#20. Chloe’s Body Type

The next morning.

Chloe set down the teacup on the Duke’s desk.

The Duke glanced briefly at the teacup and returned to reading something without even lifting his head.

“Good work. You may go.”

This was how the Duke used to react before anything happened between him and Chloe.

Back when he would usually just tell her to leave the tea. When he had no particular interest in his personal attendant.

“Ah! You don’t need to attend to meals. I won’t call for you again today, so rest comfortably.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Chloe bowed her head and left the room.

She felt strange.

Though she couldn’t quite understand why she felt so strange.

Late in the afternoon, as the Duke had predicted, Sir Joyce arrived at the mansion.

“I narrowed it down to areas within 6 hours travel from Arne. It seemed unlikely a woman traveling alone would move beyond that distance.”

He began reporting to the Duke as soon as he arrived. Chloe stood right behind Sir Joyce, trying to stay out of the Duke’s sight.

Thinking that if the Duke ordered her to leave, she wouldn’t be able to hear Sir Joyce’s report, she planned to just breathe as quietly as possible.

“Continue.”

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t even glance at Chloe who had followed in behind Sir Joyce.

“There were five women named ‘Chloe’ who matched the criteria of long blonde hair, blue eyes, and height of 168cm. Four were commoners and one was a noble lady from the Kinden region.”

The Duke just nodded without comment. But suddenly Sir Joyce turned his head to look at Chloe.

Chloe looked up at him with eyes asking ‘What?’ Sir Joyce tilted his head slightly then turned away from her.

Chloe sensed that Sir Joyce had discovered something about her. Her heart pounded and her mouth went dry wondering what he would report to the Duke.

“Continue.”

The Duke urged.

“The shoulder scar was difficult to investigate. That would require undressing to confirm. No one revealed having a shoulder scar through inquiries alone. But for women, I think even if they had such a thing, they wouldn’t openly reveal it.”

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Chloe suddenly felt her shoulder scar throbbing.

She had thought that information would be unusable for Sir Joyce anyway. As he thought, it wouldn’t be easy to learn details about a woman’s body.

Even her shoulder scar—no one else knew about it except her.

Her mother had been unconscious and had only just woken up, and she hadn’t told Kalkus about the scar. If the injury had been severe she would have had to tell him, but since it healed quickly despite leaving a scar, she was able to avoid asking Kalkus for help.

Come to think of it, the wound seemed to have healed faster than expected.

“While five women match those conditions, their heights actually varied slightly. Still, I narrowed it down to between 165 and 170. Your Grace, could you tell us about the woman’s body type? If we knew about her build, we could narrow it down further.”

Lost in thoughts about her shoulder scar, Chloe slightly grimaced at Sir Joyce’s words.

Because the body type Sir Joyce was asking about was her body type. Chloe was on edge wondering what the Duke would say about her body.

“Body type… hmm.”

The Duke rested his elbows on the desk and lowered his head, covering his mouth with his clasped hands.

“Even a rough description would help narrow down among the five.”

However, the Duke, still looking down, only nodded slightly without saying anything.

“Whether she was thin or full-figured…”

Sir Joyce persisted in asking for details.

“She was thin.”

The Duke finally spoke, cutting off his words.

“She was delicate overall, as if she would break if bent. Her collarbones and ribs protruded prominently, and her neck was so slender I could completely wrap it with one hand. Her skin seemed soft and very white… though I’m not certain about the skin color. It was dark. Her ears seemed very small compared to her eyes, nose, and mouth. And… no, that’s enough.”

After silently contemplating, his lips produced surprisingly detailed descriptions. Because of this, Chloe’s body — soft-skinned, very white, and slender enough to break if bent — swayed like a candle in the wind.

Did he ask to see me in daylight for this?

Why is he remembering and describing in such detail!

Not just the overall silhouette, but descriptions of facial features, neck, skin texture, and skin color. Moreover, the nuance at the end suggested he had much more to describe but was choosing not to.

It seemed strange now that he hadn’t explained about her build when first ordering Sir Joyce to find her, enough to make one wonder.

Ah! Was it not because he didn’t know or remember accurately, but because he just didn’t want to say it?

Well, the Duke was a Swordmaster.

A being who could detect even an enemy’s heartbeat and body temperature to attack in pitch darkness where nothing could be seen.

So the Duke, who had been with her all night, might remember her body better than her face.

He had even known her eye color and hair color as if it were obvious, despite seeing them in darkness without even a lamp.

It suddenly struck her that it was a miracle she hadn’t been discovered as a woman by the Duke all this time.

Chloe Liden, stay alert!

Chloe firmly gripped her wavering consciousness.

Anyway, the Duke still hadn’t noticed she was a woman, and her body was well concealed under several layers of undergarments, men’s shirts, and thick jacket.

“Ah…! Hmm, ahem! If she was that thin overall…”

Sir Joyce, who had let out a slightly dazed exclamation, cleared his throat while muttering, then pointed at something while looking down at the paper he was holding.

“Two women are thin. The noble lady from Kinden and a commoner woman named Chloe from the Solaine region. These two match the conditions. However, I only met four in person, and there’s one I haven’t actually seen.”

As he said the last part, Sir Joyce turned to look at Chloe. Chloe realized she was the woman he hadn’t met.

“Tell me more details about the appearance of the two women who match the conditions. It would be good to compare with my memory. I’ll go check the one with higher probability first.”

“Well… hmm.”

Sir Joyce just cleared his throat again without answering. Uncharacteristically hesitant for the usually decisive Sir Joyce.

“……?”

The Duke slightly furrowed one eyebrow.

“There was a noticeable difference between the two women.”

“Stop dragging it out and speak, alright?”

“Well… one is very small, and one is large.”

“What is?”

Chloe’s eyes also fixed on Joyce.

What is he talking about?

Hmm, ahem! After clearing his throat once more, Sir Joyce finally blurted out his answer.

“Their br*asts, I mean.”

An unexpected answer.

“Ha!”

A laugh of disbelief escaped Chloe’s lips without her realizing.

‘What did I just hear?’

Is this what he calls an investigation?

This pervert.

Sir Joyce, whom she had thought was businesslike and strict, suddenly seemed like a lecherous good-for-nothing rogue.

Both the Duke and Sir Joyce’s gazes turned to her simultaneously. Because of the laugh that escaped her.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

To think she had to say “I’m sorry” after hearing such descriptions of a woman’s body. She would leave the mansion right away later.

Chloe clenched her fists.

“Hmm…”

The Duke made a thoughtful sound as he looked away from her.

With his brow slightly furrowed. Ah! No way! Is he reminiscing about that night?

Looking at the Duke’s furrowed brow, Chloe felt her face suddenly flush.

“Which one is the voluptuous one?”

After several seconds of contemplation, the Duke finally turned to Sir Joyce and asked.

Ha! Chloe almost let out another laugh but barely managed to hold it in.

She wanted to cover her ears from the two men’s conversation about her size that’s happening right in front of her. She didn’t want to hear any more of Sir Joyce’s report, but she couldn’t storm out at this particular moment either.

“Miss Chloe from Kinden. The only noble. Though she doesn’t have a job, she happened to have traveled through Arne.”

Was it her inferiority complex that made Sir Joyce’s voice sound notably brighter? Chloe felt slightly offended sensing that Sir Joyce hoped the Duke’s one-night partner was a noble.

She was just a one-night partner, so what did it matter if she was noble or common? She should have been left alone, but the ones making such a big deal about finding the woman were the Duke and Sir Joyce, not her, a commoner.

“I see.”

But the Duke’s voice sounded somewhat dissatisfied compared to Sir Joyce.

What was he unhappy about?

Tap tap tap.

The Duke tapped the corner of his desk with his index finger. Like someone lost in thought.

“Who is the woman you didn’t actually see?”

At the Duke’s sudden question after some silence, Chloe put aside her unpleasant feelings and turned her head toward Sir Joyce.

Finally it was time to talk about her.

“Well…”

Sir Joyce turned his whole body to look at Chloe.

“Could it be Chloe Liden?”

At the Duke’s words, Sir Joyce’s gaze returned to the Duke.

“Ah! How did you know? Yes, it’s Clyne’s sister, Chloe Liden. Clyne, did you tell His Grace?”

Sir Joyce asked Chloe with a stiff face. He clearly didn’t want to acknowledge that Clyne’s sister was the Duke’s one-night partner.

So much that he couldn’t hide his displeasure.

Really now. I don’t want it either.

Chloe barely had to suppress the urge to snap back at Sir Joyce’s attitude that offended her.

“No, I didn’t.”

Chloe answered firmly.

“Right, Clyne didn’t tell me.”

The Duke confirmed Chloe’s words.

“But Clyne.”

Of course, he immediately called Chloe with sharp eyes. Somehow ominously.