110. I Don’t Like Just Any Scent

Klaus’s sharp gaze shifted as if reacting to the scent, and Roselia instinctively tensed.

Then, realizing her own reaction, she felt a flicker of frustration.

Why am I reacting like this?

Did she find it bothersome that Klaus was responding to another woman’s scent?

As Roselia tried to push away her own confusion, Eva suddenly came running from the end of the alley.

“Young master! I found where the woman ran off to—oh…?”

Spotting Klaus standing directly in front of Roselia, Eva tilted her head in confusion.

“Isn’t that… the Duke?”

Roselia let out a deep sigh as Eva blatantly stared at Klaus.

“Yes. More importantly, what happened to the woman?”

“Oh! She ran into that tavern across the alley. It looks like she works there.”

While Roselia was still considering their next move, Klaus interrupted with a blunt question.

“A woman?”

She glanced at him briefly before replying in a cold tone.

“It’s none of your concern.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, Roselia turned and walked away, her expression unreadable.

Eva hesitated before following her but couldn’t help but whisper, “Uh… young master, the Duke is—”

“Ignore him.”

Klaus’s presence had always been difficult to deal with, but today, for some reason, it really irritated her.

Was she actually upset that he had reacted to another woman’s scent?

As Roselia scowled at her own thoughts, Eva hesitated before speaking again.

“No, I mean… the Duke is following us.”

“What?”

Roselia immediately turned around.

Sure enough, Klaus was trailing behind them at a leisurely pace—calm, casual, as if he had simply decided to take a stroll.

His eyes, however, remained fixed solely on her.

Her breath caught in her throat before she narrowed her eyes in irritation.

“How far do you plan on following us?”

At her sharp question, Klaus simply smiled, his tone smooth and relaxed.

“I was heading there anyway. The tavern across the alley.”

Roselia’s lips pressed into a thin line.

She couldn’t exactly tell him to leave if he really had business there…

Suppressing her irritation, she turned away and continued walking.

By the time they reached the entrance of the tavern, it almost looked as if they had arrived together.

Roselia shot Klaus an annoyed glare, but as always, he looked completely unbothered.

As soon as they stepped inside, all eyes momentarily turned toward them.

A nobleman and a young lord—clearly out of place in a rowdy drinking establishment.

But the moment passed quickly. The patrons returned to their drinks and company, too preoccupied with their indulgences to pay further attention.

Scanning the room, Roselia and Eva quickly found a vacant table and sat down.

And without hesitation, Klaus—completely unfazed—sat down right beside them.

Roselia raised an eyebrow.

Her expression screamed: Why are you sitting with us?

Klaus merely shrugged, relaxed as ever.

“As you can see, there’s no other open seat.”

Roselia glanced around.

Unfortunately, he was right. The tavern was packed, and the only available seats were at their table.

Letting out a sigh, she turned back to him, her gaze sharp.

“And what business does the Duke of Valtazar have at a place like this?”

Klaus’s response was effortless.

“A tavern is for drinking, isn’t it? Do I need another reason?”

Raising a hand, he signaled for the tavern owner—who was already running around, serving drinks at a frantic pace.

“Just a moment! That damn girl—if she came in, she should be serving customers! Where the hell did she run off to? Nora! Nora!”

The tavern owner’s voice rang out, searching for someone.

A moment later, a young woman hurriedly appeared—the very woman Roselia had been looking for.

The owner, his tone laced with curses, berated her, and Nora hastily bowed her head in apology.

Then, as she turned toward Roselia’s table, her entire body visibly stiffened upon seeing Roselia and Eva.

“What are you standing there for?! Move!”

At the owner’s harsh scolding, Nora hesitantly shuffled forward, stopping before Roselia and Klaus.

“Wh-what… would you like to order?”

Klaus, noticing how the woman was sweating nervously, tilted his head slightly before speaking.

“What’s on the menu?”

“Th-the only drinks we serve are beer and rum… and for food, we have roasted boar leg and potato stew.”

Despite answering, Nora’s gaze kept darting toward Roselia, carefully watching her expression.

Klaus, noticing her behavior, glanced at Roselia.

“Is this the woman you were looking for?”

At his words, Nora flinched and shrank slightly.

Ignoring Klaus’s question, Roselia focused on the trembling woman and spoke gently.

“Why did you run when you saw us?”

At Roselia’s calm question, Nora’s face turned deathly pale—and suddenly, she dropped to her knees.

“P-please have mercy, young master!”

Roselia, Eva, and even Klaus looked momentarily stunned by her sudden action.

Oblivious to their reactions, Nora pressed her forehead to the floor, shaking.

“I—I have committed a grave sin. I was just so hungry that I…”

Her voice trailed off into incomprehensible mumbling.

Roselia, utterly confused, reached out and lifted her up by the hand.

“What are you talking about? What sin have you committed?”

Only then did Nora, still frightened, cautiously lift her head.

“D-did you come after me because I stole money…?”

“…Stole money?”

At Roselia’s confused response, Nora hesitantly glanced at Klaus and Eva. But the moment her gaze landed on Klaus’s sharp, unreadable expression, her shoulders tensed even further.

Then, as if recalling something, Eva clapped her hands together.

“Oh! Now that I think about it, the day we saved her, I did lose my coin pouch. It didn’t have much in it, though…”

At Eva’s words, Nora immediately ducked her head again, as if expecting execution on the spot.

“I have committed a grave sin!”

So that was why she ran?

Roselia let out a sigh and pulled the frail woman to her feet.

Nora looked up at her with shaken, uncertain eyes.

“Stealing is wrong,” Roselia admitted. “But I didn’t come here because of that. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“Then… why…?”

Nora blinked in confusion.

She couldn’t fathom why someone who clearly came from wealth—a young nobleman, no less—would go out of their way to look for her.

And on top of that, with a massive nobleman in tow.

Her eyes flickered toward Klaus, who sat radiating an air of absolute authority.

Noticing her apprehension, Roselia sighed and reassured her,

“You don’t need to worry about him. Your name is Nora, correct?”

At her gentle tone, Nora nodded hesitantly.

“Do you work here? What about your home and family?”

The sudden question seemed to catch Nora off guard.

“I… I’m an orphan. The owner lets me sleep here in exchange for work.”

Roselia’s expression hardened.

It was clear from just looking at her—she wasn’t being treated well.

And if she had resorted to stealing food…

She had definitely been left to starve.

“Then why were you looking for me…?”

Perhaps reassured that they weren’t here to punish her, Nora cautiously asked.

Then, a realization seemed to dawn on her.

“Wait… could it be… do you know my family?!”

Her voice quivered with hope, her expression brightening slightly.

Muttering to herself, she added,

“I—I knew it… I dreamed of it every night. My family, dressed in fine clothes, coming to find me.”

Her voice was oddly distant, almost dazed.

Roselia’s expression darkened.

If Nora was truly of the Lionel bloodline…

Then her family was dead.

The entire Lionel House had been wiped out.

She still couldn’t be certain if Nora was truly connected to them—but if she was, then…

Roselia took a slow breath and gently responded.

“I’m sorry, Nora. But I don’t know anything about your family.”

At Roselia’s words, despair clouded Nora’s face.

In an instant, her expression darkened, and Roselia, taken aback by the change, quickly added,

“But I can help you a little.”

“Y-you’re going to help me…?”

Nora asked in a daze, and Roselia pulled out a small piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to her.

It was a business card with the address of the House of Euciliod written on it.

“If you need help or have something on your mind, come to this address.”

At Roselia’s calm words, Nora tightly clutched the card in her hands and stared at Roselia blankly.

Just then, the tavern owner’s irritable voice rang out,

“Nora! What the hell are you doing?! Can’t you see the customers are waiting?!”

Startled, Nora snapped back to reality and, still holding the card carefully, stood up.

“The orders…”

In response to Nora’s urgent question, Klaus replied bluntly,

“Three beers and potato stew.”

Nora quickly tucked the card into her chest and dashed off from the table.

Her departure caught the attention of many of the men in the tavern.

Klaus was no different.

He stared after Nora as she disappeared, then softly muttered,

“Did you come here to find her?”

Having been quietly observing the situation, Klaus now spoke up.

Roselia, still watching Klaus as he stared at the spot where Nora had vanished, replied sharply,

“It’s none of your concern, Duke. Stay out of it.”

She wasn’t even sure what she meant by that herself, but somehow Klaus’s intense focus on Nora’s disappearance was beginning to irk her.

Clueless about Roselia’s discomfort, Klaus continued to watch Nora rush around the tavern, his expression thoughtful.

“That woman… she’s giving off a scent.”

Klaus continued with a calm tone,

“Similar to yours.”

An odd discomfort stirred within Roselia at the thought of Klaus focusing on Nora in that way.

Judging by Klaus’s reaction, it was clear that Nora probably had some connection to the bloodline.

It was only natural for someone with the bloodline scent to attract attention, but Roselia found Klaus’s fixation on it unsettling.

Was he just attracted to any woman with the scent?

Had she herself been drawn to him simply because of that scent?

“If the scent is that good, maybe you should find a perfumer.”

The sharp words slipped out of Roselia before she could stop them.

Startled by her own words, she saw Klaus staring at her, his expression unreadable.

She realized that she had sounded childish, and her face reddened in embarrassment.

As she looked away, trying to hide her discomfort, Klaus, still watching her intently, suddenly smiled.

“I don’t like just any scent, you know.”

 

 

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