CHAPTER 9 - Lilia Escheat's Wicked Plan

"We are arriving, Lady," the driver announces. Evelyn tilts her head, and she is slightly confused because they're in front of her house. But before she could ask, the girl was already speaking.

"Just take a plentiful rest, Eve... You've been going through so much today. Lilia said without turning to her best friend.

Evelyn looked at her skeptically. She sighed deeply and fell silent for a moment. In the end, she decided to get off the carriage. Before closing the carriage door, Evelyn looked at Aria again, but the girl still wouldn't look back at her.

"I'll visit you tomorrow before I go to the palace, okay...?" Evelyn said it hesitantly. Lilia just nodded slowly.

Evelyn then remembered something she hadn't told Lilia yet. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out an envelope with the royal insignia printed on it. She put it next to Lilia.

"Winter celebration is coming. This is your first party since returning from war; please comfort this lowly girl with your presence, my dear."

Evelyn then closed the door and went inside her home. The carriage continues its journey to the Escheat Estate. Lilia turned her head towards the envelope left behind by Evelyn, and she opened it with an empty feeling. It was an imperial invitation regarding a party to welcome the sacred winter season, 14 days from now.

Lilia read the invitation in a void, but then she got a very crazy idea that she hopes can fix the relationship between her and the duke and also expedite her marriage proposal. The light shines back on her face, making it even more radiant than usual. It's as if the storm a few hours ago never happened. It's Lilia for you because, from the beginning, she hasn't decided to give up completely yet.

Lilia needs to discuss this with Evelyn first, because that girl would be her perfect partner in crime and the most reliable ally she has right now. Lilia informs Evelyn to come to her mansion after her work hour so they can spend more leisurely time discussing her crazy plan.

When Evelyn arrived at her house that evening, they talked while waiting for dinner to be prepared. Evelyn was surprised, the girl who seemed to have lost her life yesterday was now acting normal, seemingly overjoyed. Lilia revealed to Eve what she was going to do and what Eve must do to make her plan go smoothly.

"Are you out of your mind? I would never do that." Evelyn firmly refused.

"Oh come on… It's just a con act, Evelyn." Lilia tried to persuade her.

"A con act, you say? Did yesterday's incident really hit you that hard? You lose your mind, Lilia."

"Eve, it's not, this is just the perfect opportunity, the party would open the door to my dream marriage with the Duke."

"Stop dreaming, you minx," Evelyn mocks her coldly.

"Eve… It'll be fine. I'm not drinking it... It's just an act."

"And you still want me to do it, I can't take a risk, okay… what if there is an accident?"

"Evelyn, you're such a wimpy, nothing would happen as long as you cooperate," Lilia still tries to reassure the little girl. What Evelyn is afraid of is actually reasonable, because the risk of this plan is not worth the result. Not to mention, if this plan blows up, Evelyn will receive punishment worse than her own, as if she were subject to multiple violations of the law.

"Still… Lilia, if your lie is exposed, how should I face his highness's wrath? I'll die"

"It won't, I promise, that's why we need a perfect plan, you can do that right, my greatest comrade...

"For God's sake..." Evelyn pulled out her hair to express her frustration.

"Evelyn, please… I'm so hopeless right now. Lilia reaches out Evelyn's hand. She had to convince Evelyn completely, and she promised that if this plan failed, she would bear everything herself and not let her best friend get involved.

"Promise me nothing will go wrong, you will follow every word of my plan without failing," Evelyn said hesitantly. She wasn't completely sure, but looking at Lilia, who was now in front of her, she couldn't bear it. Lilia was her dearest friend, whom she also considered her own sister.

"Will do my dear…" Lilia shows her most determined face, the same as when she prepares herself to go to war.

"Fine, I'm in."

"Thank you… I love you so much, Eve." Lilia hugged her tightly and kissed her cheeks, and then that night Eve had a sleepover at Escheat Estate to conduct her perfect plan—her perfectly wicked plan.

A few days later, Evelyn sat on her desk while letting out a long sigh. She stared at the two ampoules that Lilia had wanted a while ago. Although this plan is simple, it seems too reckless and dangerous, Evelyn has done everything she can to make this plan safe and undetectable to anyone. Evelyn is very careful with the poison she holds. If she forgets which poison is real and which is not, she can be accused of being the main suspect in the royal family murder case. Not to mention that the victim is her precious friend. The poor girl clutched her head, which was aching from everything Lilia had put her through, not to mention the upcoming imperial party at the palace.

"Lilia… don't play with the poison, it might not be lethal, but you can still cough up blood if you accidentally drink that." Evelyn

"Oh, come on, I'm not a kid, okay..."

"Well, thank you for your hard work, I'm bringing these two home, see you at the party, honey, dress up beautifully," Lilia said as she placed the two ampules in her bag and kissed Evelyn on the cheek before leaving her alone in her pain.

Evelyn prepared other little details for their big plan carefully. She didn't forget to instruct Lilia to behave unnaturally so that someone would notice Lilia's odd behavior. This far, their plan seems to be running smoothly, though Lilia's odd behavior, which seems to be lost in thought and always looks less passionate, is making some people grow worried. When the gossip finally reached the crown princess's ears, she felt sad about what had happened to Lilia. She then decides to visit her at the Escheat estate before the banquet starts, but when she gets there, Lilia is nowhere to be seen, the maid says she is at the stables and tells Alicia to wait for a while.

As Alicia waited in Lilia's room, her eyes fell on an object that looked suspicious. When she opened the lid and smelled it, Alicia felt a strange sensation with the small bottle in her hand, and she was surprised to almost drop the object. Alicia put the bottle back in its original place. She was completely shocked and speechless. Forgetting her original reason for visiting Lilia. She left hurriedly from there with a pale face.

"Please hurry back to the palace, sir," Alicia gave an order to the carriage driver to meet Crown Prince Raphael as soon as possible.

~~

It was the day of the banquet. The imperial servants have been bustling since dawn. Evelyn kept running back and forth to check all the preparation. It kills her. But it is not just the party that tires her down; Lilia's dangerous plans contribute as much. Evelyn can see she is aging faster than she should be.

"I want to take a long holiday," she murmured to herself in a desperate tone.

She drags her little feet to the crown princess' residence for a final report after she finishes the preparation of the party. But before she can say anything, she learns that Alicia and Raphael had a heated argument about Lilia. Evelyn smiled faintly, the first step of their plan was executed perfectly. She quickly went away from the room and back to her office and didn't even realize yet that the plan she organized perfectly was going in a very wrong direction. Poor girl.

After discussing the situation with the crown prince, Alicia decided to tell her father about the circumstances. hoping that he could prevent the tragedy from happening. She quickly fetched another carriage and went to Oldenburg's estate with a worried expression. She was running out of time. She needs to find her father quickly; she was even half-running to find him, but he was nowhere to be found. After some time loitering around the main house, Alicia arrives at a secluded terrace on the top floor facing the lake behind the residence. There she saw his father.

"Father!" she calls loud enough to make the duke realize her presence. The duke, who was standing on the balcony overlooking the garden, turned his head when he heard someone calling him. It was his precious daughter.

"Alicia, what makes you come here without first noticing us, and why are you in such a hurry?"

With a quick breath, Alicia approached the Duke. The duke offers a handkerchief to his daughter, and Alicia accepts it but holds it still.

"Father, it is critical... It's about Lilia, and please, before it's too late...

"What are you talking about, my child?"

"Lilia… she would kill herself if she failed in marrying you."

"What? Kill? What are you talking about? Alicia..." The duke cannot comprehend what his daughter is telling him.

"I think at today's party Lilia will drink a poison made from Mary's Tears' root."

"Mary's Tears..?? Lily of Valley? How did you know?" The duke asks in disbelief, and Alicia nods in pain.

"I visited Lilia today and she was nowhere to be found, but I found that poison in her chamber, it smells like a lily of the valley. Please, father! Please stop Lilia's plan, I beg on you."

"What about Lady Osborne, Alicia, did she know about this?"

"I don't know, but Eve is just so busy with party preparation that I don't think she knows about this."

"Father, you are the last choice to stop her stupid deed. Father, I beg you, please. I told Raphael this morning, but he doesn't believe me yet. Father..." Alicia pleaded with her father, she fell to her knees, and her whole body was trembling. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Looking at how desperate his daughter is, Duke Oldenburg does not have any choice left. He kneels beside his daughter and hugs her.

"I'll stop her, Alicia, please calm down now. Okay, I'll do everything, so just stop those tears," the duke affectionately says, wiping her tears away.

"Should we stop the princess now, my dear child?" the duke asks Alicia in a gentle voice, still trying to calm the girl down. Alicia shakes her head immediately, violently voicing her disapproval of her father's idea.

"No... don't father… don't do that, if we stop her before the time she decides to drink it, she will deny and hide the poison, and she will try again on another occasion," she said, knowing how wicked Lilia can be.

"Right, right, then we will stop her tonight?" the duke ask her

"We still have time before the banquet, now, rest up first, Alicia, this father will take care of the rest." The duke escorts Alicia to her old room. The duke went back to his office with a pale and tired expression. He chuckled sarcastically once again.

"Lilia Escheat, why do you always make this old man's boring life so thriving with the whole fiasco of wanting me to be your husband, even thinking of drinking poison to threaten me, sneaky little... ", the duke put his head on his hand and sigh heavily. Tonight would be hectic, and he hoped he could reach her on time.