As Mikhail continued to give out an intimidating aura, a crooked smile appeared on his lips.

“Fine. You asked whether I still think that Violet poisoned Aileen, right? It’s only a given. In this residence! Violet is the only one who hates that poor child! Who else do you think is there who’d poison the Ducal Lady?!”

“……”

Roen took a step back from Mikhail.

Violet used to argue back against Mikhail even in a situation like this.

Realizing just how much spite had accumulated within his younger sister, Roen smiled bitterly.

“You just keep saying useless things.”

“Violet didn’t do it. There’s evidence to prove it, isn’t there?”

“Evidence or documents like that can be forged many times over. You of all people should know that.”

“So you’re saying that Father’s investigation was flawed?”

“He is Duke Everett. The man who has and always will be blind towards that villainess he calls his daughter.”

“It’s true that Father’s favorite is Violet. But do you really think that that child is evil?”

“You call her so tenderly now, huh.”

“At the very least, I can say that we’re closer to each other compared to you, Brother.”

The dog growled, whereas the snake responded nonchalantly.

Mikhail replied, “…You must be going crazy, too.”

As Mikhail let out a frustrated huff, he continued.

“That kid is crazy. She wouldn’t hesitate to do anything to hurt Aileen. She doesn’t see any importance in her family or a clean reputation. You know that fact better than anyone else, don’t you? What a joke it is that you’re insisting otherwise now.”

“……”

“You don’t really believe that she’s not evil, Roen E. Everett.”

As Mikhail continued to speak, Roen’s expression hardened.

“It wasn’t like that from the beginning.”

“What exactly are you getting at?”

“Have you ever thought about why Violet had to act like that?”

Mikhail snorted.”

“I knew it, you’ve gone crazy now, too. It’s deplorable how no one in House Everett is sane.”

As he had become antsy due to the spreading rumors, Mikhail scowled viciously.

Roen laughed. He agreed to what Mikhail said just now.

How had Violet been able to breathe all this time when not one single person around her was sane?

He had no idea how suffocating it was to be unable to communicate with other people. It felt as if he was talking to a wall.

Roen sighed.

“As expected, you shouldn’t be the next duke.”

“You talk as if you’re going to do something about it.”

“Why, yes, I am going to do something about it from now on. It’ll be a huge pain in the neck if the likes of you will become the next duke.”

At his ambitious younger brother’s declaration, Mikhail’s eyes were set ablaze. In response, Roen merely smiled and took a step back. If looks could kill, he’d have been impaled by now.

Once upon a time, Mikhail loved Violet dearly. It was very, very long ago, and even Roen couldn’t remember when that time had been.

How in the world did it come to this?

But Roen knew that he was not so different from his older brother. He swept a hand over his face, exasperated.

He’s this frustrated after talking to that wall for only a few minutes—just what kind of world did Violet have to live in until now?

Thinking about his younger sister, Roen smiled despondently with a dark look in his eyes.

For the sake of completely overthrowing Mikhail from his position as the duke’s successor, there was going to be a lot for Roen to do.

* * *

Aileen had been unconscious thus far from the poisoning incident—which happened while Violet was confined to the annex, by the way—but she finally woke up.

As soon as she did, she examined her condition and dressed up.

The next thing she did was listen to the complaints of the maid who was responsible for what’s been done to Aileen.

“Milady! I’m so glad that you’re safe…”

With tears in her eyes, the maid recounted the events that had transpired while Aileen was unconscious.

The bulk of her complaints was about the fact that Violet had been deemed completely innocent, and this led to strange rumors going around within the ducal residence.

“Really? I’m fine. Sister, she… I don’t believe she’d try to harm me on purpose. I believe in my older sister.”

“Milady…”

Aileen smiled. The maid cried once again as she was graced with the smile of the angelic ducal lady.

“Milady, you are this sweet and lovely. Who else out there would want to hurt you if not for that villainess—ah, no, the First Ducal Lady?”

The maid continued like so.

At this, Aileen just smiled wordlessly.

The maid cried for a long time after that, then eventually left the room, saying that she would call for the doctor.

After seeing off the maid, Aileen was now alone in her room. She slapped a fist against the wall irritably.

Not only was she unable to bring down that great noble Violet due to this incident, but negative rumors were now spreading about Aileen, too. This was a huge blow to her.

‘Just what the hell was that bitch doing in that shabby place?’

Aileen tore hair out, terribly frustrated.

When Violet had been teetering between life and death after the lake incident, the duke had spent an astronomical amount of money just to call a priest to heal her.

On the other hand, Aileen was assigned only the duchy’s family doctor to tend to her after she had been poisoned.

She still had a long way to go.

‘I guess something really happened to her when she almost drowned to death.’

As Aileen was anxiously biting her lower lip, she suddenly heard a knock on her bedroom door. This made her scowl.

“Come in.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

It was Roen.