CHAPTER 13……………………………….
He suddenly smiled brightly and spoke.
“My proposal is strictly a business matter. So you don’t need to worry about anything until the period ends.”
“Ah… I see. Of course. Understood.”
I had no idea what I was even answering. Clutching my bag like a defensive wall, I just nodded vigorously.
Perhaps satisfied with my response, he relaxed slightly.
“Let’s set some boundaries in advance.”
“…Boundaries?”
When I looked up, his dazzling face was right in front of me. I lowered my gaze in shock at the flawless beauty of this peerless man, fearing humiliation, and this time, the clean, bare nape of his neck was visible inside his unbuttoned shirt collar.
It seemed he hadn’t rebuttoned the shirt he’d undone earlier.
‘Ahhh! Someone save me!’
Was a man’s neckline always this… provocative?!
With nowhere to look, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted,
“Yes, let’s decide quickly!”
“Everyday contact is limited to escorting. Ah, and we might end up dancing, so light contact in official settings may have to be allowed.”
“Yes! I’ll do whatever you say!”
I just nodded desperately, wishing for this moment to pass. The subtle, cool scent from the carriage now reached my nose blatantly, making it impossible to think clearly.
Please, stay away! Even if you’re not a criminal, you’re dangerously alluring!
“Your cooperative attitude is commendable.”
“Of course! I’m very cooperative.”
When I nodded enthusiastically, he finally lowered the arm he had been leaning against the wall.
As the “barrier” loosened, I immediately slipped away from the wall and the duke, fleeing toward the bathroom door. When I glared at him warily, he chuckled and opened the door.
“Please rest first. I’ll step out for a while.”
“Go ahead!”
Unable to wait for him to leave, I darted into the bathroom and slammed the door. Somehow, it sounded like I could hear him laughing from the other side.
Soon after, I heard the duke leave the room.
“Haaah…”
Only then did the tension leave me. I slumped onto the bathroom floor like melting wax. Just his presence alone raises my heart rate, and now he’s dangerous in a whole other way too. Was he trying to kill me?
After calming my flushed face with my hands, I finally took in the bathroom.
It was indeed a high-class inn bathroom, waterproofed with a marble bathtub, perfect for bathing alone without needing anyone’s help.
‘Not that I’ll have time to leisurely bathe anyway.’
Luckily, the bathing time for noble ladies here was notoriously long.
I had a window of about two hours.
During that time, there was somewhere I had to go.
Stepping out of the room, Lectorion silently smiled, covering his mouth.
‘Like a squirrel.’
On the carriage ride here, she had been bristling like a cat, and today, whatever had startled her left her face red and frozen, fleeing as if she’d come face-to-face with a predator—a perfect squirrel.
Her hair was exactly squirrel-colored, and the items she clutched to her chest looked like acorns she had hoarded.
“Your Grace?”
“Ah.”
Jace had appeared, seemingly coming to check since she hadn’t come down as promised. But his expression suggested he had seen something utterly strange.
The duke, it seemed, didn’t notice the two guards frozen in shock below.
“What is it?”
“Uh, nothing… You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Me?”
As Lectorion descended the stairs to the lower floor, he seemed momentarily puzzled by the comment, then smirked.
“Her reaction was amusing, so I passed by.”
Jace followed quietly, sighing under his breath.
“She’s pitiful. Please don’t trouble her too much.”
Taken aback by the unexpected comment, Lectorion paused and looked at him.
“Have you grown fond of the young lady already?”
Jace didn’t know that she was an intruder from a deserted mansion near the border. He merely knew her as the powerless young lady from House Yuberis, abused and helpless. For someone like Jace, usually disdainful of the weak, his reaction was surprisingly favorable.
Startled by the duke’s strangely cold reaction, Jace’s voice tensed slightly.
“Judging by her boldness in attaching conditions to Your Grace’s proposal, I merely thought she wasn’t powerless. I think Your Grace is more fond of her than I am.”
Lectorion shrugged and resumed descending the stairs.
“Hmph. I’m just amazed that such a daughter came from such a worthless man.”
Indeed, his reaction was unexpectedly mild.
‘Still unaware, I see.’
Jace recalled the duke’s instruction to share a room with the young lady, as noble attention had surged since they entered the domain.
For a man who dismissed any woman sharply, the duke showing even slight favor toward a bride-to-be, even for just a year, was an undeniably good sign.
“Here it is, Your Grace.”
Entering his room, Jace handed him a report.
“While investigating, I discovered something astonishing. People around believe Count Yuberis to be a man of virtue, even caring for his illegitimate daughter. Rarely in these times, they say he is highly moral and merciful.”
He skimmed through the documents quickly.
“Ridiculous. Beneath that mask, he reeks worse than sewer filth.”
Lectorion’s smile was cold.
A fox of a man. Trivial and petty in conduct, yet meticulous enough to erase every clue; even the usually composed Berick would grind his teeth.
Berick couldn’t accompany him now, as he was still tracking the carefully concealed clues.
The report detailed the recent whereabouts of Count Yuberis’ family, including Eloah. A year-long arranged marriage didn’t justify a background check on a bride—quite the opposite.
‘Could it be that the person Jace came to find is actually a Yuberis daughter?’
Count Yuberis was the first possible connection Lectorion could identify after obsessively tracking the subordinate Beatrice had captured.
If pursued properly, they could get closer to Beatrice’s true identity quickly.
All this made Eloah even more suspicious.
‘Her voice, her physique, even if a bit thin… it matches.’
A noble young lady known as “illegitimate” crossing spaces. If discovered, the humans aboard the Sky Ark would likely go half-mad demanding custody of her.
‘What is her true identity?’
Initially, knowing she was the Yuberis daughter, he thought they were on the same side—but after seeing the Count assault her, he immediately abandoned that suspicion.
Her reaction could not have been faked. The coldness in her eyes after the slap was unmistakable. That stormy gaze belonged only to those who had suffered long-term pain.
Considering that deep grudge, she could never be an ally of the Count. She might even obstruct him.
The Yuberis young lady is not in league with her father.
Yet suspicion remained. The absence of detectable magic, the use of high-level sorcery, and her acceptance of a contractual marriage despite knowing his identity—all of this was unsettling.
‘Perhaps she’s a high-ranking member of Beatrice’s hidden circle.’
Who knew? Perhaps she’d planned vengeance against her abusive father for ten years, lying in wait for the perfect moment—these tragic stories weren’t uncommon among their organization.
Lectorion’s crimson eyes gleamed darkly.
‘For now, better to keep her close and under watch.’
People naturally reveal weaknesses when their guard drops.
Still, given that she had only slept on the carriage for the past five days, she likely had no immediate plans to flee or act.
‘Her reactions are fun when teased anyway.’
Smirking, he returned the completed report to Jace. Sharing a room with Eloah today made it impossible to take it with him.
“The Count’s outing coincides with the delivery date. It seems to match.”
“Shall we plant more spies to secure evidence?”
“Yes. If we miss this, we may not get another chance, so keep an eye on it.”
“Understood.”
Lectorion stroked his gloved hand along his chin, seemingly in thought, then added:
“Best to resolve it within two months.”
“Two months?”
Far shorter than initially expected—but soon the reason for that period became clear.
Lectorion smirked.
“That should make quite a nice wedding gift, don’t you think?”
Jace nodded with a satisfied smile.
“I agree entirely.”
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth—such is the noble’s virtue.
Thus, my master, no matter how many times you consider him, was more noble than anyone.
Coincidentally, today was the full moon.
I had thought the full moon ruined everything, having to share a room with the duke, but thankfully the bathroom was separate.
I washed quickly, throwing a gown over my pajamas, and traveled through the bathroom door to a cabin in the Borun Mountains.
‘Even in spring, mountain nights are quite cold.’
The time difference with the Nosdian territory was negligible, so it was already dim near the cabin.
‘Can’t stay long, so let’s hurry.’
A month ago, in my flustered state, I had forgotten to reply to Lifey. I came again this time, curious about the medicine left behind—likely visited during the last full moon.
“Ah. She’s been here after all.”
The house was clean.
I had thrown my belongings around carelessly in a daze that day, but everything had been tidied: books on the bedside shelf, clothes in drawers, miscellaneous items on the central table.
Even the window I’d left open was carefully shut. I was admiring this when, in the dead of night, the cabin door suddenly burst open.
“Ah.”
Startled, I turned and saw a dark-skinned man in a black hood standing before me, the darkness behind him making it impossible to see an inch ahead.
Before I could react, he lunged at me.
“Ugh, aaaah!”
