Was he implying that kind of service… the one she was thinking of?

As Roselia’s green eyes wavered in confusion, Klaus let out a self-mocking smile.

“Depending on what you do, I’ll deduct from your debt.”

Roselia, wondering if she had heard him wrong, frowned and asked.

“What… did you say?”

His dark blue eyes looked down at her, sunken and blurry as if he were drunk, but they burned with an inexplicable fire directed at her.

As Roselia stared into his eyes in confusion, one corner of Klaus’s mouth twisted upwards.

“Should I be more direct? Sleep with me.”

Roselia’s mind went blank.

Was this man really drunk?

The Klaus she knew was cold-blooded and selfish, but not a scoundrel who would say such things nonchalantly.

However, his words continued, as if putting an end to her confusion.

“If you’re in that place because of the debt, it’s better to directly deduct it with me. Of course, it depends on what you do…”

Slap!!!

Unable to hold back, Roselia’s hand flew to Klaus’s cheek.

Klaus turned his head sharply from the force and remained still for a while.

A chilling silence hung in the air, but Roselia glared at him with sharp eyes, her breath quickening with anger or perhaps fear.

Klaus then slowly turned to face Roselia, wiping off a trace of blood from his split lip with a finger nonchalantly.

Not a hint of regret was visible in Roselia’s eyes as she looked into his dark blue ones.

“Even as a duke, you have no right to judge others so casually.”

Roselia’s eyes blazed as she bit her lip.

“Even if I were doing such a thing, you have no right to treat me that way.”
Roselia delivered a cold retort, while Klaus’s gaze, incongruously with the atmosphere, drifted to her lips.

How could such small lips spit such venom…

In truth, Klaus had only intended to intimidate her a bit and then back off.

The frustration that had built up from things not going his way erupted twistedly, but he had never dreamed that he would end up being slapped.

What was even funnier was that after being slapped by her, instead of getting angry, his mind became clearer, and his gaze, like a broken doll, followed only her.

It seemed to be because of the perfume she had spread around.

That strange scent had led him to make out-of-character, nonsensical remarks that went too far.

Klaus calmly withdrew the arms that had been trapping her and stood up.

Finally free to move, Roselia quickly got up from the table, stepped back, and glared at him. Klaus looked at her bitterly and, running his hand roughly through his hair, spoke.

“I apologize for saying something so out of character. I must be tired, and my words came out wrong.”

Despite Klaus’s apology, Roselia didn’t let down her guard.

Seeing distrust and disgust mixed in her gaze, Klaus frowned and brushed his face.

“It’s because you keep being stubborn with nonsensical talk…”

“Stubborn?”

Roselia’s face grew even more displeased.

“My debt is money, not my body. Even if I were a maid of the duke’s house, you have no right to dictate what I do with my body.”

Moreover, technically, the debt wasn’t even hers but the Baron’s.

That damned Baron Hessing had died, leaving her, his adoptive daughter, to shoulder all his debts.

Of course, even if she had run away, that ghost-like duke would have searched everywhere to find her, so she had given up on the idea of escaping. But thinking about it now made her feel unjustly treated and irritated.

“And as I said… or rather, my brother and I are not neglecting the debt. We’re dutifully paying it off, so I don’t understand your dissatisfaction.”

Klaus sighed heavily, watching the agitated Roselia.

“My point was… instead of being treated harshly in such a place, wouldn’t it be less tiresome for both of us if you stayed at the duke’s residence?”

“That’s just it! Why do you care about how I’m treated?”

Already upset, Roselia pressed him, and Klaus sighed and irritably ran his hands through his hair.

“Enough… it seems we’re not getting anywhere.”

“Who’s the one not making sense here?”

Unable to take it anymore, Klaus slammed his hand down on the table.

Bang!

Instead of being startled by the sound, Roselia’s eyes flickered even more wildly.

“I’m tired, let’s end it for today.”

At Klaus’s icy tone, Roselia stormed up to him, puffing with anger.

Klaus, taken aback by her sudden approach, looked down at her in surprise.

He had momentarily forgotten her scent, which hit him again suddenly.

Bang!!

While Klaus was entranced, looking at her face, Roselia slammed the table with all her might, just as he had done.

Startled back to his senses, Klaus looked at her in disbelief.

Roselia, snorting at him, spoke.

“I’ve brought part of the debt, as promised.”

Only then did Klaus’s gaze shift to where Roselia had struck the table.

There lay a pouch, surely containing money.