* * *

“What am I even saying? It’s like… like I wanted Ashton to be jealous or something…”

The realization that he might actually care about Ashton made him shake his head vehemently.

There was no way.

How could he care about an Alpha who barely kept any promises and thought nothing of dunking him in water at the slightest provocation?

Well, okay.

Sure, Ashton was insanely good-looking, had a ridiculously sexy body, was unnecessarily kind at times, and even surprisingly considerate… but still.

“Pull it together, Remy. What good is thinking about this right now?”

He slapped his cheeks and forced himself to focus.

“Alright, let’s check Ashton’s tent. Maybe something will make sense once I get there.”

When he reached Ashton’s tent, Remy let out a small cheer.

His guess had been right—Ashton couldn’t sleep and was pacing outside his tent, clearly preoccupied.

“Of course,” Remy thought smugly.

Before he could process the wave of relief he felt, Remy found himself stepping closer, even clearing his throat as if to say, “Hey, look at me.”

“I can’t be too obvious. The key is to make it seem like I’m leading him on unintentionally.”

Remy’s subtle gestures worked like a charm.

Ashton, who’d been lost in thought, suddenly lifted his head and locked eyes with him.

“This is it.”

With his plan on track, Remy headed purposefully toward the eatery tent, knowing Ashton would follow.

True enough, Ashton quietly trailed behind without saying a word.

“Good. He’s following perfectly. Now I just have to slip into the eatery tent unnoticed…”

As he turned the final corner toward the tent, Remy steeled himself, gripping the vial of poison in his pocket.

But as he reached the tent, he froze.

“Wait, who…?”

To his shock, someone else—Allen—was entering the tent ahead of him.

“Why is Allen here…?”

Remy’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

He stood frozen, trying to piece together what he’d just seen.

“The eatery tent… the one I need to get into… why is Allen going in there? What could he possibly be doing…?”

No matter how hard he thought about it, nothing made sense.

Was he just thirsty in the middle of the night?

Everyone had water in their rooms…

“No, why now, of all times?”

Frustrated, Remy bit his lip.

He considered waiting for Allen to leave but quickly dismissed the idea. He couldn’t afford to wait.

“I have to find out.”

Stepping silently, Remy approached the tent’s entrance and peeked inside.

“Gasp!”

He barely managed to stifle a cry.

Allen was rummaging through the serving table, picking up a glass bottle.

Even in the dim light of a single candle, Remy recognized it immediately—the bottle of lemon juice the eatery specially prepared for him, knowing he couldn’t stomach fishy flavors.

“No way… why is Allen touching the lemon juice…?”

The scene became even more shocking.

Allen pulled a small vial from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and poured its contents into the lemon juice. The very juice meant for Remy.

“…!”

Remy’s mind went blank.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. In the original story, he was the one who poisoned Allen’s drink—not the other way around!

“Remy.”

“Huh!”

Startled, Remy found himself pulled back and silenced by Ashton’s hand over his mouth.

He turned his head slightly, meeting Ashton’s eyes.

“Quiet,” Ashton whispered. “You’ll get caught.”

Only then did Ashton release him.

Remy stood frozen, letting Ashton take the lead.

“That’s Allen, isn’t it? And that’s your lemon juice he’s messing with.”

Ashton’s low voice sent a chill down Remy’s spine.

He bit his lip, heart sinking.

Ashton had seen everything—there was no explaining it away.

“Let’s go,” Ashton said, wrapping an arm around him and steering him away from the scene.

Back in Ashton’s tent, Remy sat on the makeshift bed, still shaken.

Ashton looked down at him with a sigh, clearly worried.

“Sit tight. I’ll get you some water.”

After handing Remy a cup of water, Ashton asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Remy replied, though his pale face said otherwise.

“I’ll tell the chef to prepare new lemon juice tomorrow and throw out the current batch.”

“No, it’s fine,” Remy protested. “Don’t make a fuss.”

“It’s better this way. We don’t know what Allen put in there.”

“I’ll just avoid drinking it. Stop overreacting. I don’t want unnecessary attention.”

Ashton fell silent, understanding Remy’s reluctance.

Having caused chaos in Allen’s party before, Remy seemed desperate to avoid becoming the center of another uproar.

Ashton relented with a quiet, “Alright. If that’s what you want.”

Ashton placed the glass of water he had received from Remy on the makeshift table, then slowly laid Remy down.

With a pallid face, Remy reclined on the portable bed, his eyes wide open, unable to close, his lips trembling as he chewed on them.

He stared blankly into space, his mind reduced to utter chaos as if a bomb had gone off inside.

“Remy.”

Ashton sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Remy’s hair.

He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing—the pained expression on Remy’s face was too much to bear. His intent was to soothe him, to help him fall asleep.

“Take your hand away.”

Remy swatted Ashton’s hand away, the tender touch irritating him in this moment of frustration.

“Remy. Don’t think about it. Forget what you saw today. Just act like it never happened. That’s the best thing for you. If you keep dwelling on it, it’ll only make things harder for you.”

Ashton spoke with concern for Remy, hoping to ease his turmoil.

But his words only ignited an even fiercer fire in Remy’s chest.

Already consumed by irritation, Remy’s expression hardened into one of sheer anger.

He shouted, his voice trembling with emotion.

“What? Act like I didn’t see it? Forget about it?”

“Remy…”

“How can I? I saw it! How can you tell me to just pretend it didn’t happen?”

“I’m saying this for your sake.”

“For my sake? What do you even know about what I want? Do you even know what I’m feeling right now?”

Remy couldn’t hold back his fury.

It was a mix of frustration at the situation that wasn’t going according to plan and self-loathing for failing to handle even simple matters.

Yet somehow, all his anger inexplicably found its target in Ashton.

Ashton, innocent as he was, became the unwilling recipient of Remy’s wrath.

“Ashton. Do you know why I went there?”

“…Remy.”

“Do you know why I was in the dining tent at that time?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I was going to do it. Not Allen—me! I was going to poison the ginger tea Allen drinks every day!”

“What…?”

Remy’s voice trembled with barely restrained emotion as he let the words spill out, but he felt no regret.

‘This is fine. It doesn’t matter what happens to the poison. The goal was to make Ashton hate me anyway.’

“Remy, what are you even saying…?”

“You don’t believe me? You don’t think I’d do it?”

Remy pulled a small vial from his pocket.

It bore a striking resemblance to the one Allen had been holding earlier.

“It’s Adeline extract.”

Ashton’s eyes widened at Remy’s declaration.

Ashton knew what Adeline was.

A poisonous plant that caused severe abdominal pain.

While it wasn’t lethal if treated promptly, the pain it caused was excruciating.

It was a highly dangerous substance.

* * *