As the Grand Duke listened to his secretary’s report, a sinister smile spread across his lips. He looked into the eyes of the uninvited guest seated opposite him and spoke, as though showing off.
“Interesting. I understand. You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the secretary bowed and withdrew, only three remained in the room.
The Grand Duke.A prostitute.And Oscar von Reichenhart.
The end of the cigarette between Oscar’s long, straight fingers burned steadily. Smoke slipped from his lips, veiling him in a pale haze. Within it, only his blue eyes remained sharply clear.
He was a man born to nobility. His father had been the great general of Luxen, whose bronze statue still stood before the Luxen Royal Palace twenty years after his death. His mother was whispered to have been the most beautiful woman in all East Norfolk.
Yet Oscar evoked not castles and chandeliers, but collapsed mines, tunnels without light, iron ore, and coal dust. Not a magnificent palace, but a blackened fortress after fire, crows circling above.
The Wolf of Luxen.A name that made even the King of Felpe hesitate.A man whose domain surpassed the territory of the Felpe city-state, whom even Luxen’s nobles rarely saw.
When such a man came personally to visit him, the Grand Duke’s spirits had soared.
He had been unable to contain his delight.
With Oscar’s backing, he had become president of Felpe Bank and secured a seat in the Norfolk Royal Union Assembly. The Felpe nobles who once dismissed him now treated him as a true Grand Duke. It had seemed he possessed everything.
Yes.It had seemed so.
Until that man began to feel dangerous.
“Marquis Reichenhart. What is this rudeness?”
“Rudeness?”
Blue eyes cut through the smoke.
“I told you to continue what you were doing. Didn’t I say I would wait?”
“Marquis!”
“If you mean my lateness, I apologize. I believed this was a private meeting. Somehow, uninvited guests appeared.”
Oscar’s voice carried a trace of laughter. The Grand Duke, who had arranged those guests himself, felt his heart sink at Oscar’s knowing tone.
“But then…”
Oscar let the words trail, smiling lazily.
“I wonder what interesting news there is?”
Strands of hair fell across his forehead. He blended disturbingly well with the decadence of the room. A noble heir who carried the scent of back-alley lawlessness.
Instinct answered before reason.
The warmth of pleasure that had filled the Grand Duke moments ago cooled abruptly. Sweat dried. A chill crawled along his skin. Goosebumps rose.
Alarm.
The man before him was angry.And he needed to be appeased.
The Grand Duke’s eyes flickered.
Three years ago, when Oscar first came to him, he had demanded only two things in exchange for making him a proper Grand Duke.
First — acceptance of the person Oscar assigned upon entering the Norfolk Royal Union Assembly.
Second —
“The vault you have your eye on,” the Grand Duke said carefully.
Silence.
“Which number was it? Four thousand? No…”
Their gazes met. There was no smile in Oscar’s eyes now. Only cold clarity.
The Grand Duke swallowed.
A voice as icy as those blue eyes fell upon him.
“Vault number 5555.”
Felpe Bank’s secret vault.Number 5555.
The vault Oscar von Reichenhart intended to open.
Clutching his unsteady heart, the Grand Duke moistened his dry lips.
“You still haven’t found the key to that vault…?”
—
About two hours earlier.
At the time Oscar and his wolves were dealing with the uninvited guests, the door to Felpe Bank’s VIP reception room creaked open. A pair of light brown eyes gleamed through the gap.
Warm wooden walls.Gilded decoration.A thick, luxurious carpet.Staff still on duty despite the late hour.
Is this the place?
Seo-ah surveyed the interior through the gap in the door before stepping inside. The carpet that looked plush truly was; it swallowed her already-soft footsteps completely. Perhaps because of that, the staff member reading a newspaper did not notice her entry at all.
He remained unaware even as she walked to the table and placed her luggage on the single-person sofa for customers.
She hesitated. Then Seo-ah cautiously reached out and tapped the table.
Knock. Knock.
Though the tap was light, the sound felt as loud as thunder. Holding her breath, she focused all her attention on the presence before her.
For a moment—
Rustle.
Pages turning.
Seo-ah slowly raised her eyes.
“……”
The staff member was still immersed in his newspaper. She drew a breath and tapped again.
Knock. Knock.
“Excuse me… Hello.”
The staff member, who had been flipping through the evening paper with boredom, finally looked up. He sprang to his feet instinctively. Seo-ah instinctively lowered her gaze.
“Welcome. Please…”
His greeting trailed off. Silence settled.
Heat crept into her face. Seo-ah tried to lift her head, though it kept wanting to bow. When she raised her eyes, she met a pair of clear green ones.
The moment their gazes met, she lowered hers again.
The staff member asked abruptly.
“How did you get in here?”
Seo-ah considered the question with lowered eyes, then subtly gestured behind her.
“…I came through the door.”
“………”
The staff member blinked, searching for words. Then he asked again, more specifically.
“You came in alone? Without an escort?”
Seo-ah pondered that statement and asked softly.
“Is that… impolite?”
“No, that’s not what I mean…”
He was confused. He glanced around, as if doubting his own senses. This was indeed the Felpe Bank VIP reception room.
Then who was this woman?
Felpe Bank did not discriminate among customers. Even commoners were treated with utmost respect if they possessed the means to open an account or a vault.
The problem was the minimum deposit. The required amount was so substantial that even many nobles could not meet it. Those who crossed the threshold of Felpe Bank were typically owners of major corporations, high nobility, or royalty.
The main entrance was guarded and staffed to guide visitors. Non-customers could not linger. Any customer who arrived would be personally escorted by their assigned employee. That was why he could read the newspaper at ease: he would always receive notice before a client arrived.
Yet this woman had entered alone.
That alone made her suspicious.
Her attire added to it. Though summer still lingered, and only morning and evening winds hinted at chill, she wore a wool coat suited for mid-winter. It looked neglected, as if left unused for a long time. Her posture was awkward, as though she were wearing someone else’s clothing.
She kept her head slightly bowed, avoided eye contact, and above all, something about her felt peculiar. For a brief moment, the staff member could not name the strange aura she carried.
Then the woman suddenly spoke.
“I came to open a vault. Is this not the place?”
“A vault?”
“Yes.”
At the word vault, the staff member paused. Doubt crossed his face.
“Did you bring the key?”
At that, Seo-ah released a small sigh. It seemed she had come to the right place after all.
“Yes. I brought it.”
Vault and key.
The staff member, who had been on the verge of calling security if needed, now gestured politely to a chair.
“Please sit.”
Seo-ah placed her luggage on the floor and sat lightly at the edge of the sofa. The staff member cleared away his newspaper, sat opposite her, and slid a black velvet tray across the table.
“May I have the key?”
—