Betrothed to My Sister's Ex

Late at night—the kitchen was filled with a sweet aroma.

In the darkness, there was just the faint glow of a candle holder, and the quiet sound of a single person moving.

On the workbench lay an astonishingly large pile of cookies—almost obsessively so.

But she didn’t lick her lips. In the shadows, with her pale, sharp fingers, she picked up only one cookie and placed it onto a small piece of paper.

She pulled a small vial from her pocket, opened the cap with trembling fingers... and dropped a single drop onto the cookie. Swiftly, she wrapped it in the paper, slipped it back into her pocket, and sighed again.

Her profile, weighed down by melancholy, was ironically very beautiful.

“Lady Laura.”

“Ah—!?”

Lady Laura startled and jerked back as if jumped. She bumped into the workbench, and several cookies fell to the floor. I watched them with my eyes.

“...Such a waste. Especially since Lady Laura made them with such care.”

“Ah— y-you… you are… that barbarian’s stepchild…”

Pressed against the wall, the lady trembled with fear. I shook my head.

“Lady Ryuu-Ryuu and I are not related by blood. Nor are we connected to the duke or young master Cyrus. We’re just lodgers with no real ties to this mansion.”

Lady Laura fell silent and looked at me with suspicion. I bent down and picked up the fallen cookies.

Though the edges were chipped, they still looked delicious. I asked her,

“May I have these? I come from a humble background—if something falls once on a clean floor, it doesn’t bother me.”

“...P-please… go ahead…”

Given permission, I took a bite.

“...Delicious. Actually, I missed dinner and was very hungry, so I came to the kitchen to see if anything was left over.”

That was half the truth. At just the right moment, my stomach growled loudly.

Lady Laura seemed to exhale deeply in relief. She smiled kindly, took some cookies from the table, and offered them to me.

“Please, have as many as you like. I made them to distribute to everyone at the castle tomorrow morning.”

“I see. Then I’ll take some for young master Cyrus as well.”

—As expected, Lady Laura’s smile stiffened.

Without asking, I grabbed three cookies from the pile and began wrapping them in a handkerchief. But she grabbed my hand.

“Cy-Cyrus had a seizure today, didn’t he? It could be a serious illness... It’s better to watch over him tonight.”

“I’ll tell him to eat them starting tomorrow. He’s been listening well lately.”

Lady Laura fell silent again. After hesitating for a while, she apparently gave up and let go of my hand.

—I won’t let you get away.

I pointed at her waist.

“Should I take this too? These cookies were set aside for young master, right?”

A dry gasp escaped Lady Laura.

—I won’t let you get away.

I lunged at her, thrust my hand into her pocket, and pulled out the wrapped paper.

Without hesitation, I opened it to reveal a slightly discolored cookie.

I didn’t have absolute proof, but I was certain.

“Lady Laura! You tried to give poisoned cookies to young master Cyrus!”

“...!!”

Lady Laura reached to snatch it back. I brushed her hand aside and jumped back, keeping my distance as I pressed her.

“How long have you been planning this? When did you get the poison? When were you going to strike while pretending to be a kind adult to him?

No, none of that matters. You intended to poison young master tomorrow morning!

Lady Laura! You tried to kill young master Cyrus!!”

My voice echoed through the late-night kitchen—probably why Lady Laura’s hand quickly closed around my throat.

“—Ghh!”

My breath was cut off in an instant. Her strength was incredible.

An adult woman grabbed the neck of an eight-year-old with both hands and hung me in midair. Her bony fingers dug into my throat and squeezed tighter.

An adult versus a child. Twice the height difference.

My consciousness quickly began to fade. In my blurred vision, I saw Lady Laura’s face twisted into the eyes of a complete madwoman. I groaned but smiled wryly.