“Will it be okay for me to go to his office?”

“Yes, it should be fine as the sun has gone down.”

Carl immediately regretted saying that but, thankfully, Rubica didn’t seem to care about what he had just said.

“Okay then, I will bring him the tea.”

Rubica wanted to go to Edgar for today. Normally, he always came to her, so it would be nice to make a change to that. Plus, she had fallen asleep too quickly last night, and they didn’t have the time to speak. Right now, she wanted to talk about what was going to happen in the close future and about Zilehan with Edgar.

However, when they arrived in front of Edgar’s office, they saw the door was wide open. The duke was not there.

“Where’s Edgar?”

“Where’s the duke?”

They both asked in surprise, and a servant answered them calmly.

“He just left in a hurry with Sir Stephen and the guards.”

It seemed like Edgar had left to avoid the fuss. Rubica did want him to leave for the king’s castle to escape from those vermin-like relatives, but there hadn’t been any need to leave so early. He could have talked with her and leave tomorrow morning.

Rubica went back to her room, somewhat disappointed. She was going to have her dinner alone, and she really hated it. If Edgar had had any conscience, he should have at least had dinner with her.

***

Zilehan kept sighing in his rent carriage on his way home. He had been humiliated so much, being dragged out by the knights. Something like that had never happened to him, and it had been ordered by a girl who was much younger than him.

‘Oh, why did I agree to this marriage?’

If Rubica had been from a family of high rank, at least he wouldn’t have felt so humiliated. He was confident in his wits, but he hadn’t known Rubica would be able to defeat him like that by using the guards.

‘There must be a way to make things right. Of course, there is.’

Although he admitted he had been rude, Rubica immediately kicking him out like that had been wrong as well, even if it had been just. It didn’t make sense, but he really thought so. A woman’s biggest virtue was kindness, so Zilehan made plans to spread rumors about how she wasn’t kind.

‘And she’s about to give birth to her baby. I can tell people the gods will be mad at the baby if the mother keeps behaving like that.’

The carriage arrived at his mansion while he was thinking. His home was quite far from Claymore Mansion and it was already getting dark. His wife came out before he opened the door.

“Oh, Zilehan.”

Then, she lowered her voice and whispered, “The duke is here.”

“What? Edgar has come here?”

The duke had ignored him when he was demanding to see him in front of his office, and now he had come here? Zilehan was shocked. How did Edgar come even faster than him?

He saw the splendid carriage standing in front of his house only then. He hadn’t noticed it as its lights were all out, but it was a mana stone carriage.

“Okay, okay. Where is he now? Did you properly lead him to the reception room?”

“Of course. I came out here because I worried you would yell as you come in like the usual.”

“Thank you.”

Zilehan rubbed his hands. Now he had a chance to talk to the duke in private. It was good. Maybe the duke was easier to control than his wife. He hated being bothered and Zilehan had already used that a couple of times. The duke could back off if he showed how he was going to cling onto the duchess and bother them. He was supposed to do at least that much for his beloved wife.

Zilehan hurried to the reception room and saw Edgar sitting on the leather sofa. He didn’t move when seeing Zilehan come in, he just moved his eyes to look at him. He didn’t get up even though the master of the house was here. He even brought an armed guard with him. Zilehan frowned at seeing that since it was rude to bring an armed guard into the reception room.

“Lord Zilehan, you must have been enjoying too much your life that you even sought for trouble.”

The duke spoke harshly, but Zilehan wasn’t surprised much. The duke had always been harsh with words, probably to balance his beautiful face. Many were drawn to his handsome appearance and hurt by his merciless words. Zilehan had already gone past that at the age of 20, so he smiled heartily.

“All thanks to your generosity, my boy.”

Zilehan was a Claymore relative and distant uncle to Edgar. Although he called Edgar Your Grace on formal occasions, he could speak comfortably to him in private.

“Say that again.”

Edgar undid his crossed legs and ordered arrogantly. Zilehan blinked, unable to know what was going on.

“All thanks to you, my…”

Zilehan couldn’t finish that. The guard came and stroke his belly.

“You are being rude to the duke.”

He spoke emotionlessly and then went back to his post. Zilehan shook in rage. He had just been humiliated by the duchess, and now Edgar was humiliating him. Why were they doing this to him?

“What have I done that you are doing this to me?”

“It’s Your Grace.”

The guard warned again. Zilehan wanted to yell he was the duke’s distant uncle, but he didn’t. The pain in his belly hadn’t faded yet.

“Your Grace, why are you doing this to me?”

“I think you know why.”

Edgar reclined on the comfy sofa. His every move was so elegant.

“This sofa is quite comfortable. I guess it’s made of expensive leather. You have decorated your table with glassware and all the vases in this room are from Sharman.”

Even though they were all less expensive compared to the things that decorated the Claymore Mansion, they were all expensive luxurious goods. And there were two cases when it came to owning such a bunch of expensive goods. Either the owner of the house had lots and lots of money, or his money came from the wrong place and had to be washed. Zilehan’s case was the latter.

“Stephen, you have the strongest arms, right?”

Edgar asked Stephen right next to him. He was Claymore’s guard captain and had a tall height and great muscles. He answered in a low and strong voice that had enchanted many girls.

“Your Grace, I am stronger than anyone in this room.”

Edgar smiled satisfactorily to that. His guard captain was good at his job, but he also knew how to make his master feel good at such occasions. Edgar picked a document on Zilehan’s table and handed it to Stephen.

“Then it would be better to have you do it than to do it myself. Please.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Stephen took the document and went to Zilehan who stepped back at the knight’s threatening gesture. He hadn’t been able to understand their conversation, but he had an instinctive fear.

Slap!

Soon the document slapped his cheek with great speed. It felt so painful that he couldn’t believe he had just been hit by the papers. What had he done to be humiliated like this? Zilehan looked at the papers as they fell down slowly.

‘Oh no!’

He forgot about his pain and gathered the papers. They were detailed records of how he had embezzled money until now. Each line was a good proof. If that had been all, he wouldn’t have been so terrified. He could have pleaded to Edgar and be forgiven. He was his relative, after all. However, it was written at the end of it that the matter was to be reported to the king.

“Ed… Your Grace! If you report this to the king, I’m not the only one who will pay. It will be diminishing Claymore’s honor.”

Edgar looked at him with emotionless eyes. Zilehan, who he didn’t even want to call uncle now, was good at talking. That was bothering, but it was of good use from time to time. That was why he had turned a blind eye on his embezzlement till now. Although he did embezzle money, he knew to what extent he could do it, and Claymore’s financial status was strong enough to not be shaken by that.

“Lord Zilehan, I would have believed what you are saying before.”

Edgar’s blue eyes glistened dangerously.

“But not anymore. You have messed up with someone you shouldn’t have touched.”

Zilehan didn’t have to ask to know who that someone was, but he hadn’t known Edgar would react like this. He was always calm and rational, so Zilehan hadn’t known he could be so sensitive.

“I only gave the advice I should give as a retainer…”

“I didn’t know Claymore’s retainers had the right to humiliate my wife.”

Zilehan wasn’t that good at sitting down and fighting complicated math problems, but he was quite good at shallow schemes and adapting to circumstances. As most Claymores were scholars like Lord Sesar, his characteristic was quite helpful. Edgar assigned him matters related to money. Even though he did embezzle, he always gained the family more than he took for himself. When Edgar assigned what Zilehan usually handled to clean, honest and honorable men, they ended up giving up or messing the whole business up, not being able to tolerate injustice.