Chapter 26

“It’s all right now.”

As if he had been waiting, Duke Mayhard quickly let go of Yelena’s hand and stepped back.

Yelena inwardly pouted at his action.

‘Seriously! It’s not like I have a virus.’

Of course, Yelena knew that it wasn’t his intention.

‘But still, it makes others feel shameful and embarrassed.’

Honestly, they had hugged and slept together, so what’s with the reaction…?

Yelena stopped as she snapped out of her thoughts.

‘What was I thinking?’

Yelena stood up from her seat abruptly.

She pushed back her chair, which noisily screeched.

“Thank you. I’ll be leaving now,” Yelena stiffly replied.

Yelena quickly left the office without even looking back, even after stepping beyond the door frame.

Though she always realized it late, somehow, it felt like deja vu every time she came and left, but she could not do anything about it now.

***

Even after a day, Yelena still could not figure out a reason why she got goosebumps when she met Incan.

It did not matter to her since she was busying herself with something else.

“Do you want us to find this old woman?”

The butler, Ben, looked at Yelena.

Yelena nodded. “I don’t care how long it takes. As for the fees… those don’t matter either. If you need the Duke’s approval, I’ll get it from him.”

Ben shook his head and replied, “No. This is well within your authority. But… I’m not sure if we’ll be able to locate her since she has an ordinary face.”

Ben’s was right.

Yelena recalled the features of the old woman.

Her facial features were average. There was nothing special about her eye or hair color.

‘That eerie feeling was definitely special, but if the old woman wanted to hide it, they wouldn’t have a chance to locate her.’

Although locating the woman wouldn’t be easy, Yelena still wanted to try.

“Please. Find her to the best of your ability. She is someone really important to me.”

‘She is also important to you and your master… Actually, she’s important to everyone in this world.’

Yelena swallowed the words she could not utter.

“I understand.”

Yelena stared out the window after Ben left.

The sun was already hanging in the middle of the sky.

‘It’s been some time since I had breakfast.’

Yelena felt hungry after realizing what time it was.

She came out of the study and headed to the dining room.

Before she turned the corner, a faint whisper reached her ears.

“Is it true?”

“Of course. You must never ignore a woman’s instinct.”

A woman’s instinct.

Incan resurfaced in Yelena’s mind when she heard those words. Those goosebumps.

‘Could it be classified as some sort of instinct as well?’

Yelena stopped in her tracks in deep thought, and the voices around the corner continued.

“Could it just be your gut and not a woman’s instinct? I didn’t feel anything…”

“Is that important right now? Anyway, it was more important whether he was a criminal before.”

“Well, that’s true. Who knows? He might look kind on the outside, but he could also be a human trafficker who kidnaps children….”

Yelena’s brows furrowed.

The worst criminal there was.

“And I nearly met that kind of man. How terrible.”

“How did you know you should avoid him?”

“I told you. I accidentally touched his hand, and goosebumps immediately crawled all over my body.”

Yelena’s eyes widened.

“Oh, right. Wow… To think that the goosebumps were a sign that he was a criminal.”

“You’d better be careful too. If you get chills and goosebumps when coming into contact with someone, you’d better run. It’s your instinct warning you.”

“Okay… But I really didn’t get it.”

“What would you do if you had them?”

The conversation gradually grew faint.

Even after the voice had disappeared, Yelena stood rooted in the same spot for quite some time.

Just then, someone called out to her from behind.

“Your Ladyship.”

“Gasp!”

Yelena, who was lost in thoughts, turned around in surprise.

Incan Marezon stood there with an awkward smile on his face.

“I apologize. Were you surprised because of me?”

“No, it’s fine. I was thinking about something.”

The corners of Yelena’s mouth crept up awkwardly.

“Are you on your way to the dining room?”

“Ah, yes, but…”

“I’m on my way there as well. If you’re alright with it, shall we head over together?”

Yelena shook her head and took a step back.

The forced smile at the corners of her mouth felt like they were having spasms.