“No, come to think of it, I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Ah… I see.”

“You should go ahead and eat your fill. I’ll be going now.”

Yelena then turned around and quickly left the hallway.

Yelena’s heart pounded as she quickened her pace.

‘It couldn’t be, right?’

How could he be a criminal? No way.

Meeting criminals was very uncommon. Moreover, a criminal that could deceive others with a good reputation was rare.

Yelena stopped in her tracks once more.

Yelena turned around at a spot where she could no longer be seen and stared at the place where Incan had been standing earlier.

She felt uncomfortable.

***

“Are you worried about something?” Duke Mayhard asked when he saw Yelena picking at her food.

Yelena stopped poking the piece of meat with her fork.

She hesitated for a while before speaking demurely. “I wouldn’t tell you even if I was.”

“…”

‘Was I too childish?’

Well, it did not matter.

This was nothing as compared to whatever he was hiding from her.

‘And he would say that it wouldn’t be worth worrying over.’

The problem that Yelena was concerned about right now was simple.

Was Incan Marezon a criminal or not?

Honestly, even if he was a criminal, it did not matter as long as he did not do anything to her.

‘Yeah, I’m not even an investigator…’

Since she had no evidence and just had a bad feeling about him, it was best to steer clear from him.

Anyway, there would not be many chances for her to encounter Incan since the castle was huge.

As long as Yelena did not go looking for him, it would be hard to see him.

‘Though there might still be chances of them coincidentally bumping into each other like what happened earlier.’

And when the time comes, she would just have to come up with an excuse and leave.

On top of that, Incan would not be staying in the castle for a long time.

Since he was here to deliver the medicine, he would leave after a few more days.

‘Wait.’

Yelena paused.

“Medicine?”

Her eyes soon widened.

‘Right, the medicine! Incan is here at the castle since he’s in charge of delivering them, right?’

What would happen if he was the bad guy in this situation?

What if he had secretly meddled with the medicine that was delivered to the castle and had hidden intentions…

‘I’m not sure, but the damage done wouldn’t be small.’

But what if Yelena revealed that Incan was a bad guy before he did any harm?

Wouldn’t it mean that he would not be able to come near the castle?

If Yelena did manage to make that happen, she would have prevented a huge mishap in the future.

What did that mean?

It meant that Duke Mayhard would be in her debt.

‘Debt!’

If he was indebted to her, he must repay her as well.

And Yelena had already decided what she would have the Duke repay her with.

Yelena suddenly had a change of plans.

Her previous decision about avoiding Incan had turned in the opposite direction.

‘I’m counting on you, Incan.’

Yelena suddenly gripped her fork.

‘Please be the criminal!’

Yelena’s pink eyes burned passionately as hope and motivation came to her.

After dinner, Yelena returned to her room and called for Abbie.

“Help me investigate Incan Marezon.”

“Sir Marezon?”

“Yes. His rumors, relationships, what he was up to while he stayed in the castle… If you find out anything suspicious about him, let me know immediately.”

Though Abbie seemed to be clueless about the reason behind Yelena’s instructions, she answered like a veteran maid and left the room.

***

The next day, Yelena arranged a lunch for her and Incan.

Of course, it was for her to observe him under close watch.

Incan acted and spoke indifferently in front of Yelena.

“It’s an honor, Duchess.”

“It’s nothing. It’s my job to treat guests with meals, anyway.”

“I’m not a guest of that level…”

“I’ll be the one to decide that. Plus, you’ve helped me once at the garden, haven’t you?”

‘It’s true that the incident created this opportunity.’

“Think of this as my gratitude to you.”

“Okay. Thank you, Duchess.”

The maids served up water.

Incan carefully posed a question as he watched the empty glass get filled.

“Right, is His Excellency…”

“The Duke is busy, so he won’t be joining us for lunch,” Yelena replied firmly but softly at Incan’s question.

She smiled to herself.