"Ah, no. I, well, it's just..."
Just moments ago, her lips had been chattering away but now started trembling.
Seeing the maid looking as if she might burst into tears, Dalia asked again.
"Why are you shaking so much?"
"W-we, it's just that..."
The maid, restless like a puppy needing to relieve itself, glanced at Dalia's face.
'Do you know you've done something wrong and that's why you're trembling?'
...It seemed like that's what she was saying. And that wasn't all.
She was undoubtedly smiling, but her clear violet eyes exuded a coldness that had never been felt before.
Finally, with tears brimming in her eyes, the maid bowed deeply once again.
"I-I've committed a mortal sin, ma'am!"
Her head almost touched the floor in a display of groveling that had never been seen before.
Watching the maid, Dalia thought to herself.
'No, I thought it was amusing?'
Thinking there was some kind of misunderstanding, she tried to speak up a few more times, but the more she did, the paler the maid's face grew.
* * *
When Dalia arrived at the kitchen, guided by the maid, all the servants froze in place and stared at them.
It was because the duchess had shown up without warning.
Dalia was looking around with curious eyes.
A man who had been glaring at her disapprovingly from afar approached.
"What brings you here, madam?"
The man wore a rather insolent and dissatisfied expression.
He was Max, the head chef of the ducal residence.
"Even though you are the duchess, this is my kitchen. It's problematic for you to barge in unannounced."
Such words were not something a mere chef should dare to say to the lady of the house, a noblewoman like Dalia.
Even without respect, there are lines that should not be crossed.
Knowing that Dalia rarely raised her voice at the staff, he looked down on her.
The old Dalia might have been intimidated by the chef's icy glare and left the kitchen.
Unfortunately for him, she was no longer the old Dalia.
She ignored the insolent chef and began rummaging through the kitchen.
Watching Dalia, Max quietly bit his lip.
'How on earth did she know to come here? Could it be... did she suspect something?'
For Max, the chef of the Seir duchy, today was an extremely important day.
It was the day he was set to carry out something he had meticulously prepared for over the past few days.
A week ago.
Someone had handed him an herb, saying it was under the orders of a high-ranking individual.
'Add this herb to the duchess's meal. If you do that, I'll pay off all your debts.'
Jamyeongcho.
Simply put, it was a contraceptive.
The herb was extremely toxic, so it didn't just act as a contraceptive.
If someone was already pregnant, it could cause a miscarriage and even lead to infertility.
That wasn't all. If a man consumed it, it could potentially render him impotent—a truly terrifying poison.
But when Max received the poison, he was puzzled. Everyone in the empire already knew the duchess was infertile; was this really necessary?
'It's to ensure there's no doubt. As you said, she's barren and can't conceive anyway. So even if she doesn't get pregnant, it won't be your fault.'
Jamyeongcho only caused infertility and didn't otherwise endanger life.
Furthermore, as that person had said, the duchess was already infertile. So, in exchange for a large sum of money, it seemed like a simple task.
At least, it had been until the duchess suddenly barged into the kitchen.
'Damn it. All I had to do was serve it for tonight's dinner!'
Jamyeongcho had a distinctively fishy smell and taste.
No matter what dish it was added to, the fishy taste could easily give it away.
Because of this, Max had tricked the maids into mixing fishy-tasting ingredients into the duchess's meals.
He figured the usually timid duchess wouldn't complain even if such food was served to her.
But now she had suddenly come to the kitchen. What on earth was going on?
As Max pondered, he recalled how Dalia had ordered the food to be remade over the past few days.
It was unlike her usual behavior.
'As expected... she must know something!'
That woman had definitely come here knowing that he planned to add poison to tonight's dinner.
She was searching the kitchen herself to find evidence.
The moment he realized this, cold sweat started dripping down his back.
He stared at the duchess as she searched for the poison he had hidden.
She seemed to be casually looking around out of curiosity, but her inspection of every covered container revealed she was definitely acting.
'Damn it!'
Fortunately or unfortunately, the poison had already been used up before the duchess arrived.
It was already mixed into the food, making it hard to trace, but there was always a chance something could go wrong.
Who would have thought the timid and foolish-seeming duchess could be so terrifying and meticulous?
The way Max looked at Dalia changed.
However, while Max nervously bit his lip, Dalia was…
'I want something spicy.'
Tteokbokki, malatang, chicken feet, intestines, and so on.
She wandered around the kitchen craving bold and spicy dishes, but such things were nowhere to be found here.
Still wanting something spicy to refresh herself, Dalia didn't give up and kept searching here and there.
"Oh? What's this…"
Soon, she spotted a pot with red sauce smeared on the outside.
Delighted, Dalia cheerfully opened the lid of the pot.
Watching this, Max's face turned pale.
'That's it!'
It was the tomato stew he had laced with poison, meant for the duchess's dinner tonight.
He quickly moved toward her before she could notice anything.
Trying his best to maintain a casual expression and tone.
"This is one of the dishes for tonight's dinner: tomato stew."
"Tomato stew?"
Max subtly placed himself between Dalia and the pot.
"Yes. You'll be able to enjoy it during dinner, so for now…"
But Dalia sniffed the air and tilted her head.
"This smells a bit odd. Is it spoiled?"
Thud.
She managed to smell it in that brief moment.
Max's shoulders flinched.
"Th-there's no way. It was freshly made just before you arrived."
"Really? But it smells kind of fishy."
Thud.
She had only sniffed it briefly but immediately picked up on the fishy smell.
As expected, she must have already known.
'What should I do?'
He had secretly added the poison when no one was around, preparing the dish ahead of time during a quiet moment.
There wasn't enough time to make it again, and most importantly, there was no poison left.
Because of this, he decided to just bluff his way through.
"There's no way it's spoiled. You must be mistaken, madam."
Max replied in an even more arrogant tone to hide his nervousness, adopting a shameless attitude.
"Well, it's not like a lady who's never cooked before would know…"
"Then try it."
"...Excuse me?"
"Taste it. You'll know if it's spoiled or not by trying it."
"Th-that's…"
At that moment, he realized he had just set a trap for himself.
'Could this be a test for me...?'
Oh my god.
Where did the information leak from?!
Max stared at the pot with fear-filled eyes.
'If I eat this, I'll...'
At the prime age of thirty-eight, I'll become impotent.
But if I don't eat it, I'll risk being accused of trying to harm the duchess, endangering not only myself but my family as well.
Those cold violet eyes were pushing him to the edge of a cliff.
Max bit the inside of his mouth to suppress his emotions.
Then, as if he had made up his mind, he scooped up a ladle of stew and put it in his mouth in front of Dalia.
'If it's for my family...'
Becoming impotent is a small price to pay.
He tightly closed his eyes and swallowed the stew in his mouth.
Dalia, who had been silently watching, asked.
"How is it?"
Was she asking him how it felt to lose his manhood?
He unconsciously steadied his voice, which was about to crack.
"...It's not... spoiled."
"Really?"
"...Yes. Now... do you believe me?"
"Well, if you say so... But let's have something else for dinner tonight."
It was an implicit threat from the duchess, warning him not to poison her food again.
In response, Max answered in a resigned tone.
"...Yes. Understood."
He realized he had underestimated the duchess far too much.
Although she came from a humble family, she was still a noble and now the lady of the Seir duchy.
He swallowed his tears as he deeply regretted following that person's orders.
Meanwhile, Dalia tilted her head, looking at the chef who seemed to be holding back tears.
For some reason, the chef didn't seem to be in good condition after eating the stew.
Sweat was beading on his forehead, and his trembling hand rested on his lower stomach as if he had a stomachache.
'See? I told you it's spoiled.'
Tsk, tsk.
Dalia clicked her tongue at the chef, who looked like he might collapse at any moment, and grabbed a cookie from a basket to snack on.