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CHAPTER 08
“Answer again, properly and with dignity.”
“Hehe, yes~.”
Su covered her mouth as she smiled, deliberately dragging out her tone as she bowed gracefully and left the room.
Nobles really did love stretching their words for no reason.
If they just spoke plainly without all the empty formality, they could save both time and energy.
Did they not know the saying ‘time is gold’? Hmph.
Trusting the soundproofing of the thick wooden door, Su immediately began badmouthing Mrs. Keller and the nobility. Not that it wasn’t ridiculous. As long as you don’t offend the other person, that’s politeness, right?
Dragging out words like that is just more likely to annoy people.
She kicked one of the oak trees filling the mansion grounds.
If the Duke saw her, he would glare fiercely, and if Mrs. Keller saw her, she would drag her into a six-hour lecture—but the Duke was out (he had gone to inspect the southern defense lines before leaving for Ba’ha), and Mrs. Keller had probably returned home.
“Hm. What now?”
Aside from etiquette lessons—which she hated beyond belief—Su had nothing to do.
She had already memorized the history of Miramonte, and thanks to the Duke’s relentless pressure, she had also thoroughly memorized the identity of “Marilynne Sue Sinclair.”
Not that she was the type to slack once assigned a job like this.
The Duke was just worrying unnecessarily, she thought with a slight frown.
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Su, who hated housework but was so bored she’d do anything, stopped a passing maid.
But the moment she offered to help, every maid turned pale and fled with a frantic “No, it’s fine!”
Do they know I’m hopeless at housework or something?
Left with nothing to do, Su fell into despair. For someone who had lived a life constantly busy—scheming scams every day—this boredom was suffocating for the first time.
She needed to think, to move, to do something. Yet the mansion was unbearably peaceful.
Sighing, she headed toward the garden.
Unlike the hot, sticky southern region of Willetan, Ardel’s northern climate—closer to the central region—felt different.
It wasn’t scorching; it was warm, even refreshing.
Because of that, the Duke’s garden was filled with trees and flowers Su had rarely seen before.
For example, not a single palm tree—only oak trees everywhere.
There were so many it felt almost unnatural, as if the gardener was obsessed with oaks.
Su stared at a purple flower she didn’t recognize and reached out to pluck it.
It wasn’t admiration or desire. It was simply her bad habit—grabbing anything that looked pretty or valuable without thinking.
But someone stopped her hand.
“You’ll regret it.”
A voice came suddenly from beside her. Su startled and stepped back.
Why did so many people here appear without making a sound? First the Duke, now this.
“My apologies. That is a rare flower called Serelin, which only blooms in northern Willetan. It’s something the Duke cherishes, so you’d likely be scolded if you picked it.”
The man who had stopped her smiled gently.
He had sharp eyes that normally gave off a cold impression, but his smile softened it.
When Su looked at him suspiciously, he awkwardly scratched his short brown hair and stepped back.
“I’m late to introduce myself. I’m Fernando, the Duke’s knight escort.”
“The Duke has an escort knight?”
There was no way the strongest swordsman in Willetan would need a bodyguard.
As Su examined him skeptically, Fernando’s smile deepened slightly.
It seemed meant to reassure her, but Su didn’t trust appearances in the slightest.
“Honestly, I’m not much help to the Duke. There’s no way I could block a sword he can’t. I’m more of a formal escort—someone of his status can’t be seen alone. I also help monitor the estate.”
Monitor the estate.
That phrase clicked in Su’s mind immediately.
There was nothing in this remote northern mansion worth monitoring.
Except her.
So this man had been placed here to watch her.
So he doesn’t trust me that much?
Her mood darkened instantly.
It wasn’t even about whether she trusted others—this felt like an insult to her pride as “Roland the con artist.”
She had always completed her missions in Ludante without a single careless mistake.
Even when she was starving, she had never once cheated or forced a deal.
She had lived cleanly—well, cleanly for a con artist, though anyone she scammed would disagree strongly—and now they were doubting her like this?
Even after signing a contract, this level of distrust felt insulting.
Did they think she had no pride as a con artist?
Su glared toward Fernando, briefly thinking of the Duke, who was absent.
It was easier to glare when the Duke wasn’t there.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Fernando looked slightly unsettled, so Su quickly relaxed her expression and smiled brightly.
“Oh, no, not at all! But you’re the Duke’s escort, right? You must be from the south?”
“Yes, I am. How did you know?”
“Your name is Fernando. You’ve got that southern feel. I’m from the south too.”
At her words, Fernando smiled warmly.
Having spent most of his time in Ba’ha since becoming the Duke’s escort, Su was the first southern person he had met in a long time.
Now that he thought about it, her accent did have a southern tone.
“I grew up in a place called Mostarica.”
“Oh my, me too!”
Mostarica was a small village at the far southern edge of Willetan. It wasn’t even a gambling town—just a quiet place Su had never actually visited. But she lied without hesitation.
Claiming the same hometown quickly dissolved suspicion.
Just as she expected, Fernando—who had been cautious—relaxed noticeably.
Su smiled brightly and grabbed his hand.
“Nice to meet you! It’s rare to meet someone from Mostarica in Ardel.”
“R-right…”
Unused to physical contact, Fernando stiffened awkwardly.
Watching his rough, callused hands, Su looked slightly sympathetic.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Mostarica. The Lalanka fruit there is really good.”
“L-Lalanka?”
Fernando asked back, slightly flushed.
His face looked refined, but his behavior was pure country boy. Su almost felt bad for teasing him.
Maybe I should introduce him to Veronica? That would completely ruin the Duke’s little surveillance plan.
She smiled sweetly.
“The garden here actually has Lalanka trees too.”
“Oh really?”
Of course, Su knew the garden was full of them. She had stolen and eaten plenty already.
Still, she widened her eyes as if hearing it for the first time.
“Would you like to see them?”
“Yes! Ah—but can I go alone?”
“That… might be difficult. The Duke is concerned for Lady Marilynne’s safety.”
Concern, my foot.
Su frowned internally.
“I just want to be alone for a bit. I’ll be leaving for Ba’ha soon, and I won’t be able to see Lalanka trees for a while…”
Her wistful expression made Fernando hesitate.
Finally, he sighed.
“…Very well. I won’t inform the Duke.”
“Thank you.”
Without looking back, Su walked away.
Trying to spy on me, are you?
She snorted.
Wide green leaves swayed like waves in the wind.
Clusters of ripe red fruit hung heavily from damp branches, looking as if they might fall and stain the ground at any moment.
Between the drooping branches weighed down by fruit, something small and white peeked out.
Not a flower. Not a butterfly.
A foot.
Dangling high above like a flower, it twitched when it sensed someone nearby.
Grab.
The Duke swiftly caught it.
But the foot yanked free and disappeared in an instant.
Su, hidden in the tree, climbed higher.
Was she playing hide-and-seek?
The Duke frowned and looked up.
“Come down.”
“No.”
It had already been dozens of minutes like this.
The Duke clenched his fist, irritation boiling up.
He had never lost composure even against enemy blades—but now he was on the verge of losing it because of one small woman.
He had never met anyone who grated on his nerves like this.
“I said disobedience is not permitted…”
“That only applies when there’s mutual trust in a contract relationship!”
Su cut him off and poked her head out between the leaves.
