Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

‘Duke Ferial,’ was a man she had not yet officially greeted, though he was a well-known man in the Capital. He gained the Emperor’s trust and quickly seized power within a short period of time, and became the center of the social world that everyone was watching.

She had recently heard that he had been involved in various businesses, and fortunately, all of them have succeeded in making a fortune and even earning people’s envy.

‘…Why is such a man going to our mansion on the outskirts of this city?’

Azela tilted her head to one side.

Such people usually had a plan or had a dark inside. He was also successful as a businessman, so his tongue would almost resemble a snake. With an extraordinary expression, as if going to war, she accelerated her steps.

When she reached the parlor, a servant waiting for her opened the door wide. As soon as she entered the parlor, Azela had no choice but to stop and take a deep breath.

“Countess Todd.”

A man sitting on the sofa elegantly with his legs crossed while drinking tea caught her eye at once. With an interesting expression on his face, the way he was overflowing with ease was unusual. Azela, forgetting that she was all dressed up, rubbed her eyes unknowingly.

It was because he was the man who had climbed over her window sill last night and was sitting here now.

“How are you here…?”

Her mouth opened with a puzzled expression on her face while staring at him.

At the question, he just calmly shrugged his shoulders. Daniel, who was sitting on the sofa with a strange look between them, wrinkled his expression and glanced at Azela and Duke Ferial in turn.

“Azela, are you acquainted with Duke Ferial?”

“…Is that person Duke Ferial?”

Azela gazed at him with trembling eyes in disbelief. She didn’t mistake him. It was obvious. The black hair, darker than darkness, and even his maze-like purple eyes from which she couldn’t get out once she met it…

He must have been the ‘devil’ who jumped over her window sill yesterday. So startled that she couldn’t say anything, she just opened her mouth. Seeing her like that, Daniel approached her and tapped her on the shoulder.

“What’s the matter?”

Azela, who had just awakened at the sight of Daniel, greeted him politely with a shaky expression.

“I am Azela Todd.”

What to say after that? Nice to meet you…?

Not knowing what to say, she bowed her head down, frozen, and Daniel, who was standing next to her, seemed displeased.

“Nice to meet you.”

The first person to greet her was the person sitting on the other side. He was staring at her with a grin like yesterday.

After barely saying the greeting, Azela sat down with Daniel on the sofa opposite him. She could not understand what was going on with this… Could it be that she had a premonition yesterday? Or, was this now just a dream?

In spite of her skeptical gaze, Duke Ferial showed a relaxed look, savoring the tea in front of him. He didn’t seem to care at all about her. If he had pretended to know her, she wouldn’t have been so confused.

“Then, can I finish what I said earlier?”

“Yes, please.”

“I have heard from many places that County Todd is capable. No, to be precise, Countess Todd is competent. As a result, I was curious about what kind of person she was, so I came to meet her without an appointment in advance.”

He spoke to her, with his eyes twinkling. Daniel’s smiling expression quickly hardened at the word ‘the capable Countess Todd.’

“Anyway, let’s continue what we talked about earlier… I was thinking of expanding my current business here.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I am struggling with my current business, so it is difficult to manage it myself, and I don’t know anything about this place, so I need a partner to run the business on my behalf…”

Duke Ferial’s words trailed off before lifting his head and glancing at Daniel and Azela alternately.

At that sight, Daniel gleamed in anticipation, filled with desire. If he could do business with Duke Ferial, it would be money, of course, and with that, it was an opportunity for him to make the Todd family name known.

A lust for power filled Daniel’s eyes.

“While looking for the right person, I heard County Todd’s story and came this way.”

“Yes, yes. Because we have been working with a lot of confidence… Haha!”

Daniel gave a friendly smile and burst into laughter.

Duke Ferial, who saw that, also drew a gentle smile on his lips. In this awkward atmosphere, there was only one person, Azela, whose face had hardened without a smile.

“I handed over the report on the business plan to the butler while waiting in the parlor. Did you check it?”

“Is that so? Oh my, I have been teaching him wrong. If it’s okay, can I go and check it out right now?”

Daniel asked, shaking his body. The smile for capitalism that spread across his lips hardly disappeared.

Seeing that he couldn’t hide his expression too much, Duke Ferial shrugged his shoulders and motioned for him to go. Daniel whispered to Azela, who was next to him, “Take good care of him,” and left the parlor with a silent pressure on her.

In the parlor he got out of, there were only two people left, Duke Ferial and Azela.

“…Right?”

She opened her mouth cautiously as he closed his eyes and savored the tea. It was a question of half certainty and half doubt.

“What?”

“…Last night, right?”

Azela persisted.

Despite her question, he didn’t say anything for a moment. Perhaps, it was just someone who looked alike? Maybe, she misunderstood…?

Azela’s heart pounded.

“Zagnac Ferial.”

Instead of answering, he just said his name briefly. Not knowing how to respond to the name, she tilted her head, and he raised a smile.

“I said you would find out my name tomorrow.”

He had an innocent, child-like smile, but the frozen, ferocious eyes were also the same as last night’s. Azela exhaled heavily, not knowing what to do with surprise.

In an instant, her cheeks turned red.

“Ho, how? Who else is Duke Ferial?”

“I am Duke Ferial, and I am also the ‘he’ from last night.”

“Is that possible…?”

“Because I have to live. It’s not like I don’t have to make money or have food to eat for being here.”

Saying so, he placed down the teacup. Picking up a fork while slipping the cake that came with it, he then put it in his mouth.

Although it must have looked like he was eating in a rude way, it only seemed like a strangely luxurious act. The appearance of the man chewing the sweet cake eagerly made her feel different from last night.

“…Do you also eat food?”

“Of course. I’m quite the gourmet. In that sense, I don’t know where this cake is from, but it’s pretty good.”

“…That’s what I made.”

“Oh.”

At her words, Zagnac opened his eyes wide and gave a satisfied expression. It was made to give to Daniel. Of course, he didn’t eat sweet food—no, he wasn’t like that at first. There were times when he ate anything she made with a happy expression.

It was difficult to predict what he was now.

“It’s perfect for my taste. After all, I have eyes for humans.”

“…Are you really here to come up with a business together?”

“With sincerity. But, why are you speaking so respectfully all of a sudden?”

Zagnac, who nodded his head with a satisfied expression, questioned. At that, Azela answered with a sullen tone, lowering her gaze.

“Yesterday, you were an unknown ‘devil,’ but today you are a ‘human’ who appeared as the Duke.”

“I see.”

Zagnac nodded, rinsing his sweetened mouth with clean black tea. His expression seemed quite bright, like he seemed to like the cake.

“That’s not a bad answer. Though I don’t like it because it’s unfamiliar. When the two of us are together, please treat me like yesterday. You are also my contractor.”

…Contract.

The word reminded her of last night’s hot and passionate night, even the figure of herself who tried to cling to him…

At that moment, she pressed her thighs tightly together as she felt herself heating up from underneath. Just as Azela, whose face was blushing, was about to talk about it, the door to the parlor opened and Daniel walked up with the paperwork and a happy face.

Biting her lip, she drank the cold tea that was placed in front of her to hide her blushing face.

“I took a quick look on the way… This is really great. No blemishes.”

“I’m glad you said that.”

“It is an honor for the family to be part of such a wonderful business.”

“An honor for the family, is it…?”

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