SWNOVELXO Chapter 65
Somehow, this scene feels familiar… like I’ve seen it before.
There’s a saying: A thief feels guilty even if he hasn’t been caught.
But I hadn’t done anything wrong.
So why was my heart pounding like this?
As I frantically searched my past for any misdeeds, the Grand Duke’s expression gradually hardened.
“I… I’m not sure I understand what kind of conversation you wish to have….”
He gazed at me steadily, then clenched his fist before spitting out his words as if he were biting them off.
“I’m reconsidering your overdue room and board fees.”
“Reconsidering?”
All of a sudden?
Why?
The shocking declaration left me completely frozen.
“Let’s talk inside first. Follow me.”
I stood there stiffly for a moment, but even if you fall into a tiger’s den, you can survive if you stay calm.
Trying my best not to panic, I followed the Grand Duke into the mansion.
However, since the topic of room and board always put me on edge, my mind raced with all sorts of worries as I trailed behind him.
What’s the issue here?
Why was he reconsidering my overdue fees? Was he planning to raise them? Lower them? What was going on?!
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out anything suspicious.
As I agonized over it, we finally reached the Grand Duke’s office—by now, a place I had grown all too familiar with.
“Come in.”
“Y-yes….”
Click.
The moment I stepped inside, he shut the door behind us.
Then, he just stood there, staring at me.
…Not saying a single word.
“U-uh, Your Grace?”
Feeling suffocated under the pressure, my voice came out small and timid.
Yet, he still didn’t speak.
What the hell is going on?!
Was it one minute? Ten? It felt like a whole year had passed before he finally opened his mouth.
“Liam checked, and you’ve been ordering meals for two people quite frequently.”
“……!”
H-how did he know?!
Already feeling guilty, I flinched at his words.
“T-that’s…”
I had plenty of reasons!
Since I was paying for my own room and board, it felt unfair that I had been skipping meals while working nonstop!
So naturally, I’d ended up sharing food with Ashley and Bonita, who worked with me… but I hadn’t expected him to be keeping track of that too!
I couldn’t claim I was completely innocent, but still! There was no rule against sharing meals with guests!
Yet, as the saying goes, extreme shock can leave you speechless.
A dozen excuses swirled in my mind, but my lips felt like they had been glued shut.
Without realizing it, I lowered my head, missing the increasingly piercing look in the Grand Duke’s eyes.
So this whole “reconsideration” thing… it wasn’t a good thing after all?
To be honest, a tiny part of me had hoped that maybe—just maybe—he might take pity on me.
Maybe he’d even lower my fees. Or at least give me a discount?
It wasn’t unreasonable, considering everyone knew Grand Duke Blaile was the second richest person in the empire, just behind the crown prince.
…But instead of a discount, he immediately brought up my two-person meals.
As I spiraled further into despair, he hit me with another question.
“You’ve been eating with men you met at work, haven’t you?”
“Uh….”
I hunched my shoulders even more, like a frightened ostrich.
There were times I had invited managers from the merchant guild or elderly painters after their shift to share a meal.
But how the hell did the Grand Duke know about all that?!
There weren’t even any surveillance devices in this place!
“Your silence means you’re admitting it, I assume? Then I’ll have to charge your board fees for two people instead of one—”
“W-wait a minute!”
If I kept quiet any longer, I’d only make things worse.
I quickly lifted my head.
And—
“…Huh.”
For some reason, when our eyes met, his green gaze didn’t seem particularly angry.
It was more like…
Like he didn’t really want to be mad at me.
But since I had already started talking, I had to push forward.
“I… I object!!”
“You object?”
“I have the right to invite guests and share meals with them, don’t I?!”
Especially since I was already paying for room and board!
But the Grand Duke didn’t even budge.
“So, you sure do have a lot of male guests.”
His tone dripped with something suspiciously unpleasant.
At this point, I was starting to get more confused about why he kept bringing up “male guests” rather than the room and board issue.
To be honest, I had way more female guests than male ones.
Does he think I eat more when men are around or something?
But that was just a stereotype!
Bonita and Ashley could easily out-eat the old painters two or three times over—especially when it came to dessert.
Still, it wasn’t like I could use that as an argument.
“I-I have the right to eat with whoever I w-want while staying here, don’t I?”
His gaze grew even sharper, making my voice falter.
“Whoever you want, huh?”
A slow, chilling repetition.
“You said, ‘whoever you want’… Ha.”
At that moment, I realized.
I had made a terrible mistake.
Suddenly, I wanted to throw the entire room-and-board issue out the window and just beg him to let me leave.
And then—
“You will eat dinner with me from now on.”
“…What?”
I blinked in confusion.
That was not the response I had expected.
“What… why?”
Ignoring me, the Grand Duke called his right-hand man.
“Liam.”
Click.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As if he had been waiting outside, Liam immediately entered the office.
I turned to him in disbelief.
Was he just going to ignore me like that?!
Liam, unfazed, bowed and stood beside the Grand Duke.
The very picture of loyalty.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke casually asked,
“Dinner is usually the most expensive meal of the day, correct?”
“Yes, that is generally the case.”
“Hear that?”
Wait a second.
The conversation was flowing in a weird direction again.
Is he saying dinner costs too much, so I shouldn’t eat two portions?
And instead, I have to eat with him?
Realizing the Grand Duke was far more petty than I had ever imagined, I barely stopped myself from laughing.
How could one of the wealthiest people in the empire be this stingy?!
Even Scrooge himself would be impressed.
But…
This might not be so bad?
After all, the Grand Duke had a face worth looking at.
And despite practically living in his office, his physique never once suffered.
If anything, having dinner with him might be a great deal for me.
With that in mind, I quickly nodded.
“Alright! Actually, I’d love to!”
“…You’d love to?”
“Y-yes! It’s not like I don’t want to have dinner with Your Grace.”
Come to think of it, this was a rare opportunity.
There were plenty of people who would kill for a chance like this.
Besides, we had a lot of work-related discussions to go over anyway.
As I cheerfully accepted, the Grand Duke’s expression changed slightly.
Then, out of nowhere, he muttered,
“I’ll lower your fees.”
“…Huh?”
“Your room and board fees.”
All of a sudden?!
Before I could react, he added,
“But if you ask to hire another bodyguard, I’ll double your fees. Keep that in mind.”
“Wait, what?! Why?!”
“Because the one you have now is too cheap.”
My guard? Too cheap?
What did that even mean?!
Before I could ask, the Grand Duke turned to Liam.
“Liam, redo the calculations.”
“Understood.”
As Liam left the room, an odd silence filled the space between me and the Grand Duke.
What the hell just happened?
It felt like I had just been swept up in a hurricane.