The S class Guide belongs to the Duke

~Chapter 4~

The words wouldn't disappear no matter how hard she blinked.

[Host has been designated: S-Class Guide.]

Elewisa stared at the shimmering text hovering just beyond her vision, impossible and glowing faintly gold against the plain wood of her ceiling. She squeezed her eyes shut, certain that when she opened them again the madness would be gone, that her head — still throbbing from whatever had struck it the night before — was simply playing tricks born of trauma and near-death. But when she opened her eyes, the words remained, patient and unbothered by her disbelief.

I drowned. The thought arrived with a strange, distant clarity. I drowned, and now I'm losing my mind.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again.

The golden letters remained exactly where they had been.

Patient.

Unbothered by her disbelief.

Her breath caught.

Then another line appeared.

[Host has received first mission.]

Elewisa reached toward it instinctively, as if she could touch the words and prove to herself they were real —

The door slammed open and the golden screen vanished.

"I told you she'd wake up," Elewisa froze.

Orla's voice sang out from the doorway, bright with malice.

Petra entered behind her.

For one brief second, Elewisa couldn't breathe.

Memories came rushing back.

The blow to the back of her head.

The sack.

The freezing water closing over her.

Her fingers clawing desperately at the rope around her leg.

voices, their voices.

Petra swept into the room like she owned it, arms crossed, dark eyes raking over Elewisa with open disgust. She circled the bed slowly, unhurried, savoring every step the way a cat savors the last moments before it pounces. "Well, well, well." Her mouth curved, cold and thin. "The rat just won't die."

Elewisa pushed herself upright.

Pain immediately tore through her body.

Petra noticed.

Her smile widened.

"Careful."

She moved closer.

"We wouldn't want you hurting yourself after everything you've already survived."

Elewisa's fingers curled into the blanket.

"What do you want?"

Orla laughed.

"She has questions now."

Petra circled the bed slowly.

"The rat almost dies, and suddenly she finds her courage."

Elewisa's stomach tightened.

She knew what they were here for.

She had seen it in Petra's eyes the moment she entered.

They hadn't come to check on her.

They had come to make sure she stayed silent.

Orla moved first.

Her hand tangled in Elewisa's hair.

Elewisa gasped as her head was yanked back.

Pain exploded through her skull.

The exact place where she had been struck the night before flared.

She tried to pull away.

Sable stepped forward.

Her trembling hand covered Elewisa's mouth before she could scream.

Elewisa's eyes widened.

Sable wouldn't look at her.

Not once.

Tears burned in Elewisa's eyes.

Petra leaned close.

You're testing my patience, rat." Her voice dropped, quiet and venomous.

"When something dies," she whispered, "it's supposed to stay dead. Not crawl back up and refuse to learn its lesson."

Elewisa struggled.

Sable's hand shook harder.

Petra grabbed Elewisa's chin.

"Why do you keep clinging to the count?"

Elewisa stared at her.

"What?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know."

Petra's grip tightened.

"Why does he pay you so much attention?"

Elewisa's eyes lowered.

She had asked herself the same question many times.

Caius had always been kind to her.

Too kind, according to the other servants.

But she knew why she remained loyal to him.

She owed his father her life.

And she owed Caius—

No.

That wasn't something she allowed herself to think about.

"You're nothing but a maid," Petra continued. "Remember that."

Elewisa remained silent.

Petra's smile disappeared.

"You will not breathe a word of last night to him. Not to anyone. " Elewisa swallowed.

Petra's fingers dug deeper into her jaw.

"Because if you do, this time we'll make sure you stay at the bottom of that river."

A chill spread through Elewisa.

"Do you understand?"

Orla pulled harder on her hair.

Pain shot through her scalp.

Elewisa nodded immediately.

Frantically, desperate for the hand fisted in her hair to loosen.

Petra released her and Elewisa collapsed sideways against the pillow.

"Good."

Petra turned toward the door.

Orla followed.

Sable lingered.

For the briefest moment, her eyes met Elewisa's.

There was guilt there.

Fear.

Then Sable looked away.

Petra paused at the doorway.

"One more thing." She didn't bother turning around.

Elewisa slowly looked up.

"Stay away from the count."

Petra didn't turn around.

"We can't have a dirty little whore trying to climb into our master's bed, can we?"

Elewisa flinched.

Petra smiled.

"Keep your distance."

Her voice sharpened.

"Starting now."

The door shut behind them.

Silence returned.

Elewisa remained still for several seconds.

Then she brought a shaking hand to her mouth.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to run.

Most of all, she wanted to tell Caius everything.

But Petra's voice wouldn't leave her head.

This time we'll make sure you stay at the bottom of that river.

Elewisa squeezed her eyes shut.

She had survived once.

She didn't know if she would survive them again.

Caius pushed open the door later that morning with Halden behind him.

"Are you satisfied now?" he asked over his shoulder. "I've had my guiding session with Lord Ashcombe, though I doubt my condition has improved enough to justify the inconvenience."

Halden sighed.

"My lord—"

Caius stopped.

The room was empty.

The bed had been made.

Perfectly.

Not a single wrinkle remained in the blankets.

For a moment, he simply stared.

Then his jaw tightened.

Of course.

Of course she had gotten out of bed.

The woman had nearly drowned the night before, spent the entire night unconscious with a fever, and somehow decided that resting was the greater inconvenience.

"Halden."

His voice sharpened.

"Find her."

Halden looked toward the perfectly made bed.

"Now."

Elewisa knocked on the office door twenty minutes later.

Her hand trembled faintly against the wood before she forced herself to still it.

"Come in."

Elewisa stepped inside, and despite everything — despite the pounding still lingering behind her eyes, despite Petra's threat still ringing fresh in her ears — she found herself caught, just for a breath, by the sight of him. Caius sat behind his desk with his sleeves rolled to the forearm, ink-stained fingers braced against a stack of papers, a loose strand of pale blond hair falling across his brow that he hadn't bothered to push back. There was something almost unfairly handsome about him in the unguarded quiet of his own office, something that made her chest ache in a way she didn't have the right to feel.

He looked up and caught her staring.

Heat flooded her face instantly. She dropped her gaze to the floor and stayed exactly where she was, several careful paces from his desk.

Come closer."

"I'm fine here, master."

Silence.

Elewisa knew that silence.

Slowly, she looked up.

Caius was staring at her.

"Elewisa."

His voice carried a warning.

She didn't move.

So he did.

Caius rose from behind his desk and crossed the room.

Elewisa instinctively stepped back.

His hand caught her wrist.

Not painfully.

But firmly enough to stop her retreat.

"Master—"

"Sit."

He led her toward the couch beside the window.

Elewisa sat.

Mostly because she had learned from experience that Caius became increasingly stubborn when someone challenged him.

He took the seat beside her.

"I was fine standing."

"You were also apparently fine leaving your sickbed without telling anyone."

Elewisa lowered her eyes.

He studied her.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm well."

"Elewisa."

She sighed.

"Better."

Caius leaned back slightly.

"Why did you leave?"

She twisted her fingers together.

"I didn't want to cause trouble."

Something in his expression changed.

Trouble.

As though the word itself offended him.

"Is that what you think you are?"

Elewisa looked up.

Caius's gaze was fixed on her.

She immediately looked away.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

Silence settled between them.

Then his expression hardened.

"What happened last night?"

Elewisa froze.

The river flashed through her mind.

Petra's face.

The rope around her wrists.

The threat.

Her throat tightened.

"I don't remember."

Caius didn't answer immediately.

"I finished my duties," she continued quickly. "Then I went for a walk, and—"

Her voice faltered.

"Nothing."

Caius watched her.

She could feel his disbelief.

"You don't remember anything?"

Elewisa shook her head.

It wasn't entirely a lie.

There were parts of the night she didn't understand.

The stone.

The light.

The strange words floating before her eyes.

Caius reached for her hand.

Elewisa flinched.

He paused.

His fingers remained suspended between them for a second.

Then he slowly rested his hand over hers.

The contact was warm.

Familiar.

And suddenly, for reasons she didn't understand, Elewisa wanted to pull away.

Not because she was afraid of him.

Because if she stayed there much longer, she might forget how to lie to him.

"You don't have to force yourself to remember," Caius said quietly.

Elewisa swallowed.

"Just rest."

"I'm fine."

"No."

She blinked.

Caius's jaw tightened.

"You're taking a month off."

Elewisa stared at him.

"A month?"

"Yes."

"My lord, that's completely unnecessary."

"You nearly died."

"I can work."

"A month."

"My lord—"

"Elewisa."

She crossed her arms.

He stared at her.

She stared back.

Neither moved.

Finally, Caius exhaled.

"Two weeks."

"One."

"Two."

"One."

His eyes narrowed.

Elewisa knew she was pushing her luck.

But two weeks away from her duties meant two weeks trapped in the manor.

Two weeks for Petra to watch her.

To threaten her.

To decide that silence wasn't enough.

"One week," Caius said finally.

Elewisa nodded immediately.

Before he could change his mind.

Caius sighed.

"You are impossible."

Elewisa allowed herself the smallest smile.

For a moment, the fear in her chest loosened.

Then Caius looked at her again.

And his expression became serious.

"If you remember anything about last night, you tell me."

Her smile disappeared.

"Yes, master."

She stood.

Caius watched her cross the room.

Her hand had just reached for the door when a chill moved down her spine.

Elewisa stopped.

The golden words appeared at the edge of her vision.

[Mission timer activated.]

Her breath caught.

Another line appeared beneath it.

[Failure to complete the mission before the timer expires will result in punishment.]

Elewisa stared.

Then the final line appeared.

[Time remaining: 23:59:59.]

The numbers began to count down.

23:59:58.

Elewisa's fingers tightened around the door handle.

She had survived drowning.

But somehow, she had the terrifying feeling that surviving the river had only been the beginning.