16.
Marin blinked rapidly.
When the words remained stubbornly on the page, she rubbed her eyes with diligence. She even held the contract at arm’s length, hoping the distance might offer a different perspective.
The content, however, did not budge.
“You’re giving me this?”
“Yes.”
My goodness. It was as if money were raining from the sky.
Marin put the contract down and shook her head so hard it rattled.
“No. I can’t accept this. The transaction ended with the one gold advance I received yesterday. I am already so grateful that you’ve allowed me to stay in such a fine place; it would be shameless of me to take this as well.”
A person invites disaster when they become too greedy.
Olive, however, offered a bitter smile and pushed the contract back toward her.
“There is something you are unaware of, Lady Marin.”
“…….”
Marin waited quietly for him to continue.
“His Grace the Duke has not been able to sleep for a fortnight. And that is only what I have been able to ascertain; he may have been unable to sleep even longer.”
It was the darkest expression Marin had seen on Olive in the few days she had known him.
“Pardon?”
Marin stared at him, her eyes wide.
Meeting her gaze, Olive nodded slowly, confirming the gravity of his words.
The memory of their earlier conversation flashed through her mind. Only now did she realize why he had been more concerned about the Duke’s insomnia than the physical trauma of his own wounds.
“In truth, if His Grace could get even a moment of sleep, I could pay not just one gold, but a hundred. Shall we change the contract to a hundred?”
“No! One gold is already too much. But this matter was already settled in our deal with His Grace….”
*Greed invites disaster.*
Marin repeated the mantra to herself.
In truth, she hadn’t known the Duke’s insomnia was this severe. It was a detail that hadn’t appeared in the novel. Now, she understood why he had become so excruciatingly sensitive after losing his sight.
My goodness. Sleep is so vital.
“It is an order from His Grace the Duke.”
“……I understand. Then I will accept the one gold.”
Noticing the genuine worry on Marin’s face, Olive said kindly, “I won’t hold any grand expectations, so please, do not feel burdened.”
“Wow. That actually makes me feel more burdened. Um, then, may I visit the library during my break?”
Marin replied with feigned playfulness, though her voice lacked any real spark.
“Why the library?”
“To pick out a book to read to His Grace.”
“I see.”
“By any chance, is there a genre of book that His Grace finds particularly boring? I would really hope there is!”
Marin looked at Olive with desperate eyes.
“His Grace reads everything quite well across the board.”
Olive smiled brightly, shattering her hopes into pieces.
“Right…….”
Marin answered weakly and swallowed a sigh. The more boring the book, the faster one falls asleep.
* * *
Marin followed the map Olive had drawn to find the library.
Only after walking through the estate for a long while did she discover the old-looking door, embossed with a sun shape. When she stepped inside, the scent of a thousand books greeted her.
The Duke’s office was large, but the library was twenty times that size. Shelves were packed tightly, climbing all the way up to the third-floor height.
Marin inhaled the dusty, papery perfume she hadn’t smelled in such a long time, then exhaled deeply.
“So happy…….”
“Why?”
“……!”
Before she knew it, a child had approached. He was looking up at her, struggling to hold a book nearly the size of his own body.
White skin, hair shining like silver thread, and deep blue eyes like a mountain lake. A petite nose and soft red lips. He looked like a fairy conjured from ice.
“Who are you?”
Marin bent slightly at the waist to address the boy, who barely reached her hip.
“Who might you be?”
“Me? You’re asking me?”
“Yes. You.”
The child smiled, dimples appearing on his cheeks.
“Ah, I’m Marin.”
“Oh, so you are Lady Marin. I am Zero.”
Zero introduced himself and reached out a hand.
Marin’s eyes widened, and she screamed in delight internally.
*Kya! This is the alchemist Zero.*
Rumor had it he possessed a potion that allowed him to revert to a child for several hours; he must have taken it. Marin pondered how to treat him, then decided to treat him like an adult despite his appearance.
More importantly—did he know her?
“Lord Zero, do you know who I am?”
“I heard from Olive. But you have a talent for keeping people waiting.”
As Zero stared at his own extended hand, Marin quickly placed her hand in his.
“I’m sorry. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She expected a standard handshake, but Zero gently kissed the back of her hand and held her gaze.
“You are an unusual person.”
“Me?”
As Marin tilted her head, Zero smiled again.
“Yes.”
“In what way?”
“Even though I am a child, you use honorifics.”
“Ah, it’s because I’m a commoner.”
“You’re not the type to tell lies.”
Marin turned her head to hide her burning face.
“I’m not lying.”
“Well, let’s say that’s the case. But you still haven’t answered the question I asked earlier.”
“What question?”
“You said you were happy the moment you arrived here. Why?”
Only then did the memory of his opening query surface.
“Ah, I just really love books. I’m so happy to be in a place with so many of them.”
Marin’s eyes sparkled as she answered with genuine enthusiasm. It was the first question she could answer honestly since arriving at the estate.
Zero’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, then he grinned.
“I heard you read reports well. Is that true? How did you discover such a talent?”
“I’ve just liked books since I was young. Do I need to ask Lord Zero for permission if I want to look through the collection here?”
Marin deflected the question, asking cautiously.
“No. The fact that you came here means you have Gerald’s permission. Feel free to look. If you have questions while reading, ask.”
Zero said kindly, his voice light and innocent.
“Yes, thank you.”
Marin greeted him, still bewildered. In the novel, Zero was fundamentally a man who suffered from deep human distrust. He loved to test people, approaching them under the guise of a child to gauge their character. He was known to dislike anyone entering his personal space, yet he had granted her full access to the library.
For some reason, it seemed she had earned Zero’s favor.
* * *
For the first time in a long while, Butler Sebas visited the Duke’s office.
His shoulders, which usually exuded confidence and elderly grace, were hunched over pitifully.
“Begin.”
At the Duke’s command, Sebas bowed slightly and whispered into the ear of Olive, who stood beside him, knowing his own voice would be too loud for the Duke’s sensitive ears.
“He says, ‘Shall I tell you the entire process?’”
“Butler. Just say it yourself.”
Gerald furrowed his brows, clearly exhausted.
“If I speak directly, it will be noisy for you.”
Butler Sebas whispered as quietly as he could.
“Butler.”
At the Duke’s icy warning, Sebas quickly opened his mouth.
“I will begin, Your Grace.”
Sebas described the scene he had witnessed that morning in the smallest whisper he could muster.
“Where are those commoners now?”
“Locked up.”
“It’s not just them, is it? Those who took profit for themselves.”
A cold chill lingered in Gerald’s languid voice. Olive and Sebas exchanged a tense look.
“Olive.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Confiscate the assets of those who were caught, and sentence them to five years of hard labor. Conduct a full investigation; treat them all the same.”
“Yes.”
“And that woman who hit the temporary mother……”
“…….”
Olive waited quietly.
“Since she didn’t know the other party was a noble, settle it by ensuring she can never use her hands again.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Olive answered swiftly. With a flick of Gerald’s hand, the two bowed silently and retreated.
Once the office fell quiet, Gerald relaxed the senses he had been suppressing. As if the time they had been bottled up was in protest, his hearing and sensitivity exploded in every direction.
Pain rushed in like a tide, as if his skull were about to burst.
A thin whimper leaked from his tightly closed lips—a sound that, to his hyper-sensitive ears, felt like an arrow piercing his own brain. He gritted his teeth to endure, and the inside of his mouth tore. He tasted the sharp, metallic tang of blood.
Gerald endured it all with a blank, frozen face.
To escape the agony, if only for a second, he thought of other things. A strange, curious woman. A woman who confidently claimed she could put him to sleep.
Thinking of the ‘temporary’ one, one corner of his mouth curled up slightly.