THIEM 13

Chapter 13

Raquiel had taken the opportunity to speak about what had been on his mind when he met her.

“I followed you because I was worried, but I was mistaken for a st—cough, a stalker. I apologize for any misunderstanding caused by my behavior.”

The woman flinched and muttered softly.

“Ah, n-no……. I’m sorry too, I misunderstood you…… and hit your chin……”

“Oh, that.”

Raquiel slowly raised a hand and rubbed his chin.

“Well, it did hurt.”

It was the first time in his life he had been hit like that, but it was… manageable. When else would he ever get punched in the chin again?

The woman’s expression turned strangely complicated, and she hurriedly rummaged through her clothes.

“S-sorry……! I’ll pay for the treatment……!”

Raquiel raised an eyebrow, watching her carefully, curious about what she would do.

Her hands fumbled through her belongings, then slowly pulled out three silver coins. Enough for a commoner to visit a clinic once or twice.

“It’s not much, but please take this……”

Raquiel barely suppressed a laugh.

In his 25 years of life, this was the first time someone had handed him “treatment money” after hitting him—especially three silver coins.

‘Well… it’s her sincerity. I might as well accept it.’

If he refused, she might look sad. She was clearly the kind of person who cared deeply about others.

When he accepted the coins, her expression grew even more complicated.

“Come to think of it, what’s your name?”

He couldn’t keep calling her “the woman.”

“Iv— I, I’m Eve. Eve.”

“Eve. That’s a pretty name.”

It sounded similar to the daughter of the Rosenthal Ducal House.

But unlike that infamous woman, this girl felt genuinely kind. Raquiel thought the name suited her.

After a moment, he noticed her pulling her hood even lower and made a decision.

“Then I’ll walk you home.”

“…Pardon?”

It was nothing difficult. He had time, after all.

Eve looked reluctant but still followed him.

He safely escorted her to the back entrance of the ducal estate, then looked down at her small head as she thanked him.

Then he casually said,

“If you’re grateful, how about treating me to a meal sometime?”

“…Pardon?”

Ah.

The moment he said it, Raquiel himself felt disbelief.

‘A meal? What am I even saying?’

It was an absurdly casual remark—something completely unlike him. It almost sounded like he was asking for a meeting.

As expected, Eve’s expression twisted awkwardly, as if she had just received an unwanted advance.

Resisting the urge to turn around and flee, Raquiel forced a smile.

“It was a joke. Take care on your way.”

And with that, he turned away—wanting to erase what he had just said from existence.

If his aide Hagen ever heard about this, what would he say?

—“Your Highness, are you a pervert?”

A voice that Hagen never actually said echoed in his head anyway.

Raquiel regretted his words all night.

Even in his dreams, he repeatedly said the same line over and over in the most humiliating loop imaginable.

—“If you’re grateful, how about a meal?”
—“…Pardon?”
—“If you’re grateful, how about a meal?”
—“…Pardon?”
—“If you’re grateful, how about a meal?”
—“…Pardon?”

“…Hah!”

Raquiel jolted awake, clutching his blanket, drenched in sweat.

‘Damn it… how disgusting…’

His heart was pounding.

He let out a deep breath and lay back down, closing his eyes again.

Next time he met Eve, he vowed silently, he would definitely fix that mistake.

Meanwhile…

Two days later, I returned to “Hwanghwang” again.

“Welcome, customer! Here are your materials.”

The man handed me a thick stack of documents with extreme politeness.

“…This is a lot.”

I had expected one or two pages at most, but it was practically a book.

“The scope is quite broad,” he said casually.

I had only asked for information on one person—Raquiel Bernhardt…

I skimmed through the endless text.

Age: 25. Son of the second imperial consort.

Unlike most royals who were born with blonde hair, Raquiel resembled his mother in both hair and eye color.

Because of that, there had been controversy at his birth.

The emperor eventually acknowledged him as his son, and the issue was settled.

‘Yeah, this is all known.’

He had shown exceptional sword talent from a young age, and unlike the first prince Ludwig, he was timid and uncomfortable around people.

Despite that, many were drawn to his kindness, which eventually led him to be pushed toward the battlefield.

There were more detailed stories, but the overall flow matched what I already knew.

“…Hm?”

While flipping through casually, I found something unusual.

‘He is timid, but not weak-willed.’

Or,

‘Avoiding people seems to be part of his personality, but lately it also looks like a defense mechanism.’

It read like subjective notes written by someone who knew him well.

The man beside me yawned, clearly bored while I read.

Could the owner of “Hwanghwang” know Raquiel personally?

It was a reasonable suspicion.

But I closed the documents and put them back into the envelope.

“Anyway, thanks. I’ll read the rest properly at home.”

From what I saw, Raquiel had almost no connection to Evelyn’s life. That meant I could safely continue my maid disguise without much risk.

Unlike the servants who worked closely in the ducal household, this situation was different.

Smiling in satisfaction, I tucked the envelope away and pulled out a money pouch. It was one of the two I had shown the man before.

One was the advance payment, and this was the remaining balance.

“It was a satisfying transaction.”

The boss is very detailed and informative ^^

With a review-worthy expression, I handed over the pouch, and he accepted it eagerly.

“Thank you, customer! Please visit again!”

“I will if I need anything.”

“Oh, next time, please bring your business card. We’ll guide you inside immediately.”

Business card…?

He explained while drawing a rectangle with his fingers.

“The card you took last time was our VIP card.”

Ah, that strangely designed card?

I frowned slightly as I recalled it.

The text on it was…

“Information gourmet! We appear when called (sometimes) — Hwanghwang”

…Hmm.

I nodded awkwardly. So it wasn’t just random—it was actually a VIP pass.

I would definitely have to reconsider both the design and the slogan.

Anyway, I tipped the man who had guided me last time with a few gold coins and left the bar.

I had too much to do, so I headed straight back to the ducal estate without distraction.

The quest deadlines for the servants were today.

They were mostly simple tasks—mending clothes for busy maids, finding lost handkerchiefs, that sort of thing.

“…Tsk.”

While awkwardly sewing a coat pocket, I pricked my finger on the needle and a drop of blood emerged.

Sucking on my finger, I slipped out of the servant’s room quietly.

And then a familiar system window appeared.

[Congratulations! has reached Lv.3.]

“Oh.”

Finally, Lv.3 again.

Suppressing the urge to dance, I quickly returned to my room.

I rummaged through my belongings and pulled out—

“Contract details of the Conrad Mine 3rd agreement – for review”

A document that would send Jonas straight to hell.

Meanwhile…

Jonas arrived at work as usual—and was struck with disaster before even entering her office.

“Jonas Kramer, please come with us. You are under investigation for internal information leakage.”

“What—what?!”

Her pupils dilated. The documents in her hand fell and scraped across the stone floor.

Two knights from the ducal house quickly approached her.

“W-wait! This is nonsense! I am the Rosenthal Duke’s financial aide!”

She backed away desperately, waving her hands.

‘How did I get caught?! No way!’

But her excuses didn’t work at all.

The leading knight looked down at her coldly.

“In addition, there are charges of abuse of authority, document forgery, and embezzlement. Please explain everything inside.”

“That’s impossible… this is a conspiracy! I would never do such things! Ten years—ten years I’ve served this house!”

Her voice trembled as she muttered.

But no one listened.

She saw more knights dragging people out.

“Ah! No! I said I didn’t do it!”

One, two… many.

When she recognized their faces, all the blood drained from hers.

‘No way…’

They were all spies she had planted for the crown prince.

Her arms went limp as she was dragged away.

“Ugh… disgusting.”

Then a clear, bell-like voice came from the side.

Startled, she turned her head.

A beautiful woman stood there with silver hair and blue eyes.

The only daughter of the Rosenthal Ducal House—

Evelyn Rosenthal.