It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 175

It was Halid who spotted him coming up the stairs. Of all days, it seemed he had ended training early without finishing the full session.

“I was hoping to see the Duke of Luanax, but it appears he isn’t in his office.”

“Hm… he’s probably with Lady Diloette on the third floor. It is likely that you will only catch him around dinnertime.”

“I see.”

“You surely could have guessed as much yourself.”

Halid narrowed his eyes at Ardin. In response, Ardin only gave a nonchalant shrug.

“That may be, but I couldn’t very well go up to the third floor without permission just to confirm it.”

When suspicion arose, there was no better tactic than brazen indifference.

“Will Your Grace be staying here until dinner?”

“Hard to say. Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping you could deliver a message to the Duke of Luanax when you see him. Lady Diloette will understand what it concerns.”

Though he still looked at Ardin with a skeptical gaze, Halid gave a small nod.

“Very well.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Offering a polite farewell, Ardin passed Halid and descended the stairs. He tried to appear composed, but cold sweat was already forming across his back.

Because he could feel Halid’s stare persistently clinging to him.

Perhaps it was simply the glare of a rival in love, but guilt had its way of making things feel worse than they were.

Only once Ardin boarded the carriage bound for home did he finally release the tension in his body.

Leaning into the seat, he looked out the window at the grand mansion receding in the distance.

‘If only Vivian hadn’t been registered into the Luanax Famiy…’

It was a thought he’d had more times than he could count.

Had that been the case, he would’ve never been given the dangerous, reckless order to approach Vivian and extract information from Luanax.

Felix had told him that if Ardin succeeded in winning Vivian’s heart and marrying her, he’d grant him half his freedom.

But…

That was never going to happen.

‘Vivian must know, of course.’

That he approached her with intent. That he could have neutralized the drug but still spent the night with her.

That he couldn’t even pretend to feel something like passionate love.

Sometimes, just sometimes, he would imagine truly being with her.

That a miracle would happen, and Vivian would love him, and he would come to love her, too.

That he’d confess his circumstances to her, and with Lionel’s help, be freed from Silias. It was a fairytale ending he would play over in his mind.

But that would take not one, but several miracles to even begin to seem plausible.

‘It would be far more realistic to be caught stealing information and executed by the Duke of Luanax.’

Or being cast out, only to be reduced to an experiment subject by Silias for having outlived his usefulness.

Letting out a long sigh, Ardin drew the curtains closed, blocking the view outside.

The beautiful hell he had just left behind disappeared from sight, and the true hell was now drawing near.

* * *

Through the window of the second-floor office, I watched Silias ’s carriage fade into the distance.

“It really hasn’t deviated one bit from what you predicted.”

“It’s thanks to all the accumulated experience.”

“Still… I doubt you predicted I’d barge into the training room today.”

“The key is to show just the right amount of vulnerability.”

I had expected it, but Lionel had clearly spent a long time preparing a web to unbalance Silias .

The documents Ardin had been taking all this time were laced with both truths and lies.

If the estimated mana stone deposit was written to be at least ten, at most one hundred, the actual result would be closer to fifteen.

Not quite what they’d hoped for, but still a gain nonetheless enough to keep Silias from doubting, to keep him coming back for more.

This had already played out over a dozen times.