CHAPTER :1.10

A beat late to the party, Audrey stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground like a freshly enlisted black-haired soldier and bellowed

“Re, Audrey Kevelson, a temporary employee of the Treasury Department, I present myself!”

“…….”

I was reminded that in the Duchy, unannounced inspections are common, so be careful not to give the wrong impression.

The basis of Pia’s identification is the full name. A man with broad shoulders and eyes that burn with determination is sure to be trustworthy.

But the man in front of you looks like he’s facing something out of this world.

“Isn’t this it?

As she awkwardly rolled her eyes, she was interrupted by a voice from behind , questioning her once again.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Oh, I was just organizing the archives, but I finished earlier than I thought I would, so I thought I’d take a moment to – hee hee!”

Oh, my God!

My head snapped unnaturally toward the voice’s owner.

“Now, wait, wait, wait…….”

No, what the hell was that gruff-looking thing saying? Audrey’s pea-sized heart tightened in an instant as she glanced over his shoulder.

Those blood-red eyes, so full of life, were not of this world. And there was something dark about him. A strange chill, an unknown uneasiness running down my spine, the kind you get when you’re alone in an abandoned house in the middle of the night.

“Ho, what, the Grim Reaper?

Audrey rubbed her eyes with a shaky hand. Perhaps she had seen something she shouldn’t have. So…… is death the only thing left?

Fear paralyzed her reason, a fear she had never experienced in her twenty years of life.

“Look.”

The Grim Reaper drew closer and closer, a huge shadow looming behind the frail man.

“Even if you don’t remember killing him.”

“……!”

“I never forget the face of the one whose throat I cut.”

The figure whispering behind the man’s shoulder was the devil himself, a manipulator of men. But its infernal eyes were fixed on Audrey, not the man before it. As if searching for its next victim. In that moment of entrapment, Audrey became aware of the other’s presence as a second thought.

“oh no, Duke Frit!

The devil’s minion, the bloodbath of Creant, the man from A Midsummer Night’s Tale.

He…… was the owner of this castle, the man who was said to slice people up like steak.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

As Audrey waited to leave from work with a sour face, the news came like a bolt from the blue.

“The Duke has prepared a special dinner for us, so let’s wrap up our business and go to the East Banquet Hall.”

“Wow, how long has it been?”

“Indeed. It’s been over half a year since our last welcome, I think?”

“Eh, who cares? We’re going to drink till our noses get crooked tonight!”

An impromptu party?

Audrey was the only one who looked awkward in the crowd. Her plans to deliver the letter and run away just before work had just been disrupted. Her panicked fingers fidgeted with the letter in her pocket.

“I’ll take my chances and sneak it in.

As he was swept along by the Treasury people and headed for the banquet, he suddenly felt a familiar gaze on him. It was Hans.

“What?”

“……?”

“You just looked at me like you felt something.”

“What, feel? Dude, when have I ever felt anything?”

“Why is he doing that again?”

It was hard not to look suspicious and avoid eye contact. He was a debt collector who couldn’t stop talking and kept pausing.

“No way, you?

Audrey’s eyes narrowed. She had no desire to lose the golden mansion she’d just saved for herself.

“What the hell are you thinking, ……?”

Hans, on the other hand, shook his head in disbelief. His floundering eyes, suspicious even before he spoke, were unnecessarily demanding.

Amid this strange confrontation, I heard a familiar voice nearby. It was a coworker from the same department who loves gossip.

“Oh, right. Guess what? Today is confession day!”

“Confession day? Is that when you confess and repent of your sins?”

“Uh, no, it’s a day to confess your feelings to someone you have a crush on.”

“If you have a crush, you just confess it, why do you have to do it on a day like this?”

“Well, it’s kind of superstitious or witchcraft or something, because couples get married more often on confession day than any other day.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of weird days.”

“Well, it does make for some interesting viewing, though, and maybe someone from my department-”

“……!”

─cringe.

Audrey felt unnecessarily smug. Her awkwardly stiff face practically screamed, “That’s me!

Hans, standing next to her, was no different. His unfocused, wandering eyes wandered.

Then their eyes locked.

“……!”

“…….”

Audrey jumped like a rabbit in a trap, and Hans eyed her suspiciously. It made him uneasy.

“Dude, you can’t be”

Just then, a friendly department member interrupted them.

“For heaven’s sake, you’ve never been to a banquet hall before, have you?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“You’ll be amazed, it’s the biggest after the Imperial Palace, and when all the Duke’s employees are seated, it’s quite a sight.”

“Wow, I can’t wait!”

Audrey pulled away with an awkward exclamation, followed by a long, disapproving stare.

“You don’t mean ……?

Hans felt bad that he hadn’t asked the right question.

But what could he do, the opportunity had already passed him by. It would look suspicious to pry without knowing the answer. Hans let out a frustrated sigh and followed them.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

The eastern banquet hall of the Duke’s castle was the size of a large mansion, with soaring ceilings and a vast expanse of space that was second only to the planet Huangshan.

A magnificent chandelier that looked like stars were falling, candlesticks made of barrels of diamonds, and a centerpiece of fresh flowers across the middle of the table. Even the most casual of decorations exuded a sense of wealth and nobility.

“Wow…….”

“Tacky, I’m out.”

“Hmm. You say that like it’s natural?”

“I don’t act tacky like anyone else. This is what I mean by ‘grown-up’.”

“Oh, come on!”

The two bickered as usual, and around them, the Treasury people settled in.

Audrey only realized the shrinking number of empty seats.

“Where’s Claude? He should be here any minute…….

Her chartreuse eyes darted around frantically until she spotted Claude, who had just joined them, and her face lit up.

” Claude!”

“You’re here first, I was looking for you in the archives.”

“Oh, well, I had some work…….”

“Well, it’s good you’re here, I was worried you might have gotten lost. Are you with the Treasury people?”

“Yes.”

Claude smiled broadly as if he was proud.

“That’s good. That’s the way it should be. Just follow them wherever they go, ask questions if you don’t understand something, and learn as you go.”

“……Yeah, yeah.”

Her cheeks warmed for some reason. It was bad enough that she’d gotten his attention, but to have his concern and praise as a bonus!

Audrey pursed her lips and secretly tapped her foot.

‘Okay, now if I can just get in the mood and deliver the letter without anyone knowing…….’

But just then, an unwelcome visitor pushed his way through the crowd.

“Excuse me, Mr. Miller. I’ll just be a moment.”

“……?”

“Why, what?”

“…….”

It was Hans.

He didn’t hesitate as he lunged forward, tossing my boss aside like a toy block. Audrey glared at him in annoyance.

“What are you looking at, will you get out of the way?”

“Hey, get off me!”

“It’s a tight squeeze.”

“Go away!”

“You can move if you’re not comfortable.”

It’s funny to see them sitting so close together as if they’re keeping an eye on me, but I mustn’t show any signs of discomfort, not when Claude is smiling from ear to ear.

“His Highness the Duke is eating!”

And with that, the dinner began in earnest, with the three of them exchanging pleasantries.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

“Hey, where are you going?”

“……!”

And again. Audrey had been caught on Hans’ radar for the umpteenth time, and her plan to follow Claude out the door had been thwarted.

“No. What does it matter where I go?

Audrey, who had been faking her panic, was getting frustrated.

And Duke Fritz’s deathly stare was unbearable. It was almost suffocating.

“I’m going to the bathroom! Why! What!”

“You, you……!”

Hans’s face, which had been so cheerful just a moment ago, turned bright red. He covered his face with his big hands and mumbled to himself about how the girl had no shame and why she was talking so loudly.

Audrey took advantage of the opportunity to slip away.

But there was one problem.

“Where do I go?”

She had no idea where Claude was.

She hesitated for a moment. Audrey had no choice but to use her magic.

Poof.

The wall bulged with a cute sound.

“Take me to Claude .”

Poof!

As if in response, the mass that had been poking around suddenly popped out without warning.

“Aah!”

Audrey was in a panic and ran after it at first.

But the fist-sized mass moved purely of its own accord. It would disappear as quickly as it came, as if on a runaway, and then it would go back down to the first floor, then back up to the sixth floor.

“Come with me!”

Audrey shouted, eagerly chasing after the lump of flesh.

Then she had a nagging suspicion.

“No way, magical interference?

Sure enough, there were tiny magic stones embedded like decorations in the corridors above.

Decorative safeguards were usually installed in areas where high-ranking nobles stayed.

“Oh, my God!”

This was Audrey’s eighteenth invention and one of Lockt’s best-sellers.

The unexpected encounter was a delight.

“You guys…….”

The product is called Nesco. It was a magical tool that protected the client’s property from intruders like cockroaches.

The principle was simple. It would emit a trickle of magic around the clock to clash with the intruder’s magic. Nesko’s defenses were no exception for the developer.

“It’s doing its job, isn’t it?”