🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
“Wow… I really thought I was going to die.”
Emma muttered while catching her breath. After sprinting at full speed for the first time in a while, her whole body felt sore.
She cautiously peeked her head around the alley.
Thankfully, there was no sign of pursuit. Still, she didn’t let her guard down.
Her opponent was Rosalyn—the legendary figure of the underworld.
As for the man working under her, Emma had never heard of him. But she assumed someone like Rosalyn wouldn’t keep a useless subordinate.
Only after confirming the area was clear did she lean against the wall and exhale deeply.
“What a hassle… just helping someone fall in love.”
The words slipped out honestly.
Her relationship with Deus was purely a temporary alliance for mutual benefit. Of course, they were supposed to help each other to some extent—but even knowing that, participating in such obvious foolishness was frustrating.
“Seriously, why not just confess directly? Why make it so complicated?”
Emma muttered while throwing off her cloak.
“If I were Rosalyn, I’d have gone straight to cut off the duke’s neck the moment I found out about this mess.”
She rolled up the large cloak and tucked it into her arms.
Stuck between the clueless Deus and the reckless Chandler, she felt like she was the only one suffering.
But what could she do? They were already on the same boat.
“Getting annoyed just makes me lose.”
She clicked her tongue and moved on.
After carefully traveling through the night, Emma finally arrived at the duke’s estate.
“Emma, you’ve been working hard lately.”
“It’s nothing. Compared to the knights, I’m doing very little.”
The guard, who had apparently heard about her from Chandler, looked at her with sympathy.
Emma responded with a bright smile. The guard awkwardly turned away.
“Then please rest well, Emma.”
“Yes, sir! You too!”
After exchanging polite words, Emma entered the estate—and immediately dropped her smile.
“Wow… the discipline here is a mess. No wonder you need competent leadership.”
She thought of Chandler’s chaotic personality.
But she quickly shook her head. Thinking about it more would only make her lose.
Soon she reached the office, where voices were already echoing through the door.
“Your Grace! Please just wait a little longer! Do you really think Emma would fail like that?”
“If she’s not the type to fail, then that makes it worse. Something definitely went wrong.”
Emma let out a dry laugh.
As always, they were the same.
She stepped closer to the door.
“Your Grace! It’s strange for you to go out at a time like this! Please understand!”
Their voices grew louder. Without knocking, Emma opened the door.
And instantly regretted it.
“Ah… huh?”
Inside, she saw something she absolutely did not want to see.
Deus was tangled in Chandler’s arms in a very awkward position.
It looked like Chandler had tried to stop Deus from leaving and somehow ended up tripping and grabbing him.
Whatever the reason, to Emma it just looked like two men awkwardly entangled.
“E-Emma!”
Chandler greeted her brightly.
But Emma’s eyes were fixed on Chandler’s hands still wrapped around Deus’s waist.
She sighed deeply and looked away.
“Should I leave again?”
“No. Absolutely not.”
Deus quickly pushed Chandler off.
“Ahh!”
Chandler fell backward, groaning.
Neither of them paid him any attention.
“Emma, how did it go?”
Deus’s anxious eyes were locked on her immediately.
He hadn’t even closed the door properly, yet he was already demanding answers.
At times like this, he looked like nothing more than a grown child.
Emma quietly shut the door and walked in.
“Your Grace… I really almost died this time.”
Her tone was unusually serious.
Chandler, rubbing his sore backside, jumped in.
“Wait—did you fight her? Is that why you’re late?”
Deus’s face immediately turned cold.
Emma quickly waved her hands.
“No! I ran away.”
Deus let out a relieved breath.
Chandler scratched his neck awkwardly.
“Well, you said you almost died… so I thought maybe you fought her.”
“Sir Chandler, as I’ve said before—fighting isn’t always the answer.”
“That’s not what I meant… I mean, yes, you’re right.”
Chandler quickly backed down under Emma’s glare.
“So? Did it go well?”
Deus asked in a low voice.
Emma’s confident expression from earlier faded.
“…We’ll have to wait and see.”
Deus’s blue eyes wavered.
Emma quickly added:
“She was extremely angry. She looked like she genuinely wanted to kill someone. But… once things settle down, I think she’ll accept the request.”
Emma rubbed her neck awkwardly.
“Emma… you look unsure.”
Chandler muttered.
Both Emma and Deus shot him a cold look.
“…Anyway, I’m just saying Emma is usually so confident—”
“That’s not a helpful comment right now.”
Deus cut him off sharply.
Chandler fell silent.
“I think she was angrier than expected. If she had realized I was a woman, she might have killed me on the spot.”
Emma made a slicing motion across her neck.
Even Chandler flinched.
“She really isn’t someone who accepts situations like this easily.”
Deus nodded slowly.
At least she had a rule—she didn’t harm women or children.
He recalled Rosalyn’s behavior.
The tavern owner she had exposed for scams, and the street vendor she had thrown to the ground.
Rosalyn was never someone who “lost.”
So it was easy to imagine how she would react to losing a thousand gold.
“Sorry for putting you through this, Emma.”
Emma awkwardly smiled and waved it off.
“It’s fine. I’m the only one who could go anyway.”
“I can go too!”
Chandler suddenly jumped in.
Emma sighed.
“Sir Chandler, you forgot already? She only spares women and children.”
Chandler protested loudly.
“I’m the knight commander of House Cervellion!”
Emma replied calmly:
“I’m not underestimating you. But even if your sword skills are excellent, it’s a completely different matter to subdue someone like her without harming her—especially when she’s trying to kill you.”
“Is she really that strong?”
“Probably the Duke knows better than anyone.”
Emma turned the question toward Deus.
Deus smiled faintly.
“It’s not something just anyone can do—crossing mountains while evading pursuers with a child who could barely walk.”
Chandler started to protest—
“Even I could do that—!”
“There were probably over a hundred of them.”
“…I’ll shut up now.”
Chandler went quiet.
Emma quickly changed the subject.
“By the way… I’m curious. Why does she only spare women and children?”
Chandler shrugged.
“Some kind of knightly code, maybe.”
“…A code for the weak.”
Deus repeated the words slowly, as if lost in thought.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Emma and Chandler exchanged glances.
A heavy silence fell.
“…So that’s why I was spared too?”
Deus’s expression darkened.
Emma hurriedly tried to fix the mood.
“Your Grace, I don’t think that’s it. You were a teenager back then, weren’t you? Maybe she just saw you as a boy, not a child.”
She nudged Chandler urgently.
Do something.
But Chandler couldn’t speak.
He remembered the first time he saw Deus.
A small boy who looked impossible to believe was fourteen—terrified blue eyes, pale face, and white hair even paler than his skin.
Chandler’s eyes met Deus’s.
Deus let out a long sigh, as if that was answer enough.
Emma, stuck in the middle and completely lost, looked between them.
“What are these guys even thinking about now…?”
