Episode 26
The day Laria caused a stir at home by announcing she was dating Zenox Crassium…
The Rohan family held a meeting to make a plan.
They decided to give Zenox a special potion that would make him dislike the person he loved, so he and Laria would break up.
A few days later, Count Rohan finished the potion.
“Potions that control emotions are tricky… the conditions for them to work are very specific,” the Count said nervously.
“The person Zenox loves must be a member of the Rohan family. And after drinking it, he has to say their name.”
In other words, it would only work if he loved someone from the Rohan family—and then it would make him dislike them.
“There are no other side effects… actually, it’s made with good ingredients, so it’ll even make him healthier.”
That was worrying. If Zenox got even healthier, it could be trouble.
Still, Herdin didn’t care, as long as it worked.
“Now the problem is… how do we get him to drink it?”
There was no natural connection between the Rohan family and the Crassium family.
And they couldn’t use Laria to pass it to him—this had to be done without her knowing.
While everyone was thinking hard, they heard surprising news:
Laria, who they thought was out at a fox tribe gathering, had gone to visit the Crassium mansion.
“I should have stopped her…” said Rodit, the guard assigned to protect her, lowering his head.
“As the rumors say… the Grand Duke is truly a frightening man.”
Rodit’s face was pale from whatever he had seen in that house.
“He pretends to be fine in front of the young lady, but the problem is…”
Rodit’s expression grew darker.
“I think the young lady knows what he’s really like.”
The Countess held her head in her hands.
Since she was young, Laria had been curious about everything and never afraid of danger.
Of course she would walk straight into a wolf’s den.
“We have to separate them immediately,” the Countess said firmly.
“I’ll find the right moment,” Herdin offered.
“How?”
“If I follow the Grand Duke around, I’ll get my chance.”
So the important mission was given to Herdin.
He even ignored the Crown Prince’s protests and took a long leave from work.
It was irritating—he had never taken long leave for Laria, yet here he was doing it for the Duke. But it was for the greater good.
Herdin began secretly tailing Zenox like a snake hiding in the grass.
But Zenox almost never left his mansion.
Many days, Herdin returned empty-handed without even seeing his face.
One day, luck finally struck. Zenox’s carriage left the mansion, and Herdin quickly followed.
The carriage stopped at a tea shop.
Because he was a bit late, Herdin couldn’t follow him inside. But soon, Zenox came out with someone in a robe.
‘Who is that?’
The robe made it impossible to tell if they were male or female.
‘I can’t hear them from here…’
Herdin didn’t dare get too close, so he followed from a distance.
They stopped at a women’s clothing boutique.
From outside, Herdin watched Zenox and the robed person.
‘Is he trying to win Laria’s heart by buying her clothes?’ Herdin smirked.
‘Laria doesn’t even wear the dresses I give her.’
Surely these would just sit in a closet.
‘Wait… something’s strange.’
The two of them were standing close together—almost like they were on a date.
Herdin narrowed his eyes. But since he didn’t know who the robed person was, it was still just a guess.
Then the robed person turned toward him, as if sensing his gaze.
Herdin quickly pulled his hat down and slipped away.
He caught up with them again—this time at a jewelry shop.
‘A jewelry store too? This is suspicious.’
The way Zenox kept glancing softly at the robed person looked far too intimate.
Forgetting to be careful, Herdin marched right into the shop.
“Welcome—” the clerk began, then froze.
The newcomer’s atmosphere was tense—like someone catching their lover cheating.
Herdin walked toward the pair sitting inside.
They didn’t seem to notice him.
Then he heard Zenox’s voice clearly:
“My fiancée can’t make it, so Riri can take her measurements instead. Their sizes should be the same.”
Herdin stopped in his tracks.
No… no way… Was this bastard actually cheating on Laria with someone else?
Even if Herdin’s original goal was to separate them, this was a whole different problem.
How dare he cheat on Laria!
Herdin lost all control and was about to speak when…
It turned out the robed person was Laria herself.
Herdin was so shocked he couldn’t speak for a moment—he had never imagined it was her.
“Can I talk to my brother for a bit?” Laria asked.
Zenox nodded, and she pulled Herdin outside.
“Why are you here?” Herdin asked, still in disbelief.
“I should be the one asking that. Why are you here?”
Herdin couldn’t admit he had been following Zenox, so he stayed silent.
Laria guessed the truth immediately.
So that’s why Herdin hadn’t been nagging her to break up lately—he’d been secretly tailing Zenox.
Herdin frowned at her outfit.
“What’s with that look?”
“What’s wrong with my robe?”
“Don’t tell me the Grand Duke has some weird hobby—”
“I wore it because I wanted to. Got a problem?”
That shut Herdin up.
Then Laria noticed the bottle in his hand.
“What’s that?”
“A calming medicine,” he replied.
So it wasn’t something dangerous after all.
“First, apologize,” she said.
“…The robe… actually looks good on you,” Herdin mumbled.
“I don’t mean to me!”
Laria sighed deeply.
“This was all just your misunderstanding.”
But the problem was serious—Herdin had accused Zenox of cheating in public.
If the Crassium family formally complained about damage to their honor, they would be in trouble.
“Apologize now. Got it?”
“But it was him who made it look suspicious—”
“If you don’t apologize, I’ll never speak to you again.”
That shut Herdin up completely.
Dragged back into the store, he finally faced Zenox with the most reluctant expression.
“…I’m sorry,” he forced out.
“It’s fine,” Zenox said kindly. “It was an easy situation to misunderstand.”
His gracious attitude only made Herdin more annoyed inside.
In his mind, Zenox was still at fault for acting suspiciously.
But then Herdin got an idea. His expression relaxed, and he suddenly became polite.
“To make a proper apology, I’d like to invite you to the Rohan estate.”
