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I wasn’t sure how he took my words, but the faint crease between the Grand Duke’s brows deepened.
Apparently, he wasn’t particularly pleased.
With his eyelids half-lowered, the Grand Duke sank into brief contemplation.
‘Is he debating whether to kill me right now, or ask one last question before killing me?’
Honestly, if I were him, I’d be thinking the same.
An unknown person, speaking in cryptic ways at every turn—there was no way someone like that would be left alive.
The Grand Duke’s violet eyes wandered over the table for a moment before returning to me.
‘Here it comes.’
The Grand Duke asked his third and final question.
“Did you come here to kill me?”
“……”
To kill him…?
It was a question I had half expected. Yet, it forced me to think deeply.
‘We are, without a doubt, enemies.’
As enemies, it was inevitable that one day we would again face each other with blades drawn.
‘But that was the story of Sia and the Grand Duke meeting on the battlefield.’
Right now…
‘With this body that can’t even properly wield a sword or aura… could I actually kill him?’
Of course, there was a time when I had dreamed of returning home with the Grand Duke’s head. But that time wasn’t now.
‘Honestly… I’m curious.’
About the Grand Duke outside of the battlefield.
So this wasn’t a question I could simply answer with a “yes” or “no.”
Then, my lips moved again.
“I…”
Count Norbert Millard had carried the unconscious woman to another room before returning to the Grand Duke’s office.
“The physician said there’s nothing wrong with her body. She should wake up by tomorrow.”
By the Grand Duke’s orders, instead of a prison cell, the woman had been given a clean room and even medical attention.
“So it really was exactly three questions.”
“Seems so.”
Norbert nodded, glancing at Cardian before asking,
“Did Your Grace find the truth you were looking for?”
Cardian sat at his desk, quietly gazing at the sofa.
He couldn’t help but recall the woman who had been sitting there and the look in her eyes.
“I did.”
Norbert pouted, looking slightly hurt.
“I didn’t expect to be sent away.”
“There was no reason for you to stay.”
“How cold of you, truly.”
Cardian chuckled softly and picked up the paperwork on his desk—clearly a sign for Norbert to leave so he could get back to work.
But instead of leaving, Norbert stared at him steadily.
Lately, Cardian’s condition had visibly worsened.
The dark circles beneath his eyes, the way his gaze sometimes drifted blankly out the window…
‘This isn’t just because of the Trensha Village attack… Something else is going on.’
He was sure there was more to it than that.
Cardian was a man who rarely revealed his emotions outwardly. But Norbert, having served him for many years, could sense even the slightest change in his mood.
He remembered clearly how a week ago, Cardian had hurriedly left with his aide Ed, after dumping the Trensha Village incident entirely on Norbert’s shoulders.
He hadn’t shown it openly, but there had been a fleeting trace of anxiety on his face.
And if something could disturb His Grace’s heart that much…
“Your Grace,” Norbert asked with genuine concern, “has something happened to… the ‘Master of the Fifth Floor’?”
“……”
The Master of the Fifth Floor.
The Grand Duke’s main residence had five floors. Servants were only allowed to move freely between the first and fourth floors.
And the fifth floor—
‘That’s where the mystery lies.’
A being shrouded in secrecy resided on the fifth floor.
Only Cardian, the head of the ducal house, knew exactly who or what that being was.
There was a staircase leading up to the fifth floor, but only Cardian himself was permitted to use it.
‘Ah, Ed the aide also knew.’
Yes—Cardian’s aide, Ed, was the only other person allowed up there, tasked with managing the floor in Cardian’s absence.
The previous Duke and Duchess had also known about the existence. But after the previous Duke’s death, the Duchess had moved out of the residence.
Now, only Cardian and Ed could enter the fifth floor.
Norbert thought of the heavy black iron door at the base of the staircase.
A forbidden place one must not be curious about, let alone look inside. The servants referred to the mysterious being as “The Master of the Fifth Floor.”
“Your Grace, your complexion has worsened since a week ago. It can’t be because of the Trensha incident—you passed that responsibility to me.”
“……”
“So it must be… because of the Master of the Fifth Floor, isn’t it?”
“Norbert Millard.”
Perhaps because he mentioned the fifth floor twice, Cardian’s calm but threatening voice cut him off.
“I believe I told you not to speak of the fifth floor.”
“……”
Cardian’s gaze was dry—not angry, but quietly admonishing.
Even so, those violet eyes carried an oppressive weight that made Norbert freeze.
He bowed his head.
“Forgive me, Your Grace. I overstepped.”
Cardian never allowed compromise when it came to matters related to the fifth floor.
He flipped through the documents again and spoke casually.
“And as for that woman…”
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“You’ll be in charge of her from now on.”
“…Pardon?”
Norbert snapped his head up.
In charge? What does that mean—
‘Ah!’
He must mean I should handle her however I see fit!
Norbert nodded eagerly.
“Yes, I’ll interrogate her at the manor as soon as she wakes—”
“No.”
Cardian frowned and set the papers down.
“She’ll start working here as a maid.”
“…What?”
“You’ll personally train her until she’s useful.”
Norbert stammered in shock.
“Y–Your Grace! Why would you keep such a suspicious, ominous person here at the residence?!”
“Suspicious and ominous, you say?”
Cardian laughed lightly, as if amused.
“Norbert. Don’t say things you’ll regret later.”
“Your Grace, this isn’t a laughing matter! She could be dangerous! Wouldn’t it be better to simply kill her?!”
Seriously, why is this happening now? I was supposed to be retired, traveling with my luggage by now!
Norbert pleaded desperately.
But Cardian didn’t even acknowledge it.
“Give her a room in the west annex and begin her training immediately.”
“Your Grace! Please reconsider! She could be a spy sent by the noble faction—or from another empire entirely!”
“No, Count.”
Cardian interrupted again.
“The more suspicious someone is, the closer you keep them.”
“……”
Cardian recalled the woman’s answer to his final question.
“Did you come here to kill me?”
“I…”
She had sighed long and deep before continuing.
“Honestly, Grand Duke… I don’t even know why I was on that beach. No, I don’t even know why I’m in this empire to begin with.”
He had expected a direct yes or no—but instead, she launched into a bitter rant.
“Hey, Grand Duke. Did I walk here myself? No, right? Your knights dragged me from that beach to here. It’s not like I wanted to come!”
She was supposed to answer briefly, but she rambled on unnecessarily.
Was there alcohol mixed into the truth serum?
“Think about it, Grand Duke. Do I look like I’m capable of harming you? This body? Are those eyes just for decoration?”
“……”
She spoke casually, calling him “Grand Duke” in an almost mocking tone.
Then she sighed again, deflating.
“…Fine. Maybe someday I could be a threat. But not right now. Not at this moment. Got it…?”
She looked down, visibly frustrated.
After a pause, she spoke again.
“Two years.”
“Two years?”
“Yeah… Watch me for two years, Grand Duke. Who knows? Maybe by then, I’ll be strong enough to harm you. Aren’t you curious?”
“……”
“So, Graaand Duuuke…”
Her speech began to slur, her eyelids twitching, body swaying—she had reached her limit.
Yet even as she lost consciousness, she forced out one last plea.
“So. Just… let me live. For now.”
“……”
To beg for her life even as she was about to faint—
Cardian couldn’t help but laugh quietly.
‘She’s definitely different… Not like those dark mages who begged to die with me, or the assassins who asked for a swift death.’
Her will to live far exceeded ordinary levels.
‘Should I call it a relief…?’
But… there was something familiar about her tone.
‘Where have I heard that way of speaking before?’
