***

Clattering. Clattering.

I heard a familiar sound.

Most of the furniture in the Grand Duke’s house was antique, and the value of each old object was hard to calculate.

The furniture in those rooms was not easily removed or changed.

As a Grand Duchess, Nicole was surrounded by such furniture every day. As a result, she could guess what the maids were doing just by hearing the clatter of utensils and furniture.

‘The maid is preparing the morning tea.’

Nicole thought, the clinking sound coming from a teacup hitting the porcelain-topped table next to her bed.

‘I don’t feel well. I don’t have an appetite today.’

But she didn’t want to give him an excuse to interrupt her. He was the kind of man who would surely comment sarcastically if she skipped a meal.

<You know that kind of protest doesn’t work with me. If I think you’re going to starve to death, I’ll tie you up and force food into your mouth, and if you still refuse, I’ll starve your pampered little sister instead.>

Nicole was terribly thirsty. She tried to say something to the maid, but her lips wouldn’t move.

‘Where am I?’

Suddenly, she remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness. Nicole had been stabbed by a knife by the person sent by the Marquis of Saratheve.

‘But why am I in the Grand Duchess’s room?’

She jerked awake. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Estok, his eyes sparkling. Estok was leaning in close to Nicole.

“Hick!”

Nicole squealed.

“Ah! You surprised me!”

A startled Estok jerked upright. He looked even more bizarre in his white tunic and white pants. He looked like the Grim Reaper.

“Whoa, you scared me. Hi. I’m glad you’re alive, and I guess I won the bet!”

“What do you mean, why am I here…….”

Nicole clenched her teeth as she tried to get up. The pit of her stomach hurt so much.

She was indeed in a terribly familiar room.

The Grand Duchess’s room, connected to Raul’s. It had been Nicole’s in her last life.

‘Raul hasn’t abandoned me……, but why am I here?’

Nicole looked at Estok with confusion. Estok stuck his head into her stomach this time, whether she was curious or not.

“Do you mind if I take a look at your wound? Do beautiful women have pretty scars? Do you mind if I sketch it out so I have a record?”

“…….”

Nicole thought right now that if she were in her right mind, she might have punched Estok, so she summoned her patience and spoke as gently as she could.

“Sir Estok?”

“I quit being an examiner a while ago! Please call me Estok.”

Technically, Estok was her superior, so she couldn’t call him by his first name. Unlike Dagger, who was a knight and a Shadow.

“Yes, Estok. Since I asked the question, you should answer it. Why am I here?”

“Oh……. That’s…….”

Estok nodded, as if remembering something.

“Congratulations, you’re the first Shadow Agent of the Sith to not be killed during your probationary period. On some whim, the Grand Duke brought the young lady who was attacked here.”

So why here?

The fundamental question remained unanswered. Fortunately, Estok rang the bell, and the doctor who had been waiting outside came in. Nicole had never seen him before.

“I’m going to give you some sedatives, no worries, you’ve overcome the danger.”

As the doctor examined her, Nicole felt herself calming down.

Nicole was stabbed in the stomach, but it was shallow and didn’t go right through the middle of her stomach, so she would need to recover for a while, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

She would have died of hypothermia and blood loss if Raul hadn’t found her and brought her in.

‘That’s weird because the vision I saw before I passed out…… My wound was very deep and fatal, but how can it not be serious?’

And what was the vision she had before she blacked out? Nicole had clearly seen Jay.

‘Did Jay…… come here and save me? No. That can’t be right, he’s very far away.’

Estok continued to chirp.

“Oh, doctor. I thought you couldn’t speak; when I looked at the young lady and asked you whether she was a corpse or a soon-to-be corpse, you wouldn’t answer me; and when I asked if she will live, I asked whether the Grand Duke had brought her here to kill her, or whether he intended to preserve her if she didn’t live to see the end of the day; when I asked you these things, you wouldn’t answer me!”

“Who answers questions like that?”

Nicole managed to say, swallowing the sedative. The doctor gave her another shot. Her body grew languid.

The doctor glanced at Estok with a grotesque look in his eyes, then acted as businesslike as possible and left. Nicole leaned back against the pillow with difficulty.

“Do you remember anything?”

“Not much. I remember the face of the man who stabbed me, and then……. I think I saw the Grand Duke.”

Nicole said in a small voice. Estok rolled his eyes.

Just then, a heavy voice came through the open door.

“Rude fellow. Estok, are you in my room without permission?”

It was Raul. Nicole realized that she hadn’t seen him in this room in a very long time.

In fact, even in her past life, he rarely crossed this room.

“I was wondering why you hid her in this treasure trove. Does she have an unusual appearance? Or does she have a grotesque scar? Or is it her immense charm and charisma…….”

Where the hell does charisma come into this, she wondered, but Nicole’s next question, in a dumbfounded voice, was about something else.

“Why is this room a treasure trove?”

“Because it’s the safest room in the mansion. You can’t get in unless you go through our Grand Duke’s room, and it’s flood-proof, fire-proof, and it was originally reserved for the youngest members of the Grand Duke’s family.”

“…….”

Nicole’s eyes flickered.

‘But this is……. This is the room I had in my last life.’

The information was new to Nicole. At the same time, Nicole was confused. In her past life, Nicole had believed that Raul had imprisoned her in a maid’s room.

It was then that Estok spoke innocently.

“Speaking of which, what do you think of taking the lead in becoming a solo agent?”

“What?”

Nicole furrowed her brow.

“I’ve heard that it’s standard procedure to drop agents whose identities are revealed during their probationary period. Do you need that?”

“She doesn’t need it yet.”

Raul said. Estok laughed softly, his momentum breaking.

“That’s good because I was actually going to beg you not to.”

“Estok, shut up.”

Raul said softly. Estok sulked, then shut up and became like a docile sheep.

“Go to the back door right now and see if Dagger can sneak in, and if he doesn’t, you can go out to find him.”

“Understood.”

Estok replied dutifully and took off at a brisk pace.

‘What a strange man,’ Nicole thought to herself. At the same time, she was worried about Dagger.

Now that her identity had been revealed, she couldn’t imagine what kind of situation Dagger might be in, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask Raul. After all, her situation was like a candle in the wind.

Nicole and Raul were alone in the room. Nicole cautiously looked into Raul’s face.

“……Why did you bring me here?”

“You’re the one who begged for my life. Did you beg and now you’ve changed your mind?”

Nicole remembered Raul appearing in front of her as she lay dying in front of the general store.

But after that, she couldn’t remember what …… she had said.

“Did I beg you to let me live?”

“Something like that.”

Nicole’s heart sank.

“Whatever I said must have been nonsense, I swear.”

“It was nonsense?”

“Yes.”

Nicole replied, a little impatient.

“That’s a big problem. I received a check with a large sum, but it turned out to be a counterfeit.”

Raul said lazily.

“What the hell did I say…….”

“You said if I let you live, you’ll be mine.”

The corners of Raul’s mouth were smiling, but his eyes were not.

“So now your life and death depend on me, and in this life you are mine.”

His tone was breezy like he’d just bought a new horse. Nicole was relieved. She didn’t seem to be talking nonsense about her past life.

But strangely enough, her face paled and her body temperature rose.

“So you’re saying you’re not going to kill me, then? You’re saying you’d take my life if I offered it to you.”

Nicole finally answered, a tempo slow.

“Do you have guts or not? You can’t even look me in the eye because you’re scared, but you answer everything I say.”

Raul said in disbelief. Then he walked over to Nicole and leaned down. He seemed to be examining her wound.

Nicole belatedly realized what she was wearing: a sheer, see-through linen nightgown. She could even see her bloody bandages.

“When I approach you, you squirm like a baby animal about to be hunted. Is this all an act, or are you actually on edge?”

“Uh …….”

Nicole opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She couldn’t admit that she was a weirdo, that she was emotionally disturbed, and she couldn’t claim to be normal, because that’s exactly what a weirdo would do.

“……You saved my life, so I’m going to make one more plea: let me be a part of this, just this once. I’ll make it up to you somehow for exposing my identity. I almost died thanks to the Marquis of Saratheve, so I already have a grudge against him. I’ll do my best to support you, even if it’s just behind the scenes.”

Raul smiled thinly at that answer.

“Not bad, it’s only by coming out like this that I can make your life worthwhile. From now on, follow my instructions. Of course, you can’t go anywhere without my permission until this is over.”

Raul said. Nicole suddenly had one more question.

“Why did you put me in this room?”

“Because it’s the most secret place in the house.”

Raul said.

“Where else would I hide you after your identity was revealed to the Marquis of Saratheve?”

Nicole gave a small nod.