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Chapter: 07
Accurate Sense of Smell
A chill ran through her for a moment.
She didn’t know why the Duke felt like such a dangerous beast.
Was it because Sir Joyce’s words, “torn to shreds,” lingered in her mind?
“Then I’ll be going.”
Watching the Duke approach the sofa, Chloe spoke with the nuance that she had done her part and now would leave.
“No! Sit and have a drink with me.”
“Excuse me?”
Why?
It had never happened before.
Whenever tea was served, he would either tell her to leave it and go, bring it closer, or, if neither, say it wasn’t needed and have it removed. Those were the only things he ever said!
So why, all of a sudden, is he asking me to drink together?
“I’m fine.”
The Duke stared at Chloe, who seemed to be rooted beside the table.
“Why not?”
The way he asked, without intonation, pressed her down with a sense of immovable authority.
“How can I possibly sit face-to-face with the Duke and have tea?”
Chloe asked in the same flat tone, without raising the end of her sentence.
As if to say, “Why would I even ask such a thing?”
Where else in the world would a servant and their master sit together for tea?
“I see.”
The Duke muttered half-heartedly to himself, and Chloe was about to nod.
It seemed he just didn’t want to drink with me. His unspoken addition left her no choice but to stiffen.
Frozen, she carried the teacup from the side table to the low table in front of the sofa where he sat.
If he was going to sit and have it, she had to serve it properly in front of him.
Clink.
The moment she carefully placed the teacup in front of him and stood up, a loud “hmm” echoed into her ears.
No, it was closer to a moan than a breath.
Instantly, a chill ran down Chloe’s neck.
Because the sound was familiar.
It was exactly the sound the Duke had made in bed that night.
Has this Duke gone mad?
Why is he suddenly making such a lewd sound?
The Duke inhaled and exhaled sharply several times, like a person out of breath.
Chloe, flustered, stepped back sideways.
“Klein!”
“Yes!”
She froze at the Duke’s sharp voice, standing at attention.
“Don’t move!”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t move from there.”
“…….”
Chloe couldn’t even respond, frozen by his sudden command.
“Open the window.”
After telling her not to move, he now ordered her to open the window—what kind of contradictory command was this?
What rhythm was she supposed to follow?
Lately, he’d been strangely asking her to open the windows.
Watching the Duke bring the teacup close, Chloe timidly approached the window.
As soon as she opened it and turned back, a breeze came in from outside.
“Cl… Klein.”
“Yes?”
“I said don’t move.”
What am I supposed to do?
He wasn’t normally such a difficult master to follow, so how did it come to this…
“Don’t stand by the window.”
By now, the Duke looked like a complete madman.
“I won’t move from now on.”
Feeling aggrieved, she answered softly and slowly edged toward the side of the table.
“Does this tea always smell like this? Today the scent…”
When their eyes met, he closed his mouth and even his eyes.
“…….”
The silence was suffocating.
“By any chance…”
Just as she thought of sneaking away, the Duke broke the silence again.
“Excuse me…?”
A sudden wave of unease washed over her.
“Do you… have a sister?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you have a sister?”
“Ah… no.”
Cold sweat broke out.
“So you don’t…”
He set the teacup down.
Chloe licked her dry lips nervously.
“But why do you smell like this? This isn’t the scent of the tea. This scent is definitely from the woman I shared a bed with…”
“I have no sister! And what scent are you talking about coming from me?”
Her voice trembled slightly, but she had no time to calm it.
Could he really remember the scent from that night?
Even from this distance?
“Klein, come closer.”
“Yes?”
Chloe shivered.
He wanted her to come close to smell. A beast, or what?
Moreover, if she went closer, the Duke would surely see her trembling.
“Come here.”
“No! I have no sister, and I don’t smell like anything!”
Chloe shook her head violently from side to side.
The Duke she knew was rational and logical.
Not someone who would tell a servant to come close just to smell them!
“Duke, you seem a bit sensitive these days. May I leave? I need to pack my things and also check if someone else has been assigned to my duties…”
She wasn’t sure she could wait until tomorrow. Honestly, she wanted to dash out of the Duke’s house immediately.
“Sensitive, you say?”
The Duke frowned.
Chloe realized only then that she had been rude.
“Perhaps you are just a bit tired?”
She hurriedly changed her words.
“…Perhaps.”
Unexpectedly, the Duke accepted her words gracefully.
“Then may I leave now? Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“When will you request the Information Guild?”
“It’s already late… I planned to request it tomorrow when I leave the Duke’s house.”
Had she left immediately after receiving instructions, she could have gone before the Guild closed. But she had personal errands, and now the timing would be tight—arriving at the Guild alley just as it closed.
“Very well. Do it that way.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
The Duke said nothing further.
Chloe quickly left his room, fearing he might call her back.
Her heart pounded as if it were drumming with varying intensity.
<But why do you smell like this? This isn’t the tea. This scent is definitely from the woman I shared a bed with…>
She wanted to ask if he was crazy. But crazier still was the fact that she herself had been that woman.
So that seemingly insane assertion wasn’t crazy—it was a perfectly accurate sense of smell.
Had she been sweating while running around?
Perhaps she did sweat that night, given how rough they had been.
But no matter how she thought about it, she hadn’t sweated enough today, nor had she been close enough to the Duke for him to smell it.
Since she wasn’t taking the wage tomorrow, Chloe resolved to leave the house as soon as dawn broke.
The next morning, Chloe prepared water to wash and went to the Duke’s bedroom.
As usual, she placed the wash water by the door, then knocked.
“Duke,”
She called, but there was no response.
“Duke, I’ll come in.”
There was often no response, and at this hour the Duke was usually up, so Chloe cautiously opened the door.
“Duke…”
She looked around the bedroom again, but he was nowhere to be found.
Had he already gone to his study?
The study was right next to the bedroom.
The two rooms had doors opening to the hallway, but were connected inside.
However, the Duke was not in the study either.
Good!
At least on her last day, luck was on her side.
She had been worried about dealing with scents again from early morning.
Having even prepared the wash water, she could just leave the house via this path and report to the steward.
Of course, someone might comment on leaving so early, but since she wasn’t taking pay today, there was nothing they could really say.
Creak.
Ugh! Why is the door so loud?
The sound of the door opening boomed like thunder.
Chloe, who had quickly grabbed her suitcase, tried to leave silently, worrying the Duke might have returned.
Since her room, a tiny servant’s space, was next to the study, a loud noise could reach him.
Normally she wouldn’t care about door sounds, but now everything felt critical.
Her room had never really been meant for a servant; it had been more like a supply closet connected to the Duke’s study. When Chloe began working there, she had moved in a bed and converted it.
She glanced toward the Duke’s room.
Thankfully, no sign of him.
Holding her suitcase in both hands, she looked back at the room she had just left.
Besides the furniture provided by the Duke’s house, nothing remained.
Clean!
She hesitated briefly as she prepared to close the door.
Should she leave it open, or put down the suitcase and close it?
A trivial choice, but in this runaway-like situation, it felt monumental.
She wanted to rush to the stairs quickly.
But she intended to leave this house forever.
Yes, a proper farewell.
She put down her suitcase and closed the door as quietly as possible.
Screeeech.
As if mocking her, the door squeaked annoyingly.
Normally imperceptible, the sound now thundered.
“Phew…”
A small sigh escaped, but the door was finally shut.
She grabbed her suitcase again, straightened her back, and turned.
“Ah!”
She gasped as she turned—
The Duke was standing before her, arms crossed.
“Duke…”
She had no idea when he had appeared.
Standing right in front of her, he stepped back slightly when their eyes met, frowning.
His face was filled with displeasure, wrinkles deepened on his brow.
There he goes again.
Like he was avoiding a plague-stricken person.
“What are you doing?”
He stepped back further, eyes shifting to the large suitcase in her hands.
“I… um…”
Chloe opened and closed her mouth, searching for words.
She couldn’t say she was trying to disappear before encountering him.
“You said you’d leave today—so this early in the morning?”
Chloe swallowed hard, trying not to avoid his gaze.
Feigning calm was no easy task.
“I have a long way to go, so I decided to depart early. I also need to stop by the Information Guild.”
Oddly, the Duke’s gaze was slightly below her eyes.
Where was he looking? My neck?
His strange gaze made her neck feel oddly prickly.
“Thank you for everything, Duke. I was worried I couldn’t say goodbye since you weren’t in your room this morning, but I’m glad I can see you and give my regards. The wash water…”
Her mouth continued to babble on uncontrollably.
“Enough. Stop talking and go if you want to go.”
The Duke blocked her words with a far more contorted expression than before.
“…!”
Chloe froze at his words.
His calm, almost commanding permission made her realize how ridiculous she had been trying to sneak away.
Still, since he told her to go, there was no need to hesitate.
“Yes! Thank you, Duke. Please stay well.”
Chloe bowed her head in respect.
“……”
The Duke said nothing.
He only covered his nose and mouth with one hand.
As if she were a foul-smelling object he wanted gone quickly.
Chloe almost glared at his strange behavior, but thankfully maintained her polite expression.
Perhaps he really did smell that night.
And if it was the scent of the woman he shared a bed with, his behavior made sense.
The Duke despised women; even if he had spent the night recklessly with her, if he regained his senses, his actions could be explained.
If he found out she was the woman he had been with, there was no telling how he would react.
That risk was absolutely unacceptable.
Chloe deliberately ignored the Duke’s gaze on the back of her head and headed for the stairs.
Once at the stairs, she’d be out of his line of sight.
At most, twenty steps?
Stay calm. Don’t run.
She almost felt like she was chanting a spell as she walked.
Twenty steps felt like two hundred, but she finally reached the stairs. By then, she heard no movement from the Duke.
All that remained was to greet the steward, and it would finally be over.
