IHYWRM l CH 10

Chapter 10

“Charlotte, who always said this place was filthy and wouldn’t even look at it—what brings you here?”

Adrian pretended not to know, even though it was obvious she’d come to hire him. The sight felt familiar from last night’s dream, yet still strange—he wasn’t quite the Adrian she knew from the other world.

Charlotte looked at him calmly, sat across from him, and answered, “I have a request.”

“The great Charlotte Daphsine, making a request?”

His tone was snide, but his face was playful. Was it really that funny that she had come in person?

When she nodded with a sour look, Adrian leaned closer. “What kind of request? I’m curious.”

His lazy eyes met hers, a gaze that tickled the back of her neck. Charlotte’s voice stayed dry. “I want you to find a trading company.”

“Hm?”

Adrian frowned slightly—once again, she wasn’t acting as he expected. He leaned back, stroked his chin, and studied her parched, tired face.

I thought she’d ask me to kill Lina Goldstein or the Duke, he thought.

Adrian already knew what had happened to Charlotte last night and this morning. Even if he hadn’t, her raw wounds told the story.

Yet after all that humiliation, she’d come to ask him to look up a company?

Either she went crazy overnight, or she’s trying to act human now.
More likely the first, he decided.

He pressed his lips together to stop a laugh, which only made his face look stiffer.

Charlotte watched his sharpening eyes, then set a large sack on the table.

Thud. The heavy sound vibrated through the wood.

“The fee is more than enough.”

“Hm. Looks that way.”

Even a quick glance said it was a lot. Adrian tapped the table with a long finger, a steady rhythm filling the office.

Charlotte didn’t delay. “All I have is a name. I don’t know what they trade or which country they belong to.”

“The name?”

“Hueril Trading Company. What they do and where they’re based—please find out.”

At “Hueril,” Adrian’s tapping hand twitched—just for a moment—and then kept the same beat. It happened so fast Charlotte didn’t notice.

“Hueril… That’s a new one for me. Are you sure about the name?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“Really? Hm. If nothing comes to mind, I’ll have to dig.”

“Take your time. I… just want to know what kind of place it is, even later.”

Her voice got smaller, a hint of plea in it—something even Adrian could hear. His face tightened for a heartbeat, then he smiled as usual.

“Fine. I’ll look into it. But are you telling me the great Charlotte came all the way here just for that?”

“Wow, must be some company,” he joked.

Charlotte sighed softly, then set down a second sack.

Thud!

It was heavy too. She pushed it toward him. “Turn these jewels—half into mana stones, half into cash. Take your fee from it.”

“That’s easy enough, but mana stones? What for?”

His eyes narrowed. From a trading company to mana stones—what kind of person changes this much in a day?

Charlotte had no intention of explaining. She stayed silent even when he asked again.

How can I say I can use magic now?

The old “villainess” Charlotte Daphsine couldn’t even use basic magic. Low mana, no talent—of course she couldn’t.

But the me who strayed from the original story is different.

In the three years after Noctum died, while running the grand ducal estate, she studied from the magic theory books he left behind. She even found a way to force magic through a “mana-disabled” body: by storing the power from mana stones inside herself. It hurt like hell—but she could manage.

“So you’re really doing black magic?” he taunted.

“Just prepare what I asked.”

Ignoring him, Charlotte stood. Adrian had a mountain of questions, but he didn’t stop her.

Why she needed mana stones mattered less than one thing in his head:

Hueril Trading Company.

He glanced toward the vault where he kept the most sensitive files.

…Gives me chills, he thought. Just moving that way felt like a knife had traced a line across his throat.

***

Charlotte left the network. Unlike when she arrived, she slipped out through the gambling house’s hidden exit and walked quickly toward the main street.

But even in daylight, this alley was deep and rough, and she looked like an easy mark.

No one here would ignore that.

A thug bumped her shoulder on purpose. “Hey, did you just hit me?”

“…”

“Hey, girl. I asked if you hit me. Not even a ‘sorry’?”

He blocked her path, sneering. Charlotte didn’t want a scene; she sighed and spoke quietly.

“How much do you want?”

“Oh? And if I name a price, you’ll pay?”

“If it’s reasonable.”

That made him laugh. He whistled; more lowlifes gathered around her.

“Money’s not enough for this, you know.”

“So?”

“Why doesn’t a girl like you get it? If bodies clash, you pay with your body.”

He grabbed her hood, threatening to yank it back.

Charlotte closed her eyes a second, tired. After everything in the last two days, her head ached.

She frowned and counted the men around her.

More than she liked—but manageable.

Good thing I learned some hand-to-hand just in case.

She started to raise her hand to catch his wrist—

“Ugh!”

The thug in front of her groaned and dropped. Before she could even see who moved, the others were taken down in a blur.

The rest scattered like jackals.

Charlotte just stood there, stunned—until someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Her shoulders hit the wall hard.

“Ugh…”

“Do you even think, Lady?!”

The urgent voice cut across her pained breath. It was familiar.

Her body went rigid. She looked up.

Even in the dim alley, she could see his face clearly.

Noctum.

“Right. Since you’re a noble lady, of course you’d wander into a place like this,” he muttered, frowning at her.

She hadn’t imagined running into him here. She stared, dazed, her heart pounding.

His hair and clothes were the same as yesterday—proof again that he wasn’t the Noctum she knew. And yet—

You really do look like him.

He looked so much like her husband that her eyes stung. She twisted her wrist free.

“I’ll be going now.”

Head lowered, she asked it flatly. Noctum’s eyebrow arched.

“No thanks for the man who saved you, Lady?”

“Thank you.”

“That’s a little too formal.”

He stepped in front of her again, blocking her. “Ah. Maybe you didn’t need saving, and I stuck my nose in?”

The sniping tone startled her; she’d never heard him talk like that. So elegant a voice, and words like these?

She corrected herself at once.

He’s different.

She lifted her head without thinking. Her hood shifted; a bit of her face showed.

Noctum’s face tightened. His eyes flicked to the gambling house behind her, then back. He let out a small sigh.

Then he turned his body, opening a path.

Not what she expected. She bowed quickly. “Thank you, then.”

Afraid he’d start mocking her again, she hurried past him—

Then stopped and glanced back.

Noctum was still standing there.