The Sickly Villainess: No, I Wasn’t Poisoned! I'm Just Frail! - Chapter 5

It was clear that the situation was beyond ridiculous.

Now dealing with both a pounding headache and stabbing pain in my stomach, I held my forehead and finally spoke.

“…If you’re that determined, then I accept your decision to break off the engagement. Crain, you have truly disappointed me.”

“Katrina…”

“I will inform my father myself. As for any guarantees or compensation, let the heads of our families resolve it.”

“Wait, Katrina!”

I stood to leave, but Crain’s voice stopped me. What could he want now? I turned, fixing him with a sharp glare.

“…Is there something else? I’d like to return to my classroom for the afternoon lesson.”

“It’s just… this is goodbye. Could you stay for one last cup of tea? As childhood friends, at least one last cup…”

“…”

I was about to refuse, but before I could, a maid approached and set down tea for each of us. Crain must have ordered it in advance.

I could’ve simply ignored it and left, but it wasn’t fair to the maid who had prepared the tea. With a sigh, I resumed my seat, picking up the teacup placed before me.

“…Very well, but only one cup.”

“Thank you, Katrina! I’m so glad to share this last afternoon tea with you!”

“…How nice for you. I, on the other hand, feel dreadful.”

For me, this was an ordeal I wanted over with.

Crain and Cathy seemed oblivious, but the entire salon was watching us. Discussing an engagement breakup in public? Naturally, it was attracting stares, as well as hushed whispers from every corner of the room.

“Ugh…”

Now fully aware of all the eyes on me, I felt a sharp, unbearable pain in my stomach, as if a knife were twisting inside. The stress had evidently exceeded my tolerance, and I was now on the verge of nausea.

I grasped the teacup, intending to quickly finish and leave…

“Ugh…!”

But the moment I raised it to my lips, an intense pain surged in my abdomen. Instead of sipping tea, I felt something violently rising from my stomach.

The thought of vomiting in front of everyone horrified me, and I struggled to suppress whatever was coming up, but it was no use.

“Gah…!”

What spilled out was a mouthful of thick, dark blood that splattered onto the table and dripped down to the floor.

“W-What?!”

“Aahhhh!”

Crain and Cathy screamed, recoiling in horror as they witnessed the sudden gush of blood.

But I had no time to consider their reaction.

My body weakened, and I crumpled to the floor, collapsing in a pool of my own blood.

“Ah… guh…”

“Oh no! She collapsed!”

“S-Someone, help!”

The entire salon erupted into screams. Some students fell out of their chairs, others rushed for help, while others remained frozen in shock.

“Gah… ah…”

Desperately clinging to consciousness, I reached out and clutched Crain’s leg in a last, reflexive attempt for support.

“Poi…son…”

I whispered one last word before darkness overtook me, and I slipped into unconsciousness.

When I awoke, I was greeted by the familiar white ceiling of my bedroom at the Marquis of Seldis’s estate.

“Oh, so you’re awake now.”

“You’re… Dr. Marius…”

Seated beside my bed was a man I recognized immediately.
Dr. Marius Colrant, my dedicated physician and someone I’d known since I was ten. He was a genius doctor from a ducal family who had left his home to study medicine abroad, obtaining his license at eighteen. There was no one I trusted more.

“Dr. Marius, what happened to me?”

“Please don’t worry about sitting up. I’ll call a maid shortly; for now, just rest.”

I stayed lying down, grateful for his kindness, but my curiosity got the better of me.

“Doctor, please tell me—what happened after that?”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about right now. Focus on resting and regaining your strength.”

“Please, I need to know.”

Reluctantly, Dr. Marius began explaining.

I’d always been frail and often had episodes of coughing up blood, but thanks to the doctor’s care, such incidents had been controlled until recently. This time, the emotional strain had clearly been too much.

Collapsing in front of so many people meant the likelihood of rumors spreading was high. Nobility wasn’t always kind about such things; some would inevitably judge me for a perceived inability to control my health.

“Don’t worry—there are no damaging rumors. In fact, you’ve become the sympathetic figure. Everyone believes you were nearly poisoned.”

His calm assurance was a comfort, yet… I knew noble society’s harshness too well to be fully convinced.

“That’s hard to believe… I was seen collapsing and coughing up blood…”

“Most believe you were poisoned. The accused culprit is none other than Lord Crain Percy.”

“What…?”

I stared at Dr. Marius, shocked.

“Do you not remember? Just before you lost consciousness, you whispered ‘poison’ in Lord Percy’s direction. Everyone who heard assumed he poisoned you, leading to quite the scandal.”

“But… I wasn’t poisoned. It was simply stress.”

“That’s true. However, upon investigating, they discovered a vial of poison in his possession.”

“…What?”

“It seems Lord Percy planned to frame you. His scheme involved secretly administering poison to Miss Cathy and then accusing you.”

The doctor explained that, in my absence, Crain had intended for Cathy to fake a collapse after drinking tea, framing me for attempted poisoning. He even had a vial of poison on him to make his accusation believable.

The sheer absurdity left me speechless.

If I hadn’t collapsed first, I might’ve been entangled in such a ridiculous scheme. The thought made my stomach ache all over again.

Dr. Marius, noticing, handed me a cup of medicinal tea, which soothed my nerves with its warmth.

“What’s going to happen to Crain?”

“Though they couldn’t prove he poisoned you, the Marquis of Seldis has demanded justice. Crain will be charged as a poisoner.”

“My father…”

“Yes, he declared that ‘losing noble status would be too lenient for a man who tried to ruin my daughter.’”

Though Crain’s plan hadn’t succeeded, my father wouldn’t forgive the man who had tried to ruin me.

Crain escaped the death penalty but was sentenced to a hundred years of labor in the mines—a de facto life sentence. His co-conspirator Cathy was sent to a strict convent, where she would live a life of hard labor and penance.

I doubted I would ever see either of them again, and with a long sigh, I felt relief wash over me.

“Now, get some rest. There’s nothing left to worry about. The Marquis will handle the rest.”

With a gentle smile, Dr. Marius stood, likely to summon a maid. But, on impulse, I reached out and caught the hem of his coat.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Please… just stay a little longer.”

I knew what he said was true, yet every time I closed my eyes, I saw Crain and Cathy’s faces.

If Dr. Marius was beside me, I felt like those memories would fade away.

“Alright. I’ll stay until you’re asleep.”

With an understanding smile, he sat down again, and I let myself relax, closing my eyes.

The familiar scent of medicinal herbs clinging to his coat was more comforting to me than any fragrance.

And so, the drama surrounding my broken engagement came to an end.

Though I received countless proposals from other noble houses afterward, none interested me.

It wasn’t until two years later that I fell in love with a certain doctor, and it would be another year before we finally married, despite society’s objections.

The End