Chapter 42
Altair Territory, Duke’s Office.
Arin was burning up, breath ragged from the intensity of her emotions. That’s right—she was absolutely furious.
“Why do you keep blocking me when I just want to invest my own money in a business, huh!?”
With a hot snort, Arin slammed her palm down on the solid wood desk in front of Deneb. A loud thud rang out as the papers on the desk fluttered from the impact.
No matter what she did, Deneb remained seated, legs crossed, eyes glued to the document in his hand. Though his gaze was on the paper, his full attention was focused on Arin. His firm lips parted and a heavy voice came out.
“There’s too much work. I can’t approve your leave.”
‘What the hell?!’ He’d told her himself that giving her the deputy commander title was just a formality—a fancy position with no real responsibilities. In other words, she was a parachuted-in figurehead free to slack off.
Deneb finally set down the papers and looked at her.
“Right now, Altair Territory needs all the help it can get—even a cat’s paw.”
His grave tone made Arin narrow her eyes. She wasn’t sure if he was serious or not.
Seeing that she seemed half-convinced, Deneb’s golden irises narrowed sharply for a moment before returning to normal. In truth, as Arin suspected, he was interfering with her business. Whether it was about the business or not, he couldn’t stand the idea of Arin and Melodian being involved.
Out of sight, out of mind. He was determined to keep the two from meeting at all costs. The only person who should be entangled with Arin—deeply and messily—was himself.
“So you’re telling me to work now?”
“Time to earn your paycheck.”
“Weren’t you the one who said I just had to warm the seat? That I didn’t have to work? Why are you changing your story all of a sudden?!”
Watching Arin clutch the back of her neck in frustration, Deneb smirked with a sly glint in his eyes. His shamelessness made her rub her eyes in disbelief.
He shoved a random document into her hands and nudged her out.
“I’m counting on you.”
By the time Arin snapped out of her daze, she was already outside the office.
‘What the heck just happened?’
Looking down at her arm, she saw the fine hairs standing straight up. This was a different kind of horror for her.
After dealing with the document Deneb had given her, the sun had already begun to set.
“Ugh, please don’t be closed…”
She was heading to the Mail Management Department, located within Altair Castle. As the name implied, this department handled and inspected all incoming correspondence. Unless something was extremely urgent, all letters brought into the castle were first checked here before reaching their recipients.
Since Melodian’s letter still hadn’t arrived, Arin decided to personally check if it had been missed. After all, all mail passed through this place.
By the time she arrived, the staff member in charge of the personal mailbox window was getting ready to leave. Feeling bad about bothering them right at closing time, Arin reluctantly turned back.
The next day.
And the day after that…
Whether it was bad luck or someone’s interference, the timing never worked out—she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the mailbox staff.
Then one day, just as she was dragging her feet out of the building again, she spotted the miracle she’d been hoping for—the staff member at the personal window.
Putting on a brazen face, Arin approached.
“Um… Hello!”
While Arin’s face was lit with joy, the staff member’s turned pale. He stammered like a broken robot.
“Ah, uh, oh no! I’m so busy! Gotta go, gotta go!”
Even an AI would’ve sounded more natural. His awkwardness reeked of guilt.
From that point on, whenever he spotted her, he’d flee as fast as he could. That confirmed Arin’s suspicion—something was definitely up. Determined to catch him in the act, she began tailing him with laser focus.
Within the week, she finally caught him. As the staff member headed toward Deneb’s office, Arin gently tapped his shoulder.
“Matthew. That letter—isn’t that mine?”
The bloodshot look in her eyes made Matthew’s teeth chatter. His large, rough hand clutched a bundle of letters tightly.
“Th-th-that’s… What do you mean?!”
His extreme stammering made it obvious he was hiding something. Arin narrowed her hawk-like eyes and spotted the sender written on the envelope.
“Melodian Rigel.”
There was no doubt—it was meant for her.
Deneb, who had been waiting for that very letter to arrive, sensed the ruckus outside his office. His senses confirmed it was Matthew and Arin. He already had a pretty good idea of what was happening.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he got up and headed out into the hallway—with mana coursing through his legs despite his unhurried appearance.
Out in the hallway, he saw Matthew about to lose the letter bundle. With speed faster than most knights could track, Deneb snatched the letters and shoved them into his inner jacket pocket.
Arin’s face twisted in disbelief as she watched a Swordmaster use his powers just to hide some mail. Glaring daggers at him, she faced Deneb, who remained unshakably shameless.
“They were addressed to me.”
“What?”
“I said, they’re mine.”
“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”
Normally, Arin would treat Deneb with the respect due to a superior. But not this time. Titles and ranks were irrelevant now.
She flung open his jacket and began feeling around his chest and waist without hesitation. Her hands dug under his clothes. As his shirt became a mess, Deneb tried to fend her off, muttering,
“What are you doing to me right now?”
“That’s my line.”
Unable to push her away completely, Deneb’s defense was half-hearted, while Arin continued her wild, animal-like search.
Alpha and Lemain, two knights on nearby patrol, sensed the commotion and rushed over. They drew their swords to subdue what they assumed was an intruder—only to freeze at the scene before them. Arin was violating their lord’s upper body with no restraint.
Quietly, Alpha and Lemain sheathed their swords. Their eyes wandered in confusion until they spotted Serives, who was hurriedly walking down the corridor.
Serives had been assigned by Deneb to track Melodian’s movements. He had just confirmed that Melodian had entered the Altair Territory that very morning.
Just as he was on his way to report, he spotted Arin tussling with his liege. Their eyes met—and Serives froze. Then, awkwardly, he tried to disappear.
But Arin recognized that same guilty flinch—the exact same one she’d seen from Matthew. She immediately let go of Deneb and ran after Serives, snatching the parchment from his hands.
No one could stop her now—she was fired up and powered by mana. By the time Serives realized he’d been robbed, Arin had already read the entire message.
“Melodian Rigel entered the territory this morning.”
Fully understanding the situation, Arin bolted toward the stables.
“Deneb, see you later!”
The line sounded like a villain running away—but she didn’t care. She had no idea what other obstacles might come, so meeting Melodian came first.
The incident between Deneb and Arin spread like wildfire.
Upon hearing it, Altair burst into hearty laughter, slapping the armrest of his chair. Having heard the full story from Vega, the leader of the 1st Knight Order, he could pretty much guess what his son was thinking.
‘Must’ve been some petty jealousy. Fool. Doesn’t he realize that acting like that will just drive Arin away?’
In Altair’s opinion, Deneb was utterly hopeless when it came to romance.
‘Who did he take after?’
Wanting to see his son’s face, Altair got up and knocked loudly on the door to Deneb’s office.
Deneb opened it.
“Father.”
“Come, let’s have some tea.”
After summoning a maid, Altair casually sat down on the sofa. Deneb took the seat opposite him and asked in a blunt tone.
“What brings you here?”
“I heard you fought with Arin.”
Though much was left unsaid, Deneb understood exactly what he meant.
He frowned, realizing how far the rumors had spread. He should’ve controlled the gossip. His eyebrows twitched in irritation at his own carelessness.
Seeing Deneb’s grim expression, Altair smiled inwardly.
“Word getting out about the person you like isn’t good. Be careful. I already told Vega to shut things down.”
“…”
Altair actually thought Arin wouldn’t be a bad daughter-in-law.
She was the only one who could make his son, who had become cold and ruthless, act like a human again. On top of that, she was capable, cheerful, and a genuinely good person.
Altair chose his words carefully.
“Jealousy and affection are fine—but acting like this will only make Arin uncomfortable. You need to show restraint.”
“…”
Deneb stayed silent, prompting Altair to stare directly at his son’s familiar face.
Deneb didn’t quite understand what Altair was saying.
Jealousy. Affection. Someone you like. Those were words that had nothing to do with him—or so he thought.
But as he reflected on his behavior and his feelings for Arin, Deneb suddenly ran his hand over his face. The knuckles covering his face had turned a faint shade of red.
It was the moment he fully realized the truth about his feelings and actions—truths he hadn’t been able to understand until now.
