Meanwhile, Madeleine arrived first at the appointed meeting place: the family jewelry store, Twinkle, where Cornelia and the Grand Madame were waiting.
'I wonder how this will go.'
Last night, Madeleine received a message from the Grand Madame stating that Cornelia had consumed all of her herbal tea.
Upon hearing how the herbal tea worked, Madeline couldn't contain her excitement and burst out laughing.
'I'm sure they said that if you take it for five days, the fetus will become weak and die from the slightest shock, right?'
In the palace, the servant and her slave were so meticulous that there was no chance of pulling off any tricks.
Besides, if Cornelia had fallen or slipped, Eric's temper would have led him to track down the culprit, so causing trouble at the palace was unlikely.
'But things are different outside.'
According to the Grand Lady, Cornelia's carriage had been tampered with, damaging the cushioning mechanism and wheels.
'If the stroller shakes and falls or collides, won't the fetus be in danger?'
In anticipation of the possibility of the fetus' survival, Madeleine bribed a doctor in the capital.
After administering poison to kill the fetus, they can pretend it looks like the baby died in an accident.
She also instructed her to make sure that Cornelia would not be able to have children again without informing the Grand Lady, anticipating what would happen next.
‘After inviting the nobles I know as spectators, soon there will be an uproar in the capital regarding the Crow Legacy.’
It was only a matter of time before the Duchess, unable to have children, was dismissed.
Such thoughts made Madeleine continue to laugh.
Then someone approached Madeleine cautiously.
“Miss Arjen.”
When she turned her head, she saw a familiar face.
However, Madeleine's expression was not pleasant.
This was because the person who called her was not a noble in her circle but rather a noble from the Emperor Faction.
“Marquise Philippe”
Marquis Philippe, assistant to the Duchess of Lenheim and major owner of Twinkle's rival, Sparkling Stone, was a prominent figure.
Her husband was not only the commander of the Central Knights, but also a loyal supporter of the Emperor.
Initially, as hostess of the current noble family and equal in status to her parents, it was appropriate for Madeleine to bow her head.
Although they belonged to different factions, there was an unspoken hierarchy among the nobles.
However, instead of lowering her head, Madeline asked in an arrogant tone.
“Oh, Marchioness, what brings you here?
You never set foot in our family jewelry store.”
“Oh, how rude!”
The Marchioness's ladies-in-waiting were angry, but the Marchioness restrained them.
“Don't be like that; I'm here to have a conversation.”
Then, in a calm tone, she spoke to Madeleine.
“I heard that Twinkle has all kinds of jewels these days, so I decided to come and have a look.”
"Oh, really?
So, what do you think?"
“It's really wonderful.
There are rare gems here that you can't find in shining stone.”
At that, Madeleine smiled sarcastically.
'naturally.
That's because my father lobbied several mine owners for exclusive contracts.'
Then, the Marchioness commented, “However, I don’t see any jade.”
That damned jade again; It was getting boring.
However, there was no need to make unnecessary comments in front of the enemy.
Instead of revealing her true feelings, Madeleine responded calmly and elegantly.
“We did not stockpile jade because it is not in high demand.”
Madeleine's reply made the Marchioness's lips rise for the first time.
“Oh, really?
You seem like you're slow to keep up with the news.”
“What?
What do you mean...”
Although Madeleine was filled with anger at the provocative and unpleasant tone, she also felt anxious.
'What about jade?'
Madeleine intended to ask further, but before she could finish, the Marchioness turned away.
“It's okay if you don't know.
It was good to see you.”
Madeleine stared at her slumping back.
'What?
Making such disturbing comments...'
At that moment, the door opened, and Twinkle's manager entered.
“Miss Madeleine.”
The manager immediately whispered to Madeleine.
“Duke Brant’s carriage has arrived.”
Upon hearing the awaited news, Madeleine rose.
“Okay, then I have to go and greet them quickly.”
The director hesitated at Madeleine's response, then spoke.
“But the Duchess's condition seems a little different from what we heard...”
But Madeleine, who was thinking elsewhere, ignored those words and ran out of the waiting room.
'Finally, I can see him!'
But upon seeing Cornelia's appearance, she froze.
'What...why...'
“Oh, Madeleine.
Hello?”
In fact, judging by the effects of the herbal tea, she should have been dizzy or at least not looking well.
However, Cornelia looked exceedingly healthy.
“Why does your face look like that?
You don’t look good.”
“Oh, no, nothing.”
In response to Cornelia's question, Madeleine looked at the grand lady with a puzzled expression.
'What's going on?'
The eldest lady frowned and then spoke.
“Let's go inside now.”
There were still preparations being made for Cornelia.
Therefore, there was no need to rush.
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I looked at Madeleine's pale face and thought to myself, 'Her reaction is almost as good as the grande dame.'
When I alighted from the carriage a moment ago, the face of the eldest lady was a sight to behold.
Interpreting those words means, 'Why are you okay?' I have clearly recommended sabotaging the wagon wheels and shock absorbers.'
And I knew exactly why.
'Last night, I had Landon fix the damaged wheels and shock absorbers.'
Thanks to this, I had a smooth and comfortable ride without any vibration.
‘But I have to give the eldest lady proof so she won’t get suspicious.’
I gently told the eldest lady that their plan had gone wrong.
When I responded, she looked at the driver and said,
In other words, it was a clear message to jump on the bandwagon again—this time with certainty.
However, I remained indifferent.
'Well, I expected it to turn out like this.'
As we moved into Twinkle's guest waiting room, several nobles welcomed us warmly.
“Oh, come in.”
“We've been waiting!”
Realizing that it was time to perform as a lead actress in front of the audience, I smiled.
'So many spectators here, today's performance will definitely be a success.'
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The nobles that Madeline had gathered looked at her interaction with Grand Lady Brant with sparkling eyes.
Their excitement stemmed from Madeleine's invitation.
'What exactly are you planning to show?'
However, contrary to their expectations, Cornelia, Madeleine, and the Grand Lady's conversation was boring.
“Did you take the herbal tea I gave you correctly?”
"Yes, of course."
Cornelia's response seemed lacking in energy.
Madeline looked at Cornelia, wondering if the poison was finally taking effect.
“The baby should be growing healthy...Is there any discomfort?”
“Madeleine, I'm really fine.
Today is the day I came to give the grand lady a gift, so you don't have to worry about me.”
Although it was a superficial conversation, to any observer, they seemed to have a good relationship.
The nobles guessed Madeleine's true intentions and frowned.
'Ha, did she invite us here just to calm the rumours?'
However, due to the smeared images of both the Grand Lady and Madeleine, the entire nobles faction was affected.
‘Moreover, the remnants of the Emperor Faction were unusually visible in Twinkle today.’
Therefore, they intended to appropriately match the rhythm of the Grand Lady and Madeleine.
At that moment, Cornelia got up from her seat.
“Madeleine, do you by any chance know where the bathroom is?
I need to straighten my outfit for a moment...”
Cornelia seemed uncharacteristically self-conscious.
'Why are you suddenly acting so pathetically?'
Hiding her annoyance, Madeleine replied gently, "If you pass through the hall and go to the right, you will find the bathroom.
The one in the far corner should be empty.
Go there and compose yourself."
Cornelia bowed to the grande dame and said, “Ma’am, may I momentarily apologize for being uncomfortable with my outfit.”
“Of course, go ahead.”
When Cornelia left her seat, the Grande Madame and Madeleine began whispering to each other.
"What should we do?
We can't even find an excuse to call a doctor in this situation!"
“Don't worry.
With the picture we showed, the damage control should have been done to some extent.”
In fact, as the Grand Lady said, regardless of the nobles' or the Emperor's faction affiliations, people would gossip ceaselessly about their calm behavior.
“Just in case, I brought more poison.
Since the vehicle has been checked again, we should be able to achieve our goal this time.”
“Well, that's reassuring.”
Finally, Madeleine pointed toward Cornelia's mug.
“Now is the time.”
The eldest lady nodded and took a flask to pour the poison into Cornelia's cup.
Then she gently tilted the flask towards Cornelia's cup to pour the contents.
buzz-!
At that moment, everyone was surprised by the loud noise that shook the jewelry store.
'What's going on?'
As Madeleine rose in astonishment, a clerk rushed in and said, "A terrible thing has happened.
The chandelier in the hall suddenly fell, and a certain gentlewoman . . ."
Twinkle's shop was run by the Marquis of Arjen, so any disturbances had to be dealt with immediately.
Madeline quickly ran into the hallway and was surprised by the scene in front of her.
A black-haired woman wearing a green dress had narrowly avoided being hit by the falling chandelier.
She was the one who had been a headache for Madeleine until a moment ago.
“Cornelia!”
Holding back her joy, Madeline called her name loudly.
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