Chapter 2: The Grand Duke’s Lady (4)

“Hmm?”

Chloe tilted her head at the strangely familiar voice. The long robe seemed magically treated like those from the Mage Tower, hiding the face completely, making it impossible to identify the person.

An ordinary adult male physique, someone who knows her, wearing a robe without the Mage Tower’s emblem, and with this kind of voice…….

Could it be?

“It’s me, Luke.”

“Oh my, Luke! What are you doing here?”

The man who revealed his name laughed at her questioning.

“It’s good to see you too, Chloe. It’s been a while.”

“No, really, I’m glad to see you. But is it okay for you to be out like this?”

Chloe, who rarely got surprised, asked in astonishment. Even though he was hiding his appearance with a robe, she didn’t expect a dark mage with a huge bounty on his head to be walking around so openly.

Nickname, Luke. Real name, Lucas.

He was her friend who had caused a terror incident in the imperial capital and left the Mage Tower years ago.

“Don’t worry, I’m just here for a brief errand. I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Well, that’s a relief, but…….”

“It’s been years since we last met, and you want to send me away so quickly?”

Chloe chuckled at Lucas’s playful question. Even without seeing inside the robe, she could imagine his gentle golden eyes.

“Seeing you’re still the same, you must be doing well. That’s good.”

“I’m always the same. But…….”

As he spoke, he took a step closer to Chloe and wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively, pulling her behind him. His next question was directed at his old friend, but his robed face was facing Tehis directly.

“Why are you with the Grand Duke?”

Tehis raised an eyebrow at the man’s clear hostility.  Judging by Chloe’s reaction, he seemed to be her black mage friend, but his behavior was incredibly rude.

‘I didn’t interfere because it looked like a reunion after a long time.’

The Grand Duke saw no reason to be polite to the man called Luke, whose unpleasant behavior warranted no respect, especially if he was indeed a dark mage and not a Mage Tower wizard.

“You said your name was Luke.”

“Call me Lucas.”

Lucas retorted to Tehis’s informal address.

Caught off guard and almost embraced by her childhood friend, Chloe blinked at the tension between the two men.

‘What’s going on here? He’s not usually like this.’

While she was bewildered, the men’s fierce exchange continued.

“If you’re Lucas, then you’re the terrorist.”

“And you’re the massacrer.”

“You know I have every right to behead you right now, don’t you?”

“Go ahead, if you can.”

Despite the chilling killing intent radiating from the Grand Duke, Lucas, who had been one of the Mage Tower Master’s disciples, was confident. He thought that even if he couldn’t win against a Sword Master, he wouldn’t be easily defeated as a top-level expert.

As the tension between the two escalated, making the shop owner and the employee tremble, Chloe pushed Lucas’s hand away and stood in the middle.

“Everyone, stop it. Before I have to force you to.”

“Chloe.”

“Chloe.”

Both men called her simultaneously, but she waved her hand dismissively, indicating she wouldn’t listen to any objections.

“Let’s start with introductions. Tess, this is my friend Lucas. We’ve known each other for about ten years, though we parted ways for reasons you might know.”

“Chloe, I really missed you. You have no idea how much…”

“Lucas.”

Cutting off her friend’s words, Chloe stared directly into the robe.

She knew why he left the Mage Tower but didn’t support the process. Respecting his decision was a separate matter.

“Don’t forget it was your choice.”

“……Chloe.”

The man’s voice called her name in despair, but she ignored it. Instead, she grabbed her fake lover’s arm and shifted the topic with an introduction.

“And this is Tehis. Whether you call him the Grand Duke or whatever, Luke, I’d like you to remember one thing.”

Her hand, which had been lightly resting on his arm, slid inside and linked arms. Feeling Tehis’s gaze shift from Lucas to herself, she continued.

“This man is my lover.”

“What……!”

“So, could you watch your words? And don’t fight.”

Leaving her friend whose body was visibly agitated, Chloe also addressed the Grand Duke.

“Tess, the same goes for you. I know you’d like to capture a wanted man, but can you hold back for my sake?”

Tehis looked down at the woman who had taken his side in front of her childhood friend. Technically, she was being fair, but ten years spent with a friend usually resulted in bias.

‘She’s really unpredictable.’

After a moment of silence, Tehis relaxed slightly. The sharp tension in the air slowly dissipated, restoring calm.

“Alright.”

“Thank you, Tess.”

“It’s nothing.”

Watching the entire exchange, Lucas couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was shocking enough that Chloe was dating someone, but to see her act like this with Tehis Escalante was even more astonishing.

He missed her, but he didn’t want to see this.

“……Why?”

Clenching his trembling hands and hiding them inside his robe, the man spoke with a cracked voice. The vivid memory of the smell of blood shook his emotions.

“Why Escalante, of all people…….”

Chloe hesitated at his pained, gritted words. His reaction seemed to go beyond mere dislike.

‘Could Escalante also be a target for his revenge?’

She thought it was unlikely, considering the timing, but the unease remained. If Lucas targeted the Grand Duke, it was clear her position would become very awkward.

‘This is troublesome.’

She just wanted to return and work on fairy research with Riel. How was she supposed to wait another week? She needed to finish her personal research quickly too.

As Chloe tiredly ran her hand through her hair, Tehis shifted his body slightly to protect her, stepping half a step forward. He didn’t intend to unlink their arms, so he glanced sideways at Lucas.

“If you’re unhappy about me being Chloe’s lover, that’s too bad. I have no intention of letting her go, so accept it and back off.”

His straightforward voice made the wanted man feel even more miserable. The sound of grinding teeth came savagely from within the robe.

“You’ll regret this, Grand Duke.”

“Regret dating me?”

“……Chloe, that’s not what I meant…….”

Lucas hesitated at her question, her head peeking out from the side. Looking between the couple with contrasting eye colors, he tightly gripped the front of his robe.

Just as he was about to say something, a silver bracelet on his wrist buzzed, causing him to step back.

‘Damn it.’

Why now, of all times?

He wanted to ignore it, but he had a purpose for sneaking into the capital, so he sighed. Looking at Chloe one last time, Lucas forced a lightness into his voice.

“Sorry, but I have to go. Take care, Chloe. Stay healthy.”

Leaving so suddenly?

Chloe found it odd but didn’t try to stop him. She sensed the unique vibration of an artifact.

“You must be busy. Take care, Luke.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Completely ignoring the Grand Duke, he turned and left the shop, ending the long-awaited reunion.

Feeling that the unfinished conversation left a bland and unpleasant taste, Chloe decided to let it go, thinking they would eventually meet again.

“I’m sorry for driving away a customer, but shall we continue our conversation?”

“Uh, haha…… Of course.”

The shop owner and the employee, who had witnessed too much, were caught by her just as they were trying to sneak away.

Sweating profusely, the shopkeeper’s mind was already overloaded. It was shocking that the customer he had been dealing with was a wanted terrorist, surprising that this woman was his friend, and astonishing that she was in a relationship with the Grand Duke.

Struggling to process everything, he clasped his hands together and spoke haltingly.

“The gentleman who just left was the one who reserved the Lunaria. I was supposed to give it to him upon receiving the balance payment.”

So what happens to the transaction now?

Realizing the importance of the situation, he stood there with his mouth agape, while the employee chimed in.

“Since it doesn’t seem like he’ll be coming back, why not sell it to this lady, Uncle?”

“What about the advance payment?”

“We can keep it and return it if he ever comes back.”

Chloe delivered the final blow to the middle-aged man, who was tempted by the suggestion.

“Are you okay with being associated with a deal involving Lucas?”

“I’ll bring it right away, miss.”

The man, bowing deeply, quickly retrieved the item from the storeroom.

Tehis paid on Chloe’s behalf, nodding in response to her thanks. Though the price was higher than expected, it was reasonable for a mage’s first expenditure.

As they were leaving, Tehis paused at the door and warned the shopkeeper in a low voice.

“Forget everything that happened here. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“Y-yes! I’ll remember!”

Tehis buried the relationship between Chloe and Lucas and left the building with her. They boarded the waiting carriage and requested to head to the warp gate.

As the carriage started moving, Tehis, deep in thought, spoke softly to the cheerful Chloe.

“Can you block the sound for a moment?”

“Are you that embarrassed about our public displays of affection, Darling?”

“…….”

Chloe chuckled at Tehis’s silence. It seemed he still had a long way to go in handling such jokes properly.

‘But he did play the role of a lover quite well.’

When he and Lucas were at odds, it felt like they were rivals. Although the fight was for different reasons.

Anyway, Chloe followed Tehis’s request and cast a transparent barrier inside the carriage. The faint sounds from outside were completely cut off.

“So, what’s the matter?”