Axel had a very bad conversational habit of pushing a dialogue until he got the answer he wanted.

Only then did Axel smile.

Without any further explanation, as soon as she finished speaking, Axel stopped rotating his shoulder and grabbed Hailey’s hand.

The perfectly fine shoulder from the beginning was just a ploy to hold Hailey’s hand.

“What, what are you doing!”

Naturally startled, Hailey tried to quickly shake off Axel’s hand, but Axel wouldn’t let go easily.

“When the warmth of a palm touches, your hands will feel less cold.”

“I’m not cold! My hands aren’t cold at all, so let, let go of me!”

“But I’m cold?”

What kind of bullshit is this?

Hailey almost let out a harsh word. Instead, she cursed with her eyes.

Axel understood but pretended not to notice and walked, firmly holding Hailey’s hand.

Axel wasn’t interested in touring the castle at all. He just wanted to be with her and got the idea from Theo’s words.

Rather than walking hand in hand, it looked more like Hailey’s small hand was trapped in Axel’s huge hand, being dragged along.

“Come to think of it, I don’t see Sir Rethel around?”

With Axel’s increasingly brazen physical contact and the faithful execution of Clause 9 of the contract, only Hailey felt mortified to death. Trying hard to shake off the embarrassment, she changed the topic to Khalid.

Axel answered with a sour expression.

“The old man assigned him work. So he’ll be with the old man’s aides.”

It meant he was receiving a handover. Khalid was busy receiving work handovers from the Grand Duke’s aides without a break.

“Shouldn’t you be there too?”

“Khalid is a capable guy.”

Axel always twisted the conversation in an odd direction when hit on a sore spot. Hailey already knew well how capable Khalid was.

This meant Axel was slacking off, and Khalid was working to the bone, even covering Axel’s share.

“Sir Rethel always works so hard. I should tell them to make sure he’s well-fed with meals and snacks.”

“I work hard too.”

“…What?”

Hailey was a person interested in all things in the world, but that interest just never came to Axel.

‘I’m working hard trying to figure out how to get your attention!’

Axel wanted to argue, but he had a tiny bit of dignity left, so he couldn’t say that.

Axel hurriedly changed the subject. If he couldn’t get her attention, he couldn’t bear to see even the tiniest bit of interest going to another man.

“You being late today wasn’t like you.”

“…I misunderstood the time. I guess I was a bit nervous.”

Hailey answered calmly, but Axel didn’t believe it.

The Hailey Axel knew was thorough in preparation for everything. She valued appointments, and didn’t waste time on useless things.

It didn’t make sense that she would be late for the first formal dinner with the Grand Duke just because of grooming.

“Was it those maids from earlier? That brown-haired maid’s gaze was quite impertinent. How dare she do that to my consort.”

Thinking he needed to teach them a lesson, Axel made a new mental hit list.

Of course, Hailey didn’t know Axel was making a hit list in his head, but she thought Axel might really say something.

Hailey just thought the maids were slow-handed, not realizing they were deliberately stalling. Moreover, when asked if the time was okay, they clearly said there was plenty of time, so she believed them.

“Don’t do it.”

“This isn’t something to be overlooked so kindly. We are their masters and at the highest position in this mansion. Once we start to look ridiculous, the hierarchy crumbles in an instant.”

“We won’t look ridiculous. Just trust me. You said it yourself. The people here terribly dislike mainlanders. We need time to get to know each other.”

That’s something you should just firmly put down at the beginning.

Axel’s mouth was itching to speak.

For a moment, he wondered if this was also a strategy of the Grand Duke or the butler, but it didn’t seem like they would do something so childish.

“We’ll be living with these people for at least a year. And I’m not their master forever.”

“That’s—”

Axel, who only thought of keeping Hailey here forever, inwardly flinched and closed his mouth.

“You can’t become the true master of Winchester unless you gain respect that comes naturally, not forcibly obtained. Give it a little time. It’s only been a day, hasn’t it?”

Axel was a person without mercy. That was both an advantage and a disadvantage of Axel being Axel.
Hailey intended to carefully gain mutual trust.

Although it had only been a day, Hailey perceived that the Grand Duke was someone who valued trust, and that was a principle that applied to the servants of this mansion as well.

“There are people in this world who don’t respond to that kind of attitude of yours. Haven’t you experienced that countless times?”

Axel’s direct way of speaking didn’t spare even those he liked and cared for.

‘After going through all that, why again.’

Axel was thinking of eliminating all those who troubled her first and dealing with the consequences later.

“I know. People who don’t understand should be cut off.”

Somehow, Hailey’s words about cutting off, which she said with a smile, sounded chilling.

Axel decided to leave it alone for now. He believed that Hailey, being an intelligent woman, would handle it wisely.

“By the way, Axel.”

“Hmm?”

Axel, who had been walking contentedly with long strides, answered rather cheerfully. But Hailey’s calm voice sounded ominous.

“Where exactly are we?”

“……?”

Hailey stopped abruptly. Axel also stopped and only then looked around.

And then he was bewildered.

“…You’re right. Where are we?”

“Are you asking me that now?!”

Hailey’s calm voice suddenly rang out, echoing through the corridor.

We’re doomed. We’ve lost our way.

At first, Axel was flustered, but soon regained his composure and dragged Hailey here and there, saying they could quickly find their way out of this maze.

And then, not realizing it was a room, they touched a wall and accidentally entered some room, but the door wouldn’t open, so Axel and Hailey ended up trapped there.

“Let’s calm down. Hailey, calm down.”

Hailey chanted ‘Let’s calm down’ like a mantra, then suddenly kicked the door that refused to open with a ‘thud!’ It was a desperate attempt, hoping the sound would reach outside.

From behind, Axel leisurely clapped his hands, ‘clap clap’.

“Your kick is excellent.”

Hailey glared at him. Axel stopped clapping, embarrassed by Hailey’s sharp gaze.

If they had just stayed where they were earlier, they could have asked for help when another employee passed by, but because Axel pretended to know the way until the end, they ended up trapped.

Hailey kicked the door a few more times before giving up and plopping down on the bare floor.

Fortunately, because she was wearing pants, Hailey could sit comfortably.

“What exactly is this room for?”

“It seems to be a shelter that’s now used as a storage room. These books are very old. They’re probably magic books that were banned during the imperial era.”

Unorganized books were scattered about, and there was a makeshift bed in one corner.

It appeared to be one of many secret spaces created to avoid detection by enemies in case intruders entered the mansion.

It was strange enough to accidentally enter a secret space they didn’t know about, but to not be able to get out was even more bizarre. Hailey sighed deeply.

“Someone from the tailor shop was supposed to come in the afternoon.”

It looked like both tailor shops would end up returning empty-handed after waiting endlessly.

Hailey felt uneasy. She was worried about being labeled a ‘latecomer’ regardless of the reason, and the continually tangling schedule was also a problem.

“We can just tell them to come again. It’s their greatest fortune to be able to fit your clothes.”

“That’s not the issue.”

“Then what is the problem?”

Axel couldn’t understand at all. Hailey was the most noble woman in Winchester. People who were told to come should naturally come as many times as needed, so what was there to worry about?

“It seems things keep getting tangled unintentionally.”

“Such things can be resolved by using subordinates. If it doesn’t work out, tell me. I’ll ease your worries.”

“Then can you also discuss my clothes with the tailor shop on my behalf?”

“…I’ll try.”

Axel hesitated, then after a moment’s thought, nodded as if he really could do it.

He was burning with willingness to do it right away, even though she wasn’t asking him to do it now.

Hailey laughed, finding it absurd. How could he substitute for her when he didn’t even know her tastes?

“Thanks for the offer. But I’ll handle that part myself. It’s okay.”

“Hailey.”

“Yes?”

“May I sit next to you?”

Axel pointed to the spot next to Hailey with his finger.

His expectant look seemed a bit cute for something so trivial. Hailey nodded with a smile.

Fearing she might change her mind, Axel quickly sat down next to Hailey.