Celeste peered with one eye open, waiting for the Archduke’s reaction after she bluffed about being a private investigator. She did her best to sound genuine, but to her dismay, his countenance remained the same—that signature apathetic expression of his.

On the other hand, Adonis enclosed his face on his palms with his body slanting forward as his shoulders shrugged off of subdued laughter. She nudged him with her elbow to stop, yet the latter kept sniggering at her side, which caught Aron Berkley’s attention.

Was her acting that bad?

“What’s the matter?” The secretary asked them. She quickly appeared jovial in front of the two unwelcomed gentlemen.

“It’s nothing, Mr. Secretary. Pardon us for our rude manners. We are quite unfamiliar with the etiquette of the upper class,” came her polite response. When her eyes met the Archduke’s, a skittish simper defined her lips. 

‘How long will this end? This is driving me crazy!’ She yelped inaudibly.

She returned her gaze to Aron, who seemed completely deluded by her words. Her only dilemma now was Ezekiel, who was still scrutinizing her every move. She never felt this highly strung before just by looking at those astute golden eyes of his. Besides, she must hurry to save the poor children detained in Edelfort before the sun rises. With the little patience she had now, she stomped Adonis’ foot under the table as hard as she could to snap him back to the conversation. She heard him cough a few times with sharp gasps in between.

‘It must’ve been painful.’ Celeste chuckled silently, feeling triumphant.

Adonis finally regained his composure after a few moments of distress from the ache on his foot. She gave him a warning look before he could think of revenge and covertly gestured with her eyes, telling him to accommodate the unwanted guests at once. After all, he was the reason why these two nobles showed up at this ungodly hour. He faced them with a friendly smile plastered on his face.

“Have you been well, Your Highness?” Adonis asked the Archduke, who just gave him an uninterested side glance.

“Skip the boring question,” came his commanding baritone voice before crossing his arms which just added a certain appeal to his austere elegance.

“Ahh, I didn’t expect Miss Evergreen to be a private investigator. That’s quite a perilous profession,” Aron started, and everyone’s attention was on her again. “Oh, pardon me, I haven't introduced myself yet. I’m Aron Berkley.”

“The Black Reaper’s secretary…” Adonis interposed.

“I’m pleased to meet you, my Lord. And indeed, I quite find myself in dangerous situations but somehow, I’m still alive and kicking. I must be very fortunate,” Celeste replied, trying to act as normal as she could.

“Perhaps, heaven has its favorites too,” a bold remark from the secretary who was absolutely enthralled by her beauty.

She just gave him a benevolent smile. Celeste decided it was time to end the awkward conversation. She was searching for an excuse to leave the three alone, but the ever-imposing presence of the elusive Archduke was making it hard for her to gather her wits. She gave a brisk look at Adonis, but the guy was completely oblivious to the situation she was in.

“You flatter me too much, Sir Berkley. We all know that His Grace De Clarzus is the favored one. I am truly honored to meet both of you. Although this is quite an unusual setting, I wish to meet my Lord under formal circumstances.” She took a glance in Ezekiel's direction and his eyes were waiting for her. Quite in haywire, Celeste stood up and slightly bowed her head. “I will retire for the night, gentlemen.”

The two nobles also stood from their seats as Celeste bid her farewell.

“Have a pleasant rest, my lady,” Mr. Berkley said before she turned and walked out of the room. She could still feel the searing gaze of the Archduke on her back as she went upstairs.

Celeste finally released a breath of relief when she arrived at the door of her room. It was completely out of her knowledge how nerve-wracking it was to run into the Grand Duke by accident. She wasn’t prepared for such an encounter. Moreover, those two needed something from Adonis to seek him out at this time of the night. As much as it piqued her curiosity, she would never want to involve herself anymore with these people. She barely escaped the suspicion of the Archduke who was notorious for purging witches across the continent. Celeste bit her lip as she reorganized her thoughts since Adonis was refusing to help her save the kids from the hands of Baron Iver. She had no idea where the children were detained within Edelfort. It was a huge territory.

‘Should I just raid the Edelfort head-on?’ The white witch thought. She could surely wipe out Edelfort with her powers, but it was risky considering the Archduke was in Calsa. He would sense her mana if she released such a tremendous amount. Celeste sighed once again, this time heavier.

Anyhow, she’d do anything to survive in this second life. She put on her dark cloak and paced the corridor towards the closed window at the end of the hall. With haste and in silence, Celeste leaped from the third floor of the building onto the narrow alley at the back of the tavern. She took one last look at the building; making sure no one was following her before the Forest Witch disappeared into the night like a shadow.

“Now, will you give us the information, Mr. Alvhar? Or should I say, 'The Messenger?'” Demanded the Archduke's Secretary after the lady was gone.

The atmosphere of the room became cold and constrained as Adonis turned to Aron Berkley whose demeanor suddenly changed from being friendly to someone adept at interrogation. A slow smirk formed on his lips as he quickly adapted to the transition of these nobles’ attitudes.

He put one elbow on the table as he rested his chin on his palm. “What kind of drinks do you want me to serve, gentlemen?”

“I want all of the information that you have on Hector Iver,” said the Archduke who casually crossed his arms on his chest.

“It comes with a great price,” Adonis replied with a cunning grin.

“You’re quite arrogant like the rumors say,” a pissed-off secretary uttered in between. However, he was dismissed by the Archduke who was sitting beside him.

“Name your price.”

“But your Highness!” His secretary, Mr. Berkley, retorted. “This man must’ve been scheming something!”

"Berkley, shut your damn mouth!" The Archduke warned his comrade whose expression was now discordant at his master's reaction.

“I’ll send a letter to you, my Lord. Once the investigation is successful,” the messenger replied casually. None of the intimidation worked on Adonis anyway. He was used to this.

“Tell us what you know! If you waste my time, I’ll spill your blood all over the place!” Ezekiel declared, more like a threat.

Adonis chuckled at the chilling response from the Grand Duke. “I knew the Archduke was a generous man!"

"Now, speak."

Adonis grabbed something in his trousers pocket and showed the small red box to them. He saw the confusion on Aron Berkley's face, so he opened the small box and poured the contents onto the table. A bunch of documents fell from it.

"A magic item?" Asked the secretary in surprise. "Where did you get that? Only the mages in the Royal Tower can possess magic items!"

"This isn't from the Royal tower, Sir Berkley."

"Who are you?"

"That's beyond our agreement. You only need the information about the Baron of Edelfort," Adonis answered.

"That's enough!" The Archduke broke the growing tension between the two. He reached for one of the documents that were scattered on the table to see what was written. It was an illegal deal of human trafficking made by Iver and a certain Xivian underground merchant. After a brief moment, Ezekiel tossed the document back on the table. "That's all we need. Aron, take the documents."

"My Lord! This man possessed a magic item!" Aron protested his master's decision.

The Archduke stared at the smiling man in front of them. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve arrested this suspicious informant already. But they sought his assistance with Iver’s case and obtained the information that they’d been tracking for months already. He would deal with this separately.

Ezekiel threw a sharp gaze at his secretary who immediately closed his mouth to stop complaining. "We'll visit Edelfort after this."

The secretary's mouth dropped open at the Grand Duke's statement, "My Lord, we just got here. It's past midnight already, at least, we need to get some rest. Why don’t we go in the morning?"

They just traveled from the Capital for days without much sleep for god's sake! This workaholic Grand Duke was trying to kill him from exhaustion! Aron heard the suppressed laughter from Adonis which only sparked his irritation even more. But the look on his master’s face was so grim that his knees weakened at the sight. He could only cry internally.

“We go now, Aron.”

 Left with no choice, the secretary could only agree. “As you command, Archduke."

"Farewell! Such an honor doing business with the elusive Northern Lord!" Adonis uttered with a beaming face much to Berkley's irritation.