The mansion was regaining peace once more.

Duke Valige was composed and reticent as before, and not irritable. He was spending busy days dealing with matters he had put off for a while.

“Is the embankment construction going well?”

“You might need to visit Count Harlen’s territory once. The continual rain has caused the river to swell, hindering the construction.”

Upon witnessing the success of the embankment he had previously implemented at the river, he had started construction work, beginning with the most urgent area, Count Harlen’s territory.

If the embankment construction ends well, the Cuerpit River of Harlen’s territory would not have to fear the rainy season anymore.

“I must go and see for myself. Prepare the carriage.”

“Yes, I understand. But why the carriage?”

Duke Valige had always moved on horseback, as carriages were slower and could not take rough shortcuts. Why a carriage now?

Lawrence looked at the Duke with a puzzled expression.

“Lina is coming with me.”

“… Excuse me?”

And Lawrence was stunned by the sudden statement.

‘He’s taking a maid on official business?’

And this maid was even rumored to be the Duke’s concubine.

“Lina… did you say?”

He asked again in disbelief, but the answer was the same. It seemed that the Duke intended not only to keep the maid in the mansion but also to bring her closer.

“My Lord, do you truly intend to keep that maid in the mansion?”

Lawrence asked with a grave face. However, the Duke made no reply, only looking at the documents.

Silence is assent, they say. Lawrence clenched his fist at the sight of the Duke.

She had not only stolen and fled from the mansion but had also forged her identity and worked in the mansion with fake recommendation letters. And she could even be Empress’s spy. How could he keep such a dangerous person close?

Lawrence felt his breath rise to his throat.

‘Is the rumor true?’

When he first heard the rumor that there was something unusual between Lina and the Duke, he thought it was false.

The Duke, whom he had observed for a long time, seemed incapable of feeling such trivial emotions.

“It’s not right, My Lord! She could be Empress’s spy!”

“We haven’t heard anything from Philip yet, so we can’t be certain.”

“But still…!”

The Duke’s words were true, there was no evidence that she was a spy, but there were suspicions. And that suspicion alone made keeping her near dangerous, especially in such perilous times.

Now, the empire was divided into two factions, supporting the 1st Prince, the former Empress’s son, and the 2nd Prince, the current Empress’s son.

And the Permanence family was at the core of the faction supporting the 1st Prince.

Therefore, the Empress had sent the 1st Prince, Alex, and Valige to the battlefield to die, so she could crown her young son.

But, not only did the two survive the battlefield they were sent to die in, but they also returned triumphant.

Thanks to that, the 1st Prince and the Duke were gaining popularity among the people, and the Empress could not ignore such a trend.

Furthermore, unlike the 1st Prince, the 2nd Prince had been sickly since childhood and never left the palace, making the situation even more unstable for her.

‘She must be desperate to get rid of the 1st Prince and the Duke by any means.’

Lawrence bit his lip.

“What will you do about the brooch the maid stole? Not only in the mansion but thanks to the wanted notice, the rumor has spread throughout the entire territory. Do you really intend to leave it at that without any punishment?”

“She didn’t steal it. I gave it to Lina.”

“My Lord!”

If he agreed to this, it would implicitly acknowledge Lina as the Duke’s lover or concubine.

“Don’t bring that up again. My mind is made up.”

Lina might have been a spy. And the fact that she stole something from the mansion and ran away. Even if all of this was true, others shouldn’t have known about it.

Because then, I wouldn’t be able to keep Lina by my side.

At the Duke’s firm command, Lawrence fell silent. The Duke now seemed to have no intention of listening to him. It was time to step back for now.

“……Understood. I will pay the bounty as you announced to the ones who captured the maid.”

Upon hearing that, something crossed Valige’s mind, and he let out a short breath.

Dried scabs between the torn clothes, as if they were scratched.

The annoyance rose once again as he recalled that moment. Then he muttered in a lower voice.

“Right. I promised, so I must give it. But.”

Valige’s last words stopped Lawrence, who was about to leave the room.

“Didn’t I make it clear that not a hair must be harmed in the process of capturing Lina?”

“……Yes? Yes. Well, it was written in the wanted notice……”

For a moment, Lawrence unknowingly gulped at an ominous premonition.

‘Surely not.’

He had heard from Hoaquin that the maid had injured her arm. But it wasn’t a significant injury, and it was a slight scratch that would heal with proper treatment.