There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10.
Damn that Knox!
He won’t let me drop my guard for a second.
I kept feigning sleep while grinding my teeth inwardly.
Runelk Ains, the junior member of the Action Squad, would be sleeping soundly until someone knocked on the door.
Whisper, whisper.
Sharpening my Acute Hearing made it all the clearer.
The footsteps were on an entirely different level from the careless noise Jake would make.
Whisper, whisper, swish.
The soft friction of a shoe sole grazing the floor sounded like wind.
These footsteps—barely audible even if you strained to listen in the silent dead of night—were the movements of a properly trained professional.
‘Please just walk past. Please.’
I didn’t know who it was, but the infirmary corridor could’ve been a shortcut to their destination, right?
‘Please.’
Swish—
Hell.
The footsteps finally stopped right in front of my room.
Click-snap.
Even after turning the doorknob, they didn’t open the door immediately.
It was unavoidable—if the noise had woken the target inside, the intruder needed to take precautions.
By now, they were probably pressing their ear against the door, checking if my breathing or presence had changed.
The best response would be to kick the door open and strike first.
But I kept my breathing steady and even.
‘No Killing Intent.’
They were sneaking in, but there was no sharp, stabbing Killing Intent.
That meant they had a different purpose.
Surveillance, perhaps. Or intimidation.
‘Which one, I wonder.’
Then again, an extremely skilled assassin sometimes concealed their Killing Intent until the moment they wielded their weapon.
Swish, swish.
Making even less sound than in the corridor, the footsteps crept steadily toward the bed. I didn’t miss a single step, keeping myself ready to open my eyes and roll under the mattress at any second.
Rustle!
A coarse cloth suddenly covered my face, and when I opened my eyes, I could see nothing.
‘Kidnapping was possible too, I suppose.’
As I thrashed about convincingly, a strong hand clamped over my mouth.
“Mmph!”
If the target seemed ready to cry out and struggled like this, it would be natural for a kidnapper to threaten them—scream and I’ll kill you, stay quiet or die.
This intruder—no, this kidnapper—didn’t do that.
My attempt to glean any hint about an unseen opponent from their voice or manner failed completely.
The price of my failure came as a sharp hand strike to the back of my neck.
Thwack!
‘Ah, they missed.’
Still, I let my body go limp as if I’d lost consciousness. The kidnapper hoisted me onto their shoulder and began moving.
‘Wickes didn’t send them.’
There’s no way they’d handle an enemy who’d killed the boss so gently.
At least I could take some comfort knowing Edward hadn’t ordered this.
‘Right. A kidnapping isn’t really Edward’s style anyway.’
He’d rather storm the main gate of Knox Estate.
So who then?
I was running through whether I’d made any enemies during my time at Knox Estate who’d warrant an abduction, when I heard a sound—clink, clink.
Like a small bead rolling, followed by a sweet fragrance spreading through the air.
‘Are they eating candy?’
No matter how well I was feigning unconsciousness, this person had absolutely no tension about them.
My own tension deflated along with theirs.
But something felt off.
‘Why are we going up?’
The infirmary was located on the first floor of the main hall, in the east wing.
Someone this skilled would’ve found it far easier to spirit a single person out without being seen.
Yet this kidnapper was heading upward, not out.
And specifically through the central staircase.
The second floor. Then the third.
Absurdly, the kidnapper walked through the main hall’s staircase as if they owned the place—only lowering their footsteps when they reached the third floor.
‘What’s on the third floor of the main hall again?’
I pulled up the mental map of the Knox Estate.
The third floor’s layout was simple.
The Conference Hall where that incident had happened before, and, and…
‘No way.’
A hollow laugh escaped me even as a chill raced down my spine.
‘Get out of here.’
The sound of a door opening made me thrash and try to break free, but I was dumped like baggage onto a hard floor.
Thud!
The damn kidnapper slipped away with infuriating ease, as if they’d finished their job and were done.
“Ugh…”
I rubbed my aching backside while yanking the sack off my face with my free hand.
Or rather, I tried to.
Pause.
‘Someone’s here.’
I felt a faint presence at a short distance away.
It flickered briefly and vanished just as quickly, but I was certain—I wasn’t alone in this room.
‘Pretending to be unconscious again would be… too late now, wouldn’t it?’
Ah, I hate removing this sack.
I’d rather not see anything ever again, if I’m honest.
Slip.
The face covering, already half-removed, fell away despite my reluctance.
And what appeared in my now-brightening vision was—
“You came.”
Killian, silhouetted against the cold moon.
***
If only I could turn back time, I’d want to grab the Dupon Clan’s man by the collar hours ago and demand an explanation.
‘The Duke is terribly busy with urgent business!’
Actually, if I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have stopped the Green Merchant Company’s man either.
I should have just left Killian Knox to his own devices.
But regret, as always, came too late.
Gulp.
The sound of me swallowing hard echoed loudly in the silence.
In that needle-point quiet, Killian Knox’s golden eyes glimmered.
But what made me hold my breath even more was the Killing Intent that pricked at my skin.
Killing Intent laid bare, with no attempt to conceal it.
A concentration of Killing Intent so thick and suffocating it was hard to imagine emanating from that expressionless face—it poured toward me without restraint.
He wants my blood.
…Why?
“Runelk Ains, member of the Action Squad.”
Killian Knox spoke my name.
“Y-yes, sir. I am Runelk Ains…”
“You stopped the Green Merchant Company’s man here today.”
I was indeed kneeling in the middle of the Duke’s Office.
There was only the Conference Hall and the Duke’s Office on the third floor.
“How did you know?”
“What do you mean—I was clearly sleeping in the infirmary, so why am I here…?”
“I’m asking how you knew the Green Merchant Company’s man was targeting my life.”
Killian Knox spoke each syllable as if grinding it out.
It was entirely unlike him.
‘This is bad.’
The Killian Knox I’d encountered in the bathroom was threatening. The Killian Knox who’d kicked an assassin’s head to shut them up was threatening enough.
But nothing compared to the man before me now.
“Well, the truth is… something felt off.”
I kept my posture low and answered carefully.
“Even though Decon’s letter specified a time with plenty of cushion, he was pressing urgently that you’d be late. And something about him seemed… impatient.”
“Impatient?”
“M-most people would be nervous about meeting the Duke, but he was acting like he couldn’t wait any longer to see you. That seemed strange to me, so…”
Despite my meandering explanation—the sort an eager junior operative might give—nothing came back.
…Did it work?
It had to have worked.
Otherwise, I would—
Then Killian Knox walked up in front of me and commanded:
“Lift your head.”
I slowly straightened my prostrate body.
I knew that if I didn’t obey, Killian’s foot would crush my skull without hesitation.
“Strange indeed.”
The moment I raised my head with all my strength, he pushed his face close to mine.
Breathe in sharply.
Seeing me freeze in surprise, he murmured:
“Rather strange.”
Interest? Displeasure?
The emotions flickering across those golden eyes were impossible to pin down.
“Even before you removed that face covering just now, you already sensed my presence. Didn’t you?”
“That was just… pure coincidence…”
“When the Green Merchant Company’s man arrived.”
This time Killian Knox shifted the conversation back to events from earlier in the day.
“Neither Dupon, nor Decon, nor any of the Knight Order standing guard at the door detected that he was targeting me. Since it’s rare for an insect to come crawling directly at me, I was the only one watching him. But you… you saw the same thing I did.”
Between his low words came a rough, growling undertone.
“Was that coincidence too, Runelk Ains?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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