CHAPTER 86…………………………………….

“Didn’t you say you could figure everything out by looking at the ten-thousand-year calendar or whatever it was? Or was that a lie too?”

That was a lie?

Anyone hearing him would think lying was her hobby.

“Hah…!”

At this point, Anje wanted to slap the mouth that had so proudly spilled her secrets to the Duke. What glory had she been hoping for when she did something that stupid?

“Fate charts aren’t some mind-reading trick that lets you see into people’s thoughts.”

Ugh, how was she supposed to explain this?

Anje massaged her throbbing temples.

Maybe I should just quit everything.

The mansion was almost finished, and she still hadn’t received her payment—but with the money she had on hand, she could at least rent a small place on the outskirts of the capital.

It would always weigh on her that she couldn’t fulfill her mother’s wish in the end… but Anje felt she had done enough.

After sitting with her eyes closed for a long time, she slowly opened her mouth.

“I think we should stop here. Now that all the issues you hired me for have been resolved—Lady Crowe, Hans—there’s no reason you need me anymore. If you want me to pay the penalty for ending the contract, I will. So… how much is it?”

“A hundred times the promised amount.”

Anje blinked at him, speechless, and the Duke continued:

“If that’s what you want, then so be it. It’s troublesome, but I’ll simply find another informant.”

“But…”

“I can’t say you’ve never helped me, so I’ll show mercy and waive a few things. But even then, you can’t expect to walk away scot-free.”

Look at me. After everything I’ve done—and you want a penalty? Are you a thug?

The very thought of the amount made Anje’s vision go white.

“It’s late and I’m tired. We’ll discuss this tomorrow. I’ll have Elliot calculate the exact figure.”

“You’re serious? I thought—how can you…”

Anje exhaled a long, defeated sigh and rubbed her face. She had gone through too much today; she didn’t have the strength to argue.

Dragging her exhausted body toward the mansion, she heard the Duke casually add:

“Just in case—don’t think about running away tonight. I’ll chase you to the ends of the continent if I have to. I only mention it because Mariana has been suggesting you attempt a midnight escape.”

Of course she has.

Anje shot him a dull, unamused look. Her body begged for rest, and her exhausted mind refused to function.

Waving her hand dismissively, she trudged toward her room.

After bathing and changing into nightclothes, the Duke headed not to bed but to the desk piled with documents. His body demanded rest, but after everything that had happened today, falling asleep would be impossible anyway.

He approached his desk but paused before sitting down. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and stepped into the corridor.

It was late—well past midnight, nearing dawn.

While every other living thing slept peacefully, only he remained awake. He preferred insomnia over nightmares, but even he couldn’t do anything about the loneliness that crept in during these solitary nights.

Walking down the hallway, he stopped in front of Anje’s room and quietly listened.

Only when he heard her deep, peaceful breathing did the tension in his shoulders ease.

In truth, he hadn’t even realized how tense he was. He had threatened that he wouldn’t let her get away if she ran—but if she really had disappeared, darkness would have swallowed him whole.

How pathetic I’ve become.

With a dry, self-mocking smirk, the Duke returned to his room and sat at the desk.

He opened one of the stacks of documents and spoke softly:

“Come out.”

“…So you did notice me earlier?”

Gray was sitting on the sofa—where no one had been just moments ago.

“Of course. When you didn’t attack, I figured you were some petty thief and decided to give you time to steal whatever you wanted. But you held out longer than expected.”

“Lies. You sensed me, didn’t you? This may be my first time in this room, but I’ve been in and out of the mansion plenty of times. Every time I came to see the captain, you even distracted the guards and knights for me.”

“How shameless. Why are you here?”

“I think it’s time to take Anje back. I was going to do it quietly, but I figured I should at least say goodbye.”

The Duke’s face darkened as he skimmed the papers.

“What day is it today?”

Why does everyone keep trying to take Anje away from me?

Rubbing his tired eyes, he asked flatly:

“What?”

“It’s nothing. But you do know there’ll be a penalty if she leaves now, right?”

“Oh, I know. Believe me, I know. But it’s urgent—what can we do? Whether it’s a hundred times or two hundred times the amount, I need to save the captain first. Human life comes before money.”

The Duke snorted.

“And do you have that money? Strange—your men seem bolder than your guildmaster.”

“We can find the money. Speaking of which, our captain might be stingy sometimes, sure—but he’s a good man. He treats even useless riffraff kindly, shares everything without skimming a single coin.”

“That ‘stingy’ captain of yours wouldn’t be pleased if you paid a hundred- or two-hundred-fold penalty to drag her away.”

Gray’s previously playful expression turned grim.

“That’s why I came at night. To kidnap her.”

The Duke finished signing a document and tilted his head.

Gray had expected him to explode—but instead, the Duke nitpicked the oddest part:

“And what’s so urgent? Why is her life suddenly at stake?”

“Oh, that.”

Gray let out a tired sigh.

“Now that I think about it, it’s all Your Grace’s fault. So can’t you just waive the penalty?”

The Duke’s brows shot up at the outrageous demand. Gray quickly raised both hands in a calming gesture.

“Lady Crowe submitted a request. According to the Black Wolf’s rules, since we already accepted Your Grace’s commission, we should reject hers. But… curiosity got the better of me. So I visited their estate.”

His expression grew grave.

“They led me to the annex behind the mansion. It seemed they were doing this behind the marquis’s back. And the request… was to kill Anje.”

“So the attack earlier—”

Hearing the Duke speak so casually, Gray practically jumped out of his seat.

“You were attacked? What about Anje?”

“She has a few scratches and burns, but she’ll be fine.”

“Scratches and burns? How is that ‘fine’? What if she scars?!”

Earlier, after sending Anje to her room, the Duke had already endured a storm of scolding from the Marchioness and Mariana. Now Gray was berating him for the same thing, and guilt pricked at him—followed by a wave of weariness.

After all, Gray was right. If not for the Duke, someone like Hildegard would never have targeted a fallen noblewoman of no importance.

Pressing a hand against his temple, the Duke said:

“It was late, so she only got first aid. The physician will come first thing tomorrow. And the request? You didn’t refuse, even after hearing that?”

“Of course I said I’d do it.”

“What?”

Gray shrugged at the Duke’s incredulous expression.

“In our world, it’s always a battlefield. Friend or foe. If you hear the content of the request and then refuse, you’re practically signing your death warrant. Besides, Lady Crowe didn’t seem like someone who’d back down even if I did refuse. I pretended to leave and watched from the corner, just in case.”

Though summer was near, the dawn chill lingered, so a fire crackled softly in the fireplace. The Duke stared into it, face stiff.

Gray watched the Duke’s sharply sculpted features and secretly clicked his tongue.

Truly, whether man or woman, one should only be moderately exceptional.

The Duke was far too exceptional—and that’s why all this disaster had unfolded.