―Can’t you do something about those stupid glasses?

―Romance? Don’t make me laugh. Someone like you would never be able to pull that off.

―Marriage? There’s no man in the entire Sweld region who’d take an ugly woman like you. Out of mercy, I’ll allow you to grow old in Blackwood. For life.

From the words he had poured out so far, it was clear. Caden Blackwood did not see Emma Brown as a woman. No, it was questionable if he even thought of her as a person.

‘To him, I’m just a secretary. Nothing more, nothing less.’

As she picked up the scattered clothes on the bedroom floor and put them on, Emma shook her head. The Duke was an even more difficult person than the rumors suggested.

There were grim rumors about the Duke circulating throughout the Sweld region—like how he had cut off a maid’s hand just because their fingers brushed when passing a glass, or how he threw a servant to the dogs simply because they annoyed him.

‘Though he’s not quite that extreme in reality…’

Still, he couldn’t be called a normal person either. The Duke of Blackwood was an eccentric man, to say the least. The fact that Emma, as his 13th secretary, hadn’t been fired after three months was considered a miracle.

She felt sorry for Mr. Cornell, the butler, who would tear up every time he saw her and thanked her for enduring. But Emma had made up her mind—she would quit her job as a secretary today.

‘I need to survive first. I can’t risk staying and dying a meaningless death!’

All she had were poverty, debt, and the title of being the top graduate from the Imperial Academy’s law department. If the Duke found out that he had spent the night with a bespectacled, unattractive woman he didn’t even see as a woman, he wouldn’t let it slide. Just imagining Caden’s fury made her shiver.

She was terrified he might misunderstand and think she had deliberately schemed something.

―Act professionally. I don’t have the patience to wait for you.

Perhaps he didn’t like how flustered she was. His sharp criticism flew at her and pierced her back.

Like a growling predator, his low voice crawled slowly over her bare skin. Just recalling the voice that had tickled her n*ked body all night sent chills down her spine.

Every time Emma turned her back in embarrassment, Caden would growl and turn her back around to face him. His bare body lingered in her mind.

His firm chest, sweat-soaked skin, and the fierce lips that bit into her neck as if punishing her.

‘It was softer than I expected. Kind of like fluffy, sweet whipped cream… What am I thinking? Have I gone mad?’

Emma pretended to punch herself in the head.

Once she came to her senses, the first thing she did was check the bed.

Thankfully, Caden was still sound asleep.

“Sweet dreams, Your Grace. Please forget about last night. And kindly process my resignation letter tomorrow morning.”

Emma tiptoed out of the bedroom like a thief.

The door closed silently behind her, leaving only the sleeping Duke of Blackwood alone in the room. For a moment, there was a faint rustling sound.

Was it her imagination? The Duke’s bedroom was enveloped in perfect silence.

—

Blackwood was located far from the capital, where the Imperial Academy was situated. At the time, the butler, Cornell, had personally traveled to the capital to hire a secretary.

Thanks to enthusiastic recommendations from professors, Emma was hired on the spot and immediately packed her bags to head to Blackwood.

The Duke’s estate was situated in a remote location at the northernmost edge of vast lands.

Blackwood, surrounded by a dark forest, was overwhelming at first sight. The entirely black castle, covered by towering, sky-high trees, left a strong impression on Emma’s mind.

Half fearful, half excited, Emma followed Cornell, clutching her chest to calm her pounding heart as she prepared to meet the Duke.

“Your Grace, it’s Cornell. I’ve brought Miss Emma Brown, who will be working as your secretary starting today.”

Cornell raised his voice and called out, but no sound came from inside the office. However, Cornell, as if used to this, gestured for Emma to follow him.

“It’s fine, Miss Emma. Please, go ahead.”

Creeeak—

With a nerve-grating sound, the heavy door opened. As soon as she stepped inside—thud!—the door closed behind her. At the same time, Emma was faced with a shocking sight.

“What’s with this skinny mule of a woman?”

“…!”

Emma blinked several times. Thinking she might have seen wrong, she opened her eyes again, but the scene before her remained unchanged.

If there were such a thing as the Grim Reaper, he might look like this.

In her green eyes was a large, intimidating man.

‘This is the Duke of Blackwood…?’

The man’s perfect physique was unmistakably that of a warrior. His bare upper body was covered in tight muscles, stained with dark red liquid.

‘…It’s blood.’

Every step Caden took left deep stains on the red carpet. He plopped down in a careless posture in front of the desk in the office. With quick hands, he threw something.

“Ah!”

For a moment, Emma thought a knife was flying at her. But the dagger Caden threw landed on the desk. Clang! The sharp sound of metal echoed through the office.

The dagger, dripping with blood, was what the Duke of Blackwood—Caden—had thrown.

Emma’s face turned pale as she noticed the clotted blood stuck to the blade.

“Miss Emma, this is…”

Cornell trailed off, glancing nervously at Emma.

“You’re acting like a dog with its tail on fire. Didn’t you hear me, Cornell? I asked, what is this?”

Caden, dragging out his words, pointed his chin toward Emma. As he lowered his head, drops of red liquid fell from the ends of his jet-black hair onto the polished wooden desk.

“She’s Miss Emma Brown, a top graduate of the Imperial Academy. She’s the new secretary and is highly capable…”

“Get her out.”

“…Pardon?”

At Caden’s firm words, Cornell’s eyes widened in shock.

“I can’t keep a trembling country bumpkin as my secretary. Where did you find this child…?”

“You can’t dismiss me, Your Grace.”

Caden, who had been wiping blood from his hand with slow movements, paused. He finally looked up and properly examined Emma.

“Gasp…”

The moment Caden’s gaze fell on her, Emma held her breath. Just being under his stare made her feel paralyzed. It was hard to even take a single breath. Emma hid her trembling hands in the folds of her skirt and straightened her back.

He was assessing her.

‘I mustn’t show weakness.’

He was deciding whether she could fulfill her role as secretary.

If she showed even the slightest sign of fear, he might rip her apart in an instant.

‘Getting kicked out would be the least of my worries.’

If she failed his test here, she would lose both a stable job and the financial aid for her debts.

Emma bit her lip hard. A scenario where she was dismissed on her first day was not part of her plan.

“I’ve already signed the contract. If you dismiss me, you’ll be the one paying the penalty fee, Your Grace.”

“…What?”

A sneer escaped Caden’s crimson lips.

She was as skinny as a malnourished mule and looked like she’d collapse at the slightest push, yet her mouth was sharp.

“Did they really send someone like this to be my secretary?”

Clicking his tongue, Caden glared at Cornell.

Her outdated glasses, which covered half her face, were another matter. She might be the top graduate of the Imperial Academy, but she looked like someone who only knew how to study. Yet, she was speaking with surprising boldness.

Like a little dog baring its teeth and barking at a predator, it was almost amusing.

“Not even worth a bite…”

Caden stuck out his red tongue and licked his fingers. His long, white fingers, as if sculpted from marble, were beautiful. And strangely suggestive.

Slurp. Slurp.

The sound echoed in the quiet office, making Emma’s face turn red. The Duke’s gaze was fixed on her.

It felt as if he were warning her, “You’re my next prey.”

A chill ran from the nape of her neck to the top of her head. But she couldn’t let her unease show. Emma met his persistent gaze head-on, refusing to back down.

At that, one of Caden’s eyebrows twitched upward.

The most flustered person in this unexpected standoff was Cornell.

‘He’s never acted like this before… Why is he behaving this way today, haha.’

Caden was known for being extremely fastidious about cleanliness. He would often complain about perfectly clean laundry smelling strange or flip over dishes if he found the slightest flaw in his food.

Half of the secretaries quit because they couldn’t endure his tyranny, while the other half were dismissed over trivial faults.

‘Drinking blood? The man who refuses to touch lukewarm tea?!’

His master was the type to demand water to wash himself immediately after cutting down enemies in battle. Once, when a prolonged battle left him without access to water, he even summoned a mage to cast purification magic on him.

―I’m a combat mage, not your servant!

Cornell still couldn’t forget the look on the mage’s face when they were summoned to cleanse Caden. Ultimately, it was Cornell who had to endure the mage’s complaints.

For someone so obsessed with cleanliness, licking blood in such an obvious manner could only mean one thing—he was trying to scare the new secretary into quitting.

Cornell pleaded silently with his eyes.

‘If Miss Emma runs away now, who’ll suffer for it?! There isn’t a secretary in this country—or the entire continent—who meets your standards!’

But as always, Cornell’s desperate pleas didn’t reach Caden in the slightest.

Finally, Cornell decided to change his approach. It seemed more practical to persuade the new secretary than his stubborn master.

Cornell forced an awkward smile at Emma.

“Miss Emma, His Grace enjoys hunting. He absolutely does not have any strange hobbies. He’s just a bit playful, that’s all. He’s only doing this to tease me. It has nothing to do with the rumors…”

“Rumors?”