The next morning.

Chloe set down a teacup on the duke’s desk.

The duke glanced at the teacup briefly and then, without lifting his head, returned to reading something.

“Good work. You may leave.”

It was the duke’s response from before, when nothing had happened between Chloe and him.

The time when he would mostly tell her to leave after bringing tea. When he had no particular interest in his personal attendant.

“Ah! You don’t need to serve at meals. I won’t be calling for you again today, so rest comfortably.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Chloe bowed her head and left the room.

She felt strange.

She didn’t know why it felt so strange.

Late in the afternoon, as the duke had expected, Lord Joyce arrived at the ducal residence.

“I narrowed it down to areas within 6 hours of travel from Arne. It seemed unlikely for a woman to travel alone beyond that distance.”

He began reporting to the duke as soon as he arrived. Chloe stood right behind Lord Joyce, trying not to catch the duke’s eye.

She planned to just breathe quietly, in case the duke ordered her to leave, as she wouldn’t be able to hear Lord Joyce’s report then.

“Continue.”

Fortunately, the duke didn’t even glance at Chloe, who had entered behind Lord Joyce.

“There were a total of 5 women named ‘Chloe’ who matched the description of long blonde hair, blue eyes, and 168cm in height. Four were commoners, and one was a young lady from a noble family in the Kinden region.”

The duke just nodded without saying anything. But suddenly, Lord Joyce turned his head to look at Chloe.

Chloe looked up at him with eyes that asked, ‘What?’ Lord Joyce tilted his head slightly and then turned away from her.

Chloe sensed that Lord Joyce had also found out about her. Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry, wondering what he would report to the duke.

“Go on.”

The duke urged.

“It was difficult to investigate the shoulder wound. That’s something that can only be confirmed by undressing. No one provided information about a shoulder wound through inquiries alone. But in the case of women, I think even if they had such a thing, they wouldn’t openly reveal it.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Chloe suddenly felt her shoulder wound throbbing.

She had thought that Lord Joyce wouldn’t be able to use that information anyway. As he thought, it’s not easy to find out details about a woman’s body.

Even the wound on her shoulder was something no one knew about except her.

Her mother had been unconscious and had just woken up, and she hadn’t told Calcus about the wound either. If the injury had been severe, she would have had to tell him, but since it healed quickly even though it left a scar, she was able to get by without asking Calcus for help.

Come to think of it, the wound seemed to have healed faster than expected.

“Although five people fit those conditions, their heights actually varied slightly. Still, I narrowed it down to between 165 and 170. Your Grace, could you tell me about the woman’s body type? If we know about her build, we might be able to narrow down the range further.”

Chloe, who had been thinking about her shoulder wound, slightly frowned at Lord Joyce’s words.

The body type Lord Joyce was asking about was her own. Chloe was on edge, wondering what the duke would say about her body type.

“Body type… Hmm.”

The duke rested his elbow on the desk and lowered his head, covering his mouth with his clasped hands.

“Even a rough description would help in narrowing down among the 5 people.”

However, the duke, still with his head lowered, only nodded slightly without saying a word.

“Whether she was thin, or had some meat on her bones…”

Lord Joyce persistently demanded an explanation, and…

“She had a thin build.”

The duke finally spoke, cutting off his words.

“She was delicate overall, as if she might break if bent. Her collarbones and ribs were prominently visible, and her neck was so thin that I could perfectly wrap it with one hand. Her skin seemed soft and very white, but… I’m not sure about the skin color. It was dark. Her ears seemed very small compared to her eyes, nose, and mouth. And… No, let’s stop here.”

From the lips that had been silent as if in deep thought, an surprisingly detailed description followed. Because of this, Chloe’s body, which was slender as if it might break if bent, with soft and very white skin, swayed like a candle in the wind.

Did he look at me during the day?

Why is he remembering and describing it in such detail?

Not just the overall silhouette, but descriptions of facial features, neck, skin texture, and skin color. The nuance at the end of his words even suggested that he had much more to describe but chose not to.

It seemed strange now why he hadn’t explained about her build when he first ordered Lord Joyce to find her.

Ah! It wasn’t that he didn’t know exactly or couldn’t remember, but he just didn’t want to say it?

Well, the duke was a Swordmaster.

A being who could detect even the heartbeat and body temperature of an enemy and attack in pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen.

So the duke, who had been with her all night, might remember her body better than her face.

He even knew the color of her eyes and hair as if it were natural, despite seeing them in darkness without even a lamp.

It suddenly felt like a miracle that she hadn’t been discovered as a woman by the duke until now.

Chloe Liden, stay alert!

Chloe firmly grasped her mind that was about to become dizzy.

Anyway, the duke still hadn’t noticed that she was a woman, and now her body was well-covered with several layers of undergarments, a men’s shirt, and a thick jacket.

“Ah…! Hmm, ahem! If her body is that thin overall…”

Lord Joyce, who had let out a slightly dazed exclamation, muttered while clearing his hoarse throat, then looked down at the paper he was holding and pointed at something with his finger.

“There are two with thin builds. The noble lady from the Kinden region and a commoner woman named Chloe from the Solaine region. These two match the conditions. However, I’ve only met four in person, and there’s one I haven’t actually seen.”

As he said the last part, Lord Joyce turned to look at Chloe. Chloe realized that she was the woman Joyce hadn’t met.

“Tell me more details about the appearance of these two women who fit the criteria. I think it would be good to compare them with my memory. I’ll go check on the more likely one first.”

“Well… hmm.”

Lord Joyce didn’t answer and just cleared his throat again. Uncharacteristically hesitant for the usually decisive Lord Joyce.

“…?”

The Duke slightly furrowed one eyebrow.

“There was a noticeable difference between the two women, though.”

“Stop dragging it out and speak?”

“Well… one is very small, and one is large.”

“What is?”

Chloe’s eyes also fixed on Joyce.

What is he talking about?

Hmm, ahem! After clearing his throat once more, Lord Joyce finally blurted out an answer.

“Their chests, I mean.”

An unexpected response.

“Hah!”

A small laugh escaped Chloe’s mouth before she could stop it.

‘What did I just hear?’

Is this what he calls an investigation?

This pervert.

Lord Joyce, whom she had thought to be businesslike and strict, suddenly seemed like a scoundrel and a lecherous good-for-nothing.

The Duke and Lord Joyce’s gazes turned to her simultaneously. It was because of the laugh she had let out.

“Ah, I apologize.”

To have to say “I apologize” after hearing such a description of a woman’s body. I should leave the Duke’s mansion right away later.

Chloe clenched her fist tightly.

“Hmm…”

The Duke averted his gaze from her and made a thoughtful sound.

With his brow slightly furrowed. Ah! Surely not! Is he reminiscing about that night?

Looking at the Duke’s furrowed brow, Chloe felt her face suddenly flush.

“Which one is the more voluptuous?”

After a few seconds of contemplation, the Duke finally turned his gaze to Lord Joyce and asked.

Ha! Chloe almost let out another laugh, but managed to hold it back.

Chloe wanted to cover her ears at the conversation between the two men about her size right in front of her. She didn’t want to hear any more of Lord Joyce’s report, but she couldn’t exactly storm out at this particular moment either.

“It’s Lady Chloe from Kinden. The only noblewoman. She doesn’t have a profession, but as it happens, she said she had just traveled through Arne.”

For some reason, Lord Joyce’s voice sounded noticeably brighter. Was it due to her own feelings of inferiority? Chloe felt slightly offended, sensing that Lord Joyce hoped the Duke’s one-night partner was a noblewoman.

It was just a one-night stand, so what difference did it make if she was noble or common? It was a matter that could have been simply let go, yet it was the Duke and Lord Joyce, not the commoner herself, who were making such a big deal of finding the woman.

“I see.”

But the Duke’s voice in response sounded somewhat dissatisfied compared to Lord Joyce’s.

What was he displeased about?

Tap tap tap.

The Duke tapped the corner of the desk with his index finger. Like someone deep in thought.

“Who is the woman you said you didn’t actually see, and where is she from?”

At the Duke’s sudden question after a period of silence, Chloe put aside her unpleasant feelings and turned her head towards Lord Joyce.

It was finally time for the talk about herself.

“Well…”

Lord Joyce turned his body completely to look at Chloe.

“Could it be Chloe Liden?”

At the Duke’s words, Lord Joyce’s gaze returned to the Duke.

“Ah! How did you know? That’s right, it’s Chloe Liden, Clyne’s younger sister. Did you tell the Duke about this, Clyne?”

Lord Joyce asked Chloe with a stiff face. He clearly didn’t want to admit that Clyne’s younger sister was the Duke’s one-night partner.

So much so that he couldn’t hide his displeased expression.

Really now. I don’t want this either, you know.

Chloe had to suppress the urge to retort, annoyed by Lord Joyce’s attitude.

“No, I did not.”

Chloe answered firmly.

“That’s right, Clyne didn’t tell me.”

The Duke also confirmed Chloe’s words.

“But Clyne.”

Of course, he immediately called out to Chloe with a sharp gaze. Somehow ominously.