Chapter 2 (Part 7)

“I was wrong, I was wrong.”

“What are you apologizing for?”

As Therese approached as if to stab his neck, the man smirked and yanked her ankle. Caught off guard, Therese fell, dropping her dagger in the process.

“I’ll repay you twofold, no, tenfold for piercing my body.”

Grabbing Therese’s dagger, the man coughed in pain and got up to retrieve the longsword he had placed on the table.

‘He’s tougher than I thought.’

She had expected him to fall with one blow, but it was a misjudgment. While searching for something to use as a weapon, Therese slowly moved toward the door.

“I’ll punish you and find that wench from before…….”

Therese, hiding behind the sofa, clenched her fist tightly.

‘Master, this place is quite dangerous.’

Of all times, she remembered Roshan’s daily warnings.

As the bloodshot-eyed man raised the sword high, a bottle flew from somewhere and hit his head, causing him to collapse.

With a thud, the room fell silent.

“…….”

Therese, trembling, stood up and checked the man’s condition. Though blood gushed from his head, she felt his breath when she placed a finger under his nose.

“He’s not dead.”

After binding the man’s wrists tightly with a belt, Therese sighed.

‘……Ah.’

It was indeed that man who had thrown the bottle, knocking him down. She was so tense that she momentarily forgot there was someone else behind her.

“Are you alright?”

“…….”

A low voice she knew all too well brushed against Therese’s ear. She was confused about what expression to make and what tone to use.

‘Starting from the fact that I’m entering a gambling den, to being in such an enclosed space with a lowly man like that.’

In truth, all of it was enough reason for divorce, but she didn’t want the Duke to see her like this, at least not now.

However, ignoring him in such a small space was unreasonable. Resigned, she turned her body.

“Your G…”

Just as she was about to call him “Your Grace”, the large man feigned holding his shoulder in pain.

“I apologize for causing trouble, my lady.”

“…….”

The deep eyes behind the black mask acted as if they were seeing Therese for the first time.

‘Could it be that he doesn’t recognize me again?’

Today, Therese was dressed in a manner she usually didn’t, wearing a mask. Furthermore, she was holding a weapon, so it wouldn’t seem like she was the same person who sat gloomily at the dining table without presence.

‘How uninterested must he be to not recognize me whether I’m dressed as a man or all dolled up?’

Then again, she had only been alone with the Duke three or four times, including the wedding, so it was entirely possible.

Or perhaps he was putting on a ridiculous act.

‘Either way, it doesn’t matter.’

Therese straightened her back and lifted her head. The Duke’s current attire, at best, made him look like a low-ranking knight or a merchant guarding the gambling den.

“So, who are you?”

The man coughed, covering his mouth, at her informal speech.

‘Could it be that he got hurt from that whipping earlier?’

When Therese bent her knees to check, blood was flowing from the torn cloak and shirt inside.

‘Isn’t he the Duke?’

Duke Richard wasn’t someone who would allow himself to be hit by a drunkard. Having lived on the battlefield since childhood, he was strong enough to kill monsters without weapons.

“Thank you for helping.”

She was sincere.

If he hadn’t thrown the bottle, it would have taken a little more time to deal with the man on the floor.

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

Stammering, the man groaned again.

“I’ll give you money, so make sure to get treated outside.”

“Are you alright, my lady?”

He had asked the same question earlier.

“I’m fine.”

Finding it difficult to meet his eyes for some reason, Therese nodded briefly and stepped out the door.

In the parlor where Therese had disappeared, the tied-up man began to struggle as he regained consciousness.

“I will definitely find that wench…….”

The man, drooling at the mouth, failed to notice the black shadow looming over him.

Once outside, Therese hurriedly searched for the private soldiers within the gambling den. The establishment’s employer was required to hire soldiers. However, amidst the noise from drunken patrons, no soldiers were visible.

“Where on earth did Roshan go?”

No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find any trace of Roshan. As she passed through the corridor, someone suddenly grabbed Therese’s arm.

“……?”

Startled, she was about to draw her sword but then sheathed it again. The person was the woman who had almost been assaulted earlier.

The two faced each other in a space used for storing cleaning supplies. In the dim light, the woman’s face was swollen from crying.

“Thank you so much.”

“Why are you still here? Are you alright from being hit?”

At Therese’s kind concern, the woman nodded while trying to suppress her sobs.

“Thanks to you saving me, I’m alright.”

But despite saying she was alright, she couldn’t even lift one hand.

“You need to get treated.”

“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I might have…….”

The woman, covering her mouth with her sleeve, said it was her first day here. She had chosen the job because it was said to pay well.

“First, get treated. Then come to this place.”

Therese handed the woman a small drawing indicating the location of her office.

It might be unnecessary meddling, but the mention of a child had stuck in her mind.

‘Judging by her appearance, she’s not well-off at all.’

Her fingernails were blackened, and the dress she wore was patched up. After such an incident, it would be difficult to continue working here as if nothing happened.

Therese took out money from her bosom and placed it in the woman’s hand.

“N-no, I can’t accept this.”

In a calm tone, Therese spoke.

“I’m not just giving it to you. I’m lending it to you, so get treated and pay it back later when you work.”

“……I will.”

After confirming that the woman had exited the gambling den, Therese let out a long sigh.

‘I can’t save everyone.’

Moreover, she didn’t have such grand dreams.

‘Honestly, I wanted to pretend I didn’t hear anything.’

The moment she opened the door and saw the face of the drunken man, regret washed over her.

“If Sophia had seen this, she would have hit me on the back.”

To do something so reckless without knowing who the opponent was.

Since childhood, Therese had been somewhat reckless.

As fatigue set in, she pressed her eyes firmly with her hands, feeling a splitting pain in her chest. It was because she had moved excessively.

‘It would be nice if a nagger appeared soon…….’

Leaving her alone for so long was unlike Roshan. Something must have happened to him. Therese’s face was quite serious as she hurried outside.

❖ ❖ ❖

The drunken man writhed his tied feet, groaning.

“You there, come quickly and untie me.”

Then, a large man approached and stepped on the man’s neck. Unable to even struggle against the unexpected attack, the tied man could only let out a strange groan.

“……Ugh.”

Only when he was about to suffocate did the attacker remove his foot and stand quietly in front of the man. It was then that the bleeding man realized the attacker had removed his mask.

Though dressed in black, the tall man with golden hair and sharp black eyes looked familiar.

He was indeed known as the Grim Reaper of the battlefield.

“D-Duke Richard, Your Grace.”

Forgetting the gambling den’s rule of not revealing names, the man muttered.

“Why is such a noble person here…….”

Feeling as if the alcohol he had drunk all night had suddenly sobered him up, his limbs trembled. Watching the terrified man, the Duke spoke.

“I have no business with you.”

Only then did the man let out a sigh of relief.

In the empire, opposing Duke Richard was a foolish thing to do.

The Duke, dropping the mask he was holding, looked at him with an intrigued gaze.

“So, you seem to know me, but who are you?”

Under the Duke’s cold gaze, the man, unable to think of wiping the blood flowing from his forehead, moved his lips a few times but couldn’t easily speak.

“I-I’m Geoffrey of the Pablo family.”

“Ah, Count Pablo.”

The Duke gave a bitter smile at the introduction.

He had fought alongside the late Count Pablo on the battlefield before, and he was brave and intolerant of injustice.

He was completely different from his son, who bullied powerless women.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

Gaining confidence from the Duke’s attitude, which seemed to know his family, Geoffrey acted quite friendly.

“……Hmm.”

The Duke had been watching the entire incident unfold in this room from the beginning.

Having found Therese Richard in the gambling den, he had been filled with questions.

‘Why is my virtuous wife acting like such a free-spirited lady?’

She drank alcohol, laughed heartily, and enjoyed gambling, which hardened Jeremy’s face.

That was the reason he had barged into this gloomy room after watching quietly.

To rescue Therese.

‘But she showed an unexpected side.’

Though it was a small self-defense weapon, she didn’t show proper skill, but his keen eyes couldn’t be deceived. Her swordsmanship felt like it had been honed over several years of training.

‘Who exactly did I marry?’

Everything he thought he knew about Therese Demori was crumbling.

Just then, the man on the floor whimpered in a servile voice.

“If you let me go, I promise I won’t say I saw you here, Your Grace.”

Jeremy gave a bitter smile, indistinguishable as a sneer or a smile, at the shameless man.

“…….”

With a light gesture from Duke Richard, the belt binding Geoffrey’s ankle was cut.

“Th-thank you.”

Despite his aching body, Geoffrey hurriedly ran outside.