He often played with the wolves that came down from the mountains since he was young. Wild animals, once familiar, rarely attacked people without reason. Sometimes, they even wagged their tails more gently than dogs.
As long as the line wasn’t crossed, they could remain friends.
But someone had clearly crossed a line inside that gentle-looking woman.
“I—I—I’ll do it! I’m really good at kicking balls!”
“No, please leave it to me! I’ve got the biggest feet here!”
Just yesterday, the mercenaries who seemed ready to lunge at Caria with murderous intent now flipped their attitudes completely over two gold coins.
She used to believe loyalty bought with money was meaningless. But seeing this, she realized that sometimes, cooperation could be achieved simply and rationally.
“Duchess, please stop them! At this rate, I’ll have to draw my sword!”
Ansen shouted urgently, cold sweat pouring down as the burly men approached. But Caria merely stood there with her arms crossed, observing the situation calmly.
‘Wait, did I cross a line too? What did I even do wrong?!’
Ansen had gone through a crash course in knighthood. Caria was the first noble he’d ever guarded, so he was completely unaware of what mistake he had made.
Jurin Balthos had simply told him: “Just stay quietly behind her and help if she asks.”
So that’s exactly what he did. When she boarded and got off carriages, carried heavy things at the orphanage, or did manual labor—he only helped if she specifically asked. Otherwise, he stood there like a useless sack of barley.
‘Still, I was pretty nice today!’
He had even been specially warned by Balthos not to upset her in the slightest, so he acted sweetly—something totally against his nature. And this is what he got in return?
He felt so wronged that tears nearly welled up.
“I’ll handle this.”
“…Ah.”
Then, a low yet clear voice emerged from among the burly men approaching Ansen. The speaker was cloaked fully in a robe, and though he wasn’t large, he radiated an odd sense of pressure.
As he stepped forward, the crowd of mercenaries parted instantly to make way.
The man dramatically drew his sword from his hip and beckoned to Ansen with a finger—a clear challenge.
And hot-blooded Ansen Miller, who knew only strength, didn’t ignore the provocation. He unsheathed his sword.
“How dare a mere mercenary challenge a knight!”
Ansen grumbled constantly about quitting, but he was, in fact, quite proud of having clawed his way up from common birth to knighthood.
To him, mercenaries were just thugs who knew how to fight, living day to day. He truly believed there was no way he could lose.
“Urgh!”
But that confidence shattered the moment their blades clashed.
In the first strike, he realized he couldn’t match the man’s strength. In the second, he saw there were no openings. On the third, Ansen was flat on his back staring at the ceiling.
The man kicked Ansen’s fallen sword into the corner of the tavern, pulled the string from his robe, and tied up Ansen’s arms.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Then, he hoisted Ansen over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. With no ability to move his arms and completely overpowered, Ansen thrashed desperately.
But the man’s grip was unbreakable. Soon, Ansen was tossed like cargo onto his own horse’s saddle outside. His eyes trembled as if in disbelief.
As the robe fell slightly open, the man’s mouth curved into a smooth, teasing smile.
“Whatever you did, kid, you should’ve at least been good-looking. Then maybe you’d have been forgiven. Tsk!”
“W-wait!”
The man slapped the horse’s flank, and it bolted away with a loud whinny. Ansen’s cries echoed several times before fading into the distance.
“Fancy seeing you again.”
The man returned to the tavern, brushing off his hands and pulling back his hood. He flashed Caria a bright smile. She quickly turned her head to avoid looking at his face—she could feel her composure slipping.
Seeing her reaction, he smiled gently and revealed the result of his task: a luxurious black-lacquered wooden box filled with gold coins.
“Esteemed Duchess of the ancient house of Pandeon, were you satisfied with the job?”
“…So you did know.”
“We tend to be well-informed.”
He shrugged as if it were no big deal. He didn’t have to reveal what he knew, but he wanted to earn her trust.
She hadn’t even tried to disguise herself, so it didn’t seem like she wanted to hide her identity. And if they were to continue doing business with large sums of money involved, some level of familiarity was beneficial.
If she ever changed her mind and went to someone else, he’d lose out. Not that he thought she would.
He kept a friendly, likable smile plastered on his face.
“I like it. You met the deadline, and the source is a reputable guild. Can I entrust you with more?”
“Of course. As much as you want.”
“How do you know how much gold I’ll bring next time?”
Caria spoke ambiguously, half teasing, half testing. Then she met his eyes and smiled back. She knew better than to show weakness.
“You’re using honorifics now.”
“…Ah.”
“It sounds nice. Being addressed respectfully by a noble lady makes me feel like a proper gentleman.”
But his comment caught her off guard. Because she had been thinking of Guildford so much, she unconsciously addressed this man the same way.
She needed to stay sharp.
She still suspected he might be connected to Guildford, though she had no proof. But she couldn’t afford to be caught off guard.
“Judging by your lovely golden hair, it seems you’ve always had a connection with gold. What do you plan to do with this money?”
“Hmm. First, I’d like to buy a decent carriage.”
“I can get one for a fair price.”
At his quick reply, a small crease formed between Caria’s brows.
She hadn’t intended to take all the coins with her, but the man spoke as if it were a given that she’d leave them behind.
“You’re quite the negotiator.”
“Noah.”
“…Noah?”
“My name. You can’t keep calling me ‘hey’ or ‘you,’ right?”
Caria let out a small, involuntary laugh. A man with Guildford’s face named Noah—the irony made her laugh out loud, remembering how poorly the real Guildford and Noah had gotten along.
Oddly, knowing his name wiped away the unease she had felt before. In fact, with his smooth-talking nature, he resembled Noah more than Guildford anyway.
Now she could finally look him in the face.
“Oh, and about that thing we mentioned before… Could I make a request?”
“What thing?”
“The background check.”
Her words made Noah blink in surprise.
“Did you catch a whiff of something suspicious about your husband?”
“Not him. Someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“There’s someone new I’m interested in.”
Noah looked thoughtful for a moment—then burst out laughing.
Caria frowned, not understanding the sudden laughter. But sensing her irritation, he quickly covered his mouth and turned away to stop.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“I didn’t expect you to be so forward.”
“What?”
“Pardon me, but information about me doesn’t come cheap.”
He narrowed his eyes playfully, wearing an odd expression that suggested he knew everything. Caria studied him, blinking slowly.
Why would he think that?
“I meant the Grand Duchess of Pandeon.”
“…What? The Grand Duchess?”
“She’s been embezzling money from the family over a long period. I want to know where she hid it. Can you find that out?”
She handed him records she’d compiled from six years of internal financial ledgers, tracking funds siphoned off by the Grand Duchess.
The amounts were consistent—clearly used or invested somewhere. If she found out where, it would be a powerful bargaining chip.
Sure, if this leaked outside, the family would become a laughingstock. But Caria had no hesitation giving it to Noah, a man she had only met twice.
Let them laugh. What mattered more was finding useful people. Since she’d decided to sever ties with Pandeon, its reputation meant nothing to her.
“That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Then let’s consider it agreed.”
Noah wiped away his fake smile and smacked his lips, maybe a little embarrassed by his earlier teasing. Honestly, Caria liked this version of his face more than the fake grin he always wore.
She stood to leave the tavern, but then paused, turning slowly to glance back.
“So how much is information on you worth?”
“…What?”
“Set a price and let me know before we meet again.”
She left with a subtle, mysterious smile. Whether it was a joke or not, no one could tell.
But Caria was entirely serious.
She was even willing to pay a fair price.
Although, judging by how he’d flinched at 300,000 gold… who knew how high that price could go?
