#4. The Nameless Chloe

When the Duke discovers that the personal attendant he had kept by his side for three months, thinking he was a man, was actually a woman, there was no way to predict how he would react.

Although he had been like a beast in heat last night, she knew better than anyone how wary the Duke was of women, having observed him up close for the past three months.

The Duke despised women so much that he would take a detour if he saw one walking towards him from the opposite direction.

For a Duke who hated women that much…

A claim for damages?

Is that why he was looking for someone to spend the night with?

But she soon shook her head.

That couldn’t be the reason.

Being rational and reasonable, not to mention wealthy enough to never run dry, the Duke wouldn’t ask for economic compensation for something like this.

Besides, it’s not like it could restore his virginity anyway.

To begin with, in the Elion Empire where sexual culture was quite liberal, it wouldn’t make sense for anyone, let alone the Duke, to hold one party responsible for adults spending a night together.

Right! There’s no need to worry first.

Just because Sir Joyce was going to ‘The Night of the Dog and Cat,’ there was no guarantee he would find her.

Besides, he’s looking for a woman, but both the Duke and Sir Joyce think of her as a man, so it would be difficult to connect the woman who stayed at that inn with her.

So nothing will happen.

Chloe buried her head in the bed, trying to shake off the negative thoughts.

Her once-alert mind began to blur, and her eyes slowly closed.

The overwhelming physical fatigue from staying up all night overcame her mental exhaustion.

* * *

“Gasp!”

Chloe, who had fallen asleep at some point, suddenly jumped up as if struck by lightning.

What time is it?

When she looked out the window, the sun was setting. It seemed to be late afternoon already.

How long had she slept?

Since the Duke didn’t employ female servants and disliked physical contact even with male servants, he never received assistance with bathing or dressing.

As a result, even though Chloe was a personal attendant, she only had to help with morning washing and bring tea in the morning and afternoon to receive the day’s instructions, or attend to the Duke when specifically called.

It might have been the easiest job for a personal attendant, being the Duke’s attendant.

Of course, when she first started serving, there weren’t such rules, so she would sometimes hesitate. These patterns gradually settled as the Duke didn’t say anything specific.

Anyway, since there wasn’t much work, being late even for tea time would be inexcusable.

But it was already well past afternoon tea time.

Chloe hurriedly prepared tea and entered the Duke’s room.

“I’m late. I apologize.”

“……”

The Duke remained silent.

Is he displeased because I’m late?

Feeling self-conscious, Chloe glanced at the Duke while serving tea.

Oh my goodness!

The Duke was glaring at her with his hand covering his nose, as if he was avoiding a bad smell.

His eyes were burning so intensely it sent chills down her spine.

“Your Grace?”

Even if she was a bit late, was it really worth getting so angry about just having tea late?

There were many times when he wouldn’t drink the tea until it got cold anyway.

“You…”

The Duke started to speak but stopped, grimacing.

Strangely, he looked somewhat pained.

“Your Grace, are you feeling unwell?”

“Ahem! It’s nothing. Just open the window.”

“Yes.”

Does he have a headache? Why suddenly ask for ventilation?

After opening the window, the Duke’s face seemed more at ease.

“Your Grace, shall I bring the tea to your desk? If you have a headache, drinking tea might help…”

“No! Don’t come near!”

“…Yes.”

Chloe became bewildered.

At the mention of coming closer, the Duke waved his hands as if she were infected with plague. It seemed like he wouldn’t tolerate her approaching.

“Leave.”

“Are there no other instructions? The mail…”

“I said leave!”

Chloe shut her mouth, startled by the Duke’s near-shouting response.

“Leave, now.”

The Duke ordered once more.

Chloe flinched and left the Duke’s room, feeling like she was being chased out.

* * *

“Whew…!”

As soon as Clyne left and the door closed, Hughgray took a deep breath.

It was certain.

That Clyne, who’s a male, carried the woman’s scent.

It had become more apparent than before.

That person who had no body scent now emitted an extremely pleasant scent, the same as the woman he had imprinted on.

This is madness.

First imprinting on a woman he’d never met before, and now being enchanted by a male servant.

Such a phenomenon had never been heard of in wolf therianthrope history.

Why would a male suddenly emit such a scent, and that particular scent!

His head was already complicated enough with just the thought of finding the woman he had imprinted on, but now he couldn’t think straight because of his servant’s scent.

This was an unprecedented emergency situation.

* * *

The next day, Sir Joyce returned.

He entered the Duke’s office, saying he would report his investigation results.

Chloe also slipped in behind him. She needed to hear how much he had discovered.

Although the Duke had chased her away yesterday, she had often been present during Sir Joyce’s meetings with the Duke before, so it shouldn’t seem too suspicious.

Sure enough, the Duke’s eyes swept over Chloe standing behind Sir Joyce. Fortunately, he didn’t chase her away.

“Did you find the woman?”

The Duke’s gaze shifted to Sir Joyce.

“Yes, there was only one woman staying at that inn that night. It was her third visit, they said. Her name is Chloe.”

Chloe tightly shut her eyes.

Chloe… of all names!

Must she live forever as Clyne now?

How did they find out her name from the inn?

She didn’t remember writing her name anywhere, as it wasn’t the type of inn that kept guest registers.

“Her family name?”

The Duke asked.

“They don’t know her family name. They said even her given name was only mentioned when she was drunk on that third night she stayed.”

She didn’t remember telling her name.

Ah! Oh no!

<“Miss, what’s your name?”>

<“I’m the nameless Chloe.”>

The conversation from that night suddenly came back to her.

She clearly remembered saying that while trying to be careful not to reveal her name.

“Chloe.”

The Duke murmured her name softly.

Chloe shuddered.

Even though she knew the Duke wasn’t saying it knowing she was ‘Chloe,’ she felt as if she were standing naked before him, stripped of her wig, glasses, and men’s clothing.

“They said she was drinking on the first floor before going up to the second floor. She disappeared at dawn. She always paid for her lodging in advance and would leave the room at dawn. The innkeepers didn’t know where she came from. However, she mentioned that she was visiting while on vacation before returning to work. So she’s probably not from that area.”

“Chloe, not from Arne. On vacation.”

The Duke articulated each detail like he was etching them into his memory.

Each word felt like a stone hitting her head.

“And…”

Sir Joyce seemed to hesitate slightly.

It felt ominous.

What else would come out of his mouth?

“And what? Report everything you investigated, Joyce.”

The Duke urged stiffly.

“She said work life was difficult, and she wanted to quit her job, return home, date, get married, and have children. She might have had a fiancé or at least a lover.”

Ah! She knew it would be bad.

Chloe sincerely wanted to punch herself in the mouth.

Saying she wanted to go home, date, and get married.

And children?

It seemed she would say anything that crossed her mind when drunk.

She had said all those things that only women could do because she was sick of crossdressing, but she had never actually thought about any of it.

Her clenched hands became damp with sweat.

Now that her name ‘Chloe’ had come up, any additional information would be dangerously incriminating.

“Fiancé? Marriage?”

The Duke asked with a face more rigid than she had ever seen before.

“That’s just my speculation.”

Sir Joyce added.

Chloe stared at the back of Joyce’s head in disbelief before glancing at the Duke’s face.

The Duke was looking down at his desk with his head bowed.

“……”

When the heavy silence filling the room became suffocating, the Duke spoke again, asking him to continue.

“Based on the fact that it was accommodation between her work and hometown, I believe either her workplace or hometown must be at least half a day’s journey away. We plan to narrow down the search to women named ‘Chloe’ living in areas more than four hours away from the inn. Still, it will take quite some time. I think it would be good to submit a request to the information guild using her name.”

While listening to Sir Joyce, Chloe’s legs trembled as her strength drained away.

She felt like prey being cornered by hunters gradually closing in.

No, this is when I need to keep my wits about me!

However, as she tried to gather strength in her legs and raise her head, her knees buckled.

The Duke was staring directly at her face.

She couldn’t understand why he was looking at her instead of Sir Joyce.

Chloe quickly lowered her head again.

“Find out as quickly as possible.”

However, the Duke said nothing to Chloe and shifted his gaze to Sir Joyce as he spoke.

“Yes.”

Sir Joyce nodded and turned around. Chloe quickly stuck close behind him, trying to leave the Duke’s room.

While it was fortunate that the Duke hadn’t said anything about her presence until now, considering how he had been staring at her just now, it seemed wise to disappear quickly.

“Clyne.”

However, the Duke had already called out to stop her as she turned to leave.

Ah, why now!