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Arien clenched the ring. Today, Marco was almost moved to tears by her decision to give Elisha the drug herself.
‘Arien, you’re the only wife I’ll have for the rest of my life. I will never forget this.’
Marco was hiding in a safe place with the three antidotes, ‘Devil’s Tears,’ just in case.
The three antidotes were in a paper box stolen from the relic vault that Marco had to threaten Anton to get.
Devotees of the evil gods had hidden the devil’s smile and the devil’s tears, the pair of poison and antidote, respectively, on the bottom of a shabby paper box to hide their vicious sacred items. The information that Merha gave to him was not known to the people of the temple.
‘If Elisha gets poisoned, I can threaten her to go to my lair and then we’ll join Marco.’
For the first time in a long while, Arien was splendidly decorated and dressed up
‘There’s nothing I can’t do. You can do it.’
Arien thought, hiding her trembling hands.
***
Elisha was watching the capital from the window as the lights were starting to come on. Someone approached. She lifted her head and checked the opponent’s face. It was an unexpected person.
‘Arien?’
Elisha frowned. Arien was skinny and pale.
“What’s going on here? I know that you don’t come to this cafe.”
“I came to see you.”
Arien tried to put on a friendly smile. Instead, she became even more puzzled.
“Why?”
“Well… … . Can I sit down for a while?”
Inwardly Elisha was astonished because the proud Arien was behaving like a servile merchant trying to sell wares.
Because of propriety amongst nobles, no matter how much Elisha hated Arien, she couldn’t even deny this request. So, naturally, she was reluctant, but she controlled her discomfort and spoke in her characteristic even and indifferent tone.
“Sit down, please.”
Arien nodded and spoke as soon as she sat down.
“I… … . My status is very high. So I am not used to humble manners and pitiful words.”
“But?”
Elisha asked quietly. Arien’s face turned red. She seemed very embarrassed.
“Help me.”
“What do you mean?”
“The only way for my husband and I to live is the High General,”
Arien said and bit her lip.
“You know, it was thanks to his father that my husband has maintained his position as a potential heir. Now that my father-in-law has fallen, we are living a hard life without money to maintain our dignity.”
“One day, the Lord will relieve his anger.”
“When? 5 years later? 6 years later? What if Jacob becomes the Head of the household in the meantime? Do you think he’ll just leave us alone? As soon as Jacob becomes Duke, the first thing he will do is take care of my husband and I.”
Elisha paused. Her eyes sparked with interest for the first time.
“That’s true. But what does that have to do with me?”
“I’m here to pass on my husband’s proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“This is what my husband proposes. Anyway, no matter how much the general accomplishes he will never be heir. So my husband will become the head of the household… … . Behind him, the general will exercise power.”
Elisha was quite surprised. I didn’t expect Marco and Arien to think this far. They were born as proud aristocrats, so they were more likely to die than to bow down to a couple composed of an illegitimate bastard and a fallen noble.
“You’ve made an amazing decision, but why are you telling me? What power do I have?”
“We are not fools,”
Arien said. Her hands trembled, and her clenched mouth became bitter.
“It’s already been rumored that you’re the adopted daughter of Rosaria, the next pope, so you told Lucerne to make her the Pope.”
“Did such a rumor spread? That’s great too. How did everyone know?”
Elisha enunciated indifferently.
“Besides, the High General is a person we can’t communicate with. If I approach him and even talk hastily, he’ll cut my throat.”
“Ah, that’s right,”
Elisha agreed without hesitation.
“So, I am trying to convey the message through you. Look, if we collapse like this, it’s not good for you two either. When we’re gone, Jacob will automatically become the next Head. Then you too are finished.”
“… … .”
“This is a proposal for us all to live together. I’ll do anything if you want. I’ll leave evidence for this secret contract. Please, give me a chance. We enjoy our status as members of the House of Cartier and are content to be friendly for the rest of our lives. In the first place, Marco isn’t even an ambitious man. It’s easy to let you wield true power.”
Elisha rested her chin on her hand at those words.
“Really?”
Elisha’s eyes deepened. Those blue eyes were as beautiful as the deep sea, where her intentions could not be discerned in the slightest.
“You are saying something very interesting.”
At that moment, Arien felt a chill in her stomach. Elisha was like a woman that was naturally above others. It was like an elegant princess, not a violent ruler.
‘Since when has this woman been like this? Carola said she used to do laundry like a slave. Since when did she change like this? That woman of lowly, dirty blood… … .’
Even in this situation, Arien was astonished.
