Willow’s Lace was filled with surprise at the result. But then, it all felt natural to her.

Ever since she was a child, Eloise had doted on her. She would have given her life for her, let alone the status as the legitimate daughter. No one could ever love Willow more than Eloise did.

“Mother!” Willow threw herself excitedly into Eloise’s arms, tears streaming down her face. “Having your love is the biggest blessing in my life.”

Eloise gently stroked Willow’s head with reddening eyes. “You’re the apple of my eye, my precious. Of course, it’s only natural for me to plan for your future.” They locked eyes, silent tears streaming down their faces.

Nicolas cut in, “Now’s not the time for this. Let’s focus on getting ourselves out of this mess first.”

Nicolas slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted in fury. “No wonder they sent me out on that mission yesterday. It was just a decoy. If Willow hadn’t come to warn me, I’d still be in the dark right now.”

Eloise’s face was etched with worry as she said, “Now that Prince Xander has stepped in, he won’t back down easily. I’m afraid Leonard is just the beginning. Prince Xander will surely root out everyone involved in this case.”

Nicolas’s brows knitted tightly as he lashed out at Athena. “Athena is such an ungrateful viper, if I knew that she would be conspiring with outsiders to betray her family, I would’ve beaten her to death back then. That would’ve spared us this disgrace.” He was referring to Athena severing ties with the duke’s estate.

Willow let out a soft, feigned sigh. “Maybe Athena was just confused right now, Nicolas. Please, calm down.”

Nicolas cut in sharply, “You don’t need to defend her. I know exactly what kind of person she is.”

Eloise interjected anxiously. “Enough bickering, we should focus on how to handle this crisis.”

Willow lowered her head, helplessly twisting her handkerchief. She had no idea what to do. She glanced at Nicolas, whose face was dark with anger. Clearly, this whole affair was troubling and agitating him beyond measure.

After a moment’s thought, Nicolas stood up and said to Eloise, “I’m heading out for a bit.”

Knowing that Nicolas was always resourceful, Eloise nodded and suggested, “How about going to Michael for help?”

“Mother, you’re not thinking straight,” Nicolas said disapprovingly. “Michael is as stubborn as a mule. He thinks he’s above everyone else. If he finds out about this, how could Willow possibly keep her place in the Osborne family?”

At the mention of Michael, Willow’s eyes instantly welled up. She felt so wronged that she could barely hold back her tears.

Noticing the look on Willow’s face, Nicolas frowned and asked with concern, “Is something wrong?”

Willow hadn’t wanted to mention it, but when Nicolas asked, she finally admitted in a trembling voice, “That wretched maid, Nana, seduced Michael. Now, he’s taken her as his concubine…”

Upon hearing this, Eloise was instantly livid. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Nicolas’s face twisted with rage. “How dare Michael betray you like this? He shows utter disrespect for the duke's estate!” He couldn’t stand the fact that Michael had humiliated Willow, whom he treasured so much.

Willow sniffled, her voice trembling. “Actually, I’m partly to blame for this.”

Eloise looked at her in confusion. “What could you possibly have done wrong?” Willow’s eyes darted away briefly, hesitation flickering across her face before she finally confessed the truth.

Eloise stood frozen for a long moment, struggling to process what she’d just heard. She let out a long ragged breath, her hand shooting up in anger. But in the end, her heart softened, and she couldn’t bring herself to hit Willow. She let her hand drop to her side.

Eloise choked out, “Willow, you’re the daughter of the duke’s estate. Since you are born to such a noble status, how could you stoop to such underhanded tricks? You…” Eloise was so enraged that she struggled to find the words.

Willow’s eyes were already red from crying. She collapsed to her knees and begged, “Mother, it was all my fault. I regret it with all my heart."

Nicolas saw how pitifully Willow was crying, and most of his anger faded. “Enough of this for now. I’ll find a chance to have a proper talk with Michael.” He had no mind to deal with Willow’s affairs since they had more urgent matters to attend to. Resolving the immediate crisis took priority.

Nicolas rushed out in a desperate hurry. After much deliberation, Nicolas realized Fermin Cavendish was his only hope now. Nicolas ordered his coachman straight to Fermin Manor, only to be informed by the gatekeeper upon arrival that Fermin was indisposed and not receiving any visitors.

Nicolas, still oblivious to what was really going on, pleaded anxiously, “Please announce to His Highness that Nicolas Monson requests an audience. It’s a matter of great urgency.”

The gatekeeper shook his head. “His Highness has said that he’s not seeing anyone.”

“What?” Nicolas blurted out, his agitation flaring. Before he could say more, the gatekeeper shut the door with a slam. He was left standing outside with the door slammed in his face. Only then did it dawn on Nicolas that Fermin wasn’t sick at all. Fermin was clearly avoiding people from the duke’s estate, leaving Nicolas to clean up this mess on his own.

Nicolas racked his brains, but still couldn’t figure it out. Leonard knew too much. If he cracked under interrogation and spilled everything, the duke’s estate would go down with him.

After hitting a wall with Fermin, Nicolas slowly began to put the pieces together. Nicolas thought, "The Queen told Kelsey, and then Kelsey had Willow pass the news to us. Of all people, why did the Queen have to tell us? Isn’t this just her way of getting the duke’s estate to clear the way for her?”

Having finally seen through the Queen’s scheme, Nicolas cursed furiously, “When we’re useful, we’re just pawns; when we’re not, we’re simply discarded. What a truly ruthless Queen!” The Queen was clearly leveraging the duke’s estate to eliminate Leonard and protect her grand scheme.

Nicolas wearily pressed a hand to his forehead, then rapped on the carriage wall. Almost immediately, his trusted confidant appeared. “Lord Nicolas?”

Nicolas ordered, his voice laced with chilling ruthlessness, “Go to the Federal Bureau and find a way to silence Leonard permanently.” In this matter, he had no other choice.

Nicolas thought anxiously, "If Athena ever finds out that General Perkins was framed by Mother, she’ll never let anyone in the duke’s estate off the hook. With Prince Xander and her formidable patron, things will only get worse for us.”

His confidant acknowledged the order, then vanished.

In the prison cell, Leonard was beaten black and blue, his face so bruised and swollen he was barely recognizable. Yet he still gritted his teeth and refused to say a word.

The clanking of chains echoed from the doorway. A prison guard walked over while carrying rations.

He said, “It’s meal time!” He set the wooden bucket on the floor. A plate of mashed potatoes and some boiled beans were inside. There was nothing more.

Dizzy with hunger, Leonard gritted his teeth against the pain and crawled toward the bowl of gruel, reaching out with a trembling hand. He thought desperately, "I must survive. Only the living have hope!"

But before he could reach the plate, a rat scurried ahead and climbed onto it, ravenously devouring the gruel. Seeing this, Leonard’s eyes bulged with fury. He roared, “Get lost!” But the rat paid him no mind, still gorging itself shamelessly on the plate.

Leonard leaned against the wall and let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. He thought, "I was once a man of noble status, but now reduced to sharing scraps with rats. What a cruel twist of fate!" Leonard burst out laughing.

But as he laughed, terror crept into his eyes. He watched as the rat let out a few frantic squeaks, and then went limp.

He realized that the meal was poisoned.

Leonard let out a strangled cry, shrinking into the corner as he faced some unspeakable horror.

“Who wants to kill me?" he thought in panic.