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Dante ran an affectionate hand down Alicia's back.

"So... do you mean to say that you intoxicated him beyond repair out of hatred?"

"What... do you mean?"

"I'm sure Inés's love for her husband played a significant part in breaking Oscar, but that cannot have been the only straw on the camel's back," he said softly, as if to reassure Alicia that she didn't have to hide anything around him.

She frowned in response. "I never gave him a substance with the intent of killing or breaking him. I only wanted him to be at peace."

Regardless of what her actual intent had been, Dante was certain that she had considered the possibility of her husband dying or bearing irreparable damage and brushed it aside as a risk she was willing to take. This change had probably taken place on the day of the Formente competition, when she had suffered the humiliation of realizing that her husband would never truly be hers.

Oblivious to his thoughts, she continued, "He has always been so paranoid about what he consumes. It has taken so long for him to eat anything I offered trustingly..."

Dante would have described the crown prince's demeanor as one of apathy without a modicum of trust. But seeing that Alicia interpreted it as trust, it seemed reasonable to believe what he had observed of Oscar earlier that afternoon was proof that the substance was having the exact effect she intended.

"So, you mean to say that you do not hate him," he said, posing the statement as a question.

"Of course I hate him," she snapped. "But I cannot suppress the love I feel for him, either. I want to give him whatever he wants, whether that be Cárcel's death or his wife's body."

Her love is so blind that even God would forsake it, he thought. Only two weeks ago, he had entertained the idea of telling her that her new supplier had been caught by Luciano. Now, he knew he could have ended up making the worst mistake of his life.

If he had informed Alicia of what happened, her weakness would have become his-whether Luciano had been content to simply hold the information over her head or had attempted to use her as a weapon against the crown prince. Had it been the latter, Dante would have been forced to cooperate with Valeztena much sooner before he was seized by the back of his neck.

"I won't ask you to do anything else for me," she said pleadingly. "Just... stay by my side."

He had to admit, he was slightly amazed by how hard she was trying to salvage their fragile alliance. He couldn't remember the last time she had poured so much effort into their relationship.

She continued in a sorrowful voice, "You said you pitied me, did you not? Ijar... without you, I would have no one else."

"I know."

Ironically, her calling him "ljar" felt much more genuine than "Dante," the one she used when trying to plead with him. Perhaps she simply needed an audience for all the wild, racing thoughts in her little brain, regardless of how she planned on using him in the future. After all, Dante hadn't betrayed her...yet.

"I need to do whatever I can for him right now, Ijar," she whispered as she slipped Dante's shirt off, her actions contrasting with her sincere words.

Skillfully hiding the revulsion on his face, Dante sat down in the chair.

She climbed onto his lap and continued in a low, sweet voice, "I need a drug that can make women more... pliable."

"What?"

"But I don't want it to clash with what I have been feeding her. She has been taking panote for quite a while, without her knowledge, of course," she whispered innocently, then giggled like a little girl.

"Panote?" he parroted. He was confident in his knowledge of various drugs, mostly due to his cousins' filthy habits, but the name was unfamiliar to him.

"I thought you might not know it. That plant grows everywhere in Salta, almost like weeds... But I heard it is quite hard to come by in Mendoza." Essentially, she meant that she didn't need an external supplier.

After a pause, he said, "How are you feeding it to Inés, exactly?"

While Alicia was a little elated that she had managed to keep him with her, all of her moves and words were calculated-she was purposefully displaying her continued trust and showing him a move that would end up binding them even closer together.

All of this was based on the belief that he would never betray her. Unlike Oscar, she held many of his weaknesses in her hand like a leash, even though she looked down on him just as her husband did. Dante knew that trust would be lost if he asked about the effects of the herb. 

"There is a female physician who has been treating her ever since she was a child," Alicia responded.

"Ah... you've oiled the hand of the physician?"

"No. I'm not foolish enough to try to uproot such an old tree."

"Of course," he muttered.

"Instead, I found the apothecary the physician uses. As it turns out, Inés Escalante has been taking medicine for years to help with her fertility. I suppose she has been quite concerned about it, despite that mask of arrogance she always wears... Well, even the apothecary had no idea what panote was. I lied, saying it was similar to another herb that the apothecary was using. And then...well, it went straight into her mouth." Alicia smiled slyly, massaging Dante's groin with one hand.

Dante's voice was low as he said, "Did the apothecary actually believe you when you bribed them so this amazing herb could only be fed to Inés?"

"Money can achieve many things... but I knew better than to leave my tracks behind. I simply sold them a suitable replacement for a much cheaper price."

"Except, it wasn't a true replacement."

"Of course not." She laughed brightly, as if he had pointed out the best part of a joke.

"That means all the other women who are being prescribed a similar medicine by the apothecary..."

She shrugged. "That is simply inevitable. I couldn't risk any trouble in the future. And it's not as if I tried to kill Inés Escalante or all those other women."

"What is the exact nature of this... panote, then?"

"The medicine they've been taking because they are desperate for a child is actually making them infertile... Quite amusing, is it not?"

He fell silent, gazing at her in shock.

"Why do you look at me so? The worst that can come from it is infertility."

Dante forced a smile on his face. "Very amusing, indeed."

"I know. I made sure to slip some into the kitchen through the back door as well so that she would be consuming it on a regular basis."

He remained silent for a moment, then said, "What exactly is the drug that you want? The one that doesn't clash with the effects of panote?"

"I want something that you use when you're laying with a woman. Something that can arouse her when you have trouble becoming erect."

"Personally, I have never needed such a thing."

"Boring," she said with a sigh.

"Just what are you planning?"

Alicia's smile widened. "I want a scandal...something that can put Inés's reputation in the dirt."

"If you are planning on involving your beloved husband in that scandal, I would advise against it. Everybody in the empire thinks Cárcel is a hero who is putting his life at stake for Ortega. If rumors spread that the crown prince dared to force himself on his wife-"

"Perhaps, if Oscar is the one who initiates it. But what if the noble, faithful wife of the hero betrays him after mere three months and sneaks into the crown prince's bedroom because she can't control her vulgar desires?" Her tone remained nonchalant despite the content of her words.

Dante scowled. "Nobody will believe that she seduced your husband. She has publicly rejected him many times."

"I don't need people to believe it. I just need to plant a small seed of suspicion. Imagine that she is found in his bedroom without any evidence to suggest that she fought back. It is human nature to believe the darker side of things as the truth."

Unable to suppress his disgust any longer, he pushed her away.

She shrugged in a careless gesture, assuming that he was purposefully acting difficult. "I suppose you really do not want me today."

He ignored her. "If the crown prince wanted to take her by force, he would have done so already. You said he went mad simply because Inés confessed her love for her husband... He would never force himself on her."

"Once something falls into your hands, it loses its initial shine." Alicia pulled her dress back down and stepped away from his lap as if nothing had happened. "Neither one of them will be in their right mind after being intoxicated. At the end of the night, she will officially belong to Oscar... Not to mention that she won't be able to bear a child. I have nothing to lose."

"Wouldn't it be far more efficient to pray that she will bear her husband's child?" After all, this would be the best way to draw a boundary between Inés and Oscar. Dante found that he could no longer follow her jumbled train of thought.

Alicia tilted her head, as if he were the one spilling nonsense. "No, no... If she finds such a mundane, happy life, I would have to live out my days in misery. As long as Oscar wants her, she cannot bear another man's child, either. That ungrateful woman...she seized Oscar's heart simply because she was born into House Valeztena. Any kind of happiness she experiences in her life as a woman must come from Oscar. I want this happiness to stem from something trivial and lowly..."

He remained silent, eyes squinting with disdain.

"My life has crumbled simply because of that odious woman. She must bear Oscar's child. There is no debating this." Her smile was completely innocent even as she discussed a nefarious scheme, as if she truly believed her actions were justified. "Dolores can become her replacement and bear the heir of Escalante."

"Talks of their marriage have already fallen through."

"Yes, that insolent girl refused to marry Miguel in the past, but apparently, the humiliation of the engagement being ruined was too much for her to bear. She has been acting like she has the same authority as Oscar, and Her Majesty has been struggling with her quite a bit..."

Dante narrowed his eyes. "There is no way to justify the marriage. Cárcel has already put his life on the line for his father and brother."

"A justification can always be created," Alicia said as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress and picked up her shawl from the floor.

Dante, who had long since buttoned up his pants, chuckled in disbelief. "I thought you despised Dolores."

"She is still Oscar's sister. I would be delighted to see Oscar's nephew become the heir to House Escalante."

He shook his head. "If you care for your husband so much, why..."

"You do not understand, do you?"

"I would be terrified if I did," he said flatly.

"That's fine. Love is truly an impossible thing to comprehend," she responded, nonchalant. "Do you remember when the empress was praised by the entirety of Ortega simply because she took Dolores in?"

"Yes. I believe it was a political move."

"I will follow her example, though I won't build my reputation on a foundation of lies. I'll be the only one to take Oscar's hand when he hits rock bottom. In order to do this, I must ensure he is pushed off that cliff and becomes so broken that he cannot stand on his own feet," she said as she stared at the mirror. Then she gracefully turned away and walked out of the room without sparing Dante another glance.