What on earth had he done…

Had he been that desperate for a woman? The sense that her being in such a state would be impossible with just once or twice gave him more than just bewilderment — it gave him an unpleasant impression.

After this absurd realization, it was exasperating that his lower half was still responding. Not stopping there, the fullness in his lower abdomen had become heavier than before and seemed ready to swell even more.

Just as he was trying to suppress his confusion, telling himself he must be out of his mind, he saw the thick fluid running down her calf and inhaled sharply.

He turned his head as if he hadn’t seen anything. And he didn’t look at her again until she gathered her clothes and left.

Not long after Flora left, a woman’s scream rang out from the corridor outside.

It was the signal that morning had dawned at the mansion.

The morning at the mansion was more ominous than usual, with the maid’s scream upon discovering a dead servant in the second-floor corridor.

The servants who came running to report gasped at the bloody marks scattered across the reception room floor connected to the bedroom.

Claude stood in the middle of it all, looking around the reception room with quite a serious expression. Amid the commotion, footsteps were heard from outside before Heriot rushed in.

“Your Grace! Are you alright?”

“There’s no need for such fuss.”

Claude waved his hand, first calming his subordinate’s excitement.

He was somewhat taken aback by the unexpected situation. When he first heard the maid’s scream, he had thought little of it and headed to the bathroom.

However, before even reaching the bathroom, he noticed something strange. He hadn’t properly assessed it earlier due to his confusion, but the increasingly strong smell of blood indicated something had happened.

And as soon as he opened the bathroom door, he knew his instincts were right.

“No, what is this about. Whose blood is this…”

After checking the Duke’s face, Heriot sighed in relief upon seeing his clean, uninjured body.

Having confirmed there was nothing wrong with his lord, he soon whispered to the Duke, mindful of the servants who were confused about what was happening.

“Did you kill someone in your sleep?”

“Don’t make a fuss, just clean up the bathroom first.”

At those words, Heriot ran to the bathroom but immediately backed out with a shriek.

“Surely… was this your doing, Your Grace?”

From what could be seen, someone had invaded the Duke’s room and someone had dealt with them. Heriot assumed the Duke was responsible for these corpses.

But Claude neither confirmed nor denied it, remaining deep in thought.

In the silence, Deverik, the butler wearing a monocle, quietly stepped forward.

“I will have this room thoroughly cleaned before evening.”

Claude nodded in acknowledgment.

At the butler’s gesture, several maids who had been frozen in place moved in perfect unison. They started by opening windows for ventilation, while others cleaned up the scattered items.

The air in the master’s room remained heavy even after knights came to collect the bodies.

Though Heriot waited desperately for an explanation from his silent master, no one present received a proper explanation of the situation.

Having finished his thoughts, Claude beckoned Heriot.

“Call Flora.”

* * *

After the commotion had somewhat settled, Claude moved to his office.

“The point of entry is believed to be through an open window in the second-floor corridor, and the servant found in the corridor showed no signs of defense. It appears they were caught off guard.”

Heriot reported his hastily gathered findings.

Yet his eyes revealed he couldn’t understand why Flora was present here. Given the nature of the situation, this matter needed to be handled with utmost discretion.

Claude silently studied Flora’s face as she sat across from him after being summoned. He wondered if she was upset about being driven out this morning, but her expression remained stoic.

His mind was quite complicated now due to the series of events that had occurred. In just one morning, a single maid’s existence had stirred up his thoughts completely.

He hadn’t known that the woman he thought had become quite ordinary possessed such skills. He felt dazed, as if he’d been struck from behind.

Claude organized his thoughts while tapping his fingers on the armrest. Personal feelings had to be set aside for now.

“Your Grace, this is driving me mad. Please say something. What happened?”

Not knowing what was on his mind, Heriot asked with an impatient expression.

“Ask the person involved. I’m not the one who resolved the situation last night.”

“…Pardon? You mean those corpses in the bathroom weren’t your doing, Your Grace?”

Heriot turned to look at Flora beside him with disbelief.

Being a knight himself, he could assess how the assassins had met their end. Their wounds were all clean. It meant they had been taken down with single strikes.

The expressionless maid gave a short nod to his questioning look.

“Good heavens…”

Only then did he understand why the maid was present at this meeting and let out a low sigh. His lord intended to get the exact details here where there were fewer ears to hear.

Ignoring his aide’s surprise, Claude crossed his legs and briefly commanded Flora.

“Explain.”

After taking a breath, Flora began speaking methodically.

“The intrusion occurred around 2 AM. There were 4 assassins in total. They were all targeting you, Master.”

“…4? Not 3?”

Claude raised his eyebrows at Flora’s answer. Heriot also looked surprised at this unknown fact.

“I subdued 3, but one got away.”

Flora disclosed what had happened as specifically as possible. As the unknown facts continued to emerge, both Claude and Heriot’s expressions grew increasingly rigid.

So that’s what had happened.

He had no idea, even in his dreams. The woman’s expression remained calm as she continued her thorough report.

“From their appearance and the types of swords they used, they definitely weren’t thieves who came in to steal.”

Having heard the full account of last night’s disturbance, Claude was at a loss for words. After staring at her for a while, he suddenly spoke.

“So… you saved me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Flora blinked at the unexpected question. Why, she wondered… When she saw assassins breaking in at night, naturally she had to stop them.

But the Duke seemed most curious about that above all else.

When she didn’t answer readily, he continued.

“Because I’m your master?”

Since that was true, Flora nodded.

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

Something felt off about this, even though saving his life was commendable.

For now, since no one else had found traces of the intruders, her testimony was the only evidence. But relying solely on that seemed suspicious.

He asked with skeptical eyes.

“Then why were you the only one awake?”

“…Well, I woke up to the smell of blood while half-asleep. When I followed the scent, it led to your room, Master.”

“The smell of blood?”

Claude showed an expression of disbelief for a moment. Heriot’s thoughts weren’t much different.

“You’re saying you woke up because of that smell and came straight to my room before anywhere else?”

“Do you think that makes sense? None of the knights stationed in this mansion woke up. You expect us to believe you woke up just from the smell of blood?”

At the Duke’s doubtful question, Heriot added his own.

“It’s true.”

Flora nodded firmly, as if there wasn’t a single lie in her words.

The sharp senses she had gained through life-threatening experiences allowed her to clearly detect even the faintest scent of blood.

“Attacks always happen at night. The only way to detect those who approach silently is to rely on smell.”

The woman remained composed even at their incredulous questions, as though she was asking what the problem was. That clear face made them forget their next pressing questions.

Heriot turned his head sharply.

“Then Your Grace was sleeping soundly until things got to that point? You, who are usually so sensitive?”

Claude’s eyes narrowed at his aide’s questioning of how that could be possible. Heriot quickly lowered his gaze, startled by the sudden change in atmosphere.

Flora answered in his place.

“That’s because Master was under the influence of sleeping incense. When I confirmed he was affected by the sleeping incense, I quickly administered the antidote…”

“That’s not it.”

The Duke shook his head, cutting off Flora’s words.

“I used that myself.”

Flora’s clear eyes grew subtly wider.

“You used Rahel powder yourself, Master?”

“Watch your words. The fact that His Grace uses sleeping incense is strictly confidential.”

Heriot quickly moved closer to Flora to caution her. While Flora had been certain about him being intoxicated with the sleeping incense, she had no idea that the Duke had already inhaled it himself.