It was natural that Meckle did not know the details of what happened after learning that Chloe had worked as a maid and stayed at the ducal residence, revealing her true gender. It had only been five days since her mother had sent a letter saying she would pay off her debt and not return.

If the duke had not been at the ducal residence and had remained at the Schneider border area, not only Meckle but even the duke himself might not have received her letter.

“Is something wrong with the duke? Was he injured during the battle?” Chloe asked, ignoring Calcus’s words. From the moment the word ‘battle’ was mentioned, her heart was beating so fast that she didn’t even notice Charlotte had come out of the room and was standing behind her.

“Ah, it’s not such a serious injury. He was only slightly wounded.”

Chloe staggered. The duke was injured. She felt like she understood what it meant when they said the sky was singing.

“It wasn’t a severe injury. I was just told by Sir Joyce to bring Lady Chloe. It wasn’t an injury to worry about. I can assure you of that as I was right beside His Grace. For His Grace, with such an injury…”

What is this man talking about! Sir Joyce, of all people, sent him to bring her because the duke was injured, and he says it’s not a serious injury!

“If it’s not a serious injury, why did you come to get me? Why did Sir Joyce tell you to bring me?”

Just how badly was he injured that they called for her from so far away?

“First of all, did you come straight here from the border area where the battle took place?”

“Yes.”

Chloe bit her lower lip without realizing it. If they had won, if it wasn’t a major injury, why did Sir Joyce, not the duke, summon her to the border area instead of Lohsento? Chloe decided she couldn’t hesitate any longer.

“Chloe.” Her mother called her from behind.

“Mom. I have to go.”

Chloe sensed what her mother was going to say. But she didn’t want to. If something had happened to the duke and he needed her in this situation, she had to go back now.

She could follow her mother’s words afterward. It wasn’t like she was going back to the duke forever.

“Chloe.”

“Chloe!”

Her mother and Calcus called Chloe’s name simultaneously, but she was already stepping out the door. All she could think about was getting to the duke as soon as possible. Whether she could be of any help to him or not.

Meckle said he had been instructed by Sir Joyce to buy a carriage in the city of Börgen and drive it himself. Shaking in the carriage, Chloe prayed nothing had happened to the duke and suddenly realized the sun had already considerably tilted to the west.

Judging by the surrounding scenery, it seemed they were passing through Arne.

‘This is Arne… Oh my! This knight has been driving for almost 16 hours straight!’

She called Meckle to stop the carriage.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Sir Knight, when you departed it must have been last night, so how many hours has it been since you’ve slept?”

“Well, it’s been about thirty-four hours, but it doesn’t matter. This much…”

“You also participated in the battle before departure. You said you were next to the duke when he was injured.”

“Ah, yes. That’s true, but Sir Joyce told me to bring you as quickly as possible. Staying up this much is fine.”

Confidence and pride were brimming on his face. But just because he was overflowing with confidence didn’t mean the fatigue would disappear. He had gone through a battle and hadn’t slept for thirty-four hours, and he still had to drive for about eight more hours.

That meant he would be going almost two days without sleep.

Even if the duke was injured, even if she wanted to rush to the duke as quickly as possible, this knight also needed some time to rest.

Besides, didn’t he need to eat as well? When was the last time he ate? But if she asked, he would surely say he was fine.

“Actually, I want to rest a bit. There’s an inn I know nearby. Can’t we rest there for a few hours? Even an hour or two. We need to eat too. I have a hard time when I’m hungry.”

If she just made an excuse that she was tired, this knight would accept it. Even without being sharp, he seemed to be a very upright knight with high loyalty. He certainly wouldn’t be able to refuse Chloe, who was regarded as his lord’s woman.

“Ah! I’m sorry. You must have been hungry, and I didn’t even think about it. Then let’s rest for a while before leaving.”

As expected.

“There’s an inn on the outskirts just a little further from here, called the Night of the Dog and Cat. It will catch your eye with a sign painted with a dog and cat. It’s a good place to stop the carriage, so let’s rest there before we go.”

She never thought she would have a reason to come to the Night of the Dog and Cat again. But now that she had revealed her identity as a woman, it didn’t matter anymore.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here, young lady.”

The old couple at the Night of the Dog and Cat immediately recognized Chloe, who had stopped by their inn after nearly two months, and greeted her familiarly. Even if she hadn’t come here, she might have become more familiar to them thanks to Sir Joyce and the men from the information guild who were looking for her.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“You’ve come with a different man today.”

They tilted their heads, looking at Meckle, who entered with her.

“No, when did I ever come with a man?”

Chloe denied the couple’s words, feeling self-conscious of Meckle’s gaze for some reason. Of course, she had spent the night here with the duke, but they hadn’t visited together, so why were this old couple talking as if they knew everything?

It was both embarrassing and puzzling.

“Oh, well. You’re still young, so it’s the time to meet different people. Although you shouldn’t do that if you’re thinking about that man.”

What on earth were they saying so strangely? Her face grew hotter and hotter.

“We just stopped by for a meal. This person will rest ‘alone’ in the room for a few hours after the meal.”

Chloe hurriedly ignored the innkeeper couple’s words and said what she had to say.

“No. Lady Chloe. I can eat, but there’s no time to rest. I’m fine, so we can just have a meal and leave right away.”

“No, Sir Meckle, you may be fine for now, but you still have to drive the carriage for eight more hours. I can rest in the carriage, but you can’t even sleep. What if you cause an accident while doing that? Can you take responsibility? I might get hurt, you know.”

Chloe pressured him so he couldn’t refuse.

“Ah…! I won’t cause an accident, but if it makes you uncomfortable, Lady Chloe, I will do as you say.”

Meckle even made a gloomy expression and bowed his head. Considering his lord, he wanted to go quickly, but he couldn’t refuse the order of Chloe, who was considered his lord’s woman. It was truly an inflexible loyalty that made him troubled.

After finishing the meal and pushing the reluctant Meckle up to the guest room, Chloe could have taken a room to rest herself, but she decided to sit at the bar on the first floor, as if showing the innkeeper couple. The gazes of the innkeeper couple, who kept glancing at Chloe and Meckle, were both unpleasant and unjust.

“Young lady, you know there were people looking for you before, right? Why were they looking for you?”

“Who knows.”

“Was it because of the noble lord who stayed here with you at that time?”

They knew everything, so why were they pretending not to know?

“That’s right. I had some business with him. It’s all resolved now, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“No! People shouldn’t do that. Don’t tell us not to worry, young lady.”

Suddenly, the old man burst out in anger. Chloe was so startled that she looked at the old couple with wide eyes.

“Honey, don’t get so angry.”

Fortunately, the wife calmed her husband down.

“Why are you two acting like this? Do you have something to say to me? You’ve been looking at me since earlier, and what did you mean just now by saying I shouldn’t do that?”

Chloe also asked the old couple with a serious expression.

“Do you really not know? Or are you just being stubborn? You seem to be one of those species…”

Absurdly, the old couple asked back with an even more serious expression than Chloe. They even added some incomprehensible words about species.

“…”

Suddenly, a forgotten memory came to mind. It was what the man from the information guild had said.

These old people seemed to know that she was a beast person. Even before she herself knew.

“What do you mean? What do you know about me?”

Chloe asked the old man, enunciating each word. Since it wasn’t clear how much they knew about her. Her mother had said that the fact that she was a beast person had to be kept strictly hidden.

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Or are you asking even though you know?”

The wife asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I know that you said something strange about me to the man who was inquiring about me.”

“Strange? Then were we mistaken?”

This time, the husband asked back. As expected, they were certain that she was a beast person herself. Then it seemed better to find out exactly what they knew.

“No. As you two know, I am that kind of… that.”

“A tiger?”

My goodness. They knew not only that she was a beast person but even the fact that she was a tiger beast person.

“That’s right, isn’t it? Our children only react to tigers, lions, wolves, and such. Judging by the way you hang out with this man and that man, it seems like you’re on the tiger side.”

“No, wait a minute, when did I ever hang out with this man and that man?”

“You just did. Last time, you spent a passionate night with a wolf beast person, and today you brought a man as big as a mountain.”

“No, that’s not true! Today, this person has nothing to do with me…”

Wolf beast person? Chloe stopped mid-sentence and widened her eyes. They even knew the fact that the duke was a wolf beast person. Just who were these old people?