This time, however, Philein was unusually adamant.

His demeanor was noticeably different from when he’d hesitated in our usual conversations.

‘The atmosphere has changed.’

Given his behavior, it wasn’t hard to believe that he was an aide willing to commit all sorts of tortures upon the Duke’s orders.

“I have my own guards, and Yan is skilled. So if I take Yan, it should be fine.”

“Even then, it’s not a place for you to go. It’s not just about your safety; there are other issues. Please understand my desire to protect you.”

Philein tried to explain earnestly, but I wouldn’t back down easily.

Finally, Philein sighed deeply and asked.

“Why would you want to go to such a dangerous place in the first place?”

I clearly knew the answer to his question.

‘I think a pitiful deity has been captured.’

I couldn’t tell Philein that. As I hesitated to reply, Philein tried to figure out my answer himself.

“You don’t happen to be interested in the Elixir of Life being auctioned there, do you?”

‘I am really concerned about that, too.’

I knew that it was not true, but others might not think so.

A bizarre image flashed through my mind: stirring a boiling pot and approaching it with a silver snake…

As I shook my head vehemently, Philein looked utterly perplexed.

“Then what is it? You don’t know anything else about the auction house, do you?”

“Um, that’s…”

Stalling for time, Philein pondered deeply. He tentatively asked.

“Is it because the Duke and the young master are going?”

“Ah, yes! I want to go with the Duke!”

As soon as my words ended, another shadow loomed beside me.

I stiffly turned my head.

The Duke was standing there, one eyebrow raised.

“So this is where the noise was coming from. The culprit, I see.”

“Your Grace.”

Philein looked at the Duke as if he was his savior.

It seemed Philein was struggling alone to deter me and hoped the Duke would assist him.

“Your Grace, as you may have heard, she wants to go to the auction house as well. I told her she can’t because it’s too dangerous for her.”

Philein looked at the Duke with a face full of trust, certain he would take his side.

“You want to go too?”

The Duke’s gaze, full of skepticism, turned toward me. I swallowed hard.

Upon my slight nod, the Duke calmly spoke with a low voice.

“Fine then.”

“How can you permit her to go like that!”
As Phyllen burst into the office with a rare loud voice, Caelius’s forehead slightly furrowed, but that was it. Irritated by the Duke’s silence, Phyllen spoke up.

“Weren’t you supposed to prepare more thoroughly?”

“This isn’t something that can be solved with preparation. Please tell the Young Master it’s not safe, even now. The Young Master probably wants to go because he doesn’t know how dangerous it is. Lord Clements has been investigating this from the beginning, so he would know, but the Young Master wouldn’t.”

“From what I’ve seen so far, he’s a clever child. I’ll tell him how dangerous it is before he goes. I don’t see anything to worry about.”

It seemed the Duke had no intention of changing his mind. Phyllen felt dispirited.

In the end, the Young Master would go to that auction house.

Although he kept saying it wasn’t a good idea, he was already listing the most skilled knights in his mind.

Still, he couldn’t let go of his last worry.

“Aren’t you worried about the Young Master, Your Grace?”

The Duke, who was sitting, glanced over without interest.

“I am worried.”

His answer was as indifferent as his gaze. A sigh naturally escaped Phyllen’s lips.

“Then why did you so easily grant permission? You should know best how dangerous that place is.”

“He said he wants to go with me.”

“Ah…”

The Young Master had said such a thing. Phyllen let out a soft sigh.

“I’ve already told you, but no matter how many escorts you attach, you can only take two people per person due to the underground and narrow space. It was even stated in the invitation. If you don’t agree, you can’t attend. So, if the Young Master takes two escorts, he can’t take any attendants.”

“Two is just right.”

“That’s too few. The Young Master is still young.”

The Duke responded as always, but Phyllen’s expression indicated that he absolutely could not agree.

“He’s at the age where he should be accompanied by an attendant of the same gender. But we currently don’t have any female knights in Levice, do we?”

“Why look among the knights?”

“Then where will you find the Young Master’s escort?”

The Duke stared squarely at Phyllen.

Realizing from the Duke’s gaze that he had forgotten something obvious, Phyllen understood what he had missed.

“Could there be another person to attend to the Young Master? Ah!”

Phyllen clapped his hands together. His face was still confused, although he had realized it.

“But when she first came to the Duke’s mansion, didn’t she say she couldn’t use magic? Therefore, she could only offer theoretical help, so we couldn’t give her a specific position, as far as I understand.”

“Listening to the twins later, it seems a bit different from what they said.”

One corner of the Duke’s mouth lifted slightly.

“Do you think I appointed her as the twins’ nanny for no reason?”