Chapter 56
What on earth was he planning to say to act like that?
My heart was racing so fast that my brain wasn’t functioning properly.
“Uh… yes.”
In the end, I could only muster such a pathetic response and bowed my head deeply. My cheeks were burning so much, it felt like they might explode.
“C-could you… let go of my hand…?”
“Ah.”
Duke Calix carefully lowered the hand he had been holding in response to my words.
Glancing at him out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grinning mischievously.
“Are you okay? Your face is so red.”
“I-I’m fine! I’ll just… go inside now!”
I quickly slipped away from the spot and entered the secret room.
Sigh…
Why was he acting like that?
He had barged in suddenly several times before, but this was the first time it had been like this, and it left me flustered.
Calm down, calm down. A kiss on the back of the hand in high society is just a greeting, right? Surely it didn’t mean anything serious.
Then why did he brush my lips?! My lips!
I covered my face with both hands and dabbed at it with dry motions several times. I was completely confused.
Even though we were always together, Calix was still a duke. No matter how much he secluded himself on his estate and avoided social activities, he surely wouldn’t have neglected learning basic etiquette. It must have been a gesture filled with trust. I shouldn’t get carried away.
I tried to calm my racing heart by taking deep breaths in and out repeatedly.
After a long while, when all my body functions returned to normal, I regained my senses.
It would be inappropriate to stay this close all the time, right?
Once the culprit was caught, life would return to normal. There would be no reason to be this close again.
If my feelings grew stronger, it would only make things harder later, so I should maintain some distance for now.
It was a tree I could never climb. The difference in status was significant. And an employee falling in love with their employer? That only happened in very rare cases or in dramas.
It was a fairy tale fantasy that could never happen to me.
Depending on the circumstances, I might even quit my job.
“Better just sleep and clear my head.”
To cool my exhausted mind, I flopped onto the bed and tried to sleep.
Calix was dying of cuteness over Elena, who had run away.
“This is driving me crazy.”
He muttered softly and ran a hand through his hair.
His feelings for Elena were only growing deeper, but he couldn’t express them, which was frustrating.
“Should I just confess already?”
But there were still so many matters to resolve first.
Moreover, Elena’s feelings were confusing, making it risky to confess recklessly.
Was she embarrassed simply because of Calix’s face, or did she feel something more? He wasn’t sure.
Calix had no prior experience in romance before his reincarnation, so he couldn’t gauge the situation well.
“Maybe I should get advice from a dating expert.”
But there was no one like that around Calix.
Before his reincarnation, his allergies were severe, making daily life difficult, so he barely met anyone and mostly stayed in bed. After reincarnation, he struggled to change everything, leaving no energy for other things.
The only thing that remained the same before and after reincarnation was that he had partnered with Michelle in the trade guild.
“At least I should figure something out first. Then confess.”
Calix calmed the fiery emotions threatening to consume him.
Jerry, walking back to the guard post after meeting Elena, deliberately took his time and thought.
“Why is she defending the duke so much?”
Even if working for a duke’s household had benefits, would anyone defend their boss if he was a murderer? Of course, at first, someone might instinctively deny it and defend their superior—it’s a hard story to believe. But even after hearing plausible circumstances, to still deny and side with him?
It made little sense to Jerry.
“Also, she keeps wanting to know about the investigation. Could it be… is Miss Elena an accomplice?”
The thought struck him, making him flinch.
Elena was Dr. Scott’s direct assistant, one of the empire’s most skilled doctors. Naturally, she would also be highly capable. Dr. Scott was known for being selective about assistants.
“Assuming her skills are excellent, it would make sense to defend the duke if she were conspiring with him.”
Jerry nodded in agreement with his own reasoning.
“But judging by Elena so far, she doesn’t seem like that type. Could it all be an act?”
Yet, the way she cared for Rosemary didn’t seem like acting. At least then, she appeared genuinely concerned for Rosemary.
“And Rosemary doesn’t seem like someone from the duke’s household either.”
Rosemary was clearly a struggling commoner. Dragging her into this would be too much.
“Then maybe that part was genuine.”
Jerry furrowed his brows, feeling confused. He realized he barely knew anything about Elena despite all their encounters.
Still, because of his personal feelings, he didn’t want to think of Elena as a bad person—or as an accomplice to the duke.
“If what Elena says is true, and Duke Calix isn’t the culprit…”
Even so, the timing of the duke’s absences coinciding with five victims made it hard to dismiss.
Multiple coincidences weren’t coincidences anymore. Jerry still suspected Calix.
It was easier for him to believe that Elena simply trusted and respected the duke as a good superior, with no conspiracies involved.
Before he knew it, Jerry reached the guard post and sat at his desk. He pulled out paper and pen and started scribbling.
“If Elena isn’t an accomplice, she’ll completely turn against the duke once this suspicion breaks.”
Jerry calmly organized his thoughts and wrote down a report pointing to Calix as the suspect. But as he was about to seal the envelope, he paused.
“Still, I told her to think it over. It’s not too late to wait for her next response before exposing this.”
Tapping his desk with a finger, Jerry pondered.
A few minutes later:
“I should try to persuade her one more time.”
He placed the unsent letter back in the drawer. If needed, he could send it to the newspaper later.
Instead, he took out a fresh sheet of stationery and began writing a letter to Elena.
A week would be enough for her to consider it. Jerry wanted to trust the Elena he liked, so he decided to try persuading her one final time.
It was Duke Calix’s morning consultation.
Dr. Scott’s expression upon entering the duke’s room was darker than ever.
What happened? Why the face like that?
He looked like he carried the weight of the entire world’s troubles.
“Good morning, Duke. You seem well today.”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m doing fine.”
They exchanged greetings and began the consultation as usual.
His actions were the same… so what was it?
Watching them from behind while taking notes, I couldn’t detect any difference.
Finally, when the consultation ended:
“Elena, come here for a moment.”
Dr. Scott, leaving Calix’s room, spoke to me.
“Yes. I’ll follow right away.”
Why? Why was the doctor suddenly calling me? Did he have a reason?
Dr. Scott had avoided me in the past, and I didn’t stay in the annex anymore, so we rarely spoke outside morning consultations. Naturally, I found it strange.
And he probably didn’t know I had followed him.
I followed Dr. Scott as he left the room, after giving Duke Calix a silent nod.
Only after reaching the garden and confirming no one else was around did he speak.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
Dr. Scott stayed silent for a long moment. I waited quietly, and he finally, as if he had no choice, squeezed his eyes shut and asked:
“How much money have you saved so far?”
“Eh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“I really need it… can you lend me some money?”
It was a question I never expected.
