ITSM 05

Chapter 05

Somehow, I managed to hide the fact that I had discovered the Duke’s secret. Three years later, I finally left Winsphere safely.

“Aren’t you going?”

I clenched my fists at the simple and straightforward solution.

“…I suppose I must.”

I stood up abruptly and stepped through the door Bael had opened for me.

The horrifying interior I had seen while walking earlier caught my eyes. And then…

“Oh my, nap time’s over.”

As soon as Bael finished speaking, one by one, the demons who had been napping staggered to their feet.

They didn’t even try to hide the horns on their heads and flew around casually with wings attached to their backs.

“Everyone, please return quietly to your places.”

Bael’s voice echoed through the hallway, and in an instant, the demons’ gazes all turned toward us.

I stared at the air, thinking:
…If I collapse here, would it count as a workplace accident?

I had expected to see the Duke immediately, but he wasn’t there, so I couldn’t meet him.

“Hmm, the Duke seems to be away.”

Bael spoke as if prepared. He glanced at his watch and asked my opinion.

“You don’t have any other luggage with you at the moment, right?”
“Ah, no.”
“There’s probably nothing suitable in the nearby wardrobe… and making something would take a few days. How about bringing your luggage now?”
“Now?”
“You’ll be busy learning your duties starting tomorrow. If you don’t go now, you’ll have to sleep in those clothes, won’t you?”
“Ah.”

Only then did I realize my state. I had been outside in the pouring rain, and I was a mess.

“I suppose I should go.”
“Then I’ll have the wizard prepare things for you, just like when you arrived. The guide will be… Mr. Roan.”

Did he hesitate for a moment? Or was that just my imagination?

“Yes, that would be more convenient for me as well.”
“Very well, then.”

After Bael left, I checked the room.

I had been worried after seeing the appalling hallway and reception room, but surprisingly, the room was decent.

Bael clicked his tongue a few times as if dissatisfied and offered to redo the interior, but I ignored him.

Even as a baroness’s daughter, I had never had my own room.

As I leisurely inspected the room I was getting for the first time, a gentle voice reached my ears.

“Miss Walker, it’s me.”

Roan, too, was a demon, but perhaps because he had been kind when he came to fetch me, I didn’t feel the same unease I did around the others.

“Yes, Mr. Roan. I’ll come out.”

My steps slowed as I walked toward the door.

I repeated the name I had just spoken aloud.

“Ro…an?”

And slowly, my expression stiffened.

It was the same name as the Duke I was about to meet—the true mastermind of this world, Roan Winsphere.

“No way….”

It wasn’t a common name, either.

Thud.

My legs gave out completely.

“Miss Walker? Is something wrong?”
“….”
“Excuse me, may I come in?”

The door opened, and he entered.

How had I not recognized him at first, seeing those striking black hair and red eyes that seemed capable of swallowing me whole?

‘Damn it. Everything from start to finish is a scam!’

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I swallowed back the words that wanted to burst from my throat and staggered to my feet.

“Are you all right?”

There was no way I was all right!

I had no idea why this insane demon had dragged me into this abyss.

“Are your legs okay?”
“Yes, yes. I’ve just… experienced too much all at once…”

The fact that this was a storybook, that they were demons, that he was the ultimate mastermind—all of it.

I wanted to glare at Roan, but I forced myself to restrain my eyes, focusing them firmly.

I could feel his blatant gaze, but I did my best not to look away.

“Oh my, Miss Walker, you are rather fragile.”

Roan tilted his head and scanned me.

‘Scary…!’

My hands sweated, and my throat went dry. But I couldn’t act suspiciously here.

I tried not to meet his eyes. How had I even managed to talk normally to that face earlier?

Perhaps because I now knew Roan’s identity, my skin tingled.

“Haha, is that so?”
“You seem rather thin now.”

Thin? Why? Was he planning to eat me or…?

Fortunately, he didn’t mean anything by it, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’ll have to move diligently. My pace is too fast, so it’s better to match yours, Miss Walker.”
“Ah, yes. Th-that sounds good.”
“Take my hand.”
“Y-yes. Y-yes! W-what?”

I looked at the hand Roan offered.

He tilted his head as if questioning why I wasn’t taking it immediately.

I regretted not thinking ahead to decline politely, but it was too late.

Reluctantly, I grasped Roan’s hand.

When we stepped into the hallway, no one else was there.

In the quiet, we walked together. The silence was terrifying, so I forced myself to speak.

“Ah… no… I don’t see anyone else.”
“Yes, they’re gone.”

His simple answer warned me not to ask more.

I simply nodded, forcing a laugh.

“Ah, yes.”

Was my reaction odd?

Roan slowed his steps and tilted his head to the side.

“Don’t you want to ask why?”

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to know. But isn’t that how social life works? You do things you don’t want to do.

Suppressing the hiccups threatening to escape, I asked:

“W-why… can’t I see them?”

My voice trembled, but I pinched my thigh to keep it steady.

“They went to do their respective tasks.”
“…I see.”
“Exactly.”

Roan had a talent for making simple statements sound terrifying.

Now that conversation had started, his questions followed.

“Do you have any questions about your duties?”
“No, not really.”

I didn’t want to hear it from the person who had shoved me into this pit.

“If you have any questions, you can ask Mr. Bael.”

Roan made a strange expression, then smirked.

“Oh, Miss Walker. While working as the Duke’s assistant, you won’t actually meet him.”

What nonsense was that?

“You’ll be working with me.”

My face crumpled naturally.

‘He’s the Duke himself.’

Was he planning to hide the fact that he was the Duke from me? Why?

Even if I were scared, his way of twisting conversation repeatedly irritated me.

“So, as his assistant, I won’t meet the Duke?”

Forgetting all thoughts about managing my expression, I glared at Roan.

Yet he was shameless beyond imagination.

“You don’t need to meet the Duke for it to work.”
“You said you were hiring a full-time assistant, but it seems I don’t need to be near him?”
“Miss Walker seems very interested in the Duke of Winsphere.”

I almost grimaced at his question.

I wanted to disappear. I never wanted to be involved.

I couldn’t say that, so I answered cautiously.

“He’s my superior, and I’ll be serving him for the next three years. That’s why I signed the contract.”
“Hmm, that’s reasonable. But I’ll handle most things, so you’ll mostly just see me.”
“Oh, so Mr. Roan, you’re also the assistant? So you were the one requesting additional staff, not Mr. Bael? Haha!”
“Yes, that’s right.”

I wanted to argue, but I suppressed it.

This situation was ridiculous, surrounded by only liars. But the person in front of me was a demon. One careless word, and I could be gone—or trapped here forever.

Shiver.

‘Oh, Liliana, that was a very bad thought.’

My body shivered.

Roan, walking beside me, tilted his head in confusion at my reaction.

“Are you cold?”
“No! It’s just… the weather doesn’t suit me.”

“Oh, that’s understandable. But you’ll adapt soon. After all, this is your home now, isn’t it, Miss Walker?”