Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: A Blessing in Disguise
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Aiden had fallen into a deep sleep.
-Snore... Snore...
Luna gazed at his sleeping face.
The scene she'd witnessed just moments ago replayed in her mind.
The maid who had been with Aiden, looking embarrassed.
'Rachel, was it?'
Recalling the maid she'd seen earlier, Luna felt a tangle of emotions.
She didn't love Aiden.
But seeing him alone with that pretty maid Rachel made her uncomfortable.
Luna didn't want to admit that part of it.
It felt too much like jealousy.
'Ugh... Me, jealous? No way... Right, this is just...'
For someone as prideful as her, it was only natural.
'If Aiden catches some disease from fooling around with this girl or that one... That would be a huge problem for me too, right? So... Of course I'm concerned.'
Luna rationalized it to herself.
'Imagine if word got out that I caught something. What a humiliation that would be. Yeah, this is a perfectly normal reaction.'
Believing their relationship was purely physical, she couldn't accept that she was jealous of Aiden.
That would mean...
She'd fallen for him.
It would betray her own vow.
For Luna, who valued honor as a knight above all, breaking a vow was unthinkable.
'So, Aiden... I don't like you.'
She glared intently at Aiden, who was sleeping soundly in her arms.
-Snore... Snore.
But he slept on peacefully, oblivious to her feelings, and today of all days, it made her seethe.
'First things first, maybe I should look into this Rachel girl?'
Under the excuse of checking for diseases, Luna investigated her rival.
She had already become an excellent stalker of Aiden.
And so, at dawn the next day.
Luna woke early and returned to her room.
Though the sun hadn't yet risen, she washed up and summoned the head maid to her office.
"Your Grace. I heard you called for me from early this morning."
The head maid, summoned at the crack of dawn.
Her expression was stiff and tense.
'I saw her just last evening... Calling me again this early... What could it be?'
Having seen Luna the night before only to be called again made her worry something had happened.
Luna's cold expression.
As she stared intently at the head maid, the woman felt a chill of fear.
She had been a bright girl in her youth, but as an adult, Luna had grown colder than anyone.
Luna spoke, eyeing the head maid who appeared to be in her fifties.
"I've heard that a maid named Rachel spent quite some time in Secretary Aiden's room last night."
Only then did the head maid realize what Luna meant.
"It's natural for young men and women to date, but it's not a good look for a maid of the Grand Ducal Palace to get involved with high officials."
The head maid squeezed her eyes shut at Luna's words.
She had turned a blind eye to such misconduct among some of the maids here before.
There had always been servants cozying up to high officials.
Especially Rachel, who was infamous for it—the head maid knew all too well.
She had simply stayed quiet out of fear of Rachel's connections.
'Sigh, that wench's ugly behavior has finally reached Her Grace's ears.'
"Yes. I'll make sure to warn her appropriately."
Luna frowned at the head maid's response.
"A warning isn't enough. She needs proper discipline, and we should investigate if there are any related offenses."
Luna had seen plenty of sordid, filthy things since childhood.
And the way Rachel had clung to Aiden was incomprehensible to her pure sensibilities.
She even suspected Rachel might be using him for some gain.
Not that she was certain, but she thought it was a possibility worth checking.
The head maid, unprepared for Luna's firm stance, looked troubled.
"An investigation as well?"
"Yes. She might have approached him in the dead of night to demand something from him. If so, that's grounds for imprisonment—a serious crime, and if she's colluding with outside forces, even the death penalty."
Aiden was the Grand Duchess's secretary.
The information he held was treated as top secret in the Grand Duchy.
If another nation was using a honey trap to steal that info through him, Rachel would have to be executed.
Luna wasn't thinking that far, but she was determined to dig into Rachel thoroughly.
'Absolutely not because I'm jealous of Aiden. Just in case.'
"But as a maid of the Grand Ducal Palace, the Interior Ministry can't easily investigate. You'll handle it personally and do it properly."
The head maid bowed her head at Luna's icy command.
"I shall obey."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Rachel headed to Aiden's office with coffee in hand, but her expression wasn't great.
"Is he really not into guys or what?"
She recalled Aiden kicking her out despite her late-night visit.
Honestly, knowing she turned heads wherever she went, it had badly bruised her pride.
'No way his girlfriend's prettier than me. What if he's into men?'
The idea that he wouldn't touch a beauty like her was hard for Rachel to fathom.
Even married men went crazy trying to get with her.
She briefly suspected Aiden might prefer men, but quickly shook her head.
'No, that room definitely had signs of him being with a woman.'
Rachel figured that much fluid couldn't come from men together.
'So why won't he touch me? We were alone at night, and I even put out all the signals. It's infuriating.'
She saw herself as overflowing with feminine charm.
Now that Aiden showed no interest, her competitive streak kicked in.
'Fine, I'll give him the full service this time... Just you wait and see if you can resist.'
With venom in her eyes, Rachel made for Aiden's office.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I was in the middle of writing reports when Jin spoke up.
"Secretary Aiden, how's the training going?"
"Ugh... Don't even ask. My arms won't lift because of it."
Before, Luna's massages had kept the soreness away, but...
Last night without one, my whole body ached like mad now.
But Jin just smiled at my pain.
"Heh, that's how you build muscle."
"Sure for you, aspiring knight. I'm just an office drone swinging a pen."
"But you're joining the reclamation soon, right? Better to learn swordsmanship just in case—it'll help."
I sighed at Jin's casual remark.
"Sigh... I can't tell if I'm learning swordsmanship or just doing manual labor."
Day after day of stamina drills and basic swings—it was boring and exhausting.
"Heh, Secretary Aiden, you've never been on a battlefield, have you?"
I nodded at Jin's question.
"Nope."
"On the field, you need stamina most to fight hordes of enemies in heavy armor with weapons. Hope it never happens, but you might have to pick up a sword someday. Better to train diligently now."
Jin's point made sense. But...
"The safest thing is just not going, right?"
Common sense said avoiding danger was best.
Jin scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Work is work. You go where they send you."
"Yeah... You're right. Sigh..."
-Knock knock.
"Oh, coffee must be here."
Jin got up and opened the door...
Rachel stood there with a tray.
"Oh? Rachel?"
"Hi."
"You again today?"
Rachel flashed an innocent smile at Jin's question.
"Yeah. I'm assigned to Secretary Aiden for the time being."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. And Secretary Aiden, mind if I have a cup of coffee here before I go?"
What was with her?
I'd chased her out yesterday, didn't she get how awkward that made me?
I answered Rachel's question firmly.
"No? It'd make us uncomfortable while working... Probably not."
Jin glared slightly at her in agreement.
"Secretary Aiden's right. Maids should stick to their duties."
Rachel's smile faltered briefly at Jin's dismissive tone.
Then she recovered with a subtle smile, and I thought...
Ew... What a venomous one.
"Haha... Got it. I'll be going then."
Rachel left.
As the door closed, Jin looked at me with a hardened expression.
"Secretary Aiden... Just to be sure... You're not dating her, right?"
"Huh? No."
Jin shook his head in relief with a sigh.
"Phew... Good thing. If it was her... That would've been a nightmare."
Her suspiciously harsh words piqued my curiosity.
"Why? What's her deal?"
"She's a slut. Hooks up with anyone from old rich guys to randos if they've got power, all because of that decent face."
I was shocked by the unexpected answer.
"What? Really?"
"For real. I've seen her rolling around outdoors when I was on dates with my girlfriend or her friends."
That innocent face screwing around with old men?
A girl my age doing that felt gross.
"Damn... With that look, I'd buy her as a princess."
You really can't judge a woman by her face.
"Yeah, and not just once or twice. Word is she messed with a married guy recently and got her hair yanked by his wife."
Hearing that, I thought back.
If Luna hadn't been there... I might've fallen for a girl like that, just like I worried yesterday.
"Whoa... I almost got fucked over at my age."
The thought alone made me curse.
No wonder she was so blatantly throwing herself at me.
Jeff's advice popped into my head: If a woman way prettier than your league approaches, suspect her first.
Jeff... You're the man. Saved me again?
And Luna had saved me too.
Thank you, Luna.
Getting milked dry by her every day had tanked my libido, leading to this.
Life's full of blessings in disguise—I never imagined it'd play out like this.
"Why? Something happen?"
I spilled yesterday's events to Jin, who watched eagerly.
"Whoa... She's crazy. Targeting you this time, huh?"
"Yeah. Gave me chills."