CH 2

Kaiel was sitting in his office.

The office was tidy and generally dark, without any distinctive features.

He was now wearing a clean black shirt, which matched well with the calm and quiet dark walls.

It seemed he found even having servants around for chores tiresome, as they were all outside the office.

A mountain of documents and envelopes, piled up from delayed work, was visible on his desk.

When Delia didn’t respond, Kaiel half-lifted his gaze from the documents he was reviewing and looked at her.

“Are you not going to tell me your name?”

“My name…?”

Delia’s mouth opened slightly. Since meeting Kaiel, she had only been called ‘you’ or ‘that person,’ so she thought it would continue that way.

In the original work, he didn’t call most people by their names, except for his sister Ashlene and the Crown Prince Nior.

When he needed to be formal, he used titles and last names, and usually, he referred to people as ‘this person’ or ‘that person,’ just like he did with Delia. If not, he didn’t address them at all.

How could she not be happy that her favorite character asked for her name?

Kaiel was about to turn his attention back to the documents when Delia, with her cheeks flushed, spoke up.

“It’s Delia!”

Her bold voice echoed through the office, loud enough for even the servants outside to hear her name.

Kaiel put down the document he was holding and looked at the owner of that bold voice.

“Delia Averbit! My parents are Baron and Baroness Averbit of Sheriton. I’m so happy that Your Grace asked for my name!”

After hearing her energetic self-introduction, Kaiel paused for a moment, then picked up a pen and began writing something. It seemed to be a register for managing the castle’s servants.

“…So, you’re a baron’s daughter.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought you were a wanderer with no home, given how recklessly you followed me here.”

Delia was about to argue but quickly changed her expression. That wasn’t important right now.

She tucked a soft strand of hair behind her ear and asked cutely,

“But why did you ask for my name, Your Grace?”

However, Kaiel, who was focused on his paperwork, didn’t respond to her question. His eyes, following the documents, no longer had her in their sight.

Delia took a few more steps toward his desk. She wanted to provoke a reaction, to raise the plausibility score and get ready to annoy him.

“Will you call me by my name affectionately?”

Ding.

As expected.

[The villain ‘Kaiel’ feels displeased.]
[Plausibility score increases by 1 point.]

It was indeed successful. It was almost fascinating how easily she could provoke his displeasure.

Delia thought,

‘Maybe I can avoid the penalties just by constantly annoying Kaiel? Then I wouldn’t have to kill him….’

“I think I’d be really happy if Your Grace called me by my name!”

Delia didn’t stop. The plausibility score increased by another 1 point simultaneously.

“Could you call me once? Please, Your Grace….”

“Enough…!”

Kaiel abruptly stood up, unable to listen any longer.

“I don’t call names affectionately.”

Seeing the reaction she expected, Delia took a few steps back.

Kaiel’s brows were deeply furrowed, probably because she had been irritating him. He had no idea about the plausibility score increase notification that appeared in front of her eyes.

Why was she acting so fearlessly? He ran a large hand over his face and sighed briefly.

“Now… list the crimes you’ve committed so far.”

“That’s…!”

Delia’s crimson hair, which swayed with her every move, stiffened.

“How can I say that myself!”

Delia felt embarrassed to list her wrongdoings in front of her favorite character, especially since most of them were related to Kaiel.

“Hurry.”

Seeing Kaiel, who looked ready to kick her out if she didn’t speak, Delia finally opened her reluctant mouth.

“…I tried to steal an apple from the palace….”

He slightly lifted his sharp chin, signaling her to continue.

“…I annoyed Your Grace….”

“And?”

Even though it was just one word, the pressure was immense, and Delia forced out words from deep within.

“I spread rumors about Your Grace. I’m really sorry about that.”

Delia clasped her hands together and bowed her head. Her hair cascaded down, making her look even more pitiful.

Seeing her suddenly deflated, Kaiel’s stern eyes softened slightly.

But even though they softened a bit, his gaze remained fiercely cold.

“To atone for all these wrongdoings, you’ll have to prove your usefulness. As I said before, if you’re not helpful, I’ll make you pay for all your crimes and then kick you out.”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry.”

After a moment of silence, Kaiel finally got to the point.

“How do you know about lapocia?”

“Ah! I was wondering when you’d ask.”

Delia had been pondering this question throughout the carriage ride to Tranade.

How should she answer so she could stay by his side and wait for a chance to kill him? What answer would avoid his suspicion?

She drew from her life before entering the novel to find the most appropriate answer.

“When I was young, I visited the region of Floren and happened to smell a strange scent. Following the scent, I found a bush full of purple flowers. I was told by a local that the flower’s name was lapocia. When I saw Your Grace recently, I smelled the same scent. So I guessed.”

Of course, the strange scent she mentioned was a complete lie.

Lapocia is a scentless flower that only emits fragrance when boiled or dried. There’s no way a bush would emit a scent.

Knowing that Kaiel knew this, he stared at her suspiciously.

“You must have a dog’s nose. The flower barely has any scent.”

In a situation where even rolling her eyes might reveal her lie,

“Well, I have a good sense of smell.”

Kaiel watched her for a moment and then leaned back in his chair.

“How did you know I was troubled by it? How did you know that?”

“Along with the flower’s scent, Your Grace also smelled of herbal medicine. Guessing from the ingredients of the medicine, it seemed to be for detoxification. Since lapocia is a poisonous plant, I thought someone might have been affected by it, and you prepared the medicine. Was I wrong?”

As Kaiel listened to her, he slowly straightened up. Her explanation seemed plausible.

“…You’re smarter than you look.”

“I studied herbal medicine out of boredom.”

Delia smiled slightly. And this was true.

Before entering the novel and becoming a writer, she had majored in herbal medicine in college. If her financial situation hadn’t forced her to drop out, she wouldn’t have become a writer and ended up in the novel.

“Then….”

Kaiel paused briefly, as if retracing her words, then continued.

“Was it a lie that you knew everything about Tranade?”

“No.”

Delia’s voice was firm.

“That’s true too.”

She chose to be honest about this matter.

“I’ve been gathering all the information about Your Grace. I’m a huge fan of yours.”

“Fan…?”

“It means I like you very much.”

Kaiel, who had been listening to her, froze instantly.

“I like you, Kaiel.”

Ding.

[The villain ‘Kaiel’ feels displeased.]
[Plausibility score increases by 1 point.]

As the status window appeared before Delia’s eyes, Kaiel reached for the sword leaning against his desk without hesitation.

His grip on the sword was so tight that his veins stood out. Delia exclaimed, feeling it was too much.

“Kaiel…!”

He strode towards her, sword in hand, and pointed it at her.

The blunt scabbard brushed past her shoulder, and she felt the wind by her ear.

Looking at Delia’s wide eyes, he threatened.

“If you call my name one more time… I’ll cut off that mouth.”

After finishing his words, he tapped the door behind Delia a couple of times with the end of his scabbard. Hearing the sound, a few servants soon opened the door and came in.

Turning his body back towards the desk without even looking at Delia, he said,

“I’ll send someone to inform you of your role, so leave.”

At Kaiel’s words, the servants hesitated, preparing to take this mysterious and strange new guest out of the room.

“Is it because I called you by your name? If you don’t call me Delia, I’ll keep calling you Kaiel! If it bothers you, you can call me by my name too!”

The servants’ mouths dropped open at Delia’s audacity to talk back to the Grand Duke, and they anxiously watched their master’s reaction.

In this Tranade castle, no one dared to call him by his name.

“Kaie….”

“Miss…!”

Finally, the oldest-looking servant dragged Delia out of the room and closed the door.

“How dare you call the Grand Duke by his name!”