The Sweetest Poison
The change in Kallen afterward was astonishing.
He was as docile as a well-trained beast, and at times he even seemed obedient. It felt like he would grant any request Canna made.
That made bringing up the perfume business incredibly easy.
‘Still, I can’t make it too obvious that I’m using him.’
Fortunately, she had the perfect excuse ready.
She used the Empress, the greediest woman acknowledged by the entire empire.
“Kallen, smell this fragrance.”
While walking with him through the garden, Canna held out her wrist.
“What do you think?”
“It’s a beautiful scent.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“No. It’s something I’ve thought for a long time. Doesn’t this fragrance always linger around you, sister?”
“This perfume—I made it myself. And I can create several others as well.”
Then she let out a worried sigh.
“But Her Majesty the Empress has taken quite a liking to my perfumes.”
“Has she?”
“Yes. But perhaps because she holds such a high position, she seemed annoyed at having to ask for them every time.”
“Don’t tell me she demanded the formula?”
No, she hadn’t.
The woman wasn’t foolish enough to act that arrogantly when she was the one receiving medicine for her skin disease.
However, Canna deliberately did not deny it. Instead, she said this:
“I don’t have the power to protect this scent.”
She dropped the line casually and let her shoulders slump pitifully.
‘This should make it look like the Empress is pressuring me for the formula.’
She hadn’t told a single lie. She had simply behaved in a way that made it appear so.
“Her Majesty would never dare do such a thing.”
Thankfully, Kallen fell for it completely.
“From now on, no one will be able to take anything from you, sister. Not even if they are of the imperial family.”
And if it was the clever Kallen, he would surely come up with the best way to keep the formula from being stolen.
“Sell the formula to me. I will buy it.”
“Huh?”
“And tell Her Majesty that it is a perfume developed by the Addis family.”
“But the Empress really likes this perfume. I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“She won’t go so far as to make an enemy of me just to obtain it. Besides, I plan to popularize it so there’s no need to steal it. You don’t have to worry.”
“What do you mean? You’re going to sell this to people?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well, since it’s come to this, I hope it sells well.”
Once again, she gave a lonely smile.
“It would be nice if the profits could help the Addis family even a little. I’ve only ever been a burden, so I want to be of help in any way I can.”
“Please don’t say that.”
As expected, Kallen strongly denied it.
“I’m not doing this business to make money. So please don’t misunderstand. I will give you every last coin of the profits.”
This was an unexpected harvest. Her original goal had been to secure about half the revenue as her share, but he was offering everything!
‘It was worth forcing out those tears while taking poison.’
Canna hesitated several times, acting as if she were conflicted about whether it was truly all right, but she never once uttered a word of refusal.
“Thank you, Kallen.”
Yes. Smiling at you is so exhausting, so you should at least be this useful, Kallen.
Canna’s eyes were as dry as a desert. Yet she lifted the corners of her mouth. She smiled.
“As expected, I only have you. My little brother, Kallen.”
It was a very sweet smile that intoxicated Kallen with lies.
Isabel could not believe this reality.
‘How could Brother Kallen do this to me?’
The Addis trading company had recently released a new product.
It was perfume. A captivating scent that had never been smelled anywhere before.
It had caused a sensation just days after launch, and rumors even spread that the Empress had purchased it in bulk.
And now, one week after its release, it was impossible to find the perfume anywhere in the empire.
It had all sold out.
That expensive luxury item—every last drop!
Since it had received such a reaction within the empire, it would soon cause a stir in other countries as well. After all, the Aslan Empire had always led trends on the Western Continent.
Up to this point, there was no problem at all. On the contrary, she had been proud.
Kallen Addis, the man who succeeded in every venture he touched. Thanks to him, her twin brother—who was only the second son yet still the leading candidate to inherit the family—had succeeded once again.
But the problem was this:
‘Why is the perfume named Canna?’
Some speculated it was derived from the canna flower, while others guessed it borrowed the name of his sister, Canna Valentino.
And every time that name came up, so did another.
“But isn’t Lady Isabel the twin sister of Sir Kallen?”
“Right? Why didn’t they name it after Lady Isabel?”
“It must be because the perfume was inspired by Duchess Canna Valentino.”
“To be honest, she is incredibly beautiful.”
Recently, Canna had been gaining quite a favorable reputation among the noblewomen.
Prince Cassil, who had raped and sexually harassed countless women. That scoundrel had received severe punishment thanks to Canna. As fellow women, they couldn’t help but cheer.
“When is the next Canna perfume coming out? I’m so upset I couldn’t buy this one.”
“Should I ask the Duchess Valentino for a favor? Maybe she could spare one.”
No matter where you went in high society, the name Canna, Canna, Canna kept coming up.
And every single time, Isabel was compared to her. Especially by her longtime rival, Kalleina Mercy—the young lady of the Marquis Mercy family—who mocked her relentlessly.
“I wonder why there isn’t a perfume named after Lady Isabel? It’s obvious. Lady Isabel simply didn’t inspire Sir Kallen enough.”
That wretched bitch, Kalleina Mercy!
But Isabel had no words to refute her.
Because it was all true.
‘This is too much. He’s never made a single thing with my name until now!’
Yet an even worse situation unfolded afterward.
“What? Brother Kallen, what did you just say?”
“I plan to escort Sister Canna to His Highness Prince Argon’s birthday banquet.”
Prince Argon was hosting his birthday banquet for the first time in a long while.
As always, Isabel had asked Kallen to escort her, but the answer she received was rejection.
“You’re escorting Sister Canna? Not me?”
“That’s right.”
“Then what about me?”
Alexandro was still in Venecia, and Orsini had gone to some island because of the Black Fog.
In other words, only Kallen was left.
“Ask Eric.”
Eric was the eldest son of the Count Ceylon family—Chloe’s maternal family—and was Isabel’s cousin. He was a decent enough match. But compared to Kallen, he was on an entirely different level.
“I don’t want to! Why should I ask Cousin Eric when I have you, Brother Kallen!”
The resentment she had been holding back exploded all at once.
“If you escort Sister Canna, what will everyone think of me?”
Isabel burst into tears and shouted.
“They’ll obviously think you care more about her than me! Are you trying to make me look pathetic?”
But Kallen stared at her with cold eyes that showed not a flicker of agitation. No—in fact, the contempt he had been suppressing seemed to finally spill out.
“So you’re saying it’s fine for Sister Canna to look pathetic?”
Isabel’s words caught in her throat.
“And no one will dare look down on you, Isabel. You are surrounded by people who cherish you. But sister is different.”
Kallen spoke firmly.
“Sister only has me.”
“……”
“I consider this conversation over. Leave.”
In the end, Isabel buried herself in her bed and sobbed bitterly.
From childhood until now, she had never once had even a doll taken from her. To Isabel, this was a tremendous ordeal.
‘If only Sister Canna didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have lost the escort, and the perfume would have had my name on it.’
Canna had taken everything that should have rightfully belonged to her.
‘Everything has gone wrong ever since she appeared.’
If not for Canna, she would never have put poison in Lucy’s tea. That incident would never have been discovered by Kallen, and she would never have earned his contempt.
After crying for a long time, Isabel finally rose from her bed once night had fallen.
‘I can’t just sit here and take this.’
If things continued this way, Canna would slowly steal everything that was hers.
Kallen’s affection, the escort, even the name of the perfume—everything.
Because all of it should have been hers from the beginning.