Chloe, who had prepared the tea, cautiously observed the Duke’s mood.

“I, I will take my leave then.”

“You come and drink too.”

The Duke said as he moved to the sofa in front of the table.

“No. How could I possibly with you, Your Grace.”

“It’s an order.”

“…Yes.”

Chloe gritted her teeth and carefully perched on the edge of the sofa opposite the Duke.

“Since when?”

“Pardon?”

Just as she was about to pour the tea and bring the cup to her lips, Chloe put the cup back down at the Duke’s sudden question.

“I asked, since when?”

“Um…”

He didn’t seem to believe it earlier, but he was actually paying attention. He probably wants to get rid of me even more now?

Answering the question wasn’t difficult.

It was partly true, after all.

“I fell for you the moment I first saw you.”

“…”

“The moment I first saw Your Grace when I became a personal attendant, I fell for you at first sight.”

“…Ha!”

The Duke let out a snort that seemed out of sync, a beat too late, and set down his teacup with a ‘clack’.

“I’m talking about the woman I slept with. I was asking since when you’ve been meeting her. Why don’t you stop with these ridiculous lies.”

If you would stop that ridiculous imagination about me meeting a woman, I could stop these embarrassing lies too.

“It’s not a lie. I’ve been smitten with Your Grace since the moment I first saw you.”

“You know it sounds even more like a lie because you’re too confident? What woman confesses her love so shamelessly?”

Woman? What is this Duke saying now?

“But I’m not a woman?”

“Ah!”

The Duke suddenly gulped down his tea.

Watching the Duke fumble in a way that didn’t suit him, Chloe mulled over his words.

Confident and shameless? Should I speak more shyly next time?

But it’s not a complete lie that I was smitten. That’s unfair.

The Duke’s appearance was enough to captivate not just Chloe, but anyone.

Of course, when Chloe first saw him, she thought, wow, I can’t believe there’s a man who looks like this. Enough to realize that the rumors about the Duke’s looks weren’t exaggerated at all.

But even in the midst of that visual shock, Chloe was all too aware that she was a personal attendant who had to dress as a man to earn money, and that this perfect man before her was the master she had to serve.

She wasn’t leisurely enough to indulge in inappropriate admiration for the Duke.

Moreover, fortunately, thanks to the environment she grew up in, she had developed some immunity to handsome men.

Even her twin brother Clyne, who was no longer around, though small in stature and weak in constitution, was objectively quite handsome.

Clyne, who became the older brother by being born a few minutes earlier than Chloe, was smaller than his younger sister Chloe throughout their childhood, as is often the case with the firstborn twin.

After they were fully grown, his final height and frame were larger than Chloe, who was a woman, but he was still on the smaller side compared to average men.

Despite being delicate for a man, which could have been a source of complex, Clyne would cheerfully boast about his beauty with such remarks every day. Whether it was boasting or self-deprecation wasn’t clear.

Still, a brother was just a brother, so rather than agreeing with the objective assessment of his good looks, Chloe just thought he was an annoying narcissist.

Anyway, the deepest immunity could be said to have come from growing up seeing her brother’s delicate and pretty appearance.

But a much stronger immunity was formed thanks to Calcus, rather than her blood relative brother.

The moment she first met Calcus and their eyes met, she thought he might be a puppy doll. With fluffy golden hair like puppy fur and rare golden eyes, he was so pretty she wanted to stroke his face.

Moreover, he was kind, friendly, cheerful, and thoughtful. He could truly be described as a man with a heart as beautiful as his face.

Compared to him, the Duke was…

You can’t say he’s pretty.

Right, that expression isn’t appropriate. The word ‘pretty’ doesn’t suit the Duke at all.

A sharp jawline as if chiseled. Neat lips that looked ascetic, a straight nose, and greenish-brown eyes that appeared strict.

How surprised she was when she first met those greenish-brown eyes.

It was like looking into a deep, blue lake whose bottom couldn’t be fathomed. Although his actual gaze was coldly indifferent to the point of being chilling, strangely, the color felt warm.

Though not visible beneath the shirt always buttoned up to the neck, the body whose lines could be clearly sensed…

In fact, his body was really to her taste.

Despite his intimidatingly tall height of over 190cm, his silhouette looked sleek rather than massive, perhaps due to the slim, sinewy body that seemed as if thin muscles had been meticulously pieced together.

It’s different from being pretty. Enchantingly beautiful.

And what about his hair? The dark brown hair, usually neatly arranged to give a mature and strangely sensual image, would naturally fall to cover his forehead right after waking up, giving a boyish charm.

Of course, this boyish charm was a hidden appeal that only Chloe, as his personal attendant, could see.

It probably took almost a month to adapt so that her heart wouldn’t race at the Duke’s surprisingly beautiful appearance.

Regrettably, now she had to pull out those feelings of admiration she had buried again in order to act like she liked the Duke. Well, looking at that face, it didn’t seem like it would be too difficult.

“What are you doing now?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked why you’re staring at me so lasciviously.”

It seems she had been staring too openly.

“It’s because I like Your Grace and want to keep looking at you.”

With a feeling of loosening the reins of her heart that had been tightly pulled, Chloe poured out embarrassing words without hesitation. At this point, even she was a bit confused whether it was acting or real.

In truth, at least that face, no, the body is good too.

“When you leave my house, how about becoming an actor instead of a personal attendant? You seem to be really good at being shameless.”

“It’s not acting…”

Why do you keep seeing it as acting? I’m sincere about your face and body, at least.

Even if saying I like you is acting, I could fall for the duke’s appearance again anytime.

“Clyne Liden, no matter how much you try, I won’t be easily fooled. Even if you hide and endure like that, I’ll find the woman soon enough.”

“…”

Not being fooled? That woman is sitting right in front of you.

As a man.

“Stop acting and drink your tea.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll drink.”

Chloe hurriedly picked up the teacup.

“Ouch!”

Her tongue stung from the hot tea.

It seemed like some time had passed since the hot water was poured, but why was the tea still so hot? The duke’s teacup must be too high-quality for the water to cool down at all.

“Are you alright?”

The duke looked at Chloe with a frown.

“You should be careful.”

“Ah! Yes.”

Chloe felt anxious, thinking she might have displeased the duke by making a fuss over nothing.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? Should I get some ice…”

The duke stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. Chloe looked at him with round eyes.

Isn’t he displeased?

“You may leave.”

The duke abruptly stood up.

“Yes!”

Chloe immediately stood up as well.

She hadn’t even taken a sip of tea.

As expected, he wasn’t worried about me. He must have found my exaggeration unpleasant.

Fearing she might further upset the duke, Chloe hurried out.

As soon as Clyne left, Hugrey went to the window and cooled off in the chilly breeze for quite a while before returning to his desk and pulling out Clyne’s documents again.

− Name − Clyne Liden

− Age − 21 years old

Twenty-one years old.

Hmm…

A surprisingly young age, just having become an adult.

Well.

With thick glasses covering half his face and stuffy bangs coming down to his forehead, it was difficult to gauge his age or even see his exact features clearly.

I wonder what kind of face he’d have if I took off his glasses and pushed back his bangs.

Hah! What kind of face? Probably a scrawny one. Looking at his small body and pale face, he doesn’t even seem like a fully grown adult man.

− Address − 5 Bjørgen Bakers Road

− Family Relations − Mother (Charlotte Liden), Younger Sister (Chloe Liden)

Chloe Liden, Chloe…

Is it true that his younger sister died?

It doesn’t seem likely he’d lie about a family member’s death, but there was something suspicious about this guy.

− Special Note − Fluent in Tigrium Kingdom language

− Physical − 172cm, 63kg

Come to think of it, how does a commoner living in Bjørgen speak the Tigrium Kingdom language?

I should check on that.

And 172cm? 63kg? That’s not right.

172. This is also a lie. He said 168, didn’t he? He doesn’t look much taller than that either.

And 63? With that scrawny body? He probably doesn’t even weigh 60.

When I first saw him, I vaguely thought he had a very small build for a man, but I hadn’t thought about it in more detail.

I just thought it was good that he wouldn’t stand out much due to his small size.

But 172, 63?

Even these figures would be considered quite small, but looking at that guy, he couldn’t possibly reach even these numbers.

Even the physical information is a lie.

Why on earth?

Did he inflate his physical stats somewhat to get hired?

Even so, would someone lie with such precise numbers when the truth would be obvious once they were seen in person?

To think I’ve had such a suspicious character as a personal attendant. And I’m still having him act as one even now.

It’s true that guy underestimated the Ulpaz ducal family, but in reality, our personnel management was equally sloppy.

Hugrey clicked his tongue again at the state of the Ulpaz ducal family.

After the early deaths of his mother and father, he had left the management of the staff to the butler and Wilson since becoming the head of the family.

They had been working since his father’s time, after all.

There hadn’t been any major issues or problems.

But still, a house without a mistress was bound to have weak points.

Even from his mother’s time, she had no interest in household affairs and only wanted to leave this house.

With newfound reflection, his eyes moved to the next item.

− Guarantor − Calcus Tacan.

− Joint Guarantor − Tice Borge (Lord of Bjørgen)

The Lord of Bjørgen provided a joint guarantee.

But this name.

Calcus Tacan. Calcus… Somehow the name wasn’t unfamiliar.

Calcus, Calcus, Calcus.

Ah! That name.