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Chapter 5
“Mon-monsters.”
“….”
The Duke fell silent, as if prompting her to continue.
“I’ve heard that subterranean monsters are drawn to minerals that shine like jewels. The fact that such monsters appear frequently made me think there might be other gemstones there, not silver. That’s why I thought it was a waste.”
Subterranean monsters looked like rats, but they were as large as large dogs. They loved shiny things and would even raid homes to steal anything that sparkled.
After finishing her explanation, Marin lowered her head weakly. She had wracked her brain to say all that, but she wasn’t confident it would satisfy the Duke.
“When was this report submitted?”
The Duke turned his head toward Olive.
“Three months ago.”
“Wasn’t it labeled an urgent report?”
“There were more urgent matters at the time, so it was postponed.”
Olive bowed his head as if he were guilty.
“Postpone the mine closure. Send knights to investigate further.”
“Yes, understood.”
After speaking, the Duke took a step closer to her.
Startled and terrified, Marin instinctively stepped backward in response—but her feet tangled, and she staggered.
Ah—I’m going to fall.
Just before she toppled backward, the Duke grabbed her wrist and steadied her.
“…A branch?”
Marin blinked in shock, narrowly avoiding hitting the back of her head. She pretended she hadn’t heard his mutter.
He wasn’t talking about a person… right?
But wait—wasn’t this Duke blind? How was he reacting so quickly?
Marin calmed her pounding heart and bowed to him.
“Thank you.”
“What is your name?”
“M-Marin.”
“You’re a commoner?”
“Yes…”
Marin whispered nervously, her voice trembling. Lying made her heart start racing again.
The Duke seemed to tilt his ear slightly toward her, as if listening carefully.
Marin fidgeted, wondering if she should say something more.
But… when would he let go of her wrist?
“A commoner who can read and analyze reports?”
Marin’s eyes widened. Her heart dropped.
Why was what she casually said being interpreted as “ability to analyze reports”? Why?
“A spy?”
“W-what?”
Her heart, which had fallen to the ground, leapt back up and started pounding wildly like a fish out of water.
“Are you admitting it now?”
“N-no! Absolutely not! Not at all! You don’t have to hire me. I was mistaken. I’ll take my leave now.”
Marin turned to leave, but her body wouldn’t move. She had forgotten that her wrist was still being held.
“Olive.”
“Yes.”
“Draft an employment contract.”
“Understood.”
Olive replied quickly with a grin.
“Make it temporary.”
“Temporary… understood.”
Olive’s expression immediately drooped.
“Thank you.”
On the other hand, Marin bowed deeply to the Duke with a moved expression.
Temporary or not, as long as she could earn money, anything was fine.
“Feed her.”
“Pardon?”
“Pardon?”
Both Olive and Marin questioned the sudden order at the same time.
“You’re like a branch.”
The Duke lifted her wrist briefly and then released it, emphasizing his point.
Ah, so I didn’t mishear earlier. But still… I’m not that thin.
Marin pouted slightly and held her wrist.
She was grateful he had helped her avoid falling, but that gratitude quickly evaporated like smoke.
“Yes. I will follow your orders.”
Olive, for some reason, smiled again.
The Duke turned his back as if he no longer wished to engage and walked toward his desk.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“Your Grace, I will take my leave.”
“Um… thank you again.”
Marin hesitated briefly before quickly bowing and exiting the office.
Once they left, the office returned to silence.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Olive’s steps, slightly heavier on the left.
And the light, almost feather-like steps of the woman.
After holding her wrist, he understood why her footsteps had seemed so weightless.
He had called her a branch—but she might even be thinner than that.
A strange woman.
The reports she read aloud did not sound unpleasant at all—more like the sounds of nature. For the first time since losing his sight, the contents of a report had entered his ears so clearly.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to think while listening to a report.
Now he understood why Olive had been so desperate to bring her to him.
Since losing his sight, his other senses had become extremely heightened.
Especially his hearing. Every sound felt like noise, and the constant barrage had given him a persistent headache.
The Vine’s Duke family, which protected the western region, had a hereditary secret passed down only to the direct eldest son.
They were much taller than average people and possessed heightened five senses.
Sight allowed them to distinguish the color of a bird’s eyes in flight.
Hearing allowed them to distinguish every sound within 50 meters.
Taste allowed them to identify anything they had tasted before—especially poison.
Smell allowed them to distinguish any scent.
Touch made even the slightest contact feel extremely sensitive.
And Gerald von Vines—he was the most gifted among the successive heirs.
When all five senses were balanced, it was manageable.
He could control them himself, suppressing or amplifying them as needed. With those exceptional senses, he had always defeated monsters and protected the western region.
The Vine Grand Duchy protects.
That unbreakable principle had been even more revered during his generation.
But nothing lasts forever.
A year ago, after losing his sight in a monster attack, everything became distorted.
As if to compensate for the lost sense of sight, his other four senses intensified even further.
That was the beginning of his suffering.
Due to his overly heightened senses, he was constantly plagued by severe headaches.
In particular, his hearing was so sensitive that even the sound of an insect crawling struck his head like thunder.
As all his senses ran wild, his mind too began to deteriorate.
The pain caused by his other senses was more maddening than the agony of being unable to see.
But today, for the first time, the voice of another person did not torment his ears.
Even if she were truly a spy, he would have had to keep her by his side.
Just from the sound of her heartbeat, he could tell how afraid she was. And that she was lying.
“K.”
At Gerald’s whisper, a black shadow landed softly before him.
“….”
The shadow, K, completely cloaked in black, silently awaited his master’s command.
“Investigate.”
“….”
Just as it had appeared, the shadow disappeared without a sound.
Gerald leaned back deeply into his chair and focused again on suppressing his four senses.
Marin returned to the reception room with Olive, looking somewhat dazed.
She had been hired by the ducal house. Her lie had succeeded.
Still unable to believe it, Marin sat on the sofa with a blank expression.
Olive handed her a thick book.
“What is this?”
It was the book she had left on the floor before entering the Duke’s office. She had forgotten about it in all the confusion, but Olive seemed to have picked it up.
“You seemed to like this book, Miss Marin.”
“But this isn’t my book.”
“Books related to monsters shouldn’t remain in this castle. It was going to be discarded anyway…”
“Ah, then please let me have it.”
Marin quickly took the book.
Jackpot. How much would this be worth?
“Very well. I have some preparations to make, so please wait here for a moment.”
“Yes.”
After Olive left the room, the tension in her body finally eased. She leaned back into the sofa and relaxed her posture.
Only then did the title on the book in her lap come into view.
[Where Do Monsters Come From]
To someone like her, who knew the setting of this world, it was quite an interesting book. She examined it, finding no listed author.
Why was such a book in a servants’ reception room?
A thick hardcover like this would sell for a high price on the market. Perhaps a servant had intended to discard it but hid it away out of reluctance.
What someone had hidden had become her lucky find.
Something everyone in the western region knew but never spoke of openly.
It mentioned the Duke’s accident.
If she hadn’t read this book, she might have been dragged out by knights.
At that chilling thought, her shoulders trembled.
“Are you cold? Shall I bring a blanket?”
Olive had returned at some point and asked kindly.
“No, I’m fine.”
Marin waved her hands and sat upright again.
Olive, seated across from her, smiled gently.
“Please take a look at this. It’s a temporary employment contract. There is a standard contract for the ducal household, but only the duration has been changed to temporary. And since Miss Marin is in a special position, the pay has been slightly increased.”
Olive handed her the contract.
Marin quickly scanned the salary section.
One gold per week.
Good heavens.
One gold coin was enough to support a family of four for an entire month.
