Chapter 09
Startled, I looked up. It was the aide who had been standing next to Calyx earlier. As soon as he saw me, he spoke.
“Sir Lerit?”
I blinked in confusion, and he asked,
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, I need to clean this up.”
I hurried out, carrying the silver basin. Maybe because it was night, the wind was quite sharp. Even as the cold wind hit my face, the white pills I saw earlier kept floating in my mind.
What were those?
Strong sword aura. Taking medicine… Suddenly, something I had heard at the Rollend Sword School came to mind. Among those who wielded sword aura, there were some who couldn’t control their power and had to take suppressing medicine.
Such people were extremely rare, and unless they came from a powerful family, you almost never saw them. I had heard that the Demerut family had someone like that.
I stopped walking.
Poltein.
A drug that stabilized overflowing power and even suppressed emotions. Once you took it, you had to keep taking it until death.
Until you obtained something that could neutralize the power itself.
For a moment, I felt a little sorry for Calyx, who had to live while suppressing his strength. But that thought quickly passed. Who was I to worry about him?
I dragged myself back to my room.
The next day, the watch around my neck rang loudly. The sudden noise made me jump up in a panic. It was still dark around me. I checked the time—3:50 a.m.
Yawning, I stretched, got dressed, and put on Calyx’s cloak. This cloak had excellent protection against the cold, so it was essential in this weather.
The moment I stepped outside, cold wind slapped my face, clearing my head.
I really can’t get used to this place, no matter how long I stay.
Cold weather and sudden icy winds. With a stiff face, I went to the well, broke the ice, drew water, and headed to Calyx’s room.
Bang, bang. I knocked harder than necessary. I waited, but there was no response. I knocked again.
After about a minute, still nothing.
I checked the watch. It was almost 4 a.m. With no choice, I opened the door. Inside was strangely quiet. Looking around, I saw Calyx lying on the bed.
“When the master is lying down or says nothing, never touch him.”
Nothril’s warning came back to me. He said not to touch him, not that I couldn’t look. I carefully walked closer.
Calyx was breathing heavily, sweat on his forehead. I almost reached out to him, then pulled back, remembering the warning. If I was told not to, I shouldn’t.
I looked around instead. Calyx hated dirt and disorder.
Papers were scattered under the bed. Cleaning was also part of my job, so I crouched down and gathered them. As I did, a familiar name caught my eye.
Prod Swindel.
I quickly flipped through the papers. On the thin sheets was a list of people who had supplied goods to the royal family for the past ten years. One entry stood out.
[Prod Swindel — supplied leather to the royal family for ten years. Gained royal trust within one year and opened a leather shop near the palace. All shops are now closed, and he has disappeared.]
Looking through more documents, I even found information about myself, including records from the Rollend Sword School.
Did he investigate people like this while investigating me?
It felt unpleasant, but there was nothing I could do. I looked again at the papers on Prod Swindel. Ten years of connection with the royal family. Gaining trust in just one year felt suspicious.
And I remembered what Calyx said when he first saw me.
Then I heard heavy breathing. I glanced over. His chest rose and fell under his thin shirt. His skin was paler than before, and his breathing looked painful.
At this level, he clearly hadn’t taken his medicine. His condition was obviously serious.
He said not to touch him, but…
Still, I couldn’t ignore someone who was clearly dying.
I stood up quickly and looked around. Last time I was here, I had seen a medicine bottle on the table.
Searching the table, I spotted a white pill bottle among the liquor bottles. I grabbed it and rushed to Calyx.
He was still breathing with difficulty. His brows were twisted, and beneath his sharp nose, his red lips were slightly parted, hot breath spilling out.
I called to him carefully.
“Your Grace.”
“……”
No response. I lightly grabbed his arm.
“Your Gra—”
Before I could finish, Calyx opened his eyes. I froze and stepped back, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. In an instant, his breath was close enough to touch me.
His gaze burned as it swept over my face.
“What is this?”
“Ah, I—”
Cold air touched my neck. When I looked down, a sword filled with red energy was floating near my throat. My eyes widened.
Calyx’s low voice rang by my ear.
“Do you want to die?”
My heart pounded. Death. Even hearing the word was terrifying. The blade still pressed close to my neck.
I don’t want to die here.
I still had many things to do. I had to find the scammer. I had to repay my debt… the debt. Yes, I owed Calyx money.
Two billion. With that much money involved, he couldn’t kill me easily. That thought strangely calmed me.
I steadied myself and spoke.
“If I die, what happens to Your Grace’s debt? I can’t repay it if I’m dead.”
Calyx let out a hollow laugh.
“Are you joking?”
“No. That’s reality. If you kill me, your two billion—”
Our eyes met. In his ash-smoke-colored eyes, something strange flickered. For a moment, our breaths mixed. Maybe because of his hot breath, heat rose to my face, and my heart started pounding even harder.
Flustered, I lowered my gaze. Calyx tightened his grip on my wrist, then released it. At the same time, the sword near my neck dropped away. The blocked air rushed back into my lungs.
I avoided the sword and quickly thought. Calyx wanted to kill me—but he hadn’t yet. It had to be because of the money.
And the documents about the scammer I had just seen. Now was the chance.
“Your Grace, I have a very good idea.”
Calyx ran a hand through his hair and stared at me sharply. His killing intent was chilling. I didn’t back down.
“Will you catch the scammer with me?”
His gaze grew even colder. I hurriedly continued.
“I’m not just saying this. Earlier, the papers here—I didn’t snoop on purpose, I just saw them by accident—said that bastard, Prod Swindel, supplied leather to the royal family.”
Calyx picked up a bottle of vodka and drank. Since he didn’t stop me, I spoke faster.
“So I thought about it. Prod Swindel is probably connected to the royal family. Think about it. He borrowed that much money from your bank under my name and even scammed your mining company.”
Calyx kept drinking, his head slightly tilted. His jawline stood out sharply. Our eyes met for a moment.
Flustered, I rushed on.
“You said it yourself when you first saw me. That I must have touched you because I was contracted with the royal family.”
“……”
“So I started thinking. Maybe the royal family ordered Prod Swindel to scam you. Otherwise, how could a mere scammer dare touch the Duke of Demerut?”
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The royal family and the Duke of Demerut were on bad terms. Recently, Calyx had been expanding his business and forces even into Rollend.
The royal family must have found him annoying and wanted to suppress him. So they used a scammer and then disappeared.
Without royal backing, who would dare scam the Duke of Demerut?
Realizing this made my own situation feel miserable. When whales fight, shrimp get crushed. I was the unlucky shrimp caught between them.
Calyx set the vodka bottle down. I quickly handed him the document I had seen earlier.
“It’s written in detail here. It’s a guess, but Prod Swindel definitely—”
“Do you have proof that Prod Swindel is alive?”
“We can find it.”
“Where?”
“I heard from an old woman before. She said he went to Darangpro.”
Calyx scoffed.
“There’s no place by that name. Derilpra, maybe.”
“What?”
“You have no proper evidence. How do you plan to catch the scammer?”
Calyx looked straight at me. I remembered someone I had seen at the investigation office before, saying the scammer was dead and would never be found.
Without thinking, the words slipped out.
“Then kill me if I fail to catch him.”
At this point, it was life or death anyway. And because of the money, Calyx couldn’t kill me easily. He had already spared me once.
I hardened my resolve.
“I’ll risk my life to catch the scammer. In return, please help me. If I catch him, dig into the royal family’s involvement, and stir everything up, it benefits you too. You already hate the royal family.”
Calyx didn’t answer, just stared at me. An awkward silence fell. I remembered what had just happened. Still, he hadn’t killed me right away.
Growing anxious, I spoke quickly.
“Isn’t the reason you didn’t kill me because you want something from me? If there’s anything you want me to do, anytime—”
“What do you think I want from you?”
I thought for a moment and answered.
“Money, isn’t it?”
