CH 23

After the duke entered, some people who were wearing an unusual robe approached Lucia, who was quietly waiting outside.

“Hello Miss Lucia. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“And you are?”

Lucia answered cautiously. Although it sounded a bit cold, it was only because she’s hiding her true identity.

People in unidentified robes continued to talk to her regardless.

“You don’t have to be wary. We’re just wizards from the Tower.”

“If you’re a wizard, then…”

“Yes, we are the ones who brought Duke Blake here.”

The Tower, the Wizards Guild.

Lucia was quite familiar with them.

In the game, the warrior’s job is a prosecutor. The Wizards didn’t have that much involvement, but she still remembered them being used to uncover some hidden quest.

The Tower was a group of outstanding wizards who served in a guild.

For a certain amount of money, they can be hired as a temporary colleague.

It was more like a pre-paid service, or also known as what mercenaries do.

A wizard’s fee can be very expensive while not being cost-effective. But there are still a lot of people who request for their assistance, especially the nobles.

In other words, it was never impossible to hire someone, as long as they can pay well.

Lucia, who was lost in thought, nodded innocently.

Well it’s a fact that they would need to be skilled and talented in order to teleport that far in such a short notice.

“The Duke has come with a group of capable men.” Lucia finally answered.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You don’t need to be polite to her. She’s just a maid.”

“Ohh…”

The other wizards were kind of speechless. They were aware that Lucia was a maid, but she definitely knew how to use honorifics naturally.

Also, the energy coming from her was not like any ordinary maid.

“That’s all right.”

They didn’t have the courage to talk easily, so they just shook their heads.

Lucia was not stubborn about this and that because she’s usually familiar with the client and attendant trade relationship.

“There’s something that I’d like to talk to you about, Miss Lucia. Would you mind if we can have a few words with you?”

“With me….? But I’m only just a maid, I don’t think there’s anything to discuss with me.”

“To be exact, I’m going to deliver Duke Blake’s proposal instead.”

Lucia opened her mouth to the unexpected information.

Duke Blake, the foster father of the warrior.

The owner of the most influential family in the Empire.

‘The fact that such a person made a suggestion to me means the original story has been completely twisted.’

It was not surprising at all. What’s surprising is that Lucia, the maid, is the center of attention, not the devil.

But it really seems that she would be noticed, since it’s the first time that the warrior got involved with someone.

“But I still look like a beggar.” Lucia mumbled.

“What? What did you just say…”

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Lucia headed towards the parlor with the wizards.

Perhaps there was a prior notice from the Duke, because it seems that they are heading toward the secret parlor on the third floor without any interruption.

A big box was then pushed in front of Lucia who was sitting in her seat.

They suddenly open the box in front of her without any explanation.

Inside, countless gold coins are shining.

“This is…”

“It’s 5,000 gold.” The wizard said.

“…”

“If you want, we’ll have the tower do a guaranteed check. It’s going to be heavy to carry it by yourself.”

“…That’s great consideration. But you forgot to explain to me before and after. What’s the reason why you’re giving me so much money?”

“The Duke already knows. The relationship between the lady and the warrior.”

“There are a lot of things I want to refute, but I’ll ask you first. So you want me to take this money and stay away from the warrior, correct?”

Lucia often sees this kind of scenario in a korean drama.

The lover’s parents talk to the partner of their child by throwing an envelope and say, ‘Take this money and get away from my child!’

But Lucia had never thought that she would be offered and receive the proposal money.

“No, Lucia. It’s quite the opposite.”

The wizard slowly shook his head.

“Please stay with the warrior for as long as possible. If anything happens, please contact us right away.”

“Oh, like a spy.”

“To be honest, yes, more like that.”

Lucia touched her head. This is already her second offer.

This time though, the price jumped more than a hundred times compared to the offer from the lord. If she were in the shoes of an ordinary maid who’s in need of real money, she might’ve accepted this.

“So when I report something else, you’ll pay me more. Until then, I’ll just have to report on a regular basis or if something special happens?”

Although she did not answer them directly, the story proceeded as naturally as it flowed.

The wizards believed that she would of course accept the offer. No, more like they were assured that she’ll grab this opportunity.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“Well, no, that’s it.” Lucia answered.

“That’s good. Then…”

“Because I’m going to refuse anyways.” Lucia answered before he could finish.

They thought that the negotiation was over and they were about to stand up, but then they stopped right away upon Lucia’s response.

“What did you just say… I must have heard it wrong. Did you just reject the offer?”

“That’s correct, you heard it right. I refuse the offer.”

“It’s 5,000 gold. You seem to have mistaken the amount, for the salary you get…”

“Is hundreds of times lower? Yes, I know.”

Lucia’s head leaned to one side.

“But that doesn’t mean I have to accept it, right?”

There’s already a lot of money in the Devil’s Castle. How much was it? The amount they were offering was a bit of a joke to her.

“…If you want more money, please tell us. We will inform the Duke.”

“Oh, you’re going to raise the offer.”

Indeed, it was the answer from those who knew nothing but money, research, and magic.

However for the people in the Tower’s Guilds, nothing is impossible when money is involved.

Lucia smiled and opened her mouth.

“10,000 gold.”

“…”

“I think I’ll agree to it if it’s 10,000 gold.”

She doubled the amount that was initially offered by the Duke.

Unlike Lucia, who was smiling brightly, the faces of the wizards hardened underneath their robes.

“You’re not kidding…!”

“I won’t be accepting anything below that.”

Ten thousand gold. That’s enough money for a commoner to spend their whole life just playing and eating.

It was such a large amount that even the aristocratic family members, who are in the middle-class, would feel uncomfortable to spend.

The wizards are in shock.

“No? Then I’ll stand up and pretend that this never happened.”

“Well, wait a minute… Miss Lucia!”

The wizards anxiously called after her, but she left the parlor room at a faster pace than anyone else.

‘It’s disgusting.’

It wasn’t really her impression towards the wizards.

They were simply ordered by the Duke to make an offer to Lucia.

It was someone else who offended her.

‘I’ve been thinking that it was weird.’

Even so, he’s still considered as a young master, an adopted child that was acknowledged by the duke.

Although the title of a Warrior did not mean that much, he’s still a member of the duke’s family.

‘In addition, it’s true that we’ve gotten a little close, and I’ve already been offered twice to become a spy only because of the master and maid relationship.’

What was even more disgusting was that she was convinced that it wasn’t the first time this offer was made to someone.

They must have made such a deal to other people who got close to the warrior.

“… Ha.”

After a long time, she recalled the content of the original game.

It wasn’t just one or two of his colleagues who attempted to get to know him while pretending to get close to him.

Some of them eventually stabbed him in the back. At that time, it was just a game story, and she just laughed it over.

Now that she thought about it, she felt stuffy on one side of her chest.

Was it because he wanted the warrior’s isolation, or was it because he was afraid of the warrior’s influence? After thinking for a while, Lucia shook her head.

Anyways, one thing for sure is that the duke was never on Haron’s side.

Lucia quickly returned to the place where Haron was in custody. She walked slowly towards the basement to see if the talk was over.

“…Ughhh.”

As soon as the door opened, the inside of the room was soaked with the smell of blood. The duke glanced at Lucia and wiped the blood off his hand with his handkerchief.

Even those who did not enter the room could easily tell where the blood came from.

“It’s okay now to bring him out. Get him a room and take care of his wounds.”

“Yes!”

The soldiers who were guarding outside the room entered right away at the duke’s words.

Lucia also wanted to check the condition of Haron, but now that the duke was in front of her, she couldn’t make such move.

“I’m tired of going back and forth for the first time in a while.” the Duke said

“… I will take you to the VIP room.” Lucia said

The duke’s gaze continued towards Lucia.

He didn’t do anything to disperse like other people would do, but he was testing her. Lucia could definitely feel it.

“Where are you from?”

He asked her while walking down the hall.

“There is nowhere to be called home.”

“You must be an orphan. Well, there are a lot of guys like you in this kingdom.”

He nodded his head.

The thought of Haron being attracted to her because he came from an orphanage as well crossed the duke’s mind for a moment.

‘Let’s just say he was adopted earlier.’

The duke looked at Lucia once again. A strange dignity was felt in the child, who was just working as a maid.

It wasn’t the same elegant dignity as the aristocracy.

It’s more like a calmer, dangerous, and seductive of noble decency.