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Chapter 40
Harbi had spent his entire life running his business honestly. What Zephyrus had said casually felt like an insult to him. No matter how foolish he had seemed until now, this was unacceptable.
Harbi took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure. But Zephyrus’s next words made him widen his eyes in shock.
“I heard the Noven sub-master has arrived. It seems he’s in trouble. If even the guild’s influence can’t fix it… poison? Could it be that he used poison?”
With just a few clues and conditions, Zephyrus had deduced a similar situation.
“If medicine is needed, there happens to be a physician in the territory who’s… obsessed with herbs.”
“…I know.”
“I see. So it’s related to medicine.”
“Yes…”
“Still not willing to explain the full situation?”
“…Even if this problem is solved, similar incidents will repeat.”
Harbi’s unexpected comment.
Clemence, who had been barely keeping up with the conversation between the two, tilted her head in confusion. She had hoped Harbi would provide some context.
“Do you think everything will be resolved if I leave this room?”
“Those who act recklessly without knowing the situation would decrease, I suppose.”
“…And if you can’t leave?”
“Then it cannot be helped. The bond between you and me would end as it is.”
Zephyrus slightly lowered his head, silver hair falling to obscure his expression. His palms were damp.
It meant that simply handling most matters from inside the room wasn’t enough. After all, the duke’s work didn’t run purely on paperwork.
‘Right. I need to see this through from the start.’
He didn’t intend to stay trapped in the room with Clemence by his side.
“I will help you, no matter your circumstances. So, master of the guild, trust me.”
With a tone colder than frost, tiny shards of ice began to glimmer around him.
“I’ll show my trust first.”
Zephyrus wanted desperately to hide his curse. That fact hadn’t changed. The fear that he could still harm someone would linger like a shadow.
‘But there’s one thing different from before…’
He glanced at Clemence, who watched his conversation with Harbi with a gleeful, curious expression, which annoyed him a little.
Zephyrus clenched his sweaty hands tightly. It felt as if he were holding Clemence’s hand.
Looking at her again, their eyes met this time. Her lips moved clearly:
“Y‑you’re doing… well.”
Yes, he wanted to do well.
He wanted to impress Clemence.
If he could handle the meeting with the guild master successfully, she would surely be proud.
‘Of course, that’s a bonus. The most important thing is the people of the territory.’
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.
Though he lacked experience and couldn’t be considered exceptionally skilled, he had instinct.
The decisions for better choices. The most important foundation for those decisions. Something that had changed from before!
‘Now I can control my curse.’
A controlled curse wasn’t truly a curse. It could almost be called Zephyrus’s new power.
Even just being able to control it a fraction of how much Clemence could, increased the chances of safely leaving the room.
Danger could still arise, but it would be fine.
Clemence would always be by his side.
So Zephyrus made a quick decision.
The conversation looping endlessly. Harbi hesitating. The guild master seeking trust from him—he would drop a “bomb” in that moment.
“Master of the guild, can you handle my secret?”
Even partially revealing the curse was difficult. Making it seem like it wasn’t a curse was even more so. The glimmering shards of ice that appeared and disappeared merged momentarily into a fist-sized chunk. When it struck the desk, the desk froze as well.
Harbi couldn’t even blink as the ice spread from Zephyrus’s feet. That wasn’t exactly what Zephyrus intended.
Harbi’s eyelashes trembled defenselessly.
“Oh, master. Compose yourself. You’re doing well.”
At that moment, Clemence gently stretched her foot toward Harbi.
The frozen floor instantly melted.
“Now, continue your conversation. Hoho.”
Her awkward laugh seemed like a mimicry of Rosia.
Zephyrus regained his focus and concentrated once more.
“This is my secret. This is why I can’t leave the room. I trust that you, master of the guild, will keep this secret until I step out.”
Calling Nerhi “that guy,” forcing Zephyrus to trust him. To Zephyrus, every action Harbi took felt like a plea: Please, save me.
He knew well, even without much experience, that trust isn’t built in a few words of conversation. But if he revealed his secret? Perhaps Harbi could speak more freely about what he was hiding.
Zephyrus sealed his lips after asking Harbi to keep the secret.
He needed to focus on controlling his curse.
Harbi also needed time to process his thoughts.
Zephyrus had done everything he could.
Now, it was Harbi’s turn.
Cold sweat ran down Harbi’s spine.
He was curious about Zephyrus’s condition. Where it hurt, or if he had mental issues.
He could handle it all. If Zephyrus wasn’t fit, he would find another way.
He couldn’t spend his life being dragged around by someone who threatened people’s lives.
‘But this…’
Harbi’s wavering gaze didn’t leave the ice‑frozen desk.
“When did—”
He quickly closed his trembling lips. He didn’t need to ask to know. The small, composed child who had clung to him every time he met the previous duke had already been like this from the moment he became invisible.
Asking why this had happened wasn’t the right question. Had he known, he wouldn’t have hidden away all this time.
What he needed to ask now was not about the past, but the future.
“Your Grace, may I ask about your plans going forward?”
While waiting for an answer, Harbi inhaled deeply.
Heat spread through his body, rising without him realizing it. He seemed genuinely excited.
“First, we’ll resolve the guild master’s issue. Then we’ll discuss the future of Fruina.”
The duke’s voice remained calm. But his eyes—the clear silver eyes—spoke volumes.
He was breaking out of his shell now. He would soon begin to take flight.
Harbi swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
“I would like to have a long discussion about this, but before that…”
“There’s an intruder. Nerhi’s agent has entered the duke’s mansion. We must catch him first—”
Mid-sentence, Zephyrus snapped his head to the side.
“While doing that…”
Harbi followed his gaze and fell silent.
A suspicious man in a hood.
Clemence standing over him.
Sensing that all eyes were on her, Clemence tilted her head, then clapped her hands.
“Oh, this? Should he go first?”
She then gleefully slapped the unconscious man’s cheek.
It didn’t work.
The cold touch seemed like it might wake him.
She looked at Zephyrus, then shook her head, pointing at the teacup on his desk, signaling Harbi.
“Pour some of this tea on him, please.”
“…You mean me?”
Harbi looked at Zephyrus, expecting him to punish the maid’s insolence.
But Zephyrus nodded calmly.
Even freezing the tea in the cup and throwing it from a distance. Go fetch it, if you like.
Harbi stood up weakly.
Splash—
The slush of frozen tea hit the man’s face squarely.
The man jerked awake.
Clemence removed the cloth from his mouth and tossed it into the trash.
“Ew. Your turn. Speak.”
“You… monster!”
The man’s eyes were full of fear. Despite having his wrists and ankles bound, he struggled to move away from Clemence.
Harbi and Zephyrus’s eyes were fixed on her.
Clemence shrugged.
“He came to steal words from the stables, that’s all. Ask him quickly. He’ll fall asleep soon.”
“Ahem.”
There were many things Zephyrus wanted to ask Clemence, but priorities came first. He cleared his throat and looked down at the man Clemence had captured.
“Did Nerhi send you?”
“Even if you interrogate me, you’ll gain nothing.”
“You sent a note to the Noven sub-master?”
“….”
The man closed his eyes in silence.
Zephyrus furrowed his brows.
When asked if Nerhi could gain such loyalty from his subordinates, Rosia had said no.
But Hashu, this guy, and now this one…
There was no testimony linking them to Nerhi.
Either Rosia was wrong, or there was another method. One of the two.
They had already confirmed that Hashu’s body bore no magical influence.
“Either way, I know your master is Nerhi. Hiding it won’t help. It’s better to tell what you know and save your life.”
Harbi stepped forward.
Still, the man remained silent.
Harbi and Zephyrus had never interrogated anyone directly. They were unsure how to proceed. Then, Clemence suddenly interjected.
“You seem scared. Uncle, is Nerhi scarier than me?”
The man shivered violently.
“Or am I scarier?”
“Ugh…”
He squeezed his eyes shut completely.
