82

The Duke said, a ferocious look on his face.

“You still haven’t fixed that beggarly behavior of yours.”

“I only meant to scare her a little. Well, if she’d drunk it all, who knows.”

Right now, I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

‘He poisoned the tea?’

Was this real? My mind went blank and I couldn’t move. The Crown Prince across from me remained absurdly calm. Someone grabbed me and hauled me away; I had no idea where we were going.

“…nelia Secretary.”

“Secretary Cornelia.”

It sounded like someone calling my name in an echo.

“Cornelia!”

The cool touch on my cheek slowly brought my senses back. A familiar face came into view.

“…Duke…sir?”

“Yes. It’s me. Are you all right?”

He cupped my face in both hands and inspected me as if checking for wounds. Fragments of the earlier moments snapped back into place.

‘It wasn’t a dream…’

My breathing shallowed. Goosebumps crawled over my skin. My whole body trembled.

“Snap out of it, Cornelia!”

The shake of his hands on my shoulders fully brought me back. The room sharpened. It was a place I’d never seen before.

“Where…is this…?”

“It’s my house.”

“…Yes… yes?”

I sat up in surprise. The body I had thought was sitting was lying on a soft bed. No—I’d definitely been at the Crown Prince’s palace just moments ago.

“I brought you here. You’d lost consciousness for a bit.”

The trip from the Crown Prince’s palace to the Duke’s residence had been completely erased from my memory. Knowing the Crown Prince wasn’t present loosened the knot in my chest. I managed to sit up and buried my face in my hands.

‘Poison…’

I told myself I’d adapted to this other world; I knew such things could happen here. But actually being targeted with poison shocked me.

In my original world, getting that kind of poison wasn’t easy. The odds of someone using it at work were tinier than a disgruntled boss pulling out a knife. Subconsciously I had dismissed the possibility as irrelevant to me.

‘If the Duke hadn’t come in time, I would have…’

A chill ran down my spine. The reason I’d been targeted was obvious; whether the Crown Prince meant to kill me, I couldn’t tell.

What was certain was that I was marked by him.

“Thank you, Supreme Justice.”

Only when my rational thought returned did I manage to speak. The Duke answered bluntly.

“I’m glad nothing happened. I was worried.”

Up close, his hair was unusually tousled and his clothes creased. His complexion was pale; he looked shaken, too.

“I can’t thank you enough, Duke.”

“It’s enough that you’re safe.”

“Sorry for staying so late. I’ll return home now.”

Because the Crown Prince had called me at the end of the workday, it was already dark outside.

“Stay here tonight.”

“What?”

He said it so decisively I couldn’t refuse.

“The physician says you should rest and stabilize for a while. I’ve contacted your home, so go back tomorrow. I’ll tell your head to adjust your duties—take a few days’ sick leave.”

All arrangements had been set; refusal felt pointless. Besides, there was no reason to force myself to go back to work.

“Thank you. I’ll take a few days off, then.”

“Good decision.”

The Duke checked with the physician again, reminded me to rest, and left. The maids fussed that it was the first time he’d brought a woman to his house, but their chatter barely registered. I lay in bed after barely touching my late dinner.

“What do I do now?”

That was the only thought as I stared at the ceiling. I had half expected that if I acted out he wouldn’t like me, but a sudden attempt on my life wasn’t something to shrug off.

I worried they’d come after my family and wondered if my life would end here with nothing accomplished. No matter how much I struggled below, a single command from above could finish me.

‘It’s like when I first came here.’

Like when I arrived before joining a big company and lost all motivation—it felt the same, my energy drained.

Unable to sleep, I got up and went to the terrace. The cool breeze eased the tightness in my chest. The full moon hung bright and demanding. I sat in a small chair and stared up for a long while.

“Can’t sleep?”

The Duke stood on the adjoining balcony in light attire watching me. I managed a wry smile.

“A little.”

He was silent a moment, then asked, “If it’s all right, may I come over there?”

Being alone or with someone made no difference, so I agreed. He cleared the railing in a single bound. Being around him only at the office had made me forget how skilled he was in combat; the distance wasn’t small, yet he covered it effortlessly. He draped a blanket over my shoulders as if he had it ready.

“You’ll catch a cold staying out long in that outfit.”

I was in thin sleepwear. I shifted awkwardly and he stepped back to stand beside my chair.

“May I ask what you’re thinking about?”

Caught in the midnight mood, I didn’t hide it and answered lightly.

“I’m thinking about what to do from now on.”

“Just go to the central ministry as usual. Nothing will change.”

Saying it, the Duke seemed as steady as an ancient tree.

“Do you think so?”

A lump formed in my throat and I felt like protesting.

“The son of the Empire’s ruler put poison in my tea saying he’d personally kill me—how can I live as usual? I don’t have battle experience like you, Duke, nor experience with noble power struggles, so I don’t know.”

His voice cut cold as a blade. “You dug up all those corruptions without foreseeing something like this?”

“Yes. I knew… I knew, but I must have thought, ‘no way.’ Maybe I could only imagine it ending with a dismissal.”

He fell silent. I let out a long sigh.

“I should just quit after all…”

“There’s no need to do that.”

The Duke knelt casually on one knee and met my eyes. With his messy hair, a shirt a few buttons undone, the full moon behind him and his ice-red gaze, he looked unmistakably like a wolf. When our eyes locked, my true feelings escaped.

“I’m scared.”

I knew quitting wasn’t the answer, but in that moment it felt like the only option. The thought that I could die at any time terrified me.

Through blurred vision, the Duke took my hand and held it gently.

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”

He kissed the back of my hand, solemn as a knight’s vow.

“So, there’s no need to run.”

The spot where his lips had touched burned hot.

I didn’t want to admit it, but my heart raced.

‘I’m doomed.’

That was my feeling as I returned to work after three days and saw the central ministry building looming before me. After the Duke incident, I couldn’t sleep; the same restlessness followed me home.

The crazy thing was how much the Duke’s presence—his gaze, his voice—kept replaying in my mind. It felt carved into my eyes.

I shook my head as if to clear it.

‘Make sense of things, Coco. He might leave at any time. It would be a big wound for the other person too.’

The devilish whisper in my head—maybe this will lead to marriage, maybe not; maybe we’ll date a week and break up; let’s throw caution to the wind—didn’t stop for days.

But what could I do with someone whose future I couldn’t imagine? An anxious relationship would only bring misery to both of us.

Cooling my head, I laughed off the Minister of Finance’s worried words and tackled my backlog one task at a time.

Still, work was better than sitting at home; it helped shake off stray thoughts.

“It’s already this late.”

Feeling unsettled, I planned to work a bit longer, but the time had long passed quitting. Lucan and Elysia murmured beside me, but I couldn’t recall what they said. I shut off the lights in the empty office and left the central ministry building slowly. Only the Ministry of Justice offices still glowed.

As the rumors said, it seemed to be the department that worked the latest. Suddenly I pictured the Duke staying late to work alone—he had often been my overtime companion, leaving after I did.

Somehow it felt pitiable.

‘Why am I like this, seriously.’

I forced my reluctant feet toward home, hoping he’d finish quickly and return.