“I suspect that the maid might be a spy sent by the Empress.”
“A spy.”
Duke Valige, who was quietly reciting Lawrence’s words, was not wearing any expression.
“Yes. So right now……”
Valige, who had been standing still for a while, cut off Lawrence’s words.
“……Let’s go out.”
“Duke.”
“Didn’t you hear me say to leave?”
Lawrence seemed to have much more to say, but he had no choice but to leave the room at the Duke’s firm command.
Alone in the room after everyone had left, Valige collapsed onto the sofa. He just sat there blankly for a long while.
“The Empress’s spy.”
The image of the maid who had always been watching him rose in his mind. She seemed docile but had that strangely defiant look in her eyes.
She had tried to hide it, but she seemed to hate serving him to an almost irritating degree at times.
“But was all that acting?”
If she really was sent by the Empress, shouldn’t she have been more eager to please him?
“But.”
Her apparent knowledge of magical tools and the way she rode horses skillfully,
And.
The woman who had vanished without a trace.
The Duke looked over the report that Lawrence had handed him again.
The paper, as if to confirm Lawrence’s words, detailed the real whereabouts of a woman named Lina.
Valige brushed his confused hair back. Then who was the Lina he knew?
And where did her sincere words end, and where did the lies begin?
“Could it be that there was never any sincerity?”
Valige felt as if his heart had sunk into the ground.
He ruthlessly crumpled the paper he was holding. The paper was torn to shreds and scattered on the floor.
[I’ll be by your side.]That warm word, which once filled him, had now become a dagger, sharply piercing his heart. He placed his hand over the unfamiliar pain that was prickling at the edge of his chest.
[Don’t be anxious.]He bit his lip at her words, which still lingered in his ears.
Knock, knock.
“Duke, it’s Cullen.”
“……Come in.”
Cullen, who had entered the room, sighed inwardly as he looked at the torn papers on the floor.
Although he looked as if nothing had happened, everyone in the mansion knew. They knew that the Duke’s appearance was different than usual.
When Cullen first learned that Lina had disappeared, he hadn’t taken it very seriously.
According to what Mei, who had shared the same room, had said, Lina had originally disappeared without a word from time to time and assuredly returned, declaring that she would return the next day.
So, thinking it was no big deal, they waited for Lina. But then.
“The item is missing.”
Servants or maidservants always checked once if anything was missing from the mansion when they left or quit.
Occasionally, because there had been cases where they stole things as they left. And this time, the check conducted was just a formal procedure.
“It was definitely there when I checked because of Henry.”
A few days ago, an old brooch was completely gone. The missing brooch, along with the missing maid. It was a situation where anyone could only suspect Lina.
“I have something to report to Your Grace.”
“What is it now?”
He mumbled, as if telling him to hurry up and speak and leave.
“There’s an item missing from the mansion along with Lina.”
At Collen’s words, Valige, who had momentarily paused, looked at Collen, as if telling him to continue.
“It was a brooch that I had put in the storeroom, but when I checked today, it was gone. It was definitely there a few days ago when I checked. That’s why I’m currently checking to see if anything else is missing.”
Collen carefully observed Valige’s mood. But the Duke just kept his silence with an unknowable face.
The brooch that had been in the storeroom was old, but not valuable.
Why it had been stolen from that storeroom was questionable, as it was an object of no great worth. Therefore, there had not even been any security magic placed on it.
“He’ll surely let it go without a word again.”
Looking at the silent Duke, Collen had predicted so. If Lina were to appear again, he would let it slide, as if nothing had happened.
Rumors surrounding the maid and the Duke had already grown uncontrollably since Hoakin had treated Lina. But what’s done is done.
Collen only desperately hoped for her to return.
As time passed since Lina’s disappearance, the atmosphere in the mansion was growing increasingly grim.
The Duke, though not saying anything, was exuding a cold chill from around him. It was a murderous atmosphere that seemed like it could cut off someone’s head even for a mistake.
It was when Collen was shaking his head, reflecting on the past few hours. The Duke’s voice broke the silence.
“Put out a wanted notice.”
“…Excuse me?”
Collen thought he had misheard. But the Duke continued his words regardless of Collen’s dumbfounded question.
“Close the gates and open checkpoints, investigating all those in the village. She probably hasn’t left the territory yet.”
A wanted notice. The completely unexpected action made Collen cautiously ask.
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer…”
“20 gold.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Put a bounty of 20 gold on her.”
Gasp. Involuntarily taking a breath, Collen’s eyes shook like an earthquake.
20 gold. The brooch that had disappeared from the mansion was an object not even worth 1 gold, let alone 20 gold.
“Find it at all costs.”
Feeling something different from usual, Collen asked in a worried voice.
“Your Grace, what do you plan to do if you find Lina…?”
The Duke’s mouth opened after a brief silence.
“We’ll deal with her according to imperial law.”
It was different.
He didn’t know what had happened, but the Duke’s state was more dangerous than ever.
He would probably never forgive Lina. Swallowing at the Duke’s suddenly changed attitude, Collen said,
“Bring Philip.”
On the other hand, Valige intended to send Philip to the capital to investigate if Lina was related to the Empress. There was still no evidence that Lina was the Empress’s spy. Only suspicions.
So, there was a need to verify it properly.
And if she turned out to be the Empress’s spy…
“If that’s really the case…”
He kept repeating it to himself.
He would never forgive that woman who deceived and betrayed him.
As if to cast a spell on himself. Unceasingly.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
