Chapter 9: The scheme backfires

Returning to the Lee estate felt like walking into a den of snakes, each corner shadowed by deceit. I had left Han in capable hands, safe for now, but I knew Ludy wouldn't rest until she had me ruined.

As I passed through the grand entrance, the servants bowed, but their eyes betrayed the whispers that lingered behind closed doors. Ludy's presence loomed heavily over the estate. She thrived on chaos, and I could feel her plotting even before I saw her smirk. I needed to be ready for her next move—and I was.

The chip implanted in my wrist hummed faintly as I touched it, reminding me of its silent promise. My link to the modern world—my secret storage space—was always at my disposal. Whatever she threw at me, I'd be prepared.

Later that evening, one of the servants delivered a drink to my room. The older woman hesitated slightly as she placed it before me, and that moment of uncertainty gave her away. I lifted the cup, letting its faint scent reach my nose. Beneath the aroma of herbs was something else—a trace of bitterness. Poison.

I smiled to myself. So this was her plan.

Activating the chip with a thought, I retrieved a small vial of neutralizing antidote. It appeared silently in my palm, cool and reassuring. With a flick of my wrist, I poured it into the drink. The liquid shimmered briefly before settling.

But neutralizing the poison wasn't enough. I needed this to ricochet back onto Ludy.

I swapped the drink with one prepared earlier, laced with the very aphrodisiac she had intended for me. It wasn't hard to arrange; my chip provided everything I needed. The servant would unwittingly carry this back to Ludy under the guise of completing her scheme.

As expected, Ludy couldn't resist her own trap. Her vanity and arrogance blinded her to the possibility of failure. I knew her admiration for Xia Shui, my former fiancé, ran deep. She constantly sought his attention, flaunting her supposed superiority over me. She would drink with him, confident her plan would succeed—and that's when everything would unravel.

The next morning, the estate was in an uproar.

Servants and family members alike gathered in the courtyard, their faces painted with shock and barely concealed amusement. Whispers rippled through the crowd as I calmly made my way to the scene of the commotion.

There, sprawled in the grass of the backyard, was Ludy—and beside her, Xia Shui.

Her disheveled robes clung awkwardly to her frame, and her hair was a mess. She clung to Xia Shui, who looked equally flustered, his face pale with the realization of what had happened.

I let the silence drag for a moment before stepping forward. My voice was clear and steady, cutting through the crowd's murmurs.

"What is the meaning of this, Ludy?" I asked, tilting my head in feigned confusion. "The household wakes to find you... entangled with my ex-fiancé in the backyard? What will the city think?"

Ludy's face flushed deep red, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She tried to stammer an explanation, but no words came.

I pressed on, my tone sharp and laced with just the right amount of mockery. "It's unbecoming of someone who claims to represent the Lee family's honor to behave so... carelessly. Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"

Xia Shui, for his part, looked utterly humiliated. Whatever admiration Ludy had earned from him evaporated in that moment as he realized she had dragged him into this public scandal.

The whispers grew louder, and I could hear snatches of conversation.

"Did she drug herself trying to sabotage Silla?"

"To think she would stoop this low..."

"How shameful!"

I let a small smile curl my lips. The rumor mill was already spinning out of control, just as I'd intended.

Ludy's eyes burned with fury as she finally found her voice. "You! This is your doing!" she hissed, pointing a shaking finger at me.

I raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "My doing? I think not. You should take responsibility for your actions, Ludy. If you can't even control yourself in front of Xia Shui, perhaps you're not as virtuous as you claim to be."

Ludy lunged at me, her composure snapping. "You tricked me!"

But her accusations only made her look more desperate. Servants and family members stepped back, their expressions a mixture of disgust and disbelief. Ludy's carefully crafted image was crumbling before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

I turned to Xia Shui, whose gaze was fixed firmly on the ground. "You should be careful who you associate with," I told him coldly. "A man who cannot see through such schemes is of no use to anyone."

His head snapped up, shame and anger flashing across his face. But he said nothing.

By midday, the entire city knew what had happened. Word spread like wildfire: Ludy, the scheming manipulator, had been caught in a compromising situation with Xia Shui. The scandal reached every corner of the social elite, and the Lee family's reputation suffered a blow—but not as severe as Ludy's personal disgrace.

I made sure of it.

With a quiet satisfaction, I watched as Ludy's allies began to distance themselves from her. She had always relied on her cunning and influence to maintain her position, but now, she had neither. Even Xia Shui, humiliated and bitter, avoided her gaze.

As I stood in the garden that evening, the faint hum of the chip in my wrist reminded me of the tools at my disposal. Ludy had underestimated me. They all had. But this was only the beginning.

The Four Devils would learn, one by one, that I was not someone to be trifled with.