Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"I was asked to do so by lady Aurora."

"........" the words were enough to create an uproar. Everyone started murmuring clearly and loudly that their voices could be heard clearly.

"Oh my! So she was the preparator?"

"Wow! That was really an eye opener!!"

"And here she was blaming the blood all the time. Now who is at fault?"

A lot of noises filled the room. But Leo put no effort to stop them. He continued to look at Aurora with those cold eyes as if he was dismembering her skin by that. If possible he would kill her just by looking at her!

Aurora was shaking with anger and hatred. They all were trying to bully her. Forcing her to accept what she had not done. How could they? She would not let that go!

"You! All of you are lying. This is all planned to blame me and save Evangeline. But I am not a pushover whom you can easily blame. I will never accept her crimes!" she screamed with anger with her red eyes staring at the maids!

"Arden!" The man was called again when Aurora challenged the facts. The man who mostly started to act tired or complain from Leo for his torture had cold expressions on his face as he nodded and left with confidence again.

Everyone had curious expressions on their faces. Who would be the next witness and what if Aurora denied to accept that too!

"Yes, my lord!" The man left again only to come back in a few minutes. He had collected everyone early in the morning as he was sure that the meeting was about to happen.

Soon, two physicians started following Arden into the room.

"My lord." They both bowed their heads in front of Leo.

"What do you know about the drug, last night?" asked Leo in a cold voice without even sparing him a glance.

"My lord, the lady had come to me to ask for a few ingredients that are used to keep a person alert and keep sleep away. She told me that she is having trouble sleeping. And then asked for Kaempferia parviflora. It helps in increasing the sensitivity of the person and is also used as an aphrodisiac. 

I did not know the purpose but I did not doubt the lady since she belonged to the family of medicines.'' He bowed his head respectfully.

Though Aurora had claimed that they all were telling lies, the man standing in front of them was a man of integrity. He had a great name in the field of medicine and science. She could not blame him for being a liar so easily. 

She smiled and raised a brow, "so, what does it prove? It is as the physician said, i was sleeping all the time like a log, so i wanted to create a medicine that would keep me awake and help me in studying more. After all, I am preparing for the council.

And the drug is also used as a way to increase your senses so that you can fight better if you take in a very small amount. Only in large amounts would it work as an aphrodisiac. And ask him, ``How much have I taken?" Her confident voice surprised everyone who had thought that she was finally caught.

The way her eyes were clear, it made everyone confused if she was telling the truth of lying. Leo stood up and walked towards her. His slow steps were full of pressure. Everyone took a step back so that he would not notice their presence.

His eyes were stuck on her but she had clenched her teeth too. She would not accept defeat no matter what! Her plan was flawless. No one could claim that she had brought the drug because she had created it herself.

No one knows that she had the art of creating medicines too as she was often taken as a fool in her family when it comes to their talent of making medicines. But she had done a lot of hard work in learning this one.

She looked straight towards the physician who nodded.

"My lady is right. She had taken only a small amount of the drug that would not be enough to make it a strong aphrodisiac!" a smile curled up on her lips as she raised a brow and looked at him with challenging eyes.

"What about you?" he tilted his head and looked at the other physician calmly and Aurora frowned. She did not know the other physician or had never seen him. Could it be that he was really collecting false proofs against her?

"What does it mean? I didn't even know the person and I have never met him before? Are you trying to force me to accept what I had not done at all?" she asked with anger as her aggrieved eyes looked straight at him.

"Does that mean he is the only one whom you do not know?" he asked back and she nodded instinctively but then stopped when she realised what he meant.

"I am glad. That meant you do know the maids and you are accepting that you have dealt with them before!" she wanted to deny but when he stared straight into her eyes with that piercing gaze, she was not able to open her mouth and lie again.

The proximity was making her weak! He was so close to her for thinking straight

"My lord, Sir Arden, had come to me last night asking about the antidote of the drug. I do not know much except giving the medicines.

But when sir Arden left, i checked the ingredients of the drug and how finely it had been used. 

Only then did I come to know that the drug had used Myristica fragrans. The most surprising thing was it is a rare ingredient that had been found in the house of the count Emerald Saniata. They used to sell it in the market a decade ago.. But due to its less production, its only use is limited to the medicines they make and sell in the market."