“Are you okay now?”
A short moment, if short at all. Their bodies had separated, but his pounding heartbeat still lingered.
“……”
“Lexion?”
Milena looked up at him worriedly as she met his hazy, intoxicated red gaze.
What exactly was wrong? She reached out to brush away the strands of hair covering his eyes, but then flinched.
“Milena.”
Her hand was caught by his large one and instead guided to rest against his cheek. He leaned into her palm.
“I don’t think I’m normal. I think my heart is broken.”
Saying that his heart was beating as if it had malfunctioned, she replied firmly.
“Yes, it’s clear that your body isn’t in good condition.”
Milena didn’t fall for his nonsense. This time, she showed a strong determination not to yield.
He chuckled and tightened his grip on her hand. Just as his subordinate had said, maybe he really was losing his mind—he didn’t want to part from this woman.
“Why exactly is that? Are you okay now?”
He glanced at the empty space that had been the cause, then answered her honestly.
“I was looking for something, but it wasn’t there.”
“And that made you feel this unwell? Now that I look at you, you must be quite weak.”
“Hmm, I have confidence in my stamina. But I can’t exactly prove it here.”
At his rather self-assured remark, Milena shook her head. Now that he was feeling better, he was spouting useless words again.
“So, did you come to the Grand Duke’s castle to find an item?”
“Yes, the Grand Duke took something that belongs to me.”
Until now, she had assumed he had infiltrated like an ordinary spy to steal information. But an item that had been plundered? If the Grand Duke had stolen it, it was certainly no ordinary thing.
Judging by Lexion’s reaction, whatever it was must have been in that empty space before disappearing.
It would have been nice if he had found what he was looking for after coming all this way. What could the ruler of the duchy possibly have lacked that he needed to steal from others?
“But more importantly, darling.”
“Huh?”
“How long are we going to stay here? We came to raid this storage, didn’t we?”
Ah, right. Time had passed quite a bit. They needed to hurry. She pointed at the gold coins and jewels that looked valuable.
“Lexion, can you store some of these items with magic? Or do you have a magical tool?”
“Hmm, do you mean this?”
He pulled out a slender pouch. It was a rare item that could store a certain amount of items in subspace regardless of weight or volume.
Milena’s face lit up at the sight of such a valuable object.
“Then, please pack these up. I’ve worked here without receiving a salary, you know. That should be worth at least five years’ pay.”
She hadn’t just played nanny while looking after Ashid. She had shared responsibilities with the butler, handling the overall affairs of the inner castle. All of it had been a pointless effort just to gain Calion’s favor.
While Lexion swept up the jewels and gold coins with a snap of his fingers, she ventured deeper into the space.
Her gaze landed on something—the Lord’s Scepter. A staff used only during the Grand Duke’s coronation. It was imbued with powerful magic, symbolizing authority and rule.
“What about that?”
Lexion, who had already claimed half of the warehouse’s contents, stood close behind her.
Milena picked up the scepter effortlessly and smirked.
“Lexion, don’t you want to see the Grand Duke’s panicked face?”
With this, she could break the coffin that was reinforced with layers of magic. The master of the Magic Tower had clearly told her in her memories—
‘When you regain your memories, use the Grand Duke’s heirloom to destroy the coffin.’
She didn’t know why he had told her this, but his voice, echoing in her mind, had provided the method.
With this, she would break the coffin and confirm that Larriete’s body had disappeared. Amid the chaos that would ensue in the Grand Duke’s castle, she planned to quietly exchange marriage vows with this man.
“What do you think? I don’t know where the item you’re looking for is, but I know plenty of ways to make the Grand Duke suffer.”
At her question, Lexion’s gaze lingered on her lips.
With a smirk as if he would kiss her at any moment, he laughed and said—
“Perfect, Milena.”
Ways to torment the Grand Duke. Now that was an enticing proposal. He hadn’t given up on his purpose for coming here yet, but for now, he decided to go along with her plan.
Watching Milena leave with the Lord’s Scepter in hand, Lexion chuckled.
Whatever her plan was, would it truly surprise him? For the master of the information guild to be caught off guard, it would have to be something as shocking as a dead person coming back to life.
“For now, let’s put back the key you stole.”
Where had she even gotten that from? Come to think of it, even he, skilled in intelligence gathering, had never discovered this treasure vault.
Uncovering secrets within the Grand Duke’s castle without his knowledge was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
Which meant—she was either close enough to the Grand Duke to know his secrets or capable enough to steal them. Given her history with him, it was likely the latter. But still, it was suspicious.
Watching Milena warily, he followed her out of the tomb-like space.
By then, dawn had arrived, and the castle’s servants had begun their early morning routines.
Lexion concealed their presence within a certain radius, allowing Milena to boldly step into the restricted areas of the Grand Duke’s castle.
A place filled with Calion’s private secrets. No servant dared to set foot there.
“Do you want to keep watch here? Or will you come inside with me?”
Standing before the grand, antique doors, Milena asked.
Lexion recalled the order he had received when he was assigned as a bodyguard.
He had been instructed to keep Milena from entering the Grand Duke’s chambers.
It was as if they had entrusted a cat with guarding a fish.
The Grand Duke’s aide had never expected that he would become an accomplice instead.
“I’ll go in.”
There were still many parts of the Grand Duke’s castle even his intelligence network hadn’t uncovered.
This was one of them. Even the servants—no, even the Grand Duke’s most trusted aides—were forbidden from entering.
He had tried to infiltrate before, but had always failed.
As if aware of his thoughts, Milena spoke as she crossed the threshold.
“Do you know the condition required to enter this place?”
“No idea.”
Feigning disinterest, he shrugged nonchalantly in his guise as ‘Hubert.’
“Only those related to Larriete can enter. Since you’re with me, you can pass through.”
As she answered, Milena’s expression darkened.
Aside from the Grand Duke himself, only she and Ashid could access this place in his absence.
Everything about him was still tied to his dead wife.
She shook her head in frustration and hurried to return the stolen key.
As she moved through several chambers, she arrived at a space filled with portraits.
There, she met her sister’s face.
‘Larriete, you always smiled like this.’
As if you had not a care in the world. As if you had embraced all the happiness in the world.
She had once envied that.
But not anymore.
—
