“No. There’s no way Darla’s here.”Marc shook his head after making a full round of the Garden Inn compound. Aside from the flirtatious gazes of Elliot’s attendants, he didn’t see a soul.“My lord, are you looking for someone?”One of the young women teased him with a playful smile.“If you need anything, we’re always at your service. All you have to do is ask.”Now that they knew Marc was a nobleman, they toned down their advances considerably. Otherwise, he might not have had a single moment of peace—they would’ve swarmed him like bees to nectar.“Thank you. I’m all right,” Marc replied with a polite smile, then quickly made his way back to his wooden lodge.Yet even as he sat on the tatami mat, the voice he’d heard earlier refused to leave his mind.“I swear that was Darla’s voice... But if so, how could I have heard it from here?”Marc might have had no idea Darla was already in Walengrad. Even so, he’d made sure she wasn’t anywhere near the Garden Inn.That’s when the same voice

“Aaaargh!”Darla let out a sharp scream, instinctively leaping to the side as the guard’s hands lunged toward her shoulders.“You’re going to be severely punished for this!” she shouted, her voice ringing with fury.Though she’d been momentarily startled, she quickly regained her composure. The guard's behavior had crossed every imaginable line—so much so that in her mind, there was no punishment fitting his offense other than death.“Get out of here! Now!”Darla yelled again, voice shaking with barely contained rage. If she weren’t currently in Godfrey’s estate, she would’ve knocked the man out cold right then and there.At the same time, unwilling to remain an object of the guard’s lewd gaze for even a second longer, she hurried to grab her long kimono and wrapped it tightly around her body.“I said get out! Now!”She kept shouting. But instead of obeying, the guard just stood there, frozen in place, staring blankly.“Weird. This guy is seriously weird…”Arms folded tightly across h

"Alright. That should be enough. I'm heading back now."Marc was about to withdraw his psychic projection and return his consciousness to his body after watching the guard being dragged away for punishment by the others. But from his vantage point on the sixth-floor balcony, something caught his eye—a sleek black Toyota Crown had just pulled up right in front of the manor’s main doors, while the rest of the convoy had stopped farther away across the vast front yard.An elderly man in a luxurious black suit stepped out and respectfully bowed before opening the rear passenger door. A woman stepped out, exuding an air of nobility.Her thick, arched brows framed a pair of almond-shaped eyes—cold and sharp, yet radiating a powerful allure. There was something paradoxical about her presence: an undeniable authority that commanded obedience, yet a magnetic grace that drew eyes to her. The contrast was intoxicating.She wore a beige blazer and matching trousers, and looked effortlessly elegan

While Marc was still coming to grips with the full scope of his new abilities, Darla remained rooted to the same spot, deep in thought. She was trying to figure out a way to meet with her parents. That’s when voices drifted in from the entrance hall.At the far end, Miralda strode in with poised, commanding steps—an aura of authority radiating from her, compelling and elegant all at once. Beside her walked Godfrey, who appeared to be explaining something to her as they moved.As the two of them entered the sitting room, their eyes immediately landed on Darla, who had just turned to leave.In that moment, anyone witnessing the scene would’ve thought Darla stood on equal footing with the duchess herself. Both women possessed a captivating presence—Miralda with her graceful maturity, Darla with her youthful brilliance. Different kinds of beauty, but equally enchanting.Normally, it wouldn’t be a woman’s place to compliment another woman so openly. But Miralda, recognizing Darla’s radianc

"Your Grace, please."Godfrey took the black wooden box from Edwin and, with a respectful nod, placed it gently in front of Miralda.“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me,” Miralda said, attempting to stop him.But the earl was far too delighted by the duchess’s visit to his estate—a subtle gesture that hinted she might truly honor her promise to support him. To Godfrey, going the extra mile was no trouble at all."Allow me to open it for you, Your Grace."The moment he lifted the lid, a golden gleam spilled out from inside the box.It wasn’t just Miralda—everyone in the room was captivated by what they saw.“My God… I never thought I’d see this here,” Miralda thought to herself. As someone who had seen more than her share of precious artifacts, she immediately recognized the immense value of the golden token before her.“But why would Skarleta give something like this to a human?”Her brow furrowed deeply as she picked up the token. Whatever this was, it held a value far