The doctor rushed in clutching his medical case, one shoe missing, utterly disheveled.

As he opened the door, he saw Miranda sobbing bitterly by the bed, tears streaming down her face; Liang Di seated in her wheelchair, sorrow etched deep in her eyes; and Liang Lin standing far back—dazed, confused, utterly at a loss.

“Doctor! Please, hurry—what’s wrong with my husband?”

Auston’s face had turned purplish. The doctor cautiously checked beneath his nose and felt a faint breath.

“Everyone except Lady Miranda and Master Edwin, please leave. I need to examine him.”

Liang Lin, Liang Di, and Belica were ushered out.

“What’s wrong with him…? Contagious? If so, I’d better keep my distance.” Her tone dripped with disdain.

Startled awake at dawn by the maid’s shriek, Liang Lin’s heart still hadn’t settled.

“I’m not sure. We’ll wait for the doctor’s report,” Liang Di murmured. “I’ve summoned the Knights—they should be en route. Father’s condition is… deeply unsettling.”

Liang Lin yawned, pacing the hallway with careless indifference.

“Come in.”

The doctor opened the door.

“How is he, Doctor? My father—?” Liang Di pushed past Liang Lin, eyes brimming with tears.

Liang Lin: “?”

*This actress? She was smirking at Auston just days ago.*

“Duke Austen was poisoned. His life isn’t in immediate danger… but…” The doctor hesitated. “His bodily functions are failing rapidly. Even if he wakes… his time is short.”

“Ah…”

Liang Di’s face went ashen; she slumped into her wheelchair. Belica staggered, gripping the doorframe. Inside, Miranda and Edwin’s wails echoed heartbreakingly.

Only Liang Lin stood frozen—eyes wide like question marks, mouth shaped in a disbelieving “X.” *What? Should I faint too for show?*

“Poison?! Who poisoned Auston!” Miranda shrieked, tearing at her hair, noble composure utterly shattered.

“Lady Miranda, please calm yourself. The Knights are coming to investigate,” Liang Di soothed.

“I’ll make her pay! Pay with her life!”

Her screams pierced the air.

News of Duke Austen’s poisoning raced to the imperial palace.

Doris froze mid-sip, frowning. “Auston poisoned… yet Liang Di is unharmed? But my concoction harms ordinary people not at all…”

“Then it wasn’t our medicine that poisoned him.”

Back at Lanvendi Manor.

“Our investigation shows the shattered milk bottle outside matches the residue in the cup on His Grace’s desk,” the Knight Captain announced, holding up the cup.

Liang Lin froze. Eyes widened. A cold shiver shot down her spine.

Impulsive? Maybe. Simple? Perhaps. But not stupid. In that instant, she knew—she was trapped in a conspiracy.

Forcing calm, she slowly turned toward Liang Di.

Half-hidden in shadow, Liang Di met her gaze. She raised a finger to her lips. A sinister smile curled—hinting, chilling.

“Shh~”

“Then~ search everywhere. Every room. Every corner. Leave nothing untouched~”

Liang Lin’s muscles locked tight.

For the first time in years, real fear gripped her.

If the poison was found… she’d be silenced, framed, with no way to explain. *Bitter truth choking her words.* Accused of murdering a duke—life in imperial prison. Ruined. A death sentence in all but name.

*Liang Di… that smirk… that tone… Was it her?*

The knights dispersed. Only Liang Lin, Liang Di, and Belica remained.

“Sister Liang Lin… nothing to say?”

Liang Di flicked a glance. Belica nodded, closed the door softly, and stood guard outside.

“Even if I say it wasn’t me, you’d pin it on me anyway, right?”

Seeing that sly smile, Liang Lin understood everything. Rage surged—hot, violent, clawing at her ribs.

She couldn’t hold back.

“You knew all along! You set me up!” She seized Liang Di’s collar, teeth gritted.

Liang Di held her gaze, eyes deep with endless, eerie green.

“Neh~ Sister? What are you saying? Oh~ If I recall… *you* brought me the milk that night… and threw it out the window?” Her smile brightened, venomous. “So you knew it was poisoned. Couldn’t bring yourself to kill me… so you killed Duke Austen instead?”

*Couldn’t bring herself?* She wanted Liang Di torn apart. Shattered. Head severed by her own blade.

“Liang Di… I shouldn’t have been soft.”

She wanted to slap herself.

“I know it’s on you,” Liang Di laughed, the demon within unleashed. “Order a search—Knights will find that vial. Then? Ruined. Locked away. Never seeing sunlight again~”

“My dear sister~” Her laughter lingered. A fingertip traced Liang Lin’s cheek. She leaned close, breath ghosting her ear. “Choose: become my dog. Kneel. Bark twice. Call me ‘Master.’ I’ll make the vial disappear. Deal?”

“You…”

Liang Lin’s voice trembled.

Humiliated. By this silver-haired girl who seemed harmless.

“Do you think I’d choose to die on my feet… or live on my knees?” Her hands shot to Liang Di’s throat.

“At worst—we die together!”

Liang Di didn’t flinch. Smiling. Savoring the chokehold.

“A disobedient dog… must be punished…”

*Cough!*

A sharp blow to her gut. Liang Lin collapsed to one knee, drool dripping from her chin.

*What hit me?*

Eyes locked downward—a green tentacle slithered from beneath Liang Di’s skirt.