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Chapter 2 ….
If I had known, I wouldn’t have called him Belt, I would have properly addressed him as Veilt.
I’d said it to show that I wasn’t easy to handle, but instead it ended up earning me points.
But more than that, there was something strange in his words just now.
“Serve the boss, you say… Are you referring to the Duke?”
Muttering, he suddenly stopped speaking. Then he bent forward, his serious face drawing close to mine, and whispered.
“Yes. This is highly confidential… I’ll explain on the way to the Duke’s manor.”
I leaned in just as seriously and whispered back:
“I have absolutely no intention of going with you…”
Why did he just assume I’d go?
Veilt straightened his back, his expression not the least bit regretful, and said:
“That’s very unfortunate.”
Then, pushing his glasses up, he shook me by holding my weakness like a true deputy of the Eclipse Guild.
“Are you aware that William Angela is still looking for you?”
“…”
I knew William wouldn’t give up on me easily, but I hadn’t thought he’d be this persistent.
It had already been four years since I’d run away from home.
“The Marquis of Kennedy has taken quite a liking to Lady Titia. He even said he’d wait as long as it takes, so long as you’re found and brought to the altar.”
“…”
“And if Lady Titia marries the Marquis of Kennedy, William stands to gain a hefty contract sum.”
William. Should I just kill him?
My body trembled with fury. Even the former Viscount Angela hadn’t liked me much, but at least he never tried to sell me off for money.
As I bit my lip silently, Veilt stared at me and continued.
“There’s no way William Angela would miss such a profitable opportunity. He will find you eventually, no matter how long it takes. And if he can’t, I could even help him locate you.”
“Why would you help him? Hiring the Eclipse Guild wouldn’t come cheap.”
“I’d help him free of charge.”
“What the hell for?!”
Why on earth would he help that scum?
“If you’d prefer I don’t, then come with me. Meet our boss.”
Judging from his behavior, if I didn’t accept his terms, he’d hand me over to William in a heartbeat.
But conversely, that meant I was valuable enough to threaten me like this.
Why?
Why would someone who could get anything they wanted come all the way out here for me—
a runaway daughter of a lowly viscount family?
And in person, no less?
It made no sense. After clearing my head a little, I spoke.
“If you’re going this far, it means you need me for something. Let’s hear the terms first.”
“Of course. If you grant what we want, we promise you generous compensation. Furthermore, we can guarantee that neither Marquis Kennedy nor William Angela will ever lay a hand on you. We’ll protect you for life.”
A tempting offer… No, one I should be grateful to accept.
William would sell me out a hundred times over if it meant getting money.
I can’t just keep running forever. I should accept this deal.
But I worried about the consequences of failure. After all, this was the Eclipse Guild.
Before becoming heroes, they had once ruled the underworld, ruthless beyond compare.
Even if they were admired now, surely their true nature hadn’t changed.
With unease, I asked carefully:
“…And if I fail?”
“As long as you keep the secret, no harm will come to you. You’ll still receive compensation.”
“No killing me, or… anything like that?”
“Perhaps in the past. But our boss is a Duke now—he can’t go around killing people at whim.”
The task would surely be difficult, given such generous terms.
But whether I accepted or not, I had nothing to lose.
In fact, it was a rare chance at a true advantage, because of this Empire’s absurd family law.
Simply put, noblewomen were not recognized as independent individuals until marriage. Until then, all rights of the individual belonged to her immediate family.
Which meant: until I married and took another family’s name, every aspect of my life was legally tied to my guardian—William.
Damn that law.
It robbed people of their freedom and should have been abolished long ago, but since it was the work of the “First Old Codger,” the imperial court never touched it.
Because it didn’t affect them, of course.
I didn’t need long to decide.
“Fine.”
Veilt nodded as though he had expected nothing less.
“Then let’s leave at once. Do you have anything to pack?”
“Just a few clothes.”
“Bring them quickly. Actually… William Angela is already on his way here.”
“Excuse me?! That’s something you should’ve said first!”
I darted into my room and frantically packed.
The original story had ended with a neat “And they lived happily ever after,” so I couldn’t fathom why anyone would suddenly need me now.
As the carriage rolled smoothly along, instead of answering my questions, Veilt pulled something from his briefcase and gave me a warning.
“Before meeting the boss, you need to be clear on this. Everything that happens in the manor is strictly confidential. You’ll have to sign a nondisclosure contract. If you break it, according to Eclipse Guild law, well…”
“Excuse me, what do you mean well? You can’t just trail off like that.”
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, he kindly explained with gestures—drawing his thumb across his throat.
Crystal clear.
“Since you understand, please stamp your fingerprint here.”
Not that I was the type to go blabbing, but remembering advice to always read before signing, I carefully inspected the contract before pressing my thumb on the empty space.
The papers glowed faintly, threads forming to wrap around my thumb before vanishing.
Veilt tucked one copy away and handed me the other, warning again.
“If you break the contract—well.”
Please stop ending everything with well.
“Good. Now I can speak freely. Let me tell you about our boss’s depressing days.”
And so he began rambling about the “Melancholy Boss.”
“As you know, the reason our boss reformed from his wicked ways was Saintess Yveline Mortet.”
But that very Yveline Mortet had chosen another man.
With a bitter face, he stared dramatically out the carriage window.
The windows were shut, though, so what exactly was he looking at?
“You know how first loves never work out.”
“The Saintess and the Crown Prince were each other’s first loves.”
“Ugh.”
He made a weird noise, then tried to cover it up with a cough.
“W-well, let’s call that a special case. Anyway, after being abandoned by the Saintess, our boss… well, he…”
“Went crooked?”
“If only! I actually miss the days when he committed atrocities and laughed at people’s suffering.”
…You miss the strangest things.
His eyes grew misty, as though reminiscing about the past.
“But instead, our boss was… shall we say…”
“Exorcised.”
“Eh? Ah, well, you could put it that way, but since he was rotten to the core to begin with, calling it exorcism feels…”
“…”
“Remember, confidentiality. Well.”
“Well.”
I even made a circle with my fingers to signal I understood.
“Anyway, right after sealing the demon of Serael, he locked himself in his room. I thought he’d be fine after a few days, but as time went on, he only got worse. A year passed, then another—and still, he refuses to come out.”
“And yet he’s still boss?”
Normally, wouldn’t someone take over?
“I can’t live without the boss.”
“…”
What devotion. Maybe that’s why the heroine dumped the boss—because Veilt scared her off?
“Say what you will about the Eclipse Guild, but our loyalty and trust are unmatched.”
Unmatched in what, exactly? The number of people you’ve killed?
“That doesn’t concern me. So the boss is basically a recluse now?”
“Exactly. He’s shut himself in his room.”
Veilt then made the rock-and-roll hand sign with his index and pinky extended.
Apparently, that was his way of showing the number 2.
Who counts like that?
His face turned solemn, his voice heavy.
“For two whole years.”
Please fold your fingers back, I can’t focus.
“Did he not bathe for two years, either?”
“That’s what you’re curious about? Truly unique. Fortunately, the boss is a clean freak, so he does bathe regularly—well.”
“Well.”
“So Lady Titia, all you have to do is one thing.”
Finally, he folded his fingers down.
“It’s Titia.”
Ignoring my protest, he adopted a grave tone.
“Within one year, drag our boss out of that damned room. If possible, help him regain his smile.”
So, the Duke Zervant had locked himself away for two years and lost his smile—all because he’d been dumped.
Was that really possible?
If so, wouldn’t it be enough to just bring the Saintess to coax him out?
“Why not ask the Saintess? If she came, he’d come out of his room on his own.”
Veilt sighed deeply, as though I was hopelessly naïve.
