Chapter 6.3

“All right. Then let’s figure it out as we go. If you can’t leave, then we’ll have to do it somewhere inside…”

Their eyes met. Daphne, seeing his face flushed red, hurriedly pretended to pack her bag to leave work.

“Th-then, I’ll get going now. I’m coming in late tomorrow, so if you need to talk to me, you’ll have to come by late in the afternoon.”

“Yes. Understood. May I escort you to the entrance?”

Why was he asking for permission for something he had always done until now? 

Daphne looked up at him silently for a long moment, then quickly answered with a startled expression.

“Ah, um, it’s fine. I can go alone!”

At her quick refusal, a hint of disappointment flickered in Evan’s eyes. But it was only for a moment; he soon returned to normal and left after wishing her a good night. Left alone, Daphne only managed to exhale the breath she’d been holding after his footsteps had faded away.

‘If you really have feelings, you get wet just from seeing his face, you know?’

‘No way, really?’

‘You don’t believe me? I’m serious! When I was dating my husband, I got wet all the time, and it was honestly a pain. I had to carry spare underwear because I got so wet. You watch and see what happens when you’re with Sir Clyde.’

Her heart was still pounding. Her face was hot, and she had to fan herself for a while. Just seeing him made her wet, as if someone had pressed a weird button!

She thought she needed to accept this ridiculous reality as she tried to take a step, but then, feeling the sticky dampness below, Daphne whispered in a rather desperate voice.

“…Am I really in big trouble?”

* * *

“Come to think of it, Sir Grey, you’ve never done night duty, have you?”

What now?

Daphne, who had been frantically dealing with paperwork, looked up at Brooks’ question. He had suddenly dropped by, using a random infirmary inspection as an excuse—one of those tasks used to kill time.

People who took night duty usually volunteered for it to get extra pay, often because they had families to support or were higher-ranking staff.

So, for someone living alone like her, there was no reason to do night duty.

“No.”

“Then how about trying it this time? I think you should learn some new tasks. What do you think, Sir Grey?”

New tasks, huh.

Apart from the night duty allowance, doing night duty was basically a free day, thanks to the knights who never got sick even from eating rotten food.

So, only a few people, including higher-ups like him, ever did it.

And now he wanted her to do it?

He was definitely up to something. But there was nothing she could do. If she was told to do something, it was her job to do it without asking why.

“Yes, understood. When should I start?”

“Tonight.”

What?

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one caught off guard—Hailey also looked rather confused. But Daphne kept a straight face and answered calmly.

“I’ll get ready right away.”

“Good. Here, use these materials for reference. If any problems come up during your shift, just follow the instructions. Don’t worry too much! Hardly anyone ever comes to the night duty room anyway.”

Worry, yeah right…

Daphne stared in dismay at his retreating back as he disappeared before she could even reply, then checked the stack of documents he’d tossed her way.

“That guy is definitely up to something. Probably gambling. Or having an affair. I bet you won’t even get the night duty allowance. He’s close to the new Knight Commander, right? Fudging paperwork is nothing for him.”

Hailey spoke up, looking genuinely upset as if it had happened to her. But Daphne was unfazed.

“Well, it’s nothing new. It’s not the first time.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to transfer to the Magic Development Department? You have more than enough talent. I know someone there—want me to put in a word?”

“They have too much work. Plus, if you don’t produce results, you’re out. I don’t want that. I like it here—earn a decent amount, work a decent amount. It’s perfect.”

She didn’t want a life where she couldn’t even leave the lab all day and had to eat and sleep there. Hailey seemed to agree, shrugging her shoulders.

“That’s true. That’s why I work here, too. Being able to leave on time is the most important thing when you have kids. Earning a lot is good, but getting home early is more important. If I don’t, who’ll take care of them?”

After venting for a while, Hailey hurriedly grabbed her pen when someone from the next department asked if her report was done.

They both had to deal with the work in front of them. Even though Daphne was on night duty, she still had tasks to finish today.

She’d never done night duty before, but it was obvious no one would come at such a late hour. Daphne decided she might as well rest comfortably there.

Well, life never goes as planned, anyway.

* * *

Just as he’d said, there were no difficulties in handling the work. The paperwork for the night duty log was already done, and all Daphne had to do was stay in the room.

Looking over the records, she saw that in over ten years, not a single knight had come to the night duty room. Was it really possible that no one had ever been sick? Or was there another reason?

Maybe, for example, knights felt it hurt their pride to admit to a cold or stomachache unless they’d actually broken a bone, so they just endured it.

It wasn’t impossible. Ignoring the body’s warning signs and ending up seriously ill was a common story.

But tonight, none of that mattered. The room wasn’t huge, but it had luxurious bedding and even a bathtub. Daphne decided to enjoy her good fortune.

She tossed off her clothes and went straight to the bathroom. Thanks to turning on the water as soon as she arrived, the tub was full of hot water.

“Ha… this is nice.”

As her body soaked in the warm water, a sigh of contentment escaped her lips. When would she ever get to enjoy such luxury again? Daphne dunked her head under the water and wiggled her toes, humming a tune.

Then, she heard something drop outside. She paused, wondering if she’d imagined it, but everything was quiet again, as if the noise had been a mistake.

“Did I hear wrong?”

Tilting her head, she splashed her hand on the surface of the water, playing around, then wrapped herself in a big towel and stepped out of the bathroom.

“…Huh?”

As she opened the door, a rush of hot steam clouded her vision, but she could tell something was definitely there. Startled by the unexpected situation, Daphne clutched her towel and rushed back into the bathroom.

‘Who is it?’

She was sure she’d locked the door, but someone had come in. Worse, she’d opened the door nearly n*ked, just wrapped in a towel. Not knowing what to do, she nervously chewed on her nails, when a familiar voice came from outside.

“Is that you, Sir Grey?”

“…Sir Clyde?”

“Yes, it’s me. So there’s no need to worry. At this hour, no one is usually here, so I used the spare key to enter. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for startling you.”

Creak—the door opened.

Normally, his hair was neatly slicked back, but tonight it hung down calmly. It must have been because it was time to sleep. Seeing this unfamiliar side of him, Daphne, still hesitant, stepped outside.

“But is it really normal for no one to be here at this hour?”

“Yes. I was curious about that too, but apparently, that’s how it is. So, when needed, you just use the key kept outside to get in. Still, if you don’t lock it, that’s a problem too.”

“Oh my, so that’s why there were no records left. Doesn’t that cause issues with the supplies? Someone has to restock if anything is used.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that. Not many people use this place, after all. It seems everyone here is just naturally healthy.”

That didn’t seem quite right….

But that wasn’t the important thing at the moment. Since she had left all her clothes outside, Daphne hurried over to the side where her bag was to get dressed.