Lady Marie turned to her two maids, gesturing to them to leave. They exchanged glances with each other before bowing their heads and walking ahead, down the hallway. They turned the corner and soon it was just Lady Marie and I, alone in the middle of the long and quiet hallway.

　　“Why do you know that name?” she asked, surprisingly able to control her voice to sound calm and composed.

　　?I feigned shock, bringing my hand to cover my mouth. “Oh? Was it supposed to be a secret?” I asked in a hushed tone.

　　She closed the gap between us suddenly, looking at me with such fury in her eyes. Normally, I would have felt the intimidation emitting from her but this time, I stood my ground, wanting her to realise that she had no control over me. Not anymore.

　　She jabbed her finger on my shoulder while I stood perfectly still. “Do not act coy, Cordelia! Who told you that name? Who have you been speaking to? Was it Gideon? Did that senile old man tell you?”

　　“Why does it matter to you?”

　　“He is lying to you!”

　　“And you have been absolutely honest with me?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Now, that’s not very nice of you to accuse someone of being a liar when you are one as well.”

　　She recoiled back, looking as though she was just moments away from baring her fangs at me or even transforming into a wolf just to attack me. That was how much rage and hatred I could see coming from her, and it was honestly laughable.

　　“You do not understand,” she started, changing her approach on this topic.

　　“Then make me understand.” I told her. “Ah, but maybe it would be best to hold that thought for another day. I am in a rush right now since someone is framing my husband for murder. Heh. How ironic, don’t you think?”

　　“I do not appreciate what you are insinuating, Cordelia.” She growled.

　　“Oh Lady Marie, do not misunderstand. I am just stating facts here. Oh? Did you think I was insinuating that you are responsible for what is happening to Isaiah? What happened to Declan or perhaps, are you talking about Rosaline? There’s so much going on that even I cannot keep up with your track record.”

　　“Stop spewing nonsense! You are only saying all of this to hide the fact that Lord Isaiah is a murderer.”

　　I sighed and leaned in towards her. She tensed. “And what about you? I know about the letters; I know about the doctor’s false reports, and I know what you are plotting.” I whispered, watching her face distort into a maddened expression. “No matter how much you try to twist and turn the truth, the evidence will always be telling. So, Lady Marie, you should count your days.”

　　She then laughed, a manic sound coming out of her. I backed away in case she tried to do anything.

　　“Now you are threatening me? Haha! How humorous! Do you really think you are in the position to say these things to me? A lowly omega?”

　　I smiled, finding it rather ironic at how her personality could shift to one of innocence and one of madness. There was no need for her to pretend anymore after all but watching her gradually grow mad was an experience I never knew I wanted.

　　“We shall see how things turn out soon enough.”

　　“The only future you have is to rot in prison or perish with those three brainwashed alphas of yours! You cannot win, Cordelia. No matter how hard you try, you will never win.”

　　I ignored her words and bowed my head. “Good day, Lady Marie.” I said, ready to walk away but she suddenly grabbed my arm, causing me to turn to her in surprise.

　　“Do not walk away from me!”

　　“For someone who claims she is innocent, your reaction is rather telling.”

　　She ignored me, her grip tightening painfully. “Mark my words, Cordelia. You will regret the day you choose to stand against me. You better pray hard that those around you protect you because your ruination is inevitable.”

　　“And here you are, admitting to me your guilt.”

　　“Silence, you harlot! I will make sure your downfall gives you the utmost suffering.”

　　I placed my hand over hers, making her look down at me in surprise. I leaned forward once more to whisper in her ear. “I would like to see you try, Lady Marie.”

　　I pried her fingers off my arm with all the strength I could fathom and walked away. I could feel her eyes boring into my back, but I did not bother to turn back to her. I had everything I needed to know after all, she never denied any allegations and she seemed to be deeply affected by the mention of Rosaline’s name. The truth was about to unravel itself.

　　I caught myself trembling, could it be from anxiety? From nervousness? Or merely from the fear that I know Lady Marie’s threats were not just an intimidation ploy. It was only a matter of time until she tried to send danger my way. I squeezed my hands together, trying to force myself to calm down since I had bigger matters to deal with. Isaiah. I hated the fact that due to my position with Lady Marie, he was dragged into this and if we failed to clear his name, then an innocent man was going to lose his life.

　　“Princess!” a voice startled me, causing me to jolt. I looked up to find Anne running towards me. “Princess, I have been looking everywhere for you!” Anne panted.

　　“What is it?”

　　“I learnt the most disturbing news when I was talking to the other maids just now.”

　　“If you are talking about Isaiah’s case—”

　　“No, that’s not it! I mean yes, it is regarding Lord Isaiah. I heard from June that she saw something strange last night.”

　　“What?”

　　“One of Lady Marie’s maids was in the kitchen late at night with Amir!”

　　“Amir…that is?”

　　“Lord Isaiah’s attendant!”

　　I furrowed my brows. “What were they doing together?”

　　“June said that they were talking, and that the maid was preparing tea. She heard Amir ask if the tea would really make Lord Isaiah sleep better and the maid said yes, telling him to make sure Lord Isaiah drinks every drop.”

　　“…That is strange.”

　　“It gets stranger, Your Highness.”

　　“How so?”

　　“This was brought up when we were talking about the curious murder case surrounding Lord Declan and Lord Isaiah and how it was strange that Lord Isaiah could not remember parts of his memory and then the head chef mentioned that there is a drug capable of making people disoriented and lose parts of their memories!”

　　“Wait…are you saying that—”

　　“I do not have the proof just yet but if we find this drug in the possession of Lady Marie’s maid or even Amir then we at least know why Lord Isaiah cannot remember anything.”

　　“Anne…you are on to something!”

　　“B-But, this is just a theory!”

　　“No, this is good. Please find June and the head chef, bring both of them to the study and tell everything you just told me to Augustus and Aiden. If Cassian is back, ask him to find out about the origins of the drug.”

　　“Ah…o-okay! I’ll do that right now!”

　　“Make sure to do it discreetly!” I whispered.

　　“I will! But where are you heading too, princess?”

　　“To visit Amir, of course.” I smiled, the gaiety of being presented with information this crucial now was amazing. The anxiety I felt was slowly fading. We were one step closer to saving Isaiah and one step closer to bringing Lady Marie and her followers down. “Be careful on your way back,” I quickly told Anne, knowing well that any one of us could be targeted next.

　　“Yes, princess!” she beamed as she rushed off to do as I ordered.

　　I then made my way down to the dungeons, hoping that Isaiah managed to get the whole story from Amir because if he did then we would have another witness to testify. We could win this trial.

　　I could hear soft sniffling and sobbing the closer I got to the cell where Isaiah and Amir were supposed to be. Rodrick stood completely still in front of one of the cells, only to turn to me when he sensed my presence. We held eye contact as I made my way to him, as though I was trying to figure out what was happening based on his expression alone. But as always, Rodrick’s stoic face gave nothing away to me.

　　When I turned my head to look into the cell, I saw Amir on his knees, clenching onto Isaiah’s shirt as he sobbed and trembled harshly. He asked for forgiveness over and over again in a barely audible voice and yet—Isaiah remained unmoving, unaffected at all.