INBE 04

Chapter 04

“Excuse me.”

A handsome man with a gentle impression, wearing a monocle with a long silver chain hanging from it, entered inside.

Judging by the way he spoke politely, he didn’t seem to be the lord, but just in case, I stood up from my seat.

Without making a single sound, the man approached right in front of me, lightly lifted his monocle, and slowly scanned me.

Unlike his gentle appearance, his gaze was cold.

“You are Miss Aileen, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Noah Roheim, the lord’s aide.”

So he really wasn’t the lord.

“I heard that the hunter’s village safely got through this rainy season thanks to you, Miss Aileen. Is that true?”

So that’s why I was called.

“It’s thanks to the villagers preparing diligently. I only suggested a method and asked if they’d like to try it.”

“You are quite humble, Miss Aileen. Very good.”

What exactly is so good about that?

“In a moment, the lord will be entering. This is your first time meeting him, correct?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Then I will tell you the proper etiquette and precautions. If you happen to offend the lord and get your head cut off, it will be troublesome for me, so please listen carefully.”

…Did I just hear something terrifying?

As I looked at him in shock, Noah Roheim curved his eyes into a crescent shape and smiled beautifully.

I couldn’t tell whether what he had just said was a joke or serious, and cold sweat ran down my back at that ambiguous smile.

“First, when you meet the lord, bow deeply enough that your head nearly touches the ground.”

Since my life was on the line, I engraved every single word he said into my mind without missing even a period.

From greetings to how to answer, even where to direct my gaze—it wasn’t difficult, but there was surprisingly a lot to learn.

And since I absolutely couldn’t make a mistake, I kept reviewing everything I had learned.

“Is there anything you don’t understand or are curious about?”

“Please tell me the lord’s name.”

At my question, his eyebrow tilted upward.

“You were born and have lived in Belheim, yet you don’t know the lord’s name?”

I wasn’t born here, and it’s only been two months since I started living here.

I swallowed the words rising to my throat and gave an awkward smile.

“I just wanted to confirm that what I know is correct. I shouldn’t make a mistake, after all.”

Fortunately, my clumsy excuse seemed to work, and he nodded.

“His Grace, Grand Duke Calyx Kraubel.”

A Grand Duke—that’s a rank just below the imperial family.

“Getting the lord’s name wrong is the greatest discourtesy, so make sure to remember it well.”

“Yes. I will keep it in mind.”

Calyx Kraubel.

I repeated the name over and over so I wouldn’t forget it.

But the more I rolled the name around in my head, the more it felt familiar.

Where had I seen it? A novel? Or a movie?

As I was thinking deeply, the door suddenly burst open without a knock.

“You have arrived, my lord.”

As Noah Roheim, the lord’s aide, bowed his head in greeting, I hurriedly bent my waist deeply as well.

Because I bowed immediately, I couldn’t see who entered through the door.

“You may raise your head.”

A low voice flowed down from above.

I, who had been staring at the soft carpet of the reception room, slowly raised my head.

The first thing I saw was a pair of jet-black leather shoes, polished enough to reflect my face.

Wrinkle-free, smooth trousers, a vest accented with silver buttons, and a shirt buttoned all the way up to the neck.

A sharp jawline like a blade—when my gaze passed his straight nose and met his grayish-blue eyes, my breath stopped.

‘Scary.’

My breath caught, and a crushing pressure weighed down on my shoulders.

Even though it was the height of summer, the air in the reception room felt as if it had dropped below freezing.

‘I have to run away right now.’

Just as my instincts screamed and I unconsciously tried to step back—

‘He was handsome enough to be called a creation crafted by the gods, but people were overwhelmed by his presence first and shrank back.’

A sentence from some novel struck my mind like lightning.

‘So people feared Calyx Kraubel and avoided getting close to him, but Anabella Liseren approached him without hesitation.’

Until now, I didn’t know where I had possessed into—but I finally realized.

It was a cliché romance fantasy novel titled “The Light That Swallowed the Imperial Palace.”

This novel tells the story of the female protagonist, Anabella Liseren, who goes out to subjugate monsters and falls in love with the male lead, Crown Prince Cedric von Lutevel.

Calyx Kraubel was the second male lead in the story—and the final boss who, after suffering from a terrible unrequited love, became consumed by demonic energy and turned dark.

He even commits the atrocity of turning the territory’s residents into monsters in order to fight Cedric, who comes to rescue the kidnapped Anabella.

In other words, if I stay here, I’ll end up becoming a monster too.

‘I absolutely refuse! I have to avoid this no matter what!’

Forget quests—survival comes first.

Usually, when people get possessed into a novel, they use their knowledge to change the future, but I had no intention of doing that.

When there’s an easy option of leaving the final boss’s territory, why would I risk my life on a gamble?

“It is my first time meeting you. My name is Aileen. It is a great honor to meet His Grace, Grand Duke Calyx Kraubel.”

Even in the middle of all this, I properly greeted the lord exactly as Noah Roheim had taught me.

It was an action driven purely by my instinct to not die.

Calyx Kraubel nodded indifferently and sat in the seat of honor.

After Noah Roheim, standing beside him, said something, the lord looked me over with interest.

As expected of the final boss—his presence is no joke.

Even when dealing with workers hardened by all kinds of hardships at construction sites, I had been fine, but just meeting Calyx’s eyes made my heart tremble.

“Explain how you managed to get through the rainy season safely.”

I didn’t like the idea of sharing my techniques with others for free, but opposing the lord was dangerous.

Especially since he was the final boss of the original story.

The moment I offended him, my head could roll off.

“I think it would be easier for you to understand if I explain with a drawing. May I borrow a pen and paper?”

At my words, Noah Roheim quickly brought me a pen and paper.

“If you make the roof slanted, the water won’t pool and will flow down…”

Wanting to leave this place even a second sooner, I immediately began explaining.

“…And by adjusting the height along the terrain like this to create waterways, the rainwater can flow out of the village.”

The moment I finished explaining and put down the pen, Calyx Kraubel took the paper.

Then he stared at it so seriously that I wondered if I had done something wrong.

Noah Roheim was the same.

“Um… is there a problem?”

When I asked anxiously, Noah Roheim smiled faintly.

“There is no problem at all. However, I am curious—have you ever studied architecture or design before?”

I studied it to death.

Not only did I follow my carpenter father around construction sites since I was young, but I also handled saws and hammers because of middle school.

I majored in architectural engineering in university and even got a job in urban design.

But that was when I was ‘Han Seon-a.’

“No. I’ve never studied it.”

Since ‘Aileen’ hadn’t learned it, I feigned ignorance.

“Then how did you come up with something like this?”

“I was thinking about how to solve the issue of rainwater pooling, and this idea came to me… Is there a problem?”

Pretending to know nothing, I asked back with an innocent expression.

At that, Calyx Kraubel alternated his gaze between me and the drawing, then gave instructions to Noah Roheim in a voice I couldn’t hear.

“Yes. I will prepare it that way.”

W-wait a moment! Where are you going, leaving me alone with this terrifying boss?!

A scream erupted inside me.

I wanted to follow Noah Roheim out immediately, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the courage to do so.

“Can this triangular roof be installed on all buildings in Belheim?”

After Noah Roheim left, Calyx Kraubel asked, holding out the paper.

“Since each building has a different shape, it would need some adjustments, but it should be possible for most of them.”

Calyx’s eyebrow lifted slightly.

“What about the waterways?”

“That would also require checking the condition of the land. If the waterways are too close to the houses, it could cause dampness, so there needs to be some distance—”

Wait. I think I just answered like a complete expert.

“You said you’ve never studied architecture, yet your knowledge is remarkable.”