Duke, Is This Your First Time?

“What, he fainted from just this?”

“That’s about the extent of it, it seems.”

‘I really can’t believe I got in trouble because of this idiot. It’s ridiculous.’

Frowning, Elysia lowered the gun to her hip again. Covered by the coat, and the silver gun disappeared completely.

“That’s enough. It would be disrespectful to my gun to shoot this piece of trash, or even use my sword.”

“Will this make me feel better? It’ll be over in one try, so think carefully.”

Hal tapped Jonathan’s unconscious head. The look in his eyes told her he would cut his head off any time Elysia wanted.

“If you’re going to kill him, you should just use a simple gun and one shot.”

“That would be messy. The sword is more neat.”

“That’s more messy.”

Elysia, who had been joking with Hal, shrugged.

“It’s fine. Just bury him some more.” 

“Okay.”

Hal nodded and took the sword. He put the sword in the sword case and while he was giving instructions to his men, Elysia took off the gloves she was wearing.

Both the ring and the gloves had Jonathan’s blood on them. It seemed that she would have to get a new pair of gloves and wash the ring clean.

She put the ring and gloves in her coat pocket when Hal returned, and they left together.

It took a long time to climb the hill behind the capital while dragging Jonathan earlier, but it was quick when was wet down alone.

Elysia went on her way, feeling refreshed, perhaps because she had buried Jonathan, although she could not find any evidence that the second Prince was involved. It was when she and Hal entered an alleyway in the capital. Suddenly, her body bumped into someone and she started to wobble.

Hal, who was walking next to her, was startled and tried to help her, but the other person’s hand was much faster. A hard hand grabbed her arm and straightened her staggering body.

“Are you okay?”

There was a low voice in Elysia’s ear.

“I’m fine……”

Elysia’s brow furrowed in shock as if she’d been hit by a stone as she tried to answer. She blinked. It was a voice she had heard before. 

She lifted her head and looked at the face of the man in the robe she’d bumped into, and her eyes widened.

Iker Deimos, Duke of Deimos’ face was right in front of her.

‘No, why is this man here?’

Elysia’s dark purple eyes were at a loss as she encountered an unexpected person.

The way she looked now was the way she didn’t want anyone to find her.

Unaware of her feelings, Iker’s voice sounded faintly in her ear again.

“Oh, isn’t that the Marquess of Camellia?”

“…… Your Excellency.”

While Elysia hesitated in bewilderment, Hal’s eyes flashed sharply.

There was something strange about the Duke’s voice whom they met unexpectedly. It was as if the Duke knew he would meet her.

Quickly, Hal’s outstretched arm wrapped around Elysia’s waist and pulled her towards him.

At that moment, Iker’s dark brows furrowed. An unpleasant look came and disappeared, but neither Hal nor Elysia noticed.

‘What is it?’

Elysia’s body moved regardless of her will. 

The figure of the man who had made her panic earlier quickly disappeared from her eyes and she saw Hal’s familiar back. (*Hal pushed her to the back)

Wondering what was going on, she called her friend in a low voice.

“Hal.”

“Stay still, Elly.”

“Huh? Yes.”

Elysia didn’t know what was going on, but Elysia fell silent because there was a good reason when Hal told her to stay still.

Hal finally turned his gaze to Duke Deimos standing in front of him.

Dark blue eyes and golden eyes collided in a straight line in the air.

“What’s wrong?”

Har asked with a slight lift of the sword he was holding in his hand as if he was wary. He was polite because he knew who the opponent was.

Duke Iker Deimos.

He was the emperor’s most trusted chief of the imperial faction, the best wizard in the empire and the god of war. His accomplishments in the wars he has fought so far were too numerous to count.

Hal didn’t care, though he had heard that the power and wealth Iker possessed was unimaginable.

The only thing that mattered to Hal was that Duke Deimos was someone who stood on the opposite side of the line from the person he had to protect. Because Elysia’s enemies were also his enemies.

What’s more…….

Hal’s dark blue eyes narrowed slightly.

As well as the discomfort he felt from Duke Deimos earlier, he was also curious about the fact that Iker was Elly’s partner last night. It didn’t seem right that they had just run into each other by chance.

‘Did he bump into Elly on purpose?’

Perhaps reading the childish embarrassment in Hal’s gaze, Iker smiled slightly and spoke in a relaxed voice.

It was not to him, but to Elysia, who was standing behind Hal’s back.

“I just grabbed the Marquess because she was about to fall, but this is really bad treatment. I didn’t expect to say thank you, but isn’t this too much?”

Elysia, who was standing behind Hal, felt guilty at Iker’s soft words mixed with vain laughter.

There was no mistaking Iker’s words. If he hadn’t caught her, she might have ended up on the floor, so it was only right to say thank you………..

‘No, how did I almost fall?’

Elysia’s eyes sharpened as her memory returned before she lost her balance.

The reason why she almost fell in the first place was because she collided with him. So it was correct to say that it was not a one-sided fault, but the fault of both parties.

Elysia, who was trying to step forward to point out the fact to Iker, hid herself again when someone rushed by.

So she didn’t notice the look that drifted into Iker’s eyes.

You’re here, sir?”

The man who stood in an attentive position and reported to Iker was a slender, tall, beautiful man with well-groomed brown hair and eyes of the same color.

Elysia quickly tried to find out who he was.

 ‘Isn’t that man Duke Deimos’ second-in-command? Was his name Michael Aston?’

Her sharp gaze didn’t miss the uniform glimpsed inside the robe that Michael was wearing. It was indeed the uniform of the Imperial Knights.

 ‘He is with his deputy in uniform. Your Excellency seems to be doing his official duties.’

She was a little curious as to what kind of heinous villain it was that Duke Deimos, the director of the Bureau of Investigation, had personally out to catch, but she was not interested beyond that. That was, until Michael mentioned a name she knew. 

“I think I found Jonathan Triel’s whereabouts. He entered a nearby inn with a woman.”

Ha. Elysia sucked in an involuntary breath. Her big eyes couldn’t get any bigger. It was the same with Hal. His back, as unyielding as a stone statue, moved like an earthquake for a brief moment.

 ‘Jonathan Triel? Is he talking about the man she just buried?’

Panicked, Elysia hurriedly reached out and grabbed Hal’s arm. She wanted to confirm what she heard just now was wrong. However, Hal’s eyes were shaking just as much as hers. 

“Ha…!”

Elysia wrinkled her beautiful brow as she barely managed to keep her cursing popping out of her mouth like a habit. She couldn’t understand why Duke Deimos, who was famously busy, went out to catch the garbage Jonathan.

‘No, that’s not the problem.’

The problem was that only a matter of time before Jonathan’s position was revealed. Along with what she had done, of course. Elysia’s revenge on Jonathan was in any case a grave crime.

Somehow she had already slept with him (Iker), and she had no desire to be humiliated by her political rival, Duke Deimos, of all people.

To do that, she had to bring the trash back to where it was….

Time was the problem. Time to dig Jonathan out of the dirt, bring him back, and dump him at the inn. 

However, unaware of her rush, Iker and his lieutenant were talking carefree in front of her. 

Elysia bit her lower lip nervously. While she was troubled, the dialogue continued between Iker and his lieutenant. 

“Which inn is it?”

 “A place called Maze, it’s popular with criminals because it’s a place that operates without receiving a lodging list.”

“It’s illegal not to have a visiting list. We’ll have to catch the innkeeper along with this Jonathan.”

“Do you want to go there now?”

 “Yes.”

At Iker’s reply, Michael tried to lead his lord to the inn. That was, if the person in the black coat hadn’t jumped out and grabbed his lord by the arm. 

He couldn’t see the other person’s face because he/she was wearing a hat so tightly covering the face, but judging from the height and thin build, it seemed to be a woman. 

“Who is it?”

Michael quickly brought his hand to the handle of the sword he wore at his waist, and when his eyes met his lord’s.

 His lord was talking with his eyes. ‘Stand down’. Although he let his guard down, Michael could not understand what was happening now. 

The lord who didn’t like others to touch his body was looking down at the person who held his arm and his lips were smiling softly. Moreover, there was even a look of satisfaction in his golden eyes that were always drowsy and emotionless.

‘What is this situation? Is it someone the lord knows? From her build, she seems to be a woman.’

Tilting his head, Michaela opened his eyes wide when he spotted a beautiful young man wearing a robe standing a short distance away from them.

Her face was half hidden, but it was enough to be recognizable.

“Isn’t that sir Hal? Why is the Marquess of Camellia’s escort knight here? No way….’

It didn’t take long for one clue to lead to another.

Michael’s shocked gaze was immediately drawn to the person in the black coat. Then he saw it. He looked at the shiny red hair that spilled out from between the hat of the coat she was wearing.

‘Marquess of Camellia?’

Recognizing who she was, his mouth opened spontaneously in astonishment.

No, wait a minute. Why is the Marquess of Camellia here? No, before that, why is the Marquess holding his lord’s arm? No, before that, why does his lord have that happy expression on his face?

As far as he knew, the Marquess of Camellia and his lord was like cats and dogs.

To be more precise, his lord would stay still while the Marquess scratched him mercilessly with her sharp claws.

Anyway, they weren’t on the same page like that.

As Michael’s head was wracked with confusion, he noticed that Elysia’s escort knight had disappeared.

‘Where did he go?’

He looked around, but he could not see him.

Did the knight leave his master he was supposed to protect and just disappear? What is it ……….?

Hal’s disappearance had twisted Michael’s mind like a tangled thread. It was only natural, since there was not a single thing he could understand from beginning to end.

It was then that he heard his lord’s command.

“Michael.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Michael answered quickly, thinking that his lord would resolve the confusion he was experiencing.

However, the words that came out of his lord’s mouth were not at all what he had expected to hear.

“Go and get Jonathan.”

“What? Your Excellency…….”

“Michael.”

Stunned, Michael, who hesitated without realizing it, was startled by his lord’s lowered voice.

“Oh, yes, I’ll go get him right away.”

A dazed Michael was about to turn away when he heard his lord’s voice again.

“Wait.”

He paused quickly. A look of “of course” came over his face.

Of course His Excellency would never abandon his work. He’d even have the nickname workaholic.

It didn’t take long for Michael’s face, which was thinking that his lord would go with him, crumpled.

“If he’s caught, take him to the Bureau’s headquarters.”

What about you, sir? Michael couldn’t get the words out of his mouth, though they were rising in his throat. He looked into his lord’s eyes, which were filled with a silent urging him to go quickly. 

‘What the hell is the situation?’

He couldn’t take his eyes off the two as he went to fetch Jonathan, as his lord had ordered, but once his gaze met his lord’s, he couldn’t even look back.

The gloriously shining golden eyes will let him see hell if he turns around again.

‘I’m curious, but I can’t risk my life.’

Nothing was solved, but Michael had to stop thinking. For now, what his lord ordered was his priority.