There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 14

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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 14.
Rough and crude as it may be, there’s no helping it.
Right now I’m empty-handed—no established network of informants, no seasoned intelligence sources.
‘And Jake seems like he might know something about this.’
Sensing the faint hope in my gaze, Jake beckoned me closer with a single finger.
I immediately bowed my head toward him and leaned in to listen intently.
“Rookie.”
“Yes?”
“Knowing too much gets you hurt.”
“…I’d rather not know, then.”
I’m a fool for hoping.
“You act like you know every rumor floating around Nox all by yourself.”
“This is all advice for your own good! Words that’ll become bone and flesh!”
Jake raised his voice defensively.
“This isn’t just anywhere—it’s Nox. Sure, it’s a proper ducal house now, but not that long ago… Anyway, it’s a far more ruthless place than you think.”
And the only way I survive is by uncovering ‘the darkest secret’ of this ruthless place.
“Ugh.”
As I heaved a frustrated sigh, the other seniors seemed to interpret it as disappointment and came to my defense.
“Don’t be like that, Jake. The kid might just be curious!”
“Yeah. Well, let’s see—there are some interesting rumors.”
“Wasn’t there a story like that a long time ago? You know, back when the previous Duke passed away…?”
“Why are you bringing up something from back then!”
Yeon-cho snapped sharply at the offhand remark Buzz-cut had just thrown out.
‘The previous Duke?’
Killian Nox had definitely told me to uncover ‘Nox’s darkest secret.’
Even if the man’s a monster, wouldn’t something involving his own father qualify as ‘dark’?
I latched onto this thread I’d barely managed to catch, unwilling to let it slip away.
“Shouldn’t I know about what happened to the previous Duke, though?”
When I asked with a serious tone—not mere idle curiosity—the seniors’ smiles gradually faded.
“Hmm, yeah. You should probably know so you can be careful.”
In the end, Yeon-cho scratched his head and spoke up.
“It’s nothing major. You know how the previous Duke passed away very suddenly, right?”
The death of Killian’s father, Leonard Nox, had been a shocking event that reverberated across the entire Continent.
He died in a Mana Train accident during a routine patrol of his domain.
The Nox Dukedom—so powerful it had even made the Emperor tremble—was left vacant with no preparation whatsoever.
At the time, Killian was barely eighteen, having just come of age, and he had a younger half-brother, Elias, who was ten years his junior.
But the problem was that Killian and Elias had different mothers.
Killian’s birth mother, the first Duchess, had died of illness when he was only three, and when his father remarried years later, things between Killian and his stepmother were not good.
“Is it the rumor that the Duke was involved in his father’s death?”
“Shh, shh!”
Even though I’d spoken in a hushed voice given the nature of the subject, Yeon-cho brought a finger to his lips and kept glancing nervously around.
Not that there was anything out here on the Nox Castle Walls in the dead of night but darkness and trees.
“There’s only us here, though.”
“Don’t you know the saying that in Nox there are always ears listening? Anyway, the thing is what happened after that. Killian served as Acting Duke for a few months to manage the Ducal Family in the interim. Doesn’t that strike you as strange? That he didn’t immediately inherit the title even though he was a perfectly legitimate adult son?”
“Usually they try to avoid any gap in succession.”
Especially in a case of sudden death like the previous Nox Duke’s.
It was paramount to show both externally and internally that the house remained solid.
“At that time, the Duchess Reneta, his stepmother, was trying to make Elias—her biological son—the next Duke, so she’d been pulling the Vassal Houses to her side… ”
“Ah, this kid sure loves to talk! Why’s the introduction so long!”
Buzz-cut burst out irritably.
It was clear he wasn’t comfortable dwelling on the dark history of the Nox clan.
“To put it simply, Elias, who was still young back then, died afterward. People gossiped that our Duke had killed his brother just like he’d killed his father. But the real rumor that circulated fairly strongly was that Reneta was actually the true culprit.”
“His own mother?”
“Yeah. She was quite an unusual woman in her own way. Though she was the lady of the house, she also had a hand in various Nox business ventures.”
As I listened quietly to Buzz-cut, Jake leaned over and hurriedly added something for my benefit.
“Anyway, ever since then, the name Reneta has become something of a taboo. So watch your tongue about it, Rookie.”
“Come on, if it had happened recently, sure. But why bring up something that happened ages ago?”
“Right, you’re a sharp one, so you’ll know how to conduct yourself properly.”
Jake, who’d been warning me all the way through, quickly changed the subject.
True to form of a man who loves his drink, his new topic was alcohol.
“Have you tried the new wine they got at Peter’s restaurant recently? It’s not too sweet, it’s crisp—absolutely divine!”
“No matter what, Yanik’s beer is the best!”
Both Peter’s place and Yanik’s place were small restaurants inside Nox Castle.
As each man mentioned where he was a regular, getting so heated about it that veins stood out in their necks, I ended up learning the signature dishes of each restaurant and even which wines paired best with them.
I interjected appropriately here and there, mentally organizing the information the seniors had given me.
Killian Nox had killed his young half-sibling and his stepmother, consolidated his power, and inherited the Dukedom.
That was the information I’d gathered back when I was in Wickes, and it was the accepted truth.
‘But the people inside Nox itself are saying something different.’
When collecting information on noble houses, you always start with servants and stable hands.
Even if their accounts have exaggerated elements, they tend to be fairly accurate based on what they’ve actually witnessed and heard.
‘This is worth investigating further.’
This was my first assignment—the one Killian Nox had thrown at me, betting my own life on it.
I absolutely wanted to see that smug face of his twist in disbelief.
With that resolution, I fed a few more heavy logs into the campfire that had shrunk in size.
Crack!
“Ow, that burns! Rookie, you little bastard, be more careful!”
Buzz-cut flared up at the sparks that had erupted when the log fell onto the flames.
Ah, my mistake.
Killian Nox’s shameless face had popped into my head, and without thinking, I’d gripped the log too hard.
Fortunately, nobody seemed to have noticed the handprint I’d left on the log that fell into the fire.
I lowered my head sheepishly.
“I apologize, senior.”
***
The night watch, which had seemed like it would never end, finally finished as dawn broke.
Hartman stretched languidly.
“Whew, I’m dying. We worked so hard my whole body’s aching.”
Worked—as if we didn’t just play Card Playing at the Guard Post the whole time.
The seniors who’d noticed my silent grumbling patted my shoulders a couple times, then one by one got to their feet.
“We’re heading out. Make sure you hand over properly to the day shift.”
“Yes, sir. Go ahead.”
Cleaning up before the shift change was, of course, the youngest member’s job.
After tidying up the mess the seniors had left at the Guard Post and finishing the handover to the day shift, when I stepped outside, it was already morning in earnest.
“Rookie!”
“Rookie, we’re here!”
Running toward me with cheerful voices calling my name were the maids who worked at the Annex Building.
“It’s been a while.”
“Rookie, how have you been?”
“My coworker was saying you were admitted to the Medical Ward!”
“Is it true that Rookie is the hero who stopped yesterday’s commotion?”
Their voices, chirping like birds in their maid uniforms, fit quite well with the bright morning air.
“The rumor’s spread that far already? It was me, but it wasn’t really such a big deal, you know.”
As I spoke awkwardly, they shook their neatly bound heads vigorously.
“Rookie, you’re still so young! The fact that you showed courage in such a frightening situation is amazing!”
“But you’re already doing night duty after all that?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“When you’re tired, something sweet is the best medicine!”
As they said so, a small paper bag they handed over gave off a sweet, savory aroma.
These were very kind people who had occasionally sought me out since not long after I’d arrived at Nox, bringing me homemade desserts as gifts.
“Now that Rookie’s exploits are getting known, our Lusamo is getting flooded with membership inquiries… ack!”
“Ha. Making cookies since dawn must have made her eat too much sugar—she’s talking nonsense.”
“It’s fresh from the oven, so it’ll taste great. Rookie, eat them all yourself!”
The other two desperately silenced the one saying incomprehensible things, pressed the bag into my hands, and dragged her away.
“Ack! Mmph!”
I waved back at the maid, who was making what seemed like farewell sounds with her mouth covered, and as her footsteps grew more distant, one oddly discordant sound mixed in with them.
Clink, clink.
It was coming from the blonde-haired maid on the far right.
“Hmm.”
I opened the bag and tasted one of its contents, and sure enough, the freshly baked cookies were delicious.
“Didn’t he say he loves sweet things?”
Information I’d gathered long ago and thrown into the corner of my mind suddenly surfaced.
“I can use this as an excuse.”
I closed the paper bag, holding it in one hand as I chewed the remaining cookies and headed toward the Main Building.

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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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