“Where is Marty, and why is Miss Hailey Salmon here in her place?”

Tayton’s voice was thick with displeasure. Hailey poured him a glass of water and handed it over. After drinking the previous night, he was bound to be thirsty.

He gulped the water down without a second thought, then belatedly furrowed his brows. Slowly, he rose to his feet. Hailey picked up the cane that had fallen to the floor and handed it to him.

“……”

His already irritated gaze darkened further at her perceptive action. But Hailey merely responded with her usual composed smile.

“I heard that Madam Mastis is unwell. She collapsed while preparing breakfast.”

“Marty?”

The duke muttered to himself and clicked his tongue lowly. From his reaction, it was clear that he knew her condition had to be quite severe if she was unable to get up.

As he took a limping step forward, he spoke.

“Has a doctor been called? And where are the maids—why is Miss Hailey Salmon…?”

He trailed off. Then, as if realization had dawned on him, a chilling smirk escaped from between his lips.

“Let me guess. No one volunteered. So, Miss Hailey Salmon ended up taking on the burden of the cursed duke?”

His voice dripped with mockery.

“Unlucky, aren’t you? Or perhaps the maids already see you as a fool. To think it only took a single day.”

His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over her before he scoffed and continued walking.

“No, I volunteered.”

Thud.

Once again, the duke’s steps came to a halt. His silver eyes lingered on Hailey’s smiling face. For a long time. As if trying to decipher her true intentions.

“It’s not every day one gets the honorable opportunity to serve Your Grace.”

The duke’s gaze narrowed slightly. His lips curved at an angle. A frigid voice slipped from between his slightly parted lips.

“An honorable opportunity, you say.”

He let out a short, mirthless laugh and glared at her with fierce eyes.

Unfortunately, he was surrounded by people who excelled at greasing their tongues with flattery.

And the majority of them cursed him the moment they turned their backs. No, calling it all of them wouldn’t be an exaggeration. At least, among the nobles he had met, every single one had.

Tayton looked at Hailey with an expression of sheer distaste.

“Was it Baron Salmon who ordered you? Told you to win my favor? His financial situation must be quite dire, judging by his willingness to sell off his own daughter to squeeze out even a single extra coin.”

After flinging a particularly vile sneer at her, the duke turned toward the bathroom without even glancing back.

Hailey simply shrugged and followed him. This much wasn’t enough to faze her.

A mad dog.

Team Leader Kang was the type of person whose emotions were blatantly displayed in his demeanor. On days when he fought with his wife, he was particularly irritable, resorting to vicious personal attacks that could bring his subordinates to tears.

In that sense, the duke was at least preferable. His temperament was terrible regardless of his mood, which at least gave her some time to mentally prepare herself.

Not that she had high expectations for his character in the first place.

“How far do you plan to follow me? I don’t need anyone to attend to my bath.” The duke scoffed. “Or… did Baron Salmon tell you to do whatever it takes to bring me down? To aim for the position of duchess, perhaps?”

Despite his mockery, Hailey calmly picked up a towel.

“The maids will be bringing warm water—”

“I don’t need it.”

He cut her off mid-sentence.

“If it’s not Marty, I don’t need anyone.”

Hailey silently watched as the duke entered the bathroom.

The gruff voice, the sharp gaze… For some reason, they reminded her of a stubborn child.

“If it’s not Marty, I don’t need anyone.”

“If it’s not cookies, I don’t need anything.”

A laugh nearly escaped her lips. Hailey pressed them together tightly, barely managing to suppress it.

Ahem.

She cleared her throat softly and took a glance around the marble bathroom. The entire place gleamed, polished to perfection.

Even without witnessing it firsthand, she could tell how diligently the maids cleaned this space.

Tayton spoke again, his voice laced with even more venom than before.

“Tell Baron Salmon this—he’s wasting his time. Not even by accident would I ever lay a hand on Hailey Salmon.”

“What’s on your agenda for today?”

The duke’s gaze twisted in irritation. He stared at her as if he were trying to bore a hole through her skull.

Any other noble lady, even one merely noble in name, should have trembled with humiliation at this point.

Nobles were a prideful breed, and he had just trampled all over hers. Not only that, he had crushed it underfoot.

By all rights, she should be trembling in disgrace, her eyes brimming with tears before she fled from the room.

That’s what had always happened before.

The noblewomen before her had all greeted him with gentle smiles, exchanging conversations filled with refinement.

It probably hadn’t been their choice. Their fathers had most likely pushed them forward, desperate to grasp even the slightest fraction of his power.

But none of them had endured his torment for long.

At some point, they would snap, screaming unthinkable curses before bolting away—terrified that, in his rage, he might actually lay a curse upon them.

Yet Hailey was different.

No matter how vile his words became, she never lost her composed smile.

As if she were letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

Standing outside the door, she added politely,

“If you inform me of your schedule, I will prepare your clothes for when you finish your bath.”

Clothes, huh…

Tayton’s lips curved slightly.

This time, it was Hailey’s turn to frown slightly.

For some reason, a bad feeling crept up her spine.

***

“Does it not suit Your Grace’s tastes?”

Hailey stood there, holding out a black business suit, a vest, and a blue silk ascot tie, looking slightly perplexed.

The duke sat on the sofa, arms crossed, still clad in a robe.

“Did you not hear me? I said I have an important business meeting.”

“Yes. You mentioned you were meeting with Marquis Eaton and Count Dimitri. That’s why I prepared a clean business suit. Does it not meet your expectations?”

“And you expect me to attend such a meeting in a blue tie fit for a social club? Ah, unless—perhaps you actually want the marquis and the count to gossip behind my back.”

“…Please wait a moment.”

Hailey, still holding the elegant blue silk tie, nodded before heading toward the dressing room.

The bad feeling she had earlier began taking on a more tangible shape, creeping over her like a shadow.

A moment later, she returned with a deep wine-colored tie.

Tayton scoffed before she could even say a word.

“The headlines for tomorrow’s newspaper are already decided. ‘The Cursed Duke—Has Even His Fashion Sense Been Doomed?’”

“…Does it not suit Your Grace’s tastes?”

“If your intention was to make me a laughingstock, then I must say, you have succeeded splendidly, Miss Hailey Salmon. Do you truly believe that tie matches a gray vest?”

Tayton’s sarcasm was exceptional. The dignity he was expected to uphold as a duke had already been discarded the moment he first met her.

It didn’t seem all that bad, though. Hailey let out a small sigh and nodded.

“Please wait a moment.”

This time, she brought out a deep silver ascot tie. Before even looking at it, Tayton frowned.

“Out of all the ties available, you somehow managed to pick something fit for an old man. That’s quite a talent, Miss Hailey Salmon.”

Hailey clenched the tie in her hand while maintaining a smiling face. It was the exact same color as the one he had worn yesterday. So apparently, what was acceptable yesterday had suddenly become an old man’s taste today.

Once again, she reminded herself—whoever loses their temper first loses. And if there was one thing she prided herself on, it was her patience and endurance.

With the same warm smile as before, she widened her eyes and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Please wait a moment, Your Grace.”

Ignoring the duke’s disapproving gaze, Hailey turned back to the wardrobe.

“You expect me to wear a tweed suit to an important business meeting? If you have a brain, try using it, Miss Hailey Salmon.”

“A black tie? Is someone dead?”

“Ha, do you honestly think that color matches the suit? Perhaps those aren’t eyes on your face but buttonholes, Miss Hailey Salmon.”

“Ah, I see. My grandfather’s final wish was for me never to wear a navy blue tie.”

Eleven times.

After rejecting tie after tie with his biting remarks, Tayton finally pulled out his pocket watch with a look of irritation and clicked his tongue.

“Miss Hailey, take note. It would be wise to rid yourself of the foolish notion that your time holds the same value as mine. Every hour, I make decisions involving sums of money you cannot even fathom. I also determine policies that shape the future of the Kingdom of Aislin. So do not waste my time ever again.”

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

Strictly speaking, it was Tayton himself who had wasted his own time. But Hailey obediently kept her mouth shut. The duke arrogantly gestured with his chin.

“Let’s go with the first one.”