Chapter 18: Spices?

Sitting close to the lady, Roman could clearly smell a rich, sweet body scent from her.

Combined with the embarrassing nature of her questions, his cheeks flushed slightly as he tried to mask it by pretending to focus elsewhere.

The earlier questions, about his family background, age, and how he met Luo Xiya, were still manageable.

But by the end, he was rendered completely speechless.

“Have you thought about how many children you want?”

“Luo Xiya has a rather strong personality. You’ll need to be more understanding with her.”

“Have you considered when to officially get married?”

Luo Xiya’s eyelid twitched.

She quickly grabbed Lady Catherine’s arm, forcibly pulling her attention back.

“Auntie, I came because I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Go on~” Lady Catherine finally shifted her focus.

Roman exhaled quietly.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and offered him a clean handkerchief.

He looked up, Elise was gazing at him gently.

“What do you think of the lady?”

“She’s… a very kind person.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She treated me as just a normal boy from beginning to end. She didn’t ask about my eye, or how I dress, or where I came from. I think… she was afraid of making me feel awkward or uncomfortable,” Roman replied softly.

“Maybe it’s because you’re too likable, my lord. Everyone just ends up adoring you.” Elise chuckled.

Looking into Elise’s smiling eyes, Roman suddenly felt a little guilty.

He took the handkerchief and wiped his forehead clean.

When he tried to return it, she had already vanished.

Glancing sideways at Luo Xiya chatting with Catherine, Roman tucked the cleaned handkerchief into the pocket hidden in the folds of his skirt.

“Would you like little Elise to inspect the room?” Catherine asked.

“That’s right.”

Luo Xiya cast a look toward Elise inside the room.

She stood in front of the window, eyes closed.

Her slightly curled hair silently floated upward.

Catherine and Luo Xiya’s expressions became serious.

Roman followed their gaze, curiosity rising.

At that moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the room!

‘She’ had a clearly feminine, youthful figure, and walked silently from the doorway to the foot of Catherine’s bed.

Lady Catherine’s gaze turned sharper, her sea-blue eyes, identical to Luo Xiya’s, slowly shifting to a brilliant sapphire hue.

The girl reached the bedside, extending her hand toward the flower vase placed on the nightstand.

Under the watchful eyes of the three, she slowly placed something inside it.

Luo Xiya stepped forward, face cold, and tipped the vase over.

Inside the liquid, a fine powder still floated, undissolved.

Luo Xiya, now wearing gloves, gently touched a bit to her nose.

A faint fragrance entered her body.

Because her Sacred Seal was active, she remained unaffected, but it was clear this scent carried hallucinogenic and addictive properties.

Catherine moved to stand beside her.

With a chilling look, she caused the vase and its contents to freeze into crystalline ice flowers, which then shattered into nothingness.

“Annie must’ve been threatened,” Elise said as she walked over and spoke after a moment’s hesitation.

“It’s not that I’m covering for her. It’s that I know her temperament, kind, but even more so, timid. Even under threat of death, she wouldn’t have the guts to do something like this behind my back.”

Elise’s tone conveyed many unspoken details.

Clearly, her methods for managing the estate’s maids were anything but simple.

“My lady, didn’t you say your injury came from battling the Illusionflower?”

Catherine nodded and said, “And it’s not even an external injury. The toxin is inside my body. Little Luo Xiya’s Sacred Seal can only help ease it.”

Her complexion, which had improved under the effect of the Sacred Seal, paled again.

The aura around her became frighteningly weak.

If not for her near-Saint-level magical strength, she wouldn’t even be able to maintain a proper appearance, she would’ve long since looked like a woman at death’s door.

“I’ve always found it suspicious,” Elise said.

“How could the toxin from a non-Saint-level Illusionflower be more dangerous than a Saint-tier curse? My lady’s high-tier Sacred Seal can even dispel curses, but somehow it can’t purge this flower’s poison?”

“The Desmon family’s spices?”

Luo Xiya suddenly made the connection.

“I’ve heard quite a bit recently too,” Elise continued slowly.

“The Desmon family’s spice has nearly sold out, and many in the empire who’ve used it have undergone serious mood swings, becoming unstable, erratic, or… extremely weak-willed.”

“And weak people share a common trait: they easily develop dependencies. The weaker someone is, the more they rely on outside influences.”

“Then Aunt Catherine…”

“The reason the toxin in Lady Catherine’s body can’t be fully removed is because even this room isn’t a clean environment. I suspect the Desmon family’s spice contains an active trigger derived from the Illusionflower. The flower’s poison is tenacious by nature, give it even the slightest stimulant, and it grows out of control. Truly cunning,” Elise said.

“Are they insane?”

Luo Xiya couldn’t understand the Desmon family’s logic.

If this were ever discovered and exposed, a mere count’s household could never withstand the empire’s fury.

“As long as they aren’t discovered, does it matter?”

Elise replied coldly.

“In truth, if you and Lord Roman hadn’t decided on a sudden outing today and happened to stumble upon the situation, we’d never have uncovered this ‘truth.’”

After speaking, she turned to Roman with a smile.

“Lord Roman is truly our lucky star.”

Roman shook his head and didn’t respond to Elise’s compliment.

“Let’s wait for Annie to return. There’s nothing more we can do for now.”

“But even if we’ve solved the mystery, Auntie’s toxin still can’t be fully removed?”

Luo Xiya asked reluctantly.

Lady Catherine shook her head. Her face showed no hint of resentment.

Instead, she gently comforted Luo Xiya.

“By the time I returned, the toxin had already taken root. There might have been a chance early on, but now… there’s no need anymore.”

“Still no reply from my mother?”

“No, not yet. She might be a Grand Duchess, but her extraordinary talent is far below mine. Don’t be too hard on her.”

Her tone was surprisingly lighthearted, even teasing.

Luo Xiya pressed her lips together, unsure how to speak.

In order to awaken Roman’s Sacred Seal, they needed Catherine’s Starry Sky Sacred Seal to cloak the estate’s magical presence.

Otherwise, the Church would surely detect it.

But now, the poison in Catherine’s body seemed far worse than Luo Xiya had anticipated, and she had no idea how to bring it up…

Elise, however, stepped forward without hesitation and explained everything to Catherine again, the plan she and Luo Xiya had discussed the night before.

Luo Xiya felt, not for the first time, that she was too soft-hearted.

Every time she needed to be ruthless, it was always Elise who stepped up and made the hard decisions.

“A high-tier Sacred Seal?”

Lady Catherine stared blankly at Roman.

The mature and composed air she normally carried vanished in an instant, replaced with a childlike look of surprise.

She eyed Roman hesitantly, as though considering whether to examine him right here and now, just to “see for herself.”