Chapter 08
That was Daphne’s final memory of the previous night.
When she regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was someone’s chest in front of her.
…The bare chest of a man wearing absolutely nothing.
“…Gasp!”
Startled, Daphne let out a cry before she could stop herself and quickly covered her mouth with both hands.
After forcing herself to calm down, she carefully examined the firm body before her. Perhaps there might be some clue somewhere on it that could explain this situation.
Unfortunately, it was simply a well-trained physique. It offered Daphne no enlightenment whatsoever.
Gathering a bit of courage, she decided to check the face of the man who possessed such a beautiful body.
To be honest, she felt like she already knew who it was—but jumping to conclusions without confirming would be rude.
Daphne slowly lifted her head.
“…”
She had just told herself not to jump to conclusions—but once again she was reminded that bad premonitions were rarely wrong.
There was no need to say it.
It was Liam.
They were about five handspans apart, so it didn’t seem as though anything dramatic had happened during the night.
From the perspective of the Daphne from her previous life, both Liam and herself were basically children. There was no way anything had happened.
Then why is he sleeping without clothes? That’s confusing.
For a moment she had nearly screamed, forgetting that she had returned to the past.
…Because she thought her husband had come.
Of course, he had never visited Daphne’s bedroom, nor had she ever waited for him.
“…Thank goodness.”
It was fortunate this was the past—and fortunate that nothing had happened last night.
Perhaps her murmuring disturbed him. Liam opened his eyes, and his violet gaze slowly began to focus.
“Good morning.”
When their eyes met, he greeted her casually.
Daphne immediately sprang up from the bed and dropped to her knees. Exchanging greetings while sprawled together on the same bed with her master felt rather improper.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks to you. I’m weak to fragrances.”
“I have the soap maker’s business card in my room.”
“Give it to me later.”
“Yes.”
After a surprisingly natural exchange of conversation, Daphne began inching backward little by little.
She needed to get off this bed.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to work.”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
He lightly tapped the spare pillow beside him with his fingertips.
“Lie down.”
It sounded like an invitation.
It sounded like an order.
And at the same time—
“Be lazy.”
—it was an irresistibly sweet temptation.
Being told to be lazy in the morning—wasn’t that every employee’s deepest wish?
“Stretch out.”
But Daphne quickly regained her senses and gently shook her head.
“If you permit me to rest, I’d prefer to be lazy in my own room.”
“Do you think Asher Marple will let you?”
“…He won’t.”
He would probably calculate every second Daphne spent lying down and deduct it from her wages.
Liam smiled as if to say, See? Exactly.
“So lie down. Breakfast will arrive soon. You might as well eat before going.”
“But…”
Wouldn’t people misunderstand? If someone saw Daphne lying on the duke’s bed, after all.
“Don’t tell me,” Liam said, narrowing his eyes.
“Is it because I’m too handsome? That just being near me makes your heart race and you might fall for me… something like that?”
Daphne shook her head in horror.
“Please don’t place such a disgraceful accusation on my heart!”
“Hm? But I’m quite popular…”
He muttered in disbelief.
To prove how completely unimpressed she was, Daphne promptly lay down flat on the bed.
“See? I feel nothing. Look. Completely unaffected.”
She was proudly making her point when—
The bedroom door opened.
It was Asher.
“I’m very pleased that I can finally greet Your Grace in this room this mor—”
Asher stopped mid-sentence.
He had clearly noticed Daphne on the bed.
“….”
His face turned bright red. Without finishing his sentence, he quietly turned and left the room.
Daphne instantly realized he had fallen into a terrible misunderstanding.
Well—seeing something like that at nineteen years old, full of youthful energy, it was understandable.
She immediately turned toward Liam.
He had sat up and was shrugging one shoulder, looking strangely amused.
“Finally, a scandal.”
…That man!
* * *
When Daphne returned to her room, Asher was waiting for her with his eyes blazing.
It was such an unfair situation that Daphne immediately clarified the facts.
“I am innocent.”
“Pack your bags.”
“His Grace was having trouble sleeping—”
“Pack your bags.”
“No, but—”
“Pack your bags!”
“I only lay down beside him!”
“Bags!”
Asher, apparently unable to wait any longer, pulled Daphne’s bag from beneath the bed and began stuffing it with various belongings.
“This is exactly why I said the younger brother should come instead! My goodness—who puts such an attractive woman—no, a person of the opposite sex—in the closest attendant’s position?!”
In the midst of Marple’s desperate outcry, Daphne thought she heard a strange word—but assumed she had imagined it.
She didn’t know why that thought occurred to her now.
His lament continued.
“Even if nothing happened, it’s the same problem! What if another absurd misunderstanding occurs in the future? What about your reputation?!”
He probably meant that it would become difficult for Daphne to marry.
After all, very few people would accept someone with a tarnished reputation as the lady of their household.
“Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Who said I was worried about someone like you?!”
He practically jumped into the air, eventually even clutching his hair as he shouted.
“That’s enough! I’ll send your luggage later. For now, let’s go!”
Grabbing Daphne by the wrist, he marched straight toward the back door on the first floor.
Daphne staggered as she was practically dragged along.
She tried to pull her hand free, but he gripped her so tightly she couldn’t escape.
When he threw the back door open—
Surprisingly, a car stood outside, its engine roaring loudly.
“Looks like things wrapped up faster than expected?”
The duke stretched out his arm to open the car door as he asked.
Asher practically threw Daphne into the vehicle.
“We’ll send your luggage later!”
“…Sounds good.”
Bang!
Asher hurriedly slammed the door shut.
At the same moment, the duke pressed hard on the accelerator.
Both of them seemed extremely determined to keep Daphne from getting out of the car.
“Why are you going this far?!” Daphne demanded, eyes wide as she turned toward him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re paid properly for your work as a servant.”
The duke pulled an envelope from his coat and handed it to her.
When she opened it, it contained a generous amount of cash.
That was good.
No—it wasn’t.
“Do you really want me to leave? That’s not what we discussed yesterday!”
Daphne remembered the way he had held her hand the night before.
Liam had clearly relied on her, and she had responded perfectly.
“Besides, strictly speaking, there isn’t even a scandal. Mr. Marple isn’t the type to spread such things.”
Despite her protests, the car continued moving away from the estate and toward the city.
Daphne grew increasingly anxious.
At this rate, the duke would really go looking for Samuel!
“This is unfair. That trap was set by you in the first place!”
“….”
“You fabricated a scandal just to drive away someone who worked diligently! You wicked man!”
“….”
“I’m practically desperate to become your attendant!”
Daphne bounced in her seat as she argued passionately.
But the only responses she received were silence, indifference, and the car accelerating even faster.
This is why I hate modern inventions! she thought.
Carriages were better!
Growing desperate, Daphne clenched her fists and shouted fervently.
“I swear on my father that I will do anything you ask of me!”
Screech.
The car suddenly slammed to a stop.
Daphne’s body lurched forward before snapping back against the seat.
“Th-that startled—”
She turned with wide eyes.
Liam, who had been staring at the road the whole time, was now smiling faintly at her.
“Why… why are you smiling?”
“Get out.”
“…What?”
“I said get out.”
He leaned forward across Daphne.
As their chests almost brushed against each other, he whispered:
“You said you’d do anything… didn’t you?”
Click.
The door opened.
Still holding her gaze, he slowly straightened.
“….”
His expression and voice were completely serious.
The playful teasing from earlier that morning had vanished entirely.
How did it end up like this? Yesterday, he definitely…
It hadn’t been like this.
She thought she had helped him.
For some reason, her previous life suddenly surfaced in her mind.
“Who would ever need someone like you…?!”
The horrible shout echoed in her ears.
Her shoulders shrank instinctively.
Well… who would need someone like me?
Lowering her head, Daphne quietly turned and stepped out of the car.
She had no idea what to do now.
Perhaps she should take Samuel and flee the country.
But what if breaking the oath between their families brought an even greater curse?
What if it threw Samuel back into the flames again?
That…
Absolutely could not happen.
He had already lost his life in the previous one.
If the world truly held any sense of fairness, then this time—
The one who should lose her life
was her.
Without question.
“How long are you going to just stand there?”
