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Chapter 7. The Duke Is now the Villain

Author: Angi
last update publish date: 2026-11-11 14:31:04

The note burned my hand. The duke is now the villain.

"How?" I stammered and managed to croak.

Cassian took the note from my hand and folded it. Tenderly. Thoughtlessly.

It means Elara won

Beyond the hedge, the garden party was crumbling. Footmen yelling. Lady Whitlock demanding a healer. Elara weeping. "My lemonade! He… he tried to poison me!… and I… I drank it… "very loud. "very, very loudly.

My stomach sank.

"She's setting you up."

"Sure she is." Cassian's jaw was tight. "That cup was for you. Drink it and you die. Drink it to save you and I get to be the guy who poisoned the heroine. I win either way."

The book wasn't supposed to be so smart.

Suddenly a footman sped out of the hedges. "Your Grace! Lady Whitlock is here! Lady Elara… isn't well!"

The cassian froze. He looked at me. "Go," I said. "Otherwise you look guilty."

And if I do?

"Then you appear "guilty but gallant."" He cracked a smile. Almost.

Stay here. Don't drink anything."

This plan is excellent. Simply love being the girl in the bushes while my fake-beau gets charged with attempted murder."

"Pretender-beau?"

"Me... Us... The book..." I turned crimson. The entire emerald colored dress isn't hiding it.

we will speak later

He left.

I was alone. In the maze of roses. Donned in a too-bright poison-colored dress. While fifty courtiers weighed my un-life. I did not hide in the bushes. I strode to the very center of the garden.

As usual, everything went silent.

Again. This time, Elara was sprawled on a chair with her hand on her forehead and women in a ring staring at her fan in an effort to cool her. She took one look at me and gasped. "Seraphina! Thank the gods! The duke he… he…"

"Ladies," I yelled a little louder than I thought I should, "I'm glad all y'all are here. Because I need a witness."

Elara stopped cold.

I made my way over to the lemonade table. Seized Cassian's half-drunk goblet on the table. Held it proudly aloft.

I admitted, "This cup was presented to me." By Lady Elara."

Gasps. Bursts of whispering.

"What's why?"

"Because I'm about to drink it." Silence. "I am about to drink this cup. Because someone attempted to drug Lady Elara." Elara clutched at her seat, eyes wide. "What! What do you mean drug?"

"No one attempted to kill the Duke. The Duke saved my life. And for that I'd like to make a toast." I looked toward the newcomer, who'd just come up through the hedge with Lady Whitlock.

"To the Duke Cassian. Who has better taste than to poison lemon pop. If he wanted you dead I'd bet it was in a good wine."

The entire garden was DEAD.

Then the man did the unthinkable. He laughed. A loud, carefree, beautiful laugh.

He removed the cup from my hand and threw it on the ground.

The grass sizzled. Lemonade turned the white roses black, where the effects touched. Elara faints. No, not the kind from someone's ankle. This time for real.

Lady Whitlock screamed.

And Cassian looked at me and uttered the two words I wanted to hear more than any other words: "Chapter 7 finished. The Duke is a hero. He's not a bad guy. He's an accomplice."

I barely had time to reach out to catch the new note falling from his coat pocket as he turned. I tried to catch it.

Chapter 8: Invitation to the Palace

We were going to the palace.

---

Author's note :

He not only consumed it. He was guilty too. Comment "ACCOMPLICE ERA" if you caught the plot twist.

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  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 7. The Duke Is now the Villain

    The note burned my hand. The duke is now the villain."How?" I stammered and managed to croak.Cassian took the note from my hand and folded it. Tenderly. Thoughtlessly.It means Elara wonBeyond the hedge, the garden party was crumbling. Footmen yelling. Lady Whitlock demanding a healer. Elara weeping. "My lemonade! He… he tried to poison me!… and I… I drank it… "very loud. "very, very loudly.My stomach sank."She's setting you up.""Sure she is." Cassian's jaw was tight. "That cup was for you. Drink it and you die. Drink it to save you and I get to be the guy who poisoned the heroine. I win either way."The book wasn't supposed to be so smart.Suddenly a footman sped out of the hedges. "Your Grace! Lady Whitlock is here! Lady Elara… isn't well!"The cassian froze. He looked at me. "Go," I said. "Otherwise you look guilty."And if I do?"Then you appear "guilty but gallant."" He cracked a smile. Almost.Stay here. Don't drink anything."This plan is excellent. Simply love being the

  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 6: The Garden Party Invitation

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  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 5: The Duke's Office – ENLARGED

    A silent progression toward the Duke's study.Two footmen hung a few paces behind us. The entire palace pretends not to notice that everyone and their second cousin is watching. Servants press into doorways; ladies froze, mid-laundry baskets.The rain travels down the corridor with us, drumming against the high windows like impatient, questing fingers.Mira's knees feel threatening to buckle beneath her. And who could blame her?The Duke's study looks exactly like it's supposed to-and worse. All dark oak, leather, ink, and storm. Shelves climb impossibly high toward the ceiling, laden with volumes whose potential costs could furnish entire villages. There's an unlit fireplace that still smells like burnt wood and time. There's a globe that's nearly as big as me.And right at the center of his vast, heavy desk: one perfect white lily in a simple glass vase.Of course.Duke Cassian closes the door with his own hand. It sounds impossibly, obnoxiously loud, and the entire room seems to

  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 4: Afternoon Tea Disaster

    I walk to afternoon tea like I'm walking to my death. Mira is braiding my hair too tightly. My head feels like it's going to explode. "My Lady," she whispers to my ear. "Just smile. Nod. Say little.""Villains don't work that way," I retort. "Living people do," Mira insists, and the logic is sound. The hallways here are even worse than before; the whispers have gone from 'ruined the ball' to 'she's mentally unwell' to 'send her to a convent'. A remarkable progression. I feel the stare of everyone in the palace like physical objects embedded in my back. The lily man is probably out there somewhere, taking down notes and observations. 'Chapter 4: Insult the Viscountess'. My sleeve is burning. The great doors to the drawing room fly open and a wave of tea and judging eyes rushes over me. Four women. Four pairs of eyes narrowed on me. At the center sits Viscountess Hart; layers of thick pearls around her neck and her mouth a constant quivering mass. To her right, sit two unfamilia

  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 3: The Morning After

    I woke up to whispers.Not the cute kind. The "let's ruin her reputation before breakfast" kind.They were in the hallways. In the maids' eyes. In the way my tea was set down like it might explode."Lady Seraphina ruined the ball.""She disrespected His Grace the Duke.""I heard she threw herself at the wine."I didn't throw myself. I sabotaged it. There's a difference, thank you very much.Mira looked like she hadn't slept. Dark circles, trembling hands, but she still managed to curtsy."My Lady... The rumors.""Let them." I took a long sip. Water. Thank the gods for paranoid Dukes with good survival instincts."What else?""Lady Elara Whitlock is here."Mira said it like it was a death sentence. "She says she came to check on you. After... The incident."Of course she did.The Saintess. The golden girl. The one I was supposed to publicly slap in Chapter 3 before choking to death on poison.Fantastic. Day 2 of being reborn and I already have to deal with a walking halo before 9am.

  • Afternoon Tea Disaster    Chapter 2: The Plant Died

    I survived Chapter Three.I should’ve been celebrating. Instead I was hiding in a palace bathroom trying to figure out why my hands were shaking."That was not meant to happen."The whisper still echoed in my ears. Cold. Male. Amused. And Duke Cassian had heard it too. I saw it in the way his jaw ticked right before he turned and walked away without looking at Elara once.That was... not in the script."My Lady?" The maid, Mira, poked her head in. "The carriage is waiting. Everyone is leaving."Right. The ball was over. I had caused a scene by NOT causing a scene. Now we were going home. Hopefully not to a funeral.The ride back was silent. Too silent. When we got home, a sealed black envelope was waiting on my desk. No crest. No signature. Inside, 4 words in sharp, furious handwriting: `My study. Midnight. Alone.` Oh. He was mad. Or suspicious. Or both. In the book, Cassian didn’t speak to Seraphina alone until Chapter 12. And it ended with her slapped. New rule:

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