After returning from the town, His Blackstone locked himself in the study with the account books.
Just as Molis had expected, His had no intention of reporting this to his father, the Duke.
After all, it was all family property. If the Duke took this money, it would just become another fixed asset in the family treasury.
His’s plan, on the other hand, was to take the funds embezzled by the underlings as seed money and use his influence as the “Young Master of the Blackstone Family” to get even more.
After all, the System had already warned him to plan his finances ahead of time. The price of information was bound to get more expensive.
Before he knew it, the sky outside the window had grown dark.
“Young Master, it’s time for dinner.”
Rafina Falier’s voice came from outside the door.
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
His stood up, stretched, and worked his stiff neck. His gaze unintentionally swept past the window.
In the manor’s backyard, the silver-haired emotionless girl was crouching alone in a corner, hugging her knees.
His thought for a moment, then pushed open the door and said to Rafina, who was standing at the entrance, “Go ahead first. I have something to take care of.”
Without waiting for Rafina’s response, His quickly walked toward the backyard.
“Li Nuo Er.”
“Young Master His, do you have any orders?”
Li Nuo Er’s voice was completely flat.
“From here, I have a clear view of Young Master His’s room without disturbing his work.”
Li Nuo Er’s voice was without any inflection.
“Jeez!”
His was shocked.
“Are you spying on me?”
“Protecting your safety is my duty. Wasn’t someone trying to follow us in town today? We can’t assume the danger is over yet.”
“It might just have been a curious resident from the town. No need to be so tense…”
This time, Li Nuo Er didn’t reply. She just quietly stared at His.
“Ah, forget it. Do what you want.”
His waved his hand and turned toward the dining room.
“Dinner is ready. No matter what, you still need to eat, right?”
Watching His’s retreating figure, Li Nuo Er hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
Late at night.
His finally finished cross-checking all the entries on the account books he had brought back from Molis. Just as he returned to his bedroom, he found Li Nuo Er already standing by his bed, nearly giving him a heart attack.
“You! When did you get in?!”
“Half an hour ago.”
Li Nuo Er replied expressionlessly.
“We still haven’t caught the person tailing you, so tonight, while you rest, I must stay by your side for close protection.”
“Close protection?”
His felt a sense of dread.
“You’re not planning to stand by my bed all night staring at me while I sleep, are you?”
Li Nuo Er tilted her head, thought for a moment, then nodded heavily.
Seeing her serious expression, His let out a helpless sigh.
“Then what if I order you to leave my bedroom?”
“From a safety standpoint, I would report today’s events truthfully to the Duke and let him handle the matter.”
‘Huh? Doesn’t that sound like a threat?’
“Sigh!”
His scratched his head and pointed to a chair in the corner of the bedroom.
“If you absolutely have to stay here, go sit over there. Turn your back to me. At least don’t stare at me.”
“Understood.”
Watching Li Nuo Er walk over and sit down, His also lay down on the bed.
‘For now… this will have to do.’
His turned over, facing away from Li Nuo Er, and closed his eyes.
After who knows how long, His vaguely felt in his sleep that his hand had touched something.
‘Ah.’
‘So soft.’
‘Wait?!’
His snapped his eyes open. A pair of clear eyes were right in front of his face.
Li Nuo Er had somehow crouched down at the edge of the bed, looking down at him.
Her silver short hair cascaded down, almost touching His’s face.
His’s heart instantly leaped into his throat. He shot up from the bed with a jerk.
“Y-y-you!!!”
“Young Master His.”
Li Nuo Er’s expression was serious.
“Your heart rate suddenly spiked. Is something wrong with your body? Could it be that you were poisoned in town today…”
“I’m scared because of you!”
His said through gritted teeth.
Li Nuo Er blinked, as if processing the meaning of his words.
“Then… should I stay farther away from you?”
“Yes! Very yes! Right now! Immediately!”
“Very well.”
Li Nuo Er stood up and returned to the stool in the corner of the bedroom, sitting back down.
“Stay right there, don’t come any closer! It’s the middle of the night! You scared me half to death!”
His lay back on his pillow. Just as he was about to fall asleep again, he thought he saw the corner of Li Nuo Er’s mouth lift slightly.
‘An illusion. It must be an illusion.’
The next morning.
His rubbed his dark circles as he walked into the bathroom, deliberately locking the door behind him.
Feeling the warm water on his body, His let out a long sigh.
For some reason, ever since he took Li Nuo Er to town yesterday, the girl seemed to have less and less sense of boundaries.
He didn’t want to be scared again while bathing.
Bang!
The next moment, the bathroom door was shoved open with force. Apparently, the lock had been useless.
“Young Master His, it’s best that you don’t act alone right now…”
“Get out!!!”
“Also, I felt a gaze similar to yesterday’s in the mansion today. It’s possible the person tailing you is inside the manor.”
“Get out first! Let me put on some clothes!”
Li Nuo Er still stood at the bathroom entrance, showing no sign of leaving.
His had no choice but to grab a towel nearby to cover himself.
“Did you not hear me? I told you to get out!”
“But Young Master His, you never used to mind me looking for you while you bathed…”
“That was before! The rules have changed. Don’t disturb me when I’m bathing!”
“Understood.”
Only then did Li Nuo Er turn and walk out of the bathroom, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
His leaned against the bathroom wall, feeling his blood pressure shoot straight up.
Rafina Falier was doing her daily cleaning. When she passed by the bathroom, she noticed a silver-haired girl she had never seen before standing at the door.
Before she could ask, His, now dressed, walked out of the bathroom.
Rafina blinked in surprise, her gaze darting between Li Nuo Er and the bathroom door.
“Young Master His, who is this?”
“Ah, her? She’s… she’s new here. I was just about to show her around the job today.”
His hesitated for a moment, then decided to hide Li Nuo Er’s identity as a Shadow Guard from Rafina.
“I see.”
Rafina walked up to Li Nuo Er and reached out to straighten her slightly crooked collar.
“In the Duke’s mansion, you must always remember to maintain your appearance, okay?”