‘No way!’

“Who are you calling short—! No, that’s not the point…”

Hailey looked up at the man with dark green hair. Her words trailed off, and suspicion began to gleam in her eyes.

It was the man she had run into just before the second body was discovered.

Meeting him again at the site of the third body—was that really just coincidence?

Hailey instinctively took a step back. Sharp wariness flickered in her pale green eyes. Her gaze, narrowed and tense, resembled that of a feral cat unaccustomed to human touch.

The man ran his hand through his hair, lost in thought. Slowly, he looked at her. Only then did he speak.

“What on earth are you doing here, looking like that?”

“What’s wrong with the way I look…”

Just as she was about to retort, Hailey shut her mouth. Only then did she recall how she appeared.

A peasant’s outfit with an apron, soot smeared all over her face. Not exactly a respectable sight.

“Then what are you doing here?”

The best defense is a good offense. Hailey’s tone sharpened. Instead of answering, the man crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Through the two undone buttons of his shirt, his chest was visible. Every movement made his chest muscles ripple with energy.

After a beat, his lips moved. His relaxed demeanor exuded a strangely decadent and sensual air.

“The Duke Gunner’s fiancée, wandering around back alleys looking like a mess?”

“How do you know I’m the Duke’s fiancée? I didn’t realize you were so interested in me.”

Unlike the plaza, the alley was deserted. Not a single passerby was in sight. As she took another step back, her voice grew tense.

With a light chuckle, the man flicked his gaze sideways.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t know? You don’t seem to realize how famous you are. You’ve been on the front page of every newspaper for days.”

He replied in a light tone, as if joking with an old friend. His drowsy eyes locked onto hers.

His gaze, sleepy and languid, was nonetheless fierce—like that of a predator. Hailey, frozen like prey before a beast, couldn’t move a muscle.

From this man who seemed so loose and easygoing, there emanated a strange sense of danger. She swallowed hard and, pretending to be composed, lifted her chin.

When you meet a mad dog, you don’t show your back and run. At least, that’s what she knew to be true.

“If you know a lady’s name, it’s only polite to introduce yourself as well, don’t you think?”

“Hmph.”

The man let out a short sound. As if debating whether to tell her or not, he finally spat out his name like chewing and spitting out bark.

“Derrick.”

“Alright, Derrick. Tiffler Street, where the second body was found. Central Street, where the third body turned up. Is it just a coincidence that I ran into you at both scenes? Seems a little too coincidental, doesn’t it?”

“Then the opposite is also true. You were present at both murder sites too.”

“Ugh.”

Speechless, Hailey slowly took a deep breath. Regaining her composure, she replied confidently.

“But I wasn’t even in the capital during the first murder. I was in Westhill.”

Derrick raised an eyebrow as if her answer barely interested him.

The next moment, his entire demeanor shifted to something cold and unfamiliar. He stared at Hailey with a frosty gaze.

“Whatever your intentions, let me give you some advice as a courtesy to a noble lady: Don’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you. You might lose your head. Haven’t you already had a scare and still haven’t learned your lesson?”

“!”

Derrick warned her in a chilling voice. No—more than a warning, it was practically a threat. Hailey instinctively held her breath. Her pale green eyes trembled.

She glanced back, just slightly. So she could run at any moment if necessary. That’s how dangerous he felt. He looked like he belonged in the alleyways of drunkards.

“I’m pretty sure I already warned you once.”

“…”

A chill ran down her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. But she couldn’t run away now. Hailey knew mad dogs could tell the difference between the scared and the unafraid.

Her voice grew sharper in return.

“And I warned you—if you show your face to me one more time, you’ll never function as a man again.”

His dark gray eyes slowly moved. Looking down at his groin, Derrick faintly scowled, as if remembering the pain.

“Thank you for the unforgettable memory.”

At those words, Hailey lifted her chin with graceful defiance.

“It’s no trouble at all. And this isn’t something unrelated to me.”

At her words, Derrick furrowed his brows openly. Hailey was like a mirror. If someone threatened her with informal speech, she responded in kind. If spoken to politely, she returned the courtesy.

Derrick observed her with an intrigued look. That didn’t mean she was truly composed.

Her voice was sharper and higher than usual, as if trying to mask her fear, and Derrick’s lips curled slightly at the corners.

“Have you forgotten that I’m Duke Gunner’s fiancée?”

“Ah, the next victim of Duke Gunner, you mean.”

“How rude! Show some respect!”

She widened her eyes at once. Hailey forgot the fear that had just overwhelmed her and lashed out in a fierce voice.

Derrick’s languid eyes curved like a bow, as if pointing out the contrast between her refined speech and ragged appearance.

She lifted her chin once again. She didn’t want this man to realize she was scared. The moment he noticed her fear, she felt like he’d tear into her throat.

At the same time, she was angry. Angry that he was labeling the Duke a murderer. No—not just Derrick. She was furious at everyone who spoke so carelessly about him.

“Are you accusing Duke Gunner of being a murderer right now?”

“Isn’t he? That’s what everyone says.”

Derrick responded indifferently, his expression showing a lack of interest. Hailey’s clenched fist trembled.

The slander spoken by someone who knew nothing about the Duke was more upsetting than she expected.

Perhaps it was because the image of his lonely, solitary back lingered in her mind. Or maybe it was the way he clutched his empty fists that had stuck with her. Or perhaps, it was those silver eyes that had stared straight into her soul.

Whatever the reason, she was furious.

On the other hand, Derrick remained composed from start to finish. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, he turned only his head to look at her, his gaze as detached as it had been from the start.

Still, he didn’t hastily shorten the distance between them—probably because of a past memory. An unforgettable one.

“No, the Duke isn’t like that.”

Hailey emphasized it twice, refuting his words. The Duke might be ill-tempered and spiteful, but murdering someone in secret was a whole different matter.

At her firm denial, Derrick’s thick, ash-gray eyebrows twitched. Soon, he frowned and asked in a mocking tone.

“What do you know about the cursed Duke?”

“Nothing.”

Her tone changed again. Courtesy wasn’t something to be upheld alone. Besides, she was the Duke’s fiancée, and Derrick was just a local thug.

“But I know more than the people who gossip without knowing anything. At the very least, I live in the same house as him. The Duke… no matter how you try to dress it up nicely, isn’t someone you could call gentle. Yes, to be honest, he’s cranky, mean, and downright nasty. But still, he’s not so cruel that he’d kill someone without remorse. He’s not someone you, of all people, can talk about so carelessly.”

Derrick stared at her with furrowed brows, as if deep in thought. Just as Hailey was about to speak again—

“What’s going on there?”

A shadow peeked in from the alley’s entrance. Soon, a man in a constable’s uniform showed his face, looking unsure whether he should intervene or not.

“It’s nothing serious. Thank you for your hard work, officer.”

Derrick greeted him with a smile.

The older constable, who had been watching him, wiped the sweat from the back of his neck and replied, “This isn’t really the best place for a lovers’ quarrel, you know. A serious incident happened here not long ago.”

A lovers’ quarrel.

Murmuring the words, Derrick slowly turned his head. For a moment, he was curious about the expression Hailey might be wearing. But the next moment—

“……”

He narrowed his eyes, staring into the now-empty alley. The constable, who had been peering in, patted Derrick on the shoulder.

“You should apologize first. I’ve never seen a man win after fighting with a woman.”

Derrick’s lips curled slightly as he looked at the spot where Hailey had just been standing—as if he found the whole thing quite amusing.

Tapping his forearm with his index finger, he softly murmured her name.

“Hailey Salmon.”