a long time. Gradually, he had seduced and manipulated the aide, turning him into his own spy.

It had taken a great deal of time—almost a year spent working in secret to win over Clifton's trusted assistant and turn him into a double agent. Now, that man was utterly devoted to Evener, eager to please and passing on every piece of information he could get his hands on.

["I knew you would doubt me, so I brought this."]

Evener placed a rectangular case on the table. With a click, the metal lock snapped open, and the case unfolded.

Inside were documents, ledgers, and various papers.

["This…!"]

Sabina immediately recognized what they were.

["These are the records of my husband’s business dealings—the evidence of his corruption. False ledgers, fake contracts, falsified certificates, fabricated research results, letters—everything."]

The three exchanged significant looks.

Finally, all the evidence was gathered.

Reynard ran his dry fingers over the documents that would bring down the 3rd Prince, recalling the day Evener had first brought them to him.

"At last, this tedious task is nearing its end."

It had been a difficult and drawn-out process.

Toppling a man of power and killing him required solid justification.

Reynard had worked for over a year to ensure that his rebellion wouldn’t be seen as treason, but as a personal matter between him and the 3rd Prince. He had carefully built a case, layer by layer, connecting every thread like a spider weaving a web.

Now, he had all the evidence he needed.

Soon, this burdensome task would be over.

Had he acted purely on suspicion and challenged the Prince to a duel, he could have easily shot him on the spot. It would have been satisfying to see Clifton’s body riddled with bullets, but it would have been too easy.

'No, I can’t let him die that easily.'

Reynard clenched his jaw. The 3rd Prince wouldn’t just be disgraced socially; he would die a painful, humiliating death.