"Your Highness, what are your plans?"

Harlan looked at Maggie, who was deep in thought, and asked softly.

"Let me see the letter first."

Maggie didn't answer, but turned and went into the house. Knowing the Duke's character, he knew that her repeated failure to keep her promises and her two-faced behavior were intentional, and he would definitely come up with a solution.

The current situation is that she has the means to manipulate the Duke, but the Duke does not.

The Duke used to treat her as a weak and easily bullied little daughter, but after these experiences of being tricked, he has probably realized that she is not a little lamb, but a wolf with sharp claws.

So what are some ways to make a wolf obey?

Maggie unfolded the letter and quickly skimmed through its contents, which were mostly polite greetings, as usual.

There wasn't even a request for help, which is very unusual.

Maggie frowned subconsciously. Just as she was about to put the letter down, she remembered something. Her gaze swept over the lamp on the table with the candle burning, and she gently placed the letter not far from the wick.

As she expected, blood-red writing appeared on the back of the letter.

It is manic and disturbing.

The ink and brushes were made with water from a river in hell, and they have a very Duke-like style.

Despite her discomfort, Maggie took the letter back and began to read its contents carefully.

The further Maggie read, the colder her expression became. After finishing, she burned the letter to ashes.

I don't want to leave any trace.

But in the candlelight, the figure of a duke appeared, his back to her, and a cold voice echoed in the room.

"Whether you are a ghost, a demon, or anything else, since you have taken over my daughter's body, you must obey me, otherwise... the consequences will be as written in the letter."

After he finished speaking, the demonic power ignited by the flames was completely cleared away by the temple's built-in barrier, and the figure disappeared.

Maggie was too late to stop it, and had no way to stop it at all; she didn't have the power to eliminate the demonic power the Duke possessed for the time being.

She knew Harlan was waiting for her at the door and had most likely overheard the Duke's words.

With her back to Harlan, her spine ramrod straight, she was frantically brainstorming, simulating all sorts of Harlan's reactions upon hearing these words.

No matter how I think about it, I feel that Harlan will definitely become suspicious because of this.

His paranoia and pettiness are well-known.

Even though she doesn't have any characteristics of a wandering ghost, an undead demon.

After all, she was just an ordinary soul, replacing Maggie herself.

She now has only one option: to pretend nothing is wrong and make Harlan think the Duke has gone mad.

Anyway, no one in this world could detect her abnormality, not even the Demon King.

No matter how many tests are conducted, it is impossible to detect that her soul and body do not match.

Only by extracting her soul can one see the difference between her physical appearance and her physical appearance.

Or perhaps she has transformed into an undead, and only a ghost-like undead can display her true characteristics; even a lich cannot.

However, in the current continent of Coral, souls cannot be preserved, so confirming that she is not the original soul is a very difficult task.

There is no need to be anxious about this.

Maggie had figured out a solution and was about to turn around when she heard Harlan suddenly speak slowly.

"It seems the Duke is indeed desperate and has become a mad dog, biting people indiscriminately, threatening my Holy Maiden with such absurd possibilities and speculations."

As if he had anticipated Maggie's thoughts, he directly uttered the excuse that was just in her head.

This caused Maggie, who was about to speak after meeting Harlen's eyes, to momentarily freeze in her tracks.

"?"

Maggie looked into Harlan's eyes, where his expression held a hint of innocence and his voice was languid.

"What's wrong? If Your Highness is unhappy, the Holy Knights can speed up the process of eliminating the slave strongholds."

His tone was calm, but it was clear that he wanted to vent his anger on Maggie's behalf.

In an instant, all the possibilities that Maggie had just considered were overturned. How could this person not have become suspicious?

Is it true or false?

This made Maggie start to doubt herself.

Is it possible that she really doesn't understand Harlen's personality?

"...No need. Pushing him to the brink will only make things more complicated. We haven't found his ultimate weakness yet, so we need to be careful."

Maggie looked away, her voice calm, though it was all an act; she didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will do as you say."

Harlan narrowed his eyes, lowered his gaze, and nodded in agreement.

Although there was a minor hiccup, things were still relatively clear. Maggie was a little concerned about the contents of the letter, so she decided to send Harlan away directly.

To everyone's surprise, although the man agreed verbally, his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and he showed no intention of leaving.

Maggie argued with him for a long time, but seeing that Harlan showed no sign of leaving, she could only frown and ask him.

"Does Commander Knight have anything else to say?"

The way she addressed Harlan by her title already carried a hint of dissatisfaction, which Harlan naturally picked up on.

He suddenly braced his elbow against the frame of Maggie's door, as if to prevent Maggie from slamming the door shut in a moment.

After a long pause, he asked in a slightly low voice.

"If the Duke threatens you in his letter, I can take care of it for you."

His tone was earnest, as if he genuinely wanted to help Maggie eliminate any future troubles.

As soon as she finished speaking, Maggie paused, then looked up at Harlan again, her voice slightly colder.

"No need for you to trouble yourself, Commander Knight, I can handle it myself."

Maggie's cold face was obvious. She thought Harlan would be a sensible person and wouldn't say anything even if he saw through her, but now he actually wanted to pry into her privacy under the guise of 'solving her troubles'.

That's a huge lack of boundaries.

"..."

Harlan's eyes darkened as he watched Maggie's guarded expression return. Finally, he lowered his arm and stopped blocking the doorway.

As he did so, Maggie slammed the door shut with a bang.

Harlen wasn't even given a chance to say goodbye.

A door separated the two people, and after Maggie closed the door, her face turned as black as charcoal.

"As expected, he still had his doubts!"

Maggie was furious. If Harlan hadn't suspected her, he definitely wouldn't have asked the following questions. So all that arguing with her earlier was about this.

If she ever trusts him even a little bit again, she's a dog!

But she quickly became incredibly calm.

Even if a god were to come now, he wouldn't be able to detect the discrepancy between her soul and body.

Even if you have doubts, what can you do?

Outside the door, Harlan's white-gloved hands hung limply at the sides of his long legs, his eyes lowered as if lost in thought.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and placed it in front of him, staring intently at his palm.

Time ticked by, and a helpless sigh echoed down the corridor, accompanied by a man's barely audible murmur.

"What difference does it make whether you are or not..."

He just wanted to help her get rid of anything that could threaten her.

Unfortunately, his Holy Maiden still didn't trust him enough.