“You’re going to the Marquis Chalet’s domain?”

“Y-yes. I’m a merchant supplying grain. I was heading to the Marquis’ domain to do business with the Chalet family.”

Dylan nervously pulled out pre-prepared documents from his chest and held them out. It was a transaction statement stamped with the Chalet family seal. The document listed the same items and quantities as the cargo in the hold.

Of course, this document was just a cover. The real items for trade with Marquis Chalet were separate.

After casually examining the contents of the document, Caeron looked down at Dylan. The Duke’s direct gaze was incredibly intimidating. Dylan took a deep breath, carefully composed his expression, and asked cautiously.

“If I may ask… is there some issue with going to Marquis Chalet’s domain?”

“Marquis Chalet coveted something he should never have desired.”

It was a low, chilling voice that felt eerie. Dylan’s body flinched at the Duke’s response.

Something he should never have desired… Could that possibly mean the Duchess?

Dylan’s back became damp with sweat from the suffocating tension.

“I don’t know what that is… but there’s no problem with the goods on our ship. We’ve already passed the security forces’ ship inspection.”

Growing anxious, Dylan tried to talk his way out of the situation. When Dylan glanced at the security chief as if to say ‘isn’t that right?’, the chief also spoke up with a troubled expression.

“My apologies, but as he says, we had already completed the ship inspection before Your Grace arrived. Nothing unusual was found.”

“Are you certain you searched thoroughly?”

Gregory, standing beside the Duke, asked again with a stern face as if to reconfirm. In response, the guard who had conducted the inspection answered.

“We took out every item in the cargo hold and checked everything, including the interiors.”

As the situation seemed to be turning in his favor, color returned to Dylan’s face, which had been anxious before.

On the other hand, Caeron’s gaze sharpened as he carefully observed the changes in Dylan’s expression. He spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll check with my own eyes.”

“Y-Your Grace!”

As Caeron started walking toward the cabin, everyone was flustered and followed behind him. Dylan too, surprised by the sudden turn of events, followed the Duke’s footsteps.

“The cargo hold is this way. Over here…”

“That’s enough.”

Cutting off Dylan who was trying to guide the Duke to the cargo hold, Caeron moved in a different direction.

If nothing unusual had been found in the already searched cargo hold, there was a need to examine other spaces more closely.

Moreover, that merchant was suspicious. Though he tried his best to conceal it, the subtle changes in his expression and eyes that showed through were unsettling. There was an intuition that he was hiding something.

‘If that’s the case…’

He would try to avoid guiding me to places I shouldn’t go.

Therefore, the cargo hold that the man was actively trying to guide to was excluded.

Caeron examined the various places inside the ship while simultaneously paying attention to the changes in the merchant’s expression. To determine which space the man wanted to avoid the most among the places his footsteps touched.

The only place left after looking around the ship was the space at the bottom of the vessel. As Caeron’s footsteps headed towards the stairs leading down, Dylan hurriedly blocked his way.

“Th-this leads to the engine room. It’s where various machinery is installed, so it’s quite messy. I’m concerned it might be inconvenient for Your Grace to inspect personally…”

Dylan spoke as if worried about the shabby space, but Caeron coldly sneered as he observed Dylan’s unsteady eyes and the muscle twitches along his jawline.

“Move aside.”

“…Yes. Please be careful, the lighting is dim.”

At Caeron’s dismissive words, Dylan finally stepped aside. Watching the Duke’s back as he descended the stairs, Dylan swallowed dryly.

‘Even if he goes to the engine room, he won’t notice the hidden room.’

Dylan reassured himself that it would be alright. However, his anxious gaze couldn’t leave the Duke as he entered the engine room.

Since the ship was not currently sailing, the area around the engine room was quiet. The moment Caeron opened the engine room door and stepped into the dim space,

“…!”

All his movements stopped.

“Your Grace, are you alright?”

Seeing Caeron suddenly stop at the engine room doorway and stand still as if frozen, Gregory, who was following behind, called out to him.

“The scent…”

“Pardon? The scent?”

Gregory asked in bewilderment at Caeron’s words, which he had muttered as if in disbelief. However, soon after, Caeron, with completely changed eyes, strode resolutely into the engine room.

Then his heart began to race, beating even faster. Every cell in his body seemed to squirm and move. The feeling of all the nerves constituting his senses burning hot as if on fire…

There was only one thing in the world that could put him in such a state.

‘Aidel’s scent…!’

The dim engine room, where only cool air swirled, was filled with her scent. His entire body reacting to that scent was telling him.

“The Duchess is definitely in here.”

“…!”

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise at the Duke’s confident words. Especially Dylan, whose jaw dropped upon hearing that the Duchess was present, wore an expression of shock.

As Caeron began examining various parts of the engine room interior, the others also started searching for the Duchess. However, there was no sign of life felt inside the engine room. Even after checking every corner, there were only machines lined up.

Dylan watched with anxious eyes as they searched for the Duchess. Especially when the Duke headed towards the floor where the hidden room was concealed, he felt his heart sink.

“Your Grace! No matter how we look, it seems the Duchess is not here. We couldn’t find any space where a person could be hidden.”

The security chief bowed apologetically before the Duke, who firmly believed the Duchess was here. Gregory also added with a regretful look towards the Duke.

“Your Grace, I too have looked, but… Her Grace is not…”

“That’s impossible. The Duchess is here.”

Cutting off Gregory’s words, Caeron asserted once again. Unable to understand the Duke’s stubbornness, Gregory tried to persuade him with a concerned expression.

“I understand your desire to find Her Grace, but… You’re in a very fatigued state right now. You haven’t slept a wink for days.”

From Gregory’s perspective, Caeron’s behavior seemed like a delusion caused by extreme fatigue. The Duke might be seeing an illusion created by his desire to find the Duchess.

“Perhaps if you could rest for a moment…”

“Gregory, do I look out of my mind right now?”

“Y-Your Grace! Of course not. It’s just…”

“I’m in a clearer state than ever before. To the point where I can barely control my heightened senses.”

“Your Grace…”

“With the scent so strong, there’s no way the Duchess isn’t here.”

“…Scent? What do you mean…?”

At the mention of scent again, everyone, including Gregory, wore puzzled expressions.

All that could be smelled in the engine room was the rusty odor from old machines and the acrid smell left after steam had been released. It was certainly nothing that could be called a fragrance.

Despite the questioning gazes of those watching, Caeron closed his eyes and concentrated all his senses. He slowly moved his footsteps towards where Aidel’s scent grew stronger.

Eventually, he stopped walking on a flat, seemingly empty floor. Watching this, Dylan barely managed to stifle a scream that was about to burst from his lips.

‘Th-that place…!’

It was exactly above where the Duchess was hidden.

‘Did he really find the Duchess’s location by scent?’

No, that couldn’t be.

If the scent had been so strong, he himself, who had been by the Duchess’s side for the past few days, would have noticed. The Duchess didn’t even wear perfume, so there was clearly no scent.

‘Then how did the Duke find the Duchess?’

No matter how he thought about it, it was incomprehensible. However, Dylan’s pondering didn’t last long.

“Tear up this floor.”

Caeron, opening his eyes, commanded with a glinting gaze. Closing his eyes and focusing on his sense of smell had naturally heightened his other senses as well.

The floor surface he was standing on resonated differently from the rest. It was the vibration felt when there was an empty space underneath. It was clear that another space was hidden below this engine room floor, which one might easily assume to be the very bottom of the ship.

And above all, Aidel’s scent was strongest around this area.

“Looking closely, there’s a small groove carved into the floor surface.”

One of the security guards examining the floor shouted. It was hard to see in the dim interior, but upon closer inspection, there was a groove carved into the floor surface, like a handle.

“It, it’s lifting!”

When they inserted their hands into the groove and pulled outward, surprisingly, the floor surface began to lift.

“N-no!”

As Dylan, panicked, cried out and tried to intervene, the security guards held him back.

“Is there something down there that shouldn’t be seen?”

“Th-that’s the very bottom of the ship! If you tear it up, it will cause severe damage to the vessel…”

“The very bottom of the ship…”

“That’s right! If the bottom gets punctured, seawater will come in and flood the ship!”

Caeron smirked amusedly at Dylan’s desperate attempts to stop them. Dylan was momentarily dazed by the Duke’s smile.

The Duke’s smile, which he was seeing for the first time, was certainly captivating to the point where one couldn’t take their eyes off it, but at the same time, it felt as chilling as if it could freeze one’s heart. It was because of his endlessly cruel eyes, contrary to his smiling lips.

“Alright. I’ll ask one last time. Is there really only seawater beneath this floor?”

“…!”

The Duke’s eyes seemed to be asking as if he had already decided on the answer. This was, as he said, the last chance. If that chance was missed…

Dylan unknowingly grabbed his stinging neck. He felt again the sensation he had experienced when he first faced the Duke.

‘If I don’t tell the truth…’

That beast-like man would surely grab his nape and tear it to shreds.

Dylan’s limbs began to tremble. Now without even the strength to support himself, Dylan collapsed to the floor, kneeling.

“…There is.”

Dylan began to confess with an expression and voice of complete resignation.

“Down there… Her Grace the Duchess is there.”

As soon as Dylan finished speaking, Caeron went to the side of the security guard and took over lifting the floor himself. The floor surface began to open like a box lid.

The scent that awakened every sense in his body deeply penetrated his lungs. At the same time, the interior of the hidden room came into his view.

A woman was lying curled up. Despite the dim interior, her smooth wheat-colored hair and snow-white skin were etched into his eyes so vividly it almost hurt.

It was the woman he had been searching for so desperately. Caeron reached out and slowly lifted the fragile woman’s body.

“Aidel…!”

He called her name with an anguished voice, but the woman, with her arms, legs, and even mouth bound, remained motionless in his arms with her eyes closed.

Like a flower that had been broken and lost its vitality…