STD 125

“What’s Adeye supposed to do?”

Tairok smirked before the captain of the guard could even process the sudden remark.

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“That can’t be it.”

“Sir? What do you mean…”

The captain didn’t understand a word, but he could tell Tairok wasn’t in a bad mood. Usually, that sarcastic tone meant he was furious.

But right now, he actually looked… excited?

The captain quickly shook the thought away. He shouldn’t let his imagination run wild. Just then, Tairok stood up abruptly.

“Your Grace, where are you going?”

“You told me to go home, didn’t you? My fiancé is apparently weeping because he misses me so much.”

I did? The captain’s head filled with questions once again. Tairok didn’t give his subordinate a chance to protest. He walked out with a quick stride and vanished from sight.

“You’re saying mercenaries from the Western Guild are swarming in?”

At the same time, Rick received the same news. Haas enthusiastically nodded through the shimmer of the communication device.

[Yeah. They showed up in massive numbers to hunt the monsters!]

“I thought the monsters were quiet for now?”

[They are, but plenty of them wandered outside the defense line. We’re busy occupying Borhumi Castle, so we couldn’t move to handle them. I was worried about how to clear them out, but the mercenaries are taking care of it on their own. I never thought we’d get help from a bunch of people who only care about money.]

“Only care about money…”

Rick mumbled the words as he realized something.

“Then did Lord Lu really?!”

[Huh? What about Lord Lu? Is there a problem with the club?]

“Hey, shut up.”

Rick immediately cut the connection as soon as Haas started talking nonsense. He stood up.

[Wait! There’s a reason I called. The Grand Duke is heading back to the manor.]

“When is he arriving?”

[Now.]

“You… You should’ve said that first!”

Rick ran outside and searched for Lu. He caused such a stir that the butler hastily approached him.

“What is the matter…”

“The Grand Duke is on his way. Where is Lord Lu?”

The butler’s expression turned serious. She remembered the previous incidents well.

“He hasn’t returned from the fog yet.”

“He went there again?”

Rick looked out the window in shock. There was nothing to see or do inside that mist. The butler spoke in a low voice.

“I think he’s worried about the people who gathered in front of the manor to find Salvation on the first day.”

“They can’t even get in because of the wooden fence around the castle. Well, some people did try to peek through the gaps…”

Ah, so that’s it. Did he want to check the situation outside through those gaps? The butler seemed to share the thought, as she spoke with a hint of surprise.

“I didn’t know he was such a thoughtful person. He’s quite different from the rumors.”

Rick had no response to that. He knew Lu from their school days. To him, the Lu he knew was the rumors.

But the Lu who came here was definitely different. Was it true that he changed after his brush with death? That fog was proof he couldn’t ignore.

Nobody else dared to enter that place out of fear. Yet he went in every day because he wanted to break Kun’s curse.

Besides, they owed him for the Borhumi situation. Adeye Lantuya must have been the one who moved the Western Mercenary Guild. But he didn’t even brag about her contribution.

“Let’s go find Lord Lu for now.”

Rick turned to leave, then paused and looked back.

“Tell whoever goes to get him that he must come ‘quickly.’ Make sure they tell him to hurry. Understood? Tell him ‘hurry!'”

What kind of rude and insolent demand was that for the future Grand Duchess? The butler’s face darkened, but Rick was already far down the hallway, demonstrating exactly what he meant by “hurry.”

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Ha, ha, ha…

The sky had turned red by the time I ran with all my might and reached the manor. I ran into a servant who was coming to find me on my way back from the edge of the fog.

He was there to announce Tairok’s return. I wanted to just keep walking, but the servant hesitated.

“He… He said you should come quickly…”

What? What’s so urgent? Is Tairok hurt?

The sudden thought sent a chill down ​stolen content​my spine. I already changed the future. But what if Tairok dies before I can even close the Eye of Hell?

I started running from that moment. My physical strength was still pathetic, but all those cardio sessions around Adeye’s vast estate paid off. I managed to reach the manor without stopping to rest.

“Lord Lu.”

The butler appeared from nowhere to greet me the second I stepped through the back door.

“Is the Grand Duke…ha, ha…”

I tried to ask if he was injured, but I was too out of breath to finish the sentence. She watched me with softened eyes and reported.

“He’s arriving shortly. You aren’t late for the first greeting, so you don’t need to worry.”

The butler’s calm tone suggested that Tairok wasn’t hurt. Then why did they tell me to quickly get here? I repressed my annoyance when a specific phrase caught my attention.

“The first greeting?”

“Yes. It’s a Grand Duchess’s duty to meet the Grand Duke at the door, rather than in the bedroom, for the first greeting upon his return from battle.”

“And if it’s not the first greeting…?”

“Then you may simply welcome him warmly and naked in your bedroom.”

I never dreamed I’d hear the words “warm welcome” and “naked” in the same sentence. However, there was something more important to confirm tha that the butler was a true Tubain woman.

“Is that actually a house rule?”

“Yes, it’s a beautiful family tradition passed down through generations.”

My expression hardened into something far from beautiful.

“So you’re saying I should greet him with my legs spread in bed?”

“You could also greet him on all fours with your hips raised. That way he can insert immediately according to the preferred position…”

“No! That’s enough.”

I wasn’t a shameless Tubain citizen, so I interrupted her and asked the vital question.

“Do I have to do that every time the Grand Duke returns from battle?”

“Usually, that’s the custom after a long campaign of ten days or more.”

A long campaign. I immediately made a vow right. I’d make sure Tairok came home within nine days, no matter what it took. As I clenched my fists, a servant approached with a quick stride.

“He has arrived.”

The butler nodded and led the way.

“This way, Lord Lu.”

I quickly followed her and steeled my heart. Alright, I could handle anything until I got that contract. I was busy mentally arming myself, but then I turned a corner and saw him. He was walking in the distance, surrounded by people.

He was so tall that I could spot him instantly even in a crowd. Rick was sticking close to his side and chatting away, likely giving a report, but Tairok looked around with an expressionless face as he listened.

What’s he looking for?

Usually, I’d look around out of curiosity to see what he was searching for, but I found it hard to take my eyes off him. Memories surfaced the moment I saw his face.

Now that I thought about it, this was the first time we’d met since we slept together. The moment I became conscious of it, the memory of our bodies tangled together came back so vividly that I stopped walking.

The heat of his body, the suffocating air, the heavy breaths, and the weight of his body pinning me down.

At the time, a wave of pleasure dominated me and I couldn’t focus on anything else. But now, several days later, visit our sitesmall and fragmented images were at the front of my mental gallery.

Especially his smiling face. Right now, he just moved with a blank expression. He simply wasn’t smiling, but he looked like a completely different person.

That same face had sweated in the hot air, and he’d smiled while breathing heavily. Even as we moved together, his gaze never left mine.

Why did he smile? There were too many possible reasons. He smiled every time I opened my mouth.

‘Do you like it?’

‘If I say yes… ugh… will you let me be on top, Your Grace? Haah… I’d be much better at it.’

He paused for a moment, not because he was angry, but because he was stifling a laugh. I tried to convince him I was serious, but he gave me an irrefutable rebuttal.

‘I don’t want to. You’re too small.’

He smiled so brightly when he said that. I glared at him because it felt unfair, but that only [unauthorized copy]made him more excited. I liked what we were doing, but that smile was so teasing that I eventually got annoyed.

‘Ugh, can you… take it easy?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me… ah!’

‘Yeah, I didn’t hear you.’

He smiled again and lied without batting an eye.

‘Ugh!’

He smiled even when I couldn’t speak anymore and could only moan. However, more than all those smiles, the expressionless face that looked down at me remained more vivid in my mind.