I Was Meant to Be the Evil Wife, But the Cold Marquis Fell for Me - Chapter 40

“The matter of the Queen’s birthday ball. Anne, you fell ill just before departure that day.”
“Yes…”

Anne lowered her pale face.

“And so Elina replaced you as attendant.”

Leivis’s gaze turned to Elina, still seated on the floor.

“Liliana too fell ill midway. I was absent on business. Elina accompanied her to the resting room.”

He spoke calmly, then looked at Liliana.

“And there, she encountered an intruder.”

His golden eyes fixed on Elina.

“Elina, once more. Why did you leave Liliana alone?”
“Because Madam asked me to leave her alone.”
“Even so, you should not have left.”

Elina’s eyes darted nervously.

“M-my stomach hurt! I left only briefly…”
“Yes. The intruder said the same. He was told to wait until you left, then enter. ‘Everything will be arranged,’ he said…”

Elina’s eyes widened, blood draining from her face.

“You guided him in.”

His voice and gaze cut like knives.

“N-no! He’s trying to frame me!”

Leivis rose, hand on his chair. From his pocket he drew a coin stained with dried blood.

(Blood…)

Whose blood? The servants paled. Leivis spoke casually.

“This blood came during recovery. It is no matter here.”

(Recovery…?)

“The coins I gave my wife are warded with magic. They can be tracked anywhere.”

Shock rippled.

(Such magic…?)

Of course, security wards on household gold were prudent. But it meant every use could be traced. He had already shown certainty when questioning Simon.

—He knew. Almost everything.

No lie could stand. Only truth.

“This was precaution. Liliana, I did not distrust you. If nothing happened, I would never have tracked them.”

He coughed lightly, uneasy.

“Back to the matter. The intruder said he was approached by a female servant of the marquis’s house. One resembling you.”
“M-me? I have no distinguishing features… mistaken identity…”
“But only you match. And how do you explain this coin?”

He held it toward her. Bloodstained from recovery—proof he had interrogated the man himself.

“Elina, you found a man, bribed him. You gave him this coin as dowry and payment.”

His footsteps echoed as he moved before the desk.

“Add this coin to the tally, it balances perfectly.”

He placed it beside Simon’s stored coins.

“You were wise not to keep it. Did you know of my wards? If it remained with you, you’d have no excuse.”

Elina stayed silent.

“You drugged Anne to replace her, then guided the man into the castle.”
“……”
“And perhaps this year, the man meant to launch fireworks in my stead fell ill. He said a woman offered him a drink at the ball, after which he weakened.”

Leivis’s smile was bitter, full of disdain.

“That woman’s description matches you. And you vanished briefly that night. Where did you go?”
“I… got lost in the hall…”
“And while I was away for the fireworks, you drugged Liliana, led her to the resting room, left her alone, and brought the man in.”
“……”
“An elaborate scheme. Your boldness and luck are astonishing. You had much to do.”

—Indeed.

Everything had aligned for Elina. A man to hire, smuggled into the castle. The fireworks handler poisoned.

Without immense luck, the plan would have failed. Yet she succeeded.

If Leivis had not warded Liliana.
If he had not bound her with the chain of magic.
If he had not arrived in time.

What would have become of her…?

“Elina. Do you understand what you did?”

His golden eyes burned with cold fury.

“You defamed Liliana, trampled her dignity, endangered her life, caused her pain, wounded her heart. How could you?”
“……”
“I asked—how?!”

His roar shook the chamber. Elina flinched, bowed her head.

“Madam ordered me…”
“……”
“She is a terrible womanizer. She ordered me to seek men. Even knowing it betrayed you, I obeyed under threat of the whip.”
“……”

A blatant lie. Liliana had never been with any man. Proof could be given.

But before she could speak, Leivis’s eyes silenced her.

—Leave it to me.

He would protect her honor. He would not let her declare herself unloved, unfulfilled.

“You dare such insult. I know my wife’s virtue best.”
“If the man had no magic, no proof of infidelity remains—”
“Silence.”

Leivis’s hand trembled with rage. Golden flames seemed to rise from him, a mane of fire.

“You endangered my wife’s life, and now heap insult upon insult. I long to punish you now but…”

He exhaled, restraining himself.

“…I will give you one last chance. This is the end. Answer carefully.”