Chapter 7:
Charlotte clenched her hand hidden beneath her robe.
“Perhaps you should treat me like a madwoman and listen to what I have to say?”
“Well… I’ve never spoken to a crazy woman before.”
In his gray eyes, an eerie sensation flickered. Charlotte’s sharp features were reflected there, cruel and unsettling like a dense fog. He looked at her as a lion would eye a tiny mouse.
Yet she did not flinch. If she had cowered like a mouse before a lion, she would never have dreamed of gnawing at the mansion in the first place.
Charlotte bit her lip while adjusting the hood the Duke was staring at.
“I suppose my reaction depends on what kind of face this madwoman has. Why don’t you pull the hood down? Or perhaps take off all those clothes?”
Charlotte knew the Duke had a reputation for debauchery, but she had not anticipated hearing such filthy words up close. He was just as licentious as rumored. She felt her cheeks burn and bit her teeth tightly.
“Are you deliberately choosing words like that?”
“Words? What words? You look so sturdy even under that shabby robe that I thought I’d like to feel it with my hands.”
“…….”
“Just kidding. I don’t have a hobby of sleeping with street girls.”
The Duke chuckled, closing his eyes gently. He appeared so innocent and mischievous that, if not for the obscene words just spoken, one could almost believe him a naïve youth.
“Hah…”
Charlotte frowned and clenched her fist again. She wanted nothing to do with a man like this, but the Duke was crucial to her plan. If he did not get involved, she might have to start over entirely. She forced down the rising anger.
“Soon, the Levill family’s diamond mine will be auctioned.”
The Duke raised an eyebrow, now showing a bit more curiosity than before.
“Is this not too high a matter for someone who usually speaks about street girls?”
Yet he did not immediately agree. His expression showed slight disbelief as he spoke.
“Trying to trick me with a feeble scheme, hmm? Shall I… kill you?”
Charlotte had expected such a sharp response, so she remained unshaken.
“I know the auction estimate, the likely bidder, and how to secure the mine. If you kill me now, you won’t get that information. Will you still do it?”
The Duke let out a small laugh, scanning Charlotte from head to toe. Despite her worn, cheap robe, her shoes were of good quality. So, this was a crafted appearance… who is she, and what are her intentions?
A hint of intrigue flickered in his eyes.
“Ah, my apologies. I mistook you for a street girl because of your figure. Well, it’s a pity then.”
With a half-hearted apology, the Duke slowly rose. Charlotte noted his imposing frame, two heads taller than her, and kept her gaze on his chest, so as not to reveal the lowering hood.
“Investigate the Levill family’s mine. Then you’ll see I’m not lying.”
“And if I see you’re not lying?”
“Then you must come back to me. You’ll have to pay the price for the information.”
The Duke’s lips tilted slightly. He stared at Charlotte with a cold expression before letting out a small chuckle.
“What do you expect to gain from me?”
His low, almost seductive voice was unsettling. Charlotte forced herself to ignore the closeness of his breath, hardening her gaze.
“Attend the royal ball.”
His attendance was the first step in her plan. Charlotte could not afford to miss it. Her blue eyes gleamed with icy determination.
“Then I will tell you everything you want to know.”
Vermier Duke’s aide, Inoshi Blanc, kept biting his nails and shaking his legs.
The plush carriage seat and thick walls muffling most outside sounds brought him no comfort. He could not be calm—the commotion outside was due to the Duke’s victory celebration, yet the main figure, the Duke himself, had vanished.
It would not be a major issue to miss the festival, but the Duke had to report to the throne soon. A victory report without the general? Even the generous Emperor would be furious.
“Maybe I should just quit?”
Inoshi muttered, voice laced with insincerity. At that moment, a knock at the window startled him. It was the Duke!
“Your Grace!”
Inoshi flung open the carriage door, shoving the Duke inside, then snapped sharply, “Where on earth have you been? Do you know how long I’ve searched for you? Hans! Move! We can’t keep the Emperor waiting!”
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Inoshi sighed in relief. Acting quickly ensured no noble would find fault with the Duke’s family.
Then the Duke spoke with a strange expression:
“So you truly did not know where I was.”
“Eh?”
Inoshi’s brow furrowed.
“You heard me wrong? I searched the entire square! Even though I looked everywhere, I couldn’t find you, and wondered if you had returned home!”
The Duke pressed his palm to his face, thinking deeply. His unusual demeanor made Inoshi’s heart drop.
“Was there… an assassination attempt?”
“Did it seem successful?”
“You appear fine.”
The Duke chuckled, clasping his hands together. Even Inoshi could not locate him. Yet a woman had approached knowing his identity. That fact irked the Duke—he did not know her, so he was not at a disadvantage yet.
“Search the auction. Anything about the Levill family, bring it all.”
“Ah… yes. But why?”
“Do as I say.”
Inoshi grumbled, but obeyed. The Duke gazed at him briefly, then stared out at the gray winter sky. Charlotte’s piercing eyes flashed in his memory.
“Attend the royal ball.”
“Then I will tell you everything you want to know.”
The Duke’s twisted, faint smile seemed to mock, “I’ve opened my mouth; now it’s only fair you put your neck in.”
“Inoshi. Secure the royal ball invitation.”
He did not yet know her identity, but he hoped something interesting would happen.
Charlotte clutched her still-racing heart and steadied herself.
She had held her temper despite being treated like a street girl and insulted, and she had delivered her crucial message.
“Attend the royal ball.”
If that happened, her reckless gamble would succeed. She exhaled, wiping the cold sweat from her face.
