Chapter 126: Shattered Trust
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in bed. The uncertainty of what happened after losing consciousness gave way to relief— I was alive.
"Duchess, you’ve awakened! Let me quickly inform the duke; he was quite worried," a maid said, heading towards the door to summon the duke. Despite her advice to stay lying down, I struggled to sit up.
"No, there’s no need for all this. I can manage," the duke said, rushing towards me. I refused his hand, determined to stand on my own.
"Has the culprit been caught?" I inquired, focused on finding the one responsible.
"Culprit? What culprit are you talking about?" he responded, seemingly oblivious to any wrongdoing.
"Are you out of your mind?" I retorted.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"You heard me. Where is the culprit?" I pressed on.
"Wife, there’s no culprit. You had food poisoning," he claimed, causing my anger to escalate.
"Duke, I didn’t expect this from you. You’re saying there’s no culprit, and I had food poisoning, and you expect me to believe that? No, I won’t believe it," I declared, getting up despite the discomfort in my body.
"Wife, take rest!" he urged, attempting to push me back onto the bed. I slapped his hand away.
"Don’t you dare touch me. Don’t you dare tell me what to do!" I commanded, ordering the guard to bring the maid who had served me lunch.