Chapter 8.5

“Hurry and go! If you don’t, you’ll really be late!”

As Daphne pushed herself up, pressing against his chest, Evan repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hands, looking regretful. But she didn’t want to let him go either. Swallowing a pained groan, Daphne pushed at his back, urging him along.

“Can’t I stay a little longer? It feels too sad to part now.”

His voice trembled with emotion, and Daphne clenched her fists, swallowing another groan. If it weren’t so late, she might have just pulled him back! But she had to go to work tomorrow, too.

Besides, she was planning to take some vacation, so if they timed it right, maybe they could go somewhere together. Not wanting to waste tomorrow just for tonight’s pleasure, Daphne desperately held back her desires and pushed Evan toward the door.

“I’m going to take some time off. Planning to rest for a few days. Let’s go out together then.”

“Where to?”

His voice rose with curiosity. Daphne looked up at him, noticing the way he was biting his lip.

“Anywhere. Let’s talk about everything then.”

She gently took his hand for a moment, then let go. Evan looked down at his hand, feeling her lingering warmth, and then softly took her hand in his.

Handling harsh chemicals had made the back of her hand rough, but Evan pressed his lips to it firmly before lifting his gaze to meet Daphne’s eyes.

“…You promised.”

There was a deeper emotion in his eyes than usual, and Daphne felt her heart tighten. She forced herself to nod as if nothing was wrong, and Evan let go of her hand, bowing his head.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

She whispered softly, beckoning him to bring his ear closer. Evan, looking puzzled, bent down so his ear was at her lips.

“When we’re alone, call me Daphne. I’ll do the same… Evan.”

As soon as she finished, she practically pushed him out and locked the door. She wanted to give him a goodbye kiss, but if she did, she felt she might cross a line she couldn’t return from.

And then…

Daphne looked down at the back of her hand where his lips had touched, then brought her own lips to it.

“…Haa.”

Sliding down to sit on the floor, Daphne buried her forehead in her knees and let out a deep sigh. She deeply regretted not crossing that line when she had the chance.

* * *

It was a quiet afternoon, with no patients.

Several weeks had passed since Baron Lewin’s trial had ended. The people who once couldn’t stop gossiping about Daphne quickly lost interest and turned to other rumors.

The festival season was approaching, and thanks to Isaac’s threats to anyone who dared speak nonsense about his cherished disciple, the rumors were quickly suppressed.

Besides, this was a place where new and surprising news popped up every day, so, unlike her worries, people quickly lost interest in her.

Returning to the same indifference as before, Daphne found comfort in Brooks—who still acted stubborn while watching her warily—and in Hailey, who was busy worrying about her adolescent children.

Despite all the chaos, nothing in her life had changed, and the world went on without any problems. Though her vacation hadn’t been approved yet.

Daphne rubbed her tired eyes and dropped the document she was holding. It was the result of Evan’s previous s*men analysis.

‘Guess I should shred this?’

It didn’t mean much anymore, so for the sake of privacy, it needed to be destroyed. If this result ever leaked out…

Suddenly anxious, Daphne tore up the paper and threw it in the trash. Normally, she wouldn’t care, but the fact that it was Evan’s made her nervous. And she’d conducted that test with a direct sample, too.

The memory of that time surfaced. She couldn’t understand what had possessed her to do such a thing. Back then, she’d just wanted to go home so badly that she didn’t have the energy to hesitate.

Daphne fished the paper out of the trash again and burned it with magic, determined to leave no trace.

“Daphne!”

Startled by Hailey’s voice as she burst through the door, Daphne jumped up. The leftover sparks on her fingers singed the edge of her gown black.

“Ah!”

“Oh my, did you just burn your clothes?”

“I made a little mistake. Anyway, what’s going on?”

As she brushed off the burnt gown, Hailey let out a small exclamation as if she’d just remembered something. Looking around cautiously, even though no one else was there, Hailey approached and whispered in a very low voice.

“The Treasury’s here for an audit!”

“Right now?!”

“Yes! There’s nothing we handled wrong, so why are they coming suddenly? They’re supposed to notify us a week in advance!”

She was right. The rule was to give advance notice, so everyone could tidy up if there was any mishandling. But this time, the Treasury had shown up without a word.

Why?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Daphne’s mind.

Evan Clyde’s older brother.

She remembered that the eldest brother was the next Earl, and the second brother worked at the Treasury. The realization filled her with anxious thoughts.

‘Maybe they came because they don’t like me. Maybe they’ll try to find fault with something. I need to be careful. Even if it’s not the case, it’s better to be cautious.’

Fearing they might nitpick, Daphne put on a fresh gown and started tidying up. Hailey did the same, frantically organizing her messy desk.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of knocking, Daphne and Hailey’s eyes met in midair. The moment had come. Hailey cleared her throat to ease the tension, forced a bright smile, and opened the door.

“Hello, how can I help you?”

There were three auditors. A man with glasses and two slender women. As soon as Daphne saw the stern-looking man, she was certain.

Ah. That must be Evan’s brother.

The resemblance was striking. He was a bit broader, but overall, Evan had the softer features.

He gave off the air of someone from the sea, and for a moment, Daphne thought of Evan before snapping back to attention at the sound of a clearing throat.

With a businesslike expression, Daphne wiped her sweaty palms on her gown and bowed to greet them.

“Hello.”

“Good afternoon. I am Felix Clyde, supervisor from the Treasury. Please, just call me Felix.”

Felix’s gaze landed on Daphne. His eyes seemed to observe her deeply, making Daphne swallow nervously. But Felix quickly turned away and addressed Hailey.

“Sorry for the sudden audit. Neither of you may leave until the audit is finished. There are Treasury knights stationed outside, so if you must leave for any reason, please take a knight with you.”

Daphne sat on the infirmary sofa, watching Hailey hand over records to the Treasury staff. Sitting still made her self-conscious, but there was nothing else she could do.

All work had to stop during the audit, so she couldn’t even touch the paperwork she’d been organizing. She tried to distract herself by thinking about where she and Evan could go together, when suddenly someone called her name.

“Sir Daphne Grey, may I have a word?”

It was Felix. 

Was something wrong? 

Daphne jumped up, pale, and hurried over. When she saw the scrap of paper in his hand, her eyes widened in shock.

‘Why is that still here?! I thought I burned it all!’

Apparently, some pieces had escaped when she tore and burned it. And on the tiny scrap, not even a quarter the size of a palm, Evan Clyde’s name was written clearly.

“What is this?”

Because he was a biological younger brother, or perhaps because he was simply focused on his work, Felix’s expression was unreadable, and Daphne looked at him, cold sweat trickling down her back.

There were two options. Should she protect the patient’s private secret, or be honest about it?

There was only one answer.

“I can’t tell you.”

“Is it because it’s a patient’s personal matter?”

“Yes.”

“I understand. I won’t ask further. But if it’s a document containing personal matters that can’t be disclosed, it’s best to shred it properly. Did you, by any chance, burn it?”

Felix’s eyebrow rose as he examined the scrap closely. Daphne’s lips trembled. His sharp gaze caught that small movement and turned toward her eyes.

She hadn’t even answered yet, but Felix, as if it didn’t matter, handed her the scrap of paper and said,

“Since you didn’t follow the official shredding procedure, I’ll have to deduct points for that.”

He then began writing something down, probably recording what had just happened.

After that, the audit proceeded as usual. They checked all the receipts she’d organized so far, looked for any missing entries, and carefully reviewed two years’ worth of records to ensure no money had been siphoned elsewhere.

So they don’t cut corners just because they showed up unannounced.

Daphne watched the three of them review the documents over and over, and when her eyes met Felix’s, she quickly looked away. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but his gaze made her nervous.