The Duke escorted me to my room.

After returning to the room, I couldn’t help but keep recalling the earlier conversation between Philen and the Duke.

‘Ugh, what if the divine beast really got caught?’

It wasn’t for nothing that I kept calling the divine beast “silver snake, silver snake.”

Because its outward appearance was truly closer to a white snake than a divine beast.

‘Nah, it can’t be. It’s still a divine beast after all.’

Surely a divine beast wouldn’t be easily caught by humans.

‘Besides, it was the silver snake that left the Duke’s mansion first, right? I didn’t send it away.’

…Of course, I had been praying every day for it to leave.

I recalled the silver snake placing its small head gently on the back of my hand.

I recalled the silver snake crying sorrowfully.

I also recalled how it would hide perfectly in my bag when I went out, completely concealing itself.

I kept repeating it like a spell in my mind, but it didn’t have much effect.

Because I had already conjured up an ominous imagination in my head.

The image of the silver snake crying sorrowfully, trapped in an iron cage, being sold to strangers.

I paced around anxiously.

‘But it’s a divine beast, no matter how unimpressive and stubborn a snake it may be, it’s still a divine beast!’

It couldn’t have been caught. There’s no way that the white snake those scammers call the elixir of immortality could be referring to the divine beast, right?

I kept telling myself this, but the ominous thoughts continued endlessly.

Eventually, I flopped down on the bed. I buried my face deep under the pillow.

‘I don’t even know where the auction house Philen mentioned is, I can’t go there anyway.’

I tried hard to think that it had nothing to do with me.

…And a few minutes later, I was back out in the hallway.

‘They said they were going to the study earlier, right?’

It was when I was rushing to the study.

Before turning the corner of the hallway, I saw the Duke and Philen standing together in front of the Duke’s study.

I stopped abruptly. Quietly holding my breath, I could faintly hear their conversation.

“…Our informant will probably find out where their hideout is by tomorrow. How about raiding them right away then?”

“If we can’t catch any evidence, they’ll only get charged with attempted crime. We should leave them be until we’re sure we can catch evidence.”

“But the auction is in three days. We don’t have much time.”

After listening to their conversation for a moment, I understood. It was about the auction house where the white snake was mentioned earlier.

“They’re the type to erase evidence like ghosts as soon as the auction ends. If we rush in carelessly this time and get caught, it’ll be quite a headache.”

“Didn’t you say you received an invitation from them?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Send a reply that you’ll attend, I’ll go to the auction house myself.”

“Oh, you will?”

“Yes, it might be good for Clemens to come along too. It’ll be a good experience.”

“Yes, I’ll make the preparations.”

Learning that the Duke and Clemens were also going to the auction house, I seemed to see one solution in my mind.

That’s when a dark shadow fell heavily before my eyes.

“Ah, young lady?!”

The owner of the shadow was none other than Philen. Startled for a moment, I felt the strength in my legs give out completely.

I fell right on my bottom, but Philen carefully helped me up.

“Young lady, what brings you here? Didn’t you go into your room earlier?”

I shook my head and said.

“I want to go too!”

“Pardon? Where do you want to go?”

“I want to go to the auction house too!”

I ended up blurting it out. This was all because of the voice of conscience pricking at my heart.

‘The silver snake needs to meet the male lead, it’s too pitiful if it gets sold at the auction house without even meeting the male lead.’

It wasn’t just the divine beast that had a cruel fate. The same was true for the male lead.

‘How many lives will the male lead save with the divine beast’s divine power in the future.’

Elaizer, befitting a protagonist, moved for the justice and goodness of the world.

The contract with the divine beast was also a decision made to use its infinite divine power where needed.

‘I must make sure they meet.’

There was a moment of silence around me after my statement. Philen was the first to speak.

“That’s not possible. It’s too dangerous a place for you, young lady.”

“But it’s just as dangerous for Clemens, isn’t it?”

“…What do you mean, did you perhaps hear the entire conversation just now?”

“Yes, I heard everything, including the Duke saying he’d go himself and that he’d take Clemens along.”

Philen let out a deep sigh. He looked troubled by my stubbornness.

I asked again, as if urging him.

“Why can’t I go?”

“You’re still young, and above all, young master is different from you.”

“Clemens will have guards too! Just give me guards too. Then I won’t be in any danger at all.”

“That place isn’t somewhere where safety is guaranteed simply by having guards. We’re talking about going into the midst of people who commit illegal acts without hesitation. No matter how many guards you have, there’s absolutely no safety in such a place.”

By that logic, even the Duke’s mansion wasn’t a safe place for me now. After all, this was the home of the villain Duke.

‘Philen probably doesn’t realize it since he’s a villain too.’

“I’ll really, really be careful.”

“It’s still not possible. That’s not a place for you to go, young lady.”

However, unlike other times, Philen was unusually firm.

It was a clearly different attitude from his usual grinning demeanor when I spoke to him or approached him first.

‘The atmosphere has changed.’

Seeing him like this, the description of him as an aide who didn’t hesitate to carry out all sorts of torture on the Duke’s orders didn’t seem out of place.

“I have a guard too, Yan is a skilled guard, so we can take Yan.”

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

Philen explained earnestly, but I didn’t back down easily.

Soon, Philen sighed deeply and asked.

“Why do you want to go to such a dangerous place, young lady?”

In fact, I knew the answer to that question clearly.

‘I think the poor divine beast might have been caught.’

I couldn’t tell Philen this. When an answer didn’t come immediately, Philen tried to find my answer on his own.

“Surely you’re not interested in the white snake too, are you, young lady? The elixir of immortality, I mean.”

‘Actually, I’m really worried about that too.’

Of course, I know it’s not true and it’s nonsense, but other people might not.

Naturally, one imagination came to mind. Stirring a cauldron of boiling water and bringing the silver snake to the mouth of the cauldron…

I shook my head, and Philen showed a look of complete bewilderment.

“Then why? That’s all you know about the auction house, isn’t it, young lady?”

“Well, that’s…”

When an answer didn’t come easily, Philen fell into deep thought. Philen asked with a look of uncertainty.

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

“Ah, that’s right! I want to go with the Duke!”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than another shadow fell over me.

I stiffly turned my head.

The Duke was standing there, raising one eyebrow.

“I wondered why it was so noisy, and here’s the culprit.”

“My lord.”

Philen looked at the Duke with an expression of relief.

It seemed he was hoping the Duke would help break my stubbornness, as Philen alone was finding it difficult.

“My lord, you may have heard, but the young lady wants to go to the auction house too. Of course, I told her it’s not possible. It’s too dangerous a place for her.”

Philen looked confident that the Duke would take his side.

“You want to go too?”

The Duke’s gaze, full of doubt, turned towards me. I swallowed hard.

I nodded slightly, and the Duke continued in a low voice, calmly.

“Do as you wish.”

“How can you give permission so easily!”

As soon as they entered the office, Philen raised his voice unusually loud.

Cailius’s brow furrowed slightly, but that was all. Seeing the Duke silent, Philen continued, seemingly frustrated.

“Can’t you prepare more thoroughly?”

“This isn’t something that can be resolved with thorough preparation. Please tell the young lady it’s not possible even now. She probably said she wants to go because she doesn’t know how dangerous that place is. Young master Clemens has been investigating this matter from the beginning so he knows, but the young lady doesn’t, right?”

“As we’ve seen so far, she’s a clever child. I’ll tell her how dangerous it is before we go. I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

It seemed that my lord had no intention of changing his mind. Philen felt his energy drain completely.

In the end, the young lady will end up going to that auction house.

Although he had repeatedly said it wasn’t possible, in his mind he was already listing the most skilled knights in order.

Yet, he couldn’t let go of his final concern.

“Aren’t you worried about the young lady, my lord?”

The Duke’s gaze, which had been seated, lifted indifferently.

“I am worried.”

The answer was as indifferent as his gaze. Philen couldn’t help but sigh.

“Then why did you give permission so easily? You know best how dangerous that place is, don’t you?”

“She said she wants to go together.”

“Ah…”

The young lady did say that. Philen sighed softly.

“As I mentioned before, no matter how many guards we bring, we can only take up to 2 people per person. It’s underground and such a narrow place. It’s specified in the invitation. There’s even a clause stating that if you don’t agree, you can’t attend. So if the young lady takes two guards, she can’t bring her lady-in-waiting.”

“Two people is just right.”

“It’s too few. The young lady is still young, isn’t she?”

The Duke replied calmly, but Philen seemed to absolutely disagree with those words.

“She’s at an age where she must be accompanied by a lady-in-waiting of the same gender. But there are no female knights in Levitche currently, are there?”

“Why are you trying to find them only among the knights?”

“Then where should we look? For the young lady’s guards.”

The Duke stared blankly at Philen.

At the look that seemed to ask if he had forgotten something obvious, Philen realized he was missing something.

“Don’t tell me there’s someone else? To serve the young lady… Ah!”

Philen clapped his hands together. He seemed to have realized, but his face was still confused.

“But when she first came to the Duke’s mansion, didn’t she say she couldn’t use magic? That’s why she couldn’t help us except with theoretical matters. I understand that’s why she wasn’t given any particular position, but…”

“Later, after hearing from the twins, it seems a bit different from what she said.”

One corner of the Duke’s mouth lifted slightly.

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