Chapter 8

Evan’s closest friend was a concern, but the reality witnessed at today’s banquet was devastating.

In the Servian Empire, the highest scores were currently 98.9 points for Kaiden and 69 points for Humohr, the Young Marquis.

While Hazel was engrossed in the scores, Kaiden, who had organized his thoughts, concluded that either Hazel was too scared of the sorcerer’s revenge to speak up or the sorcerer had secretly cast a spell.

“Hazel, users of forbidden sorcery face a 300-year sentence in the underground prison. So don’t be afraid and tell the truth.”

“A 300-year sentence in the underground prison?”

“Yes. If you can’t think of anyone suspicious, could you write down the names of people you’ve recently been close to? Or you can list everyone you’ve met.”

“Well… That’s…”

Hazel, anxious that she might end up sending an innocent person to the underground prison, nervously bit her nails. She needed to confess that it wasn’t sorcery but her own actions…

What? That the Duke’s chest was too large and thick, making it look delicious? That can’t be right.

Or was it because the compatibility score was 98.9, and I wanted to pounce on him? 

Whatever she said would only sound like concerning remarks.

As Hazel struggled with hundreds of possible answers in her mind, she tightly shut her eyes and then reopened them.

“That wasn’t sorcery.”

“…If it wasn’t sorcery, then why did you do such a thing?”

“Because I was curious about your body, Duke.”

“Hazel?”

The Duke looked incredulous, while Hazel chose to confess only a tenth of the truth, leaving out the existence of the compatibility mirror.

“I was drunk, and your body looked so handsome and firm that I instinctively touched you. I should have confessed the next day, but I thought you didn’t remember, so I tried to hide it.”

“So you weren’t under a spell?”

“No. I didn’t tell you because I thought you wouldn’t allow it, so I secretly touched you.”

Now that she had said it, it still sounded like there was something wrong with her mental state.

‘It’s all because of that mirror.’

She thought she had lived well, suppressing her desires thoroughly, but ever since she came into possession of the mirror that displayed compatibility scores, it had become difficult to control her urges.

“Hazel, have you ever done this to another man?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Hazel waved her hands fervently, pleading her innocence. With a Duke scoring 98.9 points, why would she even look at someone scoring 22 points?

“Never do this to another man.”

“Yes.”

“Promise me, Hazel.”

Feeling the pressure from the Duke’s grip on her shoulders, Hazel quickly nodded and even intertwined her pinky finger with his.

“I promise. Absolutely, absolutely! I won’t do it!”

“Alright.”

As Hazel stood up from the sofa, she hesitated.

Even though she had intertwined pinkies, she felt regret. Thinking about letting go of a man scoring 98.9 points made her feel uneasy.

“Duke… Then, what about you? If I’m curious, can I touch your body?”

“What?”

Kaiden, who was rising from his seat, froze in place.

“Well, Evan isn’t around, and I don’t have any other male friends…”

Was this too much? 

Hazel thought, lowering her chin slightly. Kaiden couldn’t answer easily and let out a deep sigh, looking serious.

“This… Let’s talk about it later.”

“Alright. Then, rest well.”

Even as Kaiden opened the door for Hazel, he couldn’t shake his confusion.

She said she touched him just because she was curious. Does that even make sense? And Hazel, of all people? On top of that, she asked if she could touch him if she was curious?

Though his physique often attracted heated gazes from both men and women, he had never imagined Hazel looking at his body with such yearning eyes.

And strangely, he didn’t dislike it.

When princesses from renowned kingdoms tried to flirt with him or asked what kind of training resulted in such an impressive physique, he found it annoying and even repulsive. But Hazel was different.

Instead, he felt proud of himself for not skipping swordsmanship training all this time. How strange.

As if Hazel’s words had acted as a catalyst, Kaiden found himself changing into his training clothes as if possessed. He kept telling himself that he was just hunting as usual because his mind was muddled.

“Whew.”

Late in the afternoon, Kaiden returned from the monster hunting grounds on the outskirts of the capital and sat at his desk, piled high with paperwork.

‘Your body looked so handsome and firm that I instinctively touched you.’

‘If I’m curious, can I touch your body?’

Even after hunting, Hazel’s words seemed to envelop him, causing his body to heat up and replaying endlessly in his mind. He gulped down cold water from the desk in one go.

Knock, knock.

Kaiden wiped the water from his lips with the back of his hand and sharply responded from his chair.

“I told you not to come unless it’s important paperwork.”

“Duke, it’s important paperwork. A reply has arrived from the western Cliang Kingdom. Shall I not enter?”

“Come in.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

At Philip’s words, Kaiden gestured impatiently for him to leave the documents and go. His forehead was sweating from his unusually high body temperature.

“Your face is red, and it seems like you have a fever.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. I hunted monsters after a long time, so I’m just hot.”

“What? You’re hot just from that?”

Philip looked at Kaiden incredulously.

Kaiden’s face was flushed as if he had caught a fever, and his forehead, exposed by his swept-back hair, glistened with beads of sweat.

Kaiden was the kind of person who didn’t change his expression even under pressure from unexpected terms in negotiations with foreign nations. His stamina was so extraordinary that he could hold contract meetings all night, wake up early, and spar with young employees without breaking a sweat.

In short, this level of physical change was something you’d only see after slaying a dragon.

“So, what did the Cliang Kingdom say?”

“They agreed to trade pumpkin minerals. But they’ll only allow exclusivity if we purchase blue minerals at 3% less than other nations. Are you really going to proceed?”

“Proceed.”

“Although the minerals from the Cliang Kingdom are beautiful and fetch absurd prices, they don’t have unique magical properties like the blue minerals of the Eastern Empire. They’re only used for luxury wedding gifts, so it seems like a loss for us.”

Philip hid the contract behind his back, trying to persuade Kaiden to reconsider.

“Why don’t you just drop it? No matter how you look at it, it’s a loss.”

Kaiden insisted that it didn’t matter and demanded the contract.

“Just proceed. We need it by July, so hurry.”

“That’s all? There’s no hidden benefit or anything?”

“No. The gem just needs to be pretty.”

“Wow~ I didn’t know you were interested in luxury items, Duke.”

Philip shook his head in disbelief.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of knocking, Philip turned toward the door to see Hazel, with her red hair and pumpkin-colored eyes, cautiously entering with a tray of refreshments.

“Duke, you have a guest, so I brought this.”

Kaiden, who had been reviewing documents, suddenly stood up and walked toward the door. He handed the silver tray Hazel was holding to Philip.

“Was it heavy?”

“No, it’s fine. Duke, do you need anything else?”

“No, so don’t worry about this area. And from now on, you don’t need to come personally just because it’s my guest.”

“Understood.”

Hazel grabbed her skirt with her right hand and bowed gracefully. Seeing this, Kaiden chuckled softly and muttered, 

“Well, no matter how much she likes my body…”

Philip, who found his superior’s behavior odd, stood still like a broken doll. Usually, coughing during contract reviews would earn him a harsh scolding, but now Kaiden was acting strangely.

“By the way, Duke, is that person…?”

Philip glanced at the door Hazel had exited, tilting his head. Though it was his first time hearing her voice, her appearance felt strangely familiar.

“Isn’t she Hazel Erban, the Young Lady of the Marquis? The same person in the photo in your necklace!”

Philip finally recalled and snapped his fingers.

Kaiden often clutched his necklace during important contracts, to the point where the engraved patterns on its surface had worn smooth.

Not just during contracts—he stared at it during meals, before sleeping, and even once showed the photo inside to a rainbow at the edge of the horizon, claiming it was pretty.

This behavior had sparked rumors among sailors that Kaiden, who had no male siblings, had a sick younger sister in the Servian Empire, for whom he had started trading to find medicine.

“She grew up exactly the same.”

“What are you talking about? Her eyes are bigger, her face is slimmer, and her hair color is slightly darker. She’s also about a hand taller than the last time I saw her. How can you say she’s the same?”

“You remember all that about someone when you don’t care about anyone else?”

Philip stared at his superior, who was acting unfamiliar and strange.

“I naturally have a good memory.”

“Do I look any different?”

Philip shook his head playfully.