‘Did the Duke tell them?’

Confused, I sneaked a glance at the Duke, but he looked indifferent.

‘There’s no way the Duke would have.’

Then where did they hear it from? While I was pondering, Theophila mentioned the incident again.

“How much must you have missed the Duke to do such a thing? At that age, a father is the best.”

‘That’s not it, not it at all!’

“Of course, there were times when your lordship could not meet his father. Considering that period, it’s natural for the two of you to be fond of each other.”

‘We’re not fond of each other at all!’

“Are you not here because you wanted to see the Duke? Ah, this is a problem, the conference is about to begin!”

Contrary to his words about it being problematic, the merchant’s expression didn’t look troubled at all. And I felt extremely wronged.

‘I didn’t come to see the Duke!’

The merchants wore expressions full of satisfaction. Their eyes oozed honey as they looked at me, making me feel very uncomfortable.

‘How did they all get this terribly wrong?’

I subtly leaned back. It was then the Duke spoke.

“The child is quite mischievous.”

“Yes, even now, you can see he’s snugly settled in your arms, yet also seems shy. It must be wonderful for you, Duke.”

My words about coming to see Philen were swallowed whole. I saw no way out of this terrible misunderstanding.

Sighing resignedly, I mumbled.

“Yeah, I came to see the Duke.”

“I know.”

Today, the Duke’s delusions were as free as ever.

“As you’ll see in the report, our sales have increased compared to last month. I believe it’s due to your advice to distribute samples to everyone, which had a promotional effect.”

“From our company’s perspective, it was a bit different. Sales didn’t decrease, but compared to the distributed samples, there was no promotional effect. You’ll understand if you see the chart we’ve prepared…”

As the meeting began, everyone’s attitude changed instantaneously.

The atmosphere in the room also became significantly heavier than before.

It sounded like this was a regularly scheduled meeting.

For that reason, the Duke didn’t say much during the meeting.

The merchants took turns presenting, and the Duke only nodded in between.

‘Why am I still here?’
I felt utterly bored in the duke’s arms and shifted my body.

However, the duke held me even tighter, as if worried I might fall.

‘Sigh, I don’t even know anymore.’

After all, I came to see Phyllen, who was like the duke’s shadow as his aide.

Being close to the duke meant I could meet Phyllen too.

How long had the meeting gone on? My eyelids grew heavy, unable to endure the boredom.

My eyelids were leaden, and my head kept drooping forward.

Each time, the duke would gently push my forehead with his hand, causing me to naturally tense my neck.

‘So sleepy…….’

I was barely fending off drowsiness when suddenly a familiar voice rang out.

“From what I see, it is similar to the illegal monster auction last time. There were suspicious circumstances, and we’ve already sent an informant based on a tip.”

“A tip, you say?”

“Yes, but it’s difficult to identify the informant, so….”

Struggling to lift my heavy eyelids, I saw Phyllen standing next to the duke.

“Ah, young master, you’re awake!”

His words instantly cleared my drowsiness, and my eyes widened.

Looking around, I noticed that all the merchants had left.

In the vast empty conference room, it was just the duke, Phyllen, and me.

‘Didn’t even notice everyone leaving…….’

I was unaware that the meeting had ended, even though other people’s voices weren’t soft.

I had deeply fallen asleep. Embarrassed, I rubbed the corners of my mouth.

‘At least I didn’t drool in my sleep, thank goodness.’

Although it felt awkward, I woke up feeling refreshed.

At that moment, the duke abruptly stood up, still holding me. It seemed he was finally thinking of leaving the conference room for his office.

‘I should give Phyllen the letter.’

I carefully took out the letter I had brought. Even as I unfolded the crumpled paper, their conversation continued.

“Say it again. You’re looking into the informant’s identity, but you have no leads?”

“Correct, but judging by the handwriting, it seems to be someone from the religious order. However, it’s hard to say just based on handwriting.”

“What about the other information on the auction?”

“There were odd rumors circulating in that area. According to a merchant, they would present an elixir of immortality at the auction.”

“An elixir?”

“Yes, a white snake. You know, it’s pretty standard for that line of business. They create a spectacle to draw people’s attention, and then they prepare the real auction they had in mind.”

As I was unfolding the crumpled paper, my entire body froze.

I had caught an unfamiliar yet familiar word in their conversation.

“Wait, did you just say a white snake?”

“Yes, it’s a snake with allwhite skin, hence the name white snake. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it, young master?”

I tightly clutched the letter meant for Phyllen in both hands.

Thoughts about the letter had flown far away.

“Actually, there’s no such thing as an elixir of immortality. Anyone saying so is likely a scammer. You should not believe in such groundless claims, young master.”

I couldn’t continue my speech.

It was because something had come to mind as soon as I heard ‘white snake.’

‘Silver snake…….’

Could it be you?