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Chapter 34
A moment of silence.
The eyes that had met hers at some point froze Dana in place.
A cold sweat ran down her spine.
“……”
Dana stared down at Jamie, unable to say a word.
If she answered for no reason, it would only make his mind clearer.
“……”
“……”
The two of them looked at each other in silence.
Seeing Dana standing still, Jamie’s eyes gradually grew unfocused.
His eyelids fluttered as if he were trying to hold on, but his clouded gaze showed no discernment.
Please mistake this for a dream…
Holding her breath, Dana prayed desperately.
At last, Jamie spoke.
“What is this… a dream…?”
He blinked slowly, then fell back asleep.
Dana was about to let out the breath she’d been holding, but stopped herself again.
Her heart was pounding like mad.
Still holding her breath, she waited a few seconds to make sure Jamie was asleep.
Soon, he started snoring again.
Proof of deep sleep.
Dana picked up the study key she had untied earlier.
There were two keys.
Taking both, she quietly slipped out of the room.
Afraid she might be discovered if she turned on the magic lamp, she set a small lamp by the door.
Picking it up, she began to move.
It was such a tense moment that she didn’t even know how she’d walked there, or whether she was breathing properly.
She did everything she could to muffle her footsteps as she passed Jamie’s bedroom and headed for the study.
And finally—
Click.
Dana inserted a key into the study’s keyhole.
Fortunately, the first key she chose was the one for the study.
As she turned the doorknob and stepped inside, cabinets lined both walls.
“Ha…”
After looking around, Dana let out a hollow laugh.
Gold-plated clocks and sculptures, cuff links and brooches studded with small gems—
All sorts of luxurious items that didn’t fit the room’s purpose were on display.
And yet, their quality was utterly shoddy.
As an administrator at the Ministry of Magic, Dana often met high-ranking nobles.
Even from a distance, the jewelry they wore looked unmistakably high-class.
Jamie, you’re full of nothing but pretense.
Dana stared disdainfully at a clock whose gold plating had peeled off.
The money she had earned by giving up evenings and weekends had done nothing but feed Jamie’s vanity.
With a sneer, Dana hurriedly began searching for the contract.
True to Jamie’s hatred of studying, there were no books or documents in sight.
Where on earth is it…?
No matter how long she searched through the ornate cabinets, the contract didn’t appear.
Wiping the beads of sweat from her brow, Dana looked around the entire room.
Then, at the end of her weary gaze, she saw a desk.
Don’t tell me…
Dana walked over to the desk at the very back of the study.
In all her life, she had never seen Jamie sit at a desk.
And yet this desk was here…
Jamie, who couldn’t stand boredom, would never have left such a stodgy desk untouched.
He would sooner have added another display cabinet.
There has to be some use for it.
Dana began examining the mahogany desk.
On top of it was only a heavy mantel clock.
Her hand touched a small drawer.
When she opened it, she heard the sound of polished wood sliding.
Nothing in either of them.
Ha… Dana, exhausted, let out a sigh and slumped down.
The sky outside the window was brighter than before.
A long time had passed.
Morning would break soon.
Do I have to give up today…?
Just as Dana lifted her head weakly—
Bang!
“Ow!”
She had slammed her head hard against the corner of the desk.
It was quite loud, so Dana hurriedly checked her surroundings.
She listened carefully outside, but thankfully it was quiet.
As she rubbed her throbbing head and tried to get up—
What’s that?
Something was glinting under the desk.
Dana crawled closer and brought the lamp near.
Unlike the front, the back of the desk was enclosed in thick solid wood.
The front was supported by legs, so why was the back built like a wall?
It was shaped almost like a piano.
As Dana felt around the back underside of the desk, she touched something.
A small keyhole.
So it was a desk hiding a safe…?
She quickly brought the lamp down to shine on it.
Then she took the remaining key she’d gotten from Jamie, inserted it, and turned it.
Click.
With a metallic sound, the key began to turn.
It didn’t take long for the safe to open.
At last, the small safe door swung open.
Inside was her identification card.
Several document envelopes were stacked there as well.
I finally found them…!
Her excitement was brief as her hands moved busily.
She had to get out of here before Jamie woke up.
Which one is it?
She needed to quickly find the contract with Count Hembern.
There was no time.
Dawn was slowly breaking.
I’ll just take them all.
The decision was quick.
Dana gathered all the documents and hurried back to her room.
Then she pulled out the large suitcase she used for business trips.
She put the documents at the very bottom and stuffed her clothes on top.
Jamie will notice soon. I have to leave.
The people of the count’s household, including Jamie, would never just let Dana go.
They were the kind of people who would come to her workplace over money.
Her workplace…
They were the sort who would barge into the Ministry of Magic again and cause a scene.
Until she hired a lawyer, she needed to hide.
I guess I’ll be taking my first vacation in my life.
Dana gave a bitter smile.
Thanks to her small amount of belongings, she packed quickly.
The drunken family wouldn’t wake up until late afternoon.
There wasn’t much time until then.
I’m finally leaving.
She shouldn’t have had any lingering attachment to the family she was leaving behind.
It should have felt nothing but refreshing.
And yet, sorrow welled up at the corners of her eyes.
It wasn’t because she missed them.
It was because she pitied her younger self so deeply—the child who used to scrub and clean every corner of this mansion…
“…No. Forget it.”
Dana shook her head sharply.
Then she opened the door of the mansion.
Stepping on the grass that tickled her ankles, she hurried out of the garden.
And with force, she opened the front gate.
As it slowly swung open, the outside came into view.
The morning sunlight, the cheerful birdsong—
It was all exactly as she had expected.
But the man standing there…
“…Edwin?”
He had given her an unexpected moment.
Dana’s eyes widened in shock.
Her body, stiff and cold, began to thaw.
Just seeing him made her feel relieved.
“Senior, are you okay?”
The moment Edwin saw Dana, he ran over.
He quickly checked her all over.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, right? No one harassed you, or…?”
The clothes Edwin was wearing were the same as yesterday’s.
Even his always-neat hair was disheveled.
Realizing this, Dana looked up at him.
“Edwin…”
And then she leaned into his arms.
“You’ve been waiting here this whole time…?”
“……”
Had he only been waiting?
In case Dana might be in danger, he had circled the mansion.
His covert movements and keen hearing had been focused on her all night.
So he could rush in immediately if anything happened.
Edwin said nothing.
He simply held Dana, who was leaning against him.
“Won’t you be tired?”
Dana asked in front of the Ministry of Magic’s main gate.
Her voice was full of worry.
“Can you go to work?”
“I’m fine.”
Edwin really did look fine as he said it.
His eyes were so clear it was hard to believe he’d been up all night.
But Dana remembered that Edwin had delayed joining the job by a whole month because of poor health.
Seeing him act strong just so she wouldn’t worry made her feel sorry for him.
“You stayed up all night too, Senior.”
“I’m used to things like this. But you—”
“I am too.”
She had stayed up all night fighting monsters many times before.
Edwin, blessed with natural stamina, was fine even after three nights without sleep.
But not knowing this, Dana kept giving him worried looks all the way into the Ministry and to the Potion Management Department.
Before Dana entered the office, she took Edwin’s hand.
“I’m going to take leave starting today.”
“That’s great.”
Edwin warmly welcomed the idea of Dana resting.
He wanted her to rest comfortably at his estate without any worries.
“If my family comes looking for me…”
“Don’t worry. The knights will take care of it.”
“Knights?” Dana looked at him as if to ask what he meant.
