Chapter 08
“Answer gracefully again.”
“Hoho… y-yes.”
Su covered her laughing mouth with her hand, intentionally dragging out the end of her words, and curtsied elegantly as she left the room.
She didn’t understand why nobles liked to elongate the ends of their sentences.
If only they could drop all the formalities and speak plainly, it would save both time and energy.
“Do they not know the saying, ‘Time is money’? Hmph.”
Su, trusting the thick wooden door’s soundproofing, began to complain about Mrs. Keller and the nobles. Honestly, it was funny. Speaking with fake politeness, dragging out words unnecessarily, was more likely to annoy people than charm them.
Grumbling, she stamped one of the many oak trees scattered throughout the mansion.
If the duke saw, he would glare fiercely; if Mrs. Keller saw, a six-hour lesson would follow. But today, the duke was away—checking the southern defenses before heading to Baha—and Mrs. Keller had probably returned home.
“Hmm. Now, what should I do?”
Despite hating etiquette lessons, there wasn’t much else Su needed to do.
She had memorized Miramonte history roughly and thoroughly learned all the information about “Marlene Su Sinclair” thanks to the duke’s insistence.
Even without repeatedly being handed test sheets, Su always did her best when it came to “scams.”
The duke probably didn’t worry, and Su frowned lightly.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Though she hated housework, Su, having nothing else to do, decided to help a few passing maids.
But as soon as she offered, they all turned pale and ran off, insisting,
“No, it’s fine!”
‘Did they notice I’m completely useless at housework?’
Su felt defeated. She had always been busy—scheming, hustling, and surviving—but boredom was a new and terrifying emotion.
She needed to think, to move, to live—but this mansion was absurdly peaceful.
Sighing, Su walked to the garden.
The climate in northern Ardel, closer to the central region than southern Willeton, felt different from the sticky heat she was used to.
It was warm, not hot, and refreshingly comfortable.
The garden was filled with trees and flowers Su rarely saw. No palm trees at all—only countless oaks.
She stared at a purple flower she didn’t know the name of and reached out to pluck it.
Not out of desire, but her bad habit of grabbing anything that looked pretty or expensive emerged unconsciously.
Suddenly, a voice stopped her.
“You’ll regret that.”
Startled, Su stepped back. How could someone appear out of nowhere like that? It was bad for her heart.
“This is a rare flower called Serlin, only found in northern Willeton. The duke treasures it—you’ll be in trouble if you pick it.”
The man smiled gently. His sharp eyes gave a fierce impression, but the smile softened it.
Seeing her suspicious glance, he awkwardly scratched his short brown hair and stepped back.
“I’m late in introducing myself. I’m Fernando, the duke’s bodyguard.”
“The duke even has a bodyguard?”
Su raised an eyebrow. In Willeton, someone skilled with the sword wouldn’t need a bodyguard.
Fernando smiled slightly deeper, perhaps trying to gain trust, but Su didn’t rely on first impressions.
“Honestly, I’m not much help to the duke. I can’t stop swords he can’t, so I’m more for appearances. He can’t roam alone, after all. I also keep watch over the mansion.”
‘Mansion watch’—Su’s eyes widened. She realized Fernando was planted to monitor her.
‘He doesn’t trust me that much?’
Frowning, Su felt her credibility as a con artist—Roland in the making—was being undermined.
She had always done her missions flawlessly, even when starving. Never greedy, never lazy.
Now, in one fell swoop, her reputation as a careful and skilled scammer was dismissed.
Signing a contract wasn’t enough to earn trust; this felt like an insult.
She glared at Fernando, imagining the absent duke. Even if he were here, he was too scary to glare at directly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Fernando hesitated slightly at her glare, and Su immediately relaxed, smiling brightly.
“No, it’s nothing! But you’re the duke’s bodyguard—did you come from the south?”
“Yes, that’s my hometown. How did you know?”
“Your name’s Fernando, and you smell southern. I’m from the south too.”
Fernando smiled, happy to meet someone from the south. Having spent most of his time in Baha, he hadn’t met many southern people.
“I grew up in Mostarica.”
“Oh, me too!”
Mostarica was a tiny southern village, far from gambling or nightlife. Su had never been there but lied without hesitation.
Saying they were from the same town instantly lowered Fernando’s guard.
As Su smiled widely and shook his hand, he seemed relaxed.
“It’s been a long time since I visited Mostarica. Larancha is really delicious there.”
“L-Larancha?”
Fernando’s face flushed. Urban in appearance but a naïve country boy at heart, Su teased him lightly, letting go of his hand.
His calloused hand showed he hadn’t been with women, only training with his sword.
Su smirked, thinking: He’d be perfect for Veronica’s tastes—introduce him, and he wouldn’t even dream of monitoring me.
“There are Larancha trees in the mansion garden too.”
“Really?”
Su knew the trees were behind the garden, but she feigned surprise, thanking him with wide eyes.
“Would you like to see them?”
“Yes! But can I go alone?”
“Not really… the duke worries about your safety, Miss Marlene.”
‘Worries my foot.’ Su frowned secretly.
“I just want to reminisce about my hometown. Soon we’ll go to Baha, and I won’t see Larancha trees there…”
Fernando fell silent. His firm expression left Su sighing, though her eyes glistened with joy.
“Go ahead. I won’t tell the duke.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Su walked off without looking back.
‘Who do you think you’re watching?’
She snorted loudly.
The broad green leaves swayed like waves in the wind.
Red fruits hung heavily from moist branches, almost dripping down.
Amid the weight of the ripe Larancha, something small and white peeked out. Not a flower, not a butterfly. Round, flat, unmistakably a human foot.
Dangling high among the branches, it twitched as if sensing her presence.
Snap.
The duke grabbed it quickly. But the foot wriggled free and disappeared—Su had climbed even higher.
A game of hide-and-seek?
The duke frowned, looking up.
“Come down.”
“No.”
They had been at this for tens of minutes. The duke, calm even in battle, was now on the verge of losing his composure over a small woman.
“Disobedience is not allowed…”
“That only works in a relationship built on trust!”
Su peeked her head through the leaves, cutting him off boldly.
