After closing the door carefully so that Diana wouldn’t wake up, I stopped in front of the spiral staircase after passing through the long corridor.

 

Where should I go to meet the Duke of Elrad?

 

‘Is it breakfast or in the dining room? Or to the yard where the knights train?’

 

Then I met an employee and I carefully asked where I should go to meet the Duke.

 

To be honest, I thought that if a young child said that she was going to meet the Duke, he would be reluctant and show displeasure.

 

However, although he seemed a little surprised, he was very kind and showed me the way to the office.

 

Not only that, he worriedly asked if he knew my identity or even that I was ill.

 

I blushed, not knowing what to do with their attitude.

 

‘Perhaps when I got to the castle, Diana ran to me and it got stuck in people’s minds.’

 

I finally stood in front of the heavy door after walking for a long time with those who said they would take me to the office, like making sure I was not a troublesome child.

 

As it was the office of the Duke, the owner of the castle, the silver wolf, the symbol of the Duke family, was engraved in the centre of the door.

 

Once again, I realized that I had really joined the Duke of Elrad.

 

It was the moment when I tried to knock, exhaling a little breath rather than looking blankly for a long time.

 

Suddenly, the door opened and I stepped back without realizing it.

 

“Lia?”

 

Of course, I thought it was the Duke who opened the door.

 

At the unexpected figure, Lia’s eyes widened.

 

Then the Duchess shouted with a complex look of anxiety and relief.

 

“You’re awake!? Can you walk around like this already?”

 

‘If you’ve woken up, you should pull the rope and call a maid.’ The Duchess thought as she stared at Lia.

 

Are you surprised that I woke up alone?

 

The Duchess felt sorry saying, ‘I should have stayed with you.’

 

As soon as she saw my face, the words of the Duchess came pouring in, and somehow I felt like a child who really needed protection.

 

‘I managed to pull myself together a little while ago.’

 

Not knowing what to do with my heart I keeps getting flustered, I hesitated for an answer.

 

“What did you come to me for?”

 

Then a heavy low voice sank above my head.

 

Astonished, I looked up to see the Duke sitting behind the Duchess at his desk.

 

I came to my senses for a moment.

 

“I— I have something to tell you.”(Lia)

 

“There’s something you need to say as soon as you wake up? Come in at once.”(Duke)

 

“But, she just woke up.”(Duchess)

 

The Duchess lightly clasped my shoulder, as if asking if I could do it later, but the Duke had already stood up, putting the papers aside.

 

The Duchess looked at me anxiously, “Then hurry up and talk. I’ll be waiting for you in the room.”

 

“Sit down.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The Duchess let me into the office and left.

 

I went to the reception sofa and sat down as the Duke told me.

 

I was hesitant about how to say it, but it was the Duke who first spoke.

 

“I happened to have something to tell you, but that’s good.”

 

What will he say to me?

 

‘If anything about my whereabouts…?’

 

I stared at the Duke, feeling sorry for not being able to speak first, even though I thought it was coming.

 

But what he brought up was not what I expected.

 

“With the ledger of the orphanage you gave me, I was able to capture all the nobles and merchants who traded slaves.”

 

Already?

 

I was so shocked that I couldn’t bring myself to ask a question out of my mouth.

 

However, the person who delivered this surprising news seemed very calm.

 

“The evidence is clear, so he’ll be sentenced to a heavy punishment soon.”

 

I was taken aback by the peacock talking as if he had dealt with a really insignificant task.

I was embarrassed to see the duke talking as if he had handled something really trivial.

 

However, as he’s one of the only two Duke of the Empire and also the minister of military affairs, the Duke of Elrad, I thought that there would be no difficulty in what he set out to do.

 

‘Besides, it’s nothing else, because it’s about catching criminals.’

 

As I nodded in understanding, I remembered the reason for my visit here.

 

“Uhm! Jack… Is my friend who was injured at that time, is he okay?”

 

At my words, the Duke frowned as if he were recalling for a moment, and then nodded.

 

“I forgot to tell you. The child, who was found collapsed in the orphanage, woke up safely. He has recovered perfectly.”

 

Lia sighed with sincere relief.

 

And waited for the Duke’s next words.

 

“…”

 

“…?”

 

But he didn’t say anything much.

 

It was strange…

 

I’m sure you told Jack, who saved Diana at that time, to talk separately if he wanted to come to the Duke’s Castle.

 

As soon as I stared at the Duke, he said, “Ah,” as if he had just realized again.

 

“The Knights said he asked for your safety as soon as he opened his eyes. They said he was fine.”

 

And as I looked at the reticence of the Duke, I shouted in embarrassment.

 

“Jack will be a great knight!”

 

“Knight…?”

 

The Duke asked back, wondering if it was too out of the blue.

 

Realizing that my words lacked evidence, I quickly added,

 

“Jack is the tallest and strongest in the orphanage. He trains every day without missing, and even if he gets hit by the director, he endures to the end and doesn’t cry…”

 

“…”

 

“You’ll know once you see it…”

 

Instead of answering, the Duke stared at me with his calm blue eyes.

 

Desperate, I averted his gaze and began to ponder how to persuade him now.

 

It was then…

 

“I see.”

 

A calm voice came over my head. When I raised my head in surprise, I could see the Duke smiling.

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