His silence was the wrong kind—too controlled, too unbothered. A normal man caught snooping in the middle of the night would've blurted excuses, tried to laugh it off, or at least shown a flicker of panic.
But he just…stood there.
Like a predator deciding whether the thing in front of him was prey or something worse.
"I see…" he murmured, his voice so soft it barely rippled through the stale air. "You've been digging."
I pushed myself off the doorframe, my boots whispering against the carpet as I circled him—slowly, deliberately. "Someone has to," I replied. "Serena may trust you blindly, but I don't."
His jaw twitched at her name. Not anger—something sharper. Possessive. Dangerous.
"You think I'm here to hurt her?" he asked.
"I think," I said, stepping close enough that he could feel the heat of my breath, "you're a man who hides too much to be harmless."
He allowed himself a low, humorless laugh. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?"
I reached past him and grabbed the book his hand had been hovering over earlier. A nondescript volume—thick, dusty, forgettable. But as I opened it, a sliver of folded parchment slipped out.
He didn't move.
"Careless," I whispered.
I unfolded the parchment. Codes. Coordinates. A symbol I recognized—a mark belonging to a group that didn't forgive failures.
His eyes flickered. Not surprise. Recognition.
So I had been right.
"You're not here because you want to be," I said softly, letting the truth settle between us like the cold edge of a blade. "You were placed here. Embedded. Watching. Waiting."
"For what?" he asked, his voice now stripped of civility.
"For her," I replied. "For Serena."
His silence was confirmation.
I stepped back, giving him space—but not freedom.
"You know," I continued, the faintest smirk tugging at my lips, "it's funny. People like you always slip up eventually. Even the ones who think they've erased their names from the world."
He lifted his chin slightly. "And what do you plan to do with what you know?"
I held his gaze. "That depends."
"On?"
"On whether your master sent you here to protect her…" I said, letting the pages of the book whisper shut between us, "…or to destroy her."
Something sharp passed through his eyes then—fear? No. Something more painful. More personal.
And just like that, I knew.
He wasn't here on orders anymore.
He was trapped.
By loyalty.
By guilt.
By her.
"You've grown attached," I murmured. "A dangerous thing for a man like you."
He didn't deny it.
He didn't have to.
Because the truth was written across every taut line of his body.
And for the first time that night, a different kind of tension filled the library—one that promised this confrontation was only the beginning of something far more explosive.
The door clicked shut behind me—soft, almost polite—but the echo of my words hung in the corridor like a blade suspended over a throat. I didn't bother looking back. If he had anything left to say, he would've said it while staring me down earlier. The fact that he let me leave without a retort only proved one thing:
He was rattled.
Good.
The lamps along the hallway flickered low, throwing long, distorting shadows that crawled along the walls. My footsteps were steady, unhurried, but inside my mind was a riot of calculations. Threads of information wove together, tangling, tightening, forming the picture I had been trying to ignore.
Serena…
Her trembling hands.
Her sleepless nights.
The way she'd look over her shoulder when she thought no one was watching.
She wasn't imagining enemies.
Someone had given her a reason to fear.
Someone had whispered the right poison into her ear.
Someone had sent a weapon into our house.
And they had done it with knowledge of her weakest point—Eiser.
I stopped at the end of the hall, fingers brushing the cold wood of the banister. For a moment, I listened.
Silence.
Then—
A faint, controlled exhale from behind the library door.
He was still standing there. Still thinking.
Still regretting something.
I smirked to myself and kept walking.
The deeper I moved into the manor, the clearer my thoughts became. The pieces didn't just fit—they locked, one by one, with brutal precision.
Serena's fear wasn't baseless.
The bodyguard wasn't her enemy.
The enemy was the one who fed her fear and watched it bloom into paranoia.
A puppeteer with a purpose.
What purpose?
To break the Serenity Family?
To tear apart the last alliance holding the region in balance?
To turn Serena into a shield… or a sacrifice?
My jaw tightened.
And Eiser…
Whatever monster she imagined him to be, he wasn't the threat she thought. Not yet. Not unless someone pushed him. Not unless someone turned him into one.
I reached the foot of the grand staircase and paused, resting my hand lightly on the carved wooden rail.
Upstairs—Serena slept restlessly.
Downstairs—in the shadows of the annex—lay answers we weren't allowed to touch.
And behind me, in the library, stood a man forced into a role he didn't want.
A puppet with enough teeth to bite back.
But even puppets had strings.
And I intended to find who was holding his.
A low, humorless chuckle escaped me as I turned toward the annex's direction—the one place in this entire estate that still whispered danger.
"Let's see who's really moving the pieces…"
My voice barely rose above a breath, but the storm gathering within me needed no audience.
This was no longer just a race.
It was a hunt.
As soon as the office door closed behind her, her delighted hums muffled by the walls, my expression shifted—no warmth, no indulgence. Only a cold calculation remained beneath the mask.
The smile I had worn for her dissolved, leaving behind the man only the shadows of this manor were allowed to see.
Good…
She liked it.
She felt safe.
She saw only the colors, the cute toys, the softened light of a reconstructed sanctuary.
She didn't notice the reinforced locks I'd added to the windows.
She didn't question why this room had only one exit.
She didn't wonder why the counter had been bolted down.
Serena saw comfort.
I saw strategy.
I walked down the corridor, my polished shoes echoing faintly on the marble, and allowed myself a breath—long, quiet, almost a sigh.
The role I played was a delicate one.
To her, I was the affectionate husband she could cling to in fear.
To the servant staff, the obsessive master who adored his wife to the point of madness.
To the bodyguard, an unstable tyrant blinded by jealousy.
But in truth?
I was the last thread of sanity holding this house together.
And the moment I loosened my grip, everything would collapse.
That night, I found myself standing by the balcony of my private quarters, the city lights flickering far below like a distant constellation. The cold air brushed my face, carrying the faint smell of rain.
Behind me, on a small side table, lay the report I had received earlier.
A coded message.
A shift in the enemy's movements.
A warning I was dangerously close to being discovered.
They're getting impatient…
I rubbed my temples.
They believed the bodyguard was still under their control.
They believed Serena was still fragile enough to manipulate.
And most importantly—
They believed I was still the fool they had painted me as.
Let them.
I glanced at the soft glow of the corridor leading to Serena's new sanctuary. I could almost imagine her curled up on the velvet couch, holding one of the pastel-colored rabbits, smiling gently to herself.
She needed moments like that.
Moments of innocence.
Moments where she could forget the world wanted to break her.
I would give her as many moments as she needed—
Even if I had to play the villain in my own story.
Even if I had to trap myself inside the role of the overbearing husband she resented…
Just to keep the real monsters from sinking their claws into her.
The next morning, I found her in the sunlit office again. She was organizing the toys by color, humming a song from her childhood as if the nightmares of the previous weeks had never existed.
Her gaze lifted when she sensed me at the door.
"Oh! You're early today!" she chirped, her voice bright but tinged with something shy—something hopeful.
I softened my expression, letting affection seep into the cracks of my mask.
"I wanted to see how you like the room now that you've spent more time in it."
She smiled brightly. "I like it very much! I feel lighter here… as if I can breathe better."
Good.
I stepped closer, gently brushing a strand of hair behind her ear—an action intimate enough to lull her deeper into the façade, but soft enough not to startle her.
"You deserve a place where nothing can hurt you," I murmured.
Her cheeks warmed at my words, and she looked away, flustered.
For a brief moment, guilt tightened in my chest.
She believed the tenderness in my eyes.
She believed the comfort I built around her.
She believed my heart was hers.
But the truth…
My heart was nothing more than a shield I wielded.
"For you," I added softly, "I'll keep it that way."
She didn't see the truth beneath the affection.
She didn't see the weight of the role pressing onto my shoulders.
She didn't see how much danger lurked behind the walls of our home.
Good.
Let her stay blind to that.
Let her stay gentle.
Because soon, very soon—
The puppeteer would show their hand.
And when they did?
I would be ready.
For her.
And for the thief wandering my halls with golden-green eyes, unaware that he, too, was just another piece on my board.
Here is the continued expansion, seamlessly picking up from both Serena's determination and the husband's hidden strategy.
We continue in dual POV, deepening the emotional contrast: Serena's fiery ambition vs. the husband's measured, secret vigilance.
💖 Chapter Expansion: Serena's Sanctuary and Ambition (Continuation)
My Perspective (The Husband)
From the doorway, I watched her with quiet fascination.
That fire—rare, flickering, fragile—had finally returned to her eyes.
A spark of purpose. A spark of pride.
A spark I had painstakingly coaxed back to life.
Serena at her desk, brow slightly furrowed, lips pressed together in determination, was a sight that reminded me why I had gone through such lengths to protect her.
She truly believes she's walking into a battlefield.
And yet, she has no idea the minefield lies nowhere near the event she's preparing… but all around her.
As Sui placed the folders down with gentle efficiency, I stepped closer, my tone warm yet carefully neutral.
"You're already getting to work?" I asked, as if I didn't already know exactly which documents she'd requested—and why.
She didn't look up immediately. That was new.
She was focused.
"Yes," she replied briskly, flipping a page. "I need to finish the event layout and contact list before tonight."
A small laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Her resolve was admirable.
Her innocence was heartbreaking.
And her ambition…
Her ambition was dangerous.
Because I recognized that look—the glint of someone who believes they've finally located the first thread of a mystery, and is ready to pull.
If she pulled too hard, too soon… she would expose herself.
She straightened the papers, her ring catching the light again, reminding me painfully of the false foundation upon which our entire relationship was built.
If only you knew, Serena.
If only you knew what I'm protecting you from.

My hand moved quickly across the counter, smoothing out each page, aligning every folder. I was radiant with purpose.
Yes, this is it.
This is what I've been waiting for.
I could almost hear the heartbeat of my ambition pounding through my chest.
The soft toys watched me from the colorful shelves—quiet, cheerful guardians of a workspace that felt crafted just for me. I allowed myself one more moment to enjoy it. The tiny stuffed bear with lavender fur made me smile.
Then I returned to my mission.
I tapped the paper with the tip of my finger. "We need to call everyone on this list. Arrange meetings. Get confirmations. Check their availability."
"Yes, Lady Serena," Sui bowed, already taking notes.
"And," I added, lowering my voice slightly, "find out if any of these individuals have… political involvement."
That word still made my stomach twist.
But if I wanted proof—real proof—I needed to see if Eiser was networking with the wrong people.
Sui hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Understood."
Good.
I wasn't a helpless little doll anymore.
I was planning.
I was preparing.
And for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could breathe.
Still…
My eyes drifted to the window, narrowed slightly, remembering the fear that had kept me awake for so long.
Remembering Eiser's unreadable eyes.
His cold touch.
The way he always seemed… two steps ahead of me.
But I would beat him at his own game.
When I earned entry to the main office, I'd search the archives, the sealed drawers, the safe embedded behind the map of Serenity's founding.
There had to be something there.
Something that showed his true nature.
Something that showed I wasn't crazy.
Something that proved—
He's planning to use me.
My jaw tightened, my hand gripping the papers more firmly.
The toys around me might be cute, but they wouldn't distract me from the truth.
I would get that office.
I would get my evidence.
And I would be ready.
"Serena," a soft voice murmured from the door.
I turned.
He was watching me.
His expression warm…
His eyes unreadable.
"Do you need anything?" he asked gently.
No.
What I needed, he could never give me.
"I'm fine," I replied, smiling sweetly. "Thank you."
He stepped inside just a bit, just enough for the sunlight to catch the corner of his suit jacket.
"You seem more confident today," he observed.
"I am."
"Good."
He smiled.
And for a brief moment, I wondered…
Was he supporting me?
Or was he watching me?
The thought made my stomach twist in uncertainty—but I tucked it away. I would prove myself. I would earn my access.
And I would uncover the truth—no matter the cost.

The tray in my hands wasn't heavy, but the air around me felt denser with every step I took toward that sunlit office. I could hear faint noises from inside—pages turning, the occasional hum from Serena, the soft scrape of her pen.
She was working hard.
Focused.
Driven.
And completely unaware of the danger that stood behind every beautifully polished corner of this manor.
As I approached her door, I paused—not because I hesitated, but because my instincts screamed at me to listen.
A presence.
A faint shift in air.
Someone had been here recently.
My eyes scanned the ceiling corners, the molding, the slightest shadows near the decorative lamp fixtures.
Nothing.
But I knew better than to trust "nothing" in Eiser's house.
I pushed the thought aside and knocked softly.
"LADY SERENA?"

The knock startled me just slightly—I had been flipping through the guest profiles and confirming the event schedule. Sui had already left, her cheerful steps echoing faintly down the corridor.
I stood up straight, adjusting my posture, attempting to look composed even if I felt my hair was a bit messy from leaning over documents.
"COME IN," I said.
The door opened.
Frederick stepped inside—calm, silent, his movements always measured. He carried a tray. Tea, dessert… small comforts Sui had insisted on.
"Oh…" I softened, letting a polite smile rise on my lips. "What brings you here?"
He bowed faintly. "Sui told me Lady Serena has not eaten yet."
"Hah…" I let out a nervous, embarrassed laugh. "I forgot."
He set the tray down on the counter. The scent of warm pastry drifted up, mingling with the soft lavender scent Sui had chosen for the diffuser. I took a small bite, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.
"...Thank you."

Her eyes were different today.
Bright.
Focused.
Determined.
The toys, the sunlight, the pastel atmosphere—it all masked the storm swirling inside her.
She believed in her goal.
She believed she could find something in that main office.
She had no idea how closely the master of the house watched her steps.
I cleared my throat. "Is the workload manageable?"
"Yes," she declared confidently, wiping crumbs from her lips. "I feel much better after reading the records. I know what I need to do."
I nodded, but inwardly—
That was dangerous.
If she grew too confident, she might move too fast.
If she moved too fast, she'd attract attention.
And if she attracted attention—
He would notice.
My gaze drifted subtly toward the side wall where an ornate frame hung. Behind it, I sensed something—tiny, controlled, mechanical.
A listening device. Probably.
Not surprising.
Not in his house.
"So," I began gently, careful with my tone, "if you ever need help with the event preparations—"
"I don't," she cut in, but not harshly. Her voice was simply full of fire. "I can handle it."
She smiled.
She truly believed that.
And I felt a subtle ache in my chest—not affection, not concern… but the raw, cold understanding of someone who had seen too many hopeful people walk into traps thinking preparation alone would save them.
"I see," I said calmly. "Please call me if you require anything."
She nodded.

He was watching me closely—maybe too closely. As if he was trying to measure something behind my eyes.
But I couldn't let myself overthink his concern.
I had no time for paranoia.
"I think I'll schedule the venue negotiations this evening," I said, half to myself. "And tomorrow morning, I'll check the guest list against the charity donor records."
He hummed in acknowledgment.
"And when I finish," I added, lifting my chin proudly, "I'll be allowed access to the main office."
His fingers froze.
Just slightly.
Barely a twitch.
But I saw it.
His expression didn't change, but his posture subtly did—shoulders tensing ever so faintly.
"Lady Serena…"
His voice held a caution I couldn't fully interpret. "Be careful."
I blinked.
Why did he say it like
Frederick's Perspective
Sui's words lingered in my mind long after her footsteps faded down the marble corridor.
A normal couple's quarrel… but with guns.
Even she had heard the contradiction in her own voice.
The head maid—Serena's closest attendant—was sharp, loyal, and hardworking. But when it came to Serena's husband, she was blind in all the ways that mattered.
Not her fault.
Because Eiser was very, very good at playing the role of the perfect husband.
I resumed walking, descending the long checkered hallway toward the annex. The air there always felt subtly colder, as though the building itself was withholding breath. I had explored parts of this section during my midnight search, but even then, I hadn't gotten as far as I wanted. Doors were locked. Codes had changed. Some silhouettes in the darkness didn't feel human.
A small voice echoed behind me.
"Mr. Frederick..."
Sui again.
I stopped, gripping the tray with both hands—steady, neutral. "YES?"
She paused a moment, looking far less cheerful than before. Something weighed on her; her professional mask had slipped.
"LADY SERENA… SHE'S BEEN MORE ANXIOUS LATELY," she confessed in a quieter voice, glancing around as if afraid someone would overhear. "She doesn't show it, but she's been having nightmares… walking in her sleep… waking up sweating. I thought it was just stress, but ever since that night…"
The gunshot again.
I maintained my expression, but inside, everything sharpened.
"WHAT NIGHT?" I asked calmly.
Sui blinked—she had said too much. "AH—N-NOTHING! Just… that day of the small quarrel. She seemed shaken."
She doesn't know.
She knows nothing.
But she tried to know everything.
That was dangerous.
"LAY OFF THIS MATTER, SUI." I advised quietly, leaning closer—not threateningly, but with the weight of someone who knew more than he could say. "IF YOU MEDDLE TOO MUCH, YOU MIGHT MAKE THINGS WORSE FOR HER."
Her eyes widened. "W‑worse…?"
I turned away before she could ask. "JUST DO WHAT YOU ALWAYS DO. KEEP HER HAPPY. KEEP HER FOCUSED. LEAVE THE REST TO ME."
That was all she needed to hear.
Because Sui Lavmain didn't need to uncover anything. She was safer not knowing what was happening in the walls she had served since she was a child.
As I walked toward Serena's temporary office, I could feel Sui watching my back—conflicted, worried, but obedient. She'd report some of this to Iansa later, unknowingly feeding the very network manipulating me.
Good.
Let her think she was doing the right thing.
Serena's Husband (Eiser)'s Perspective
From the balcony overlooking the interior courtyard, I watched Frederick walk away from Sui. Their shadows stretched across the checkerboard floor, the tension between them almost palpable even from afar.
My jaw tightened.
My head maid.
My wife.
My home.
And yet that man—Serena's so-called "lover"—walked through it all like he belonged.
I did not enjoy that feeling.
Sui approached from the other direction, clearly rushing back from her errand. She hadn't noticed me above, tucked between stone pillars and the shade of overhanging vines.
But I saw everything.
Her hesitation when speaking to him.
Her troubled expression.
Her loyalty attempting to serve two masters at once.
Sui was dependable, but she was soft-hearted. Too soft.
If Frederick decided to use that…
My fingers drummed silently against the iron railing.
No. Serena's safety was my highest priority.
Whether she liked it or not.
If Frederick stepped out of line, even a fraction, I would deal with him.
Personally.
Serena's Perspective
Back in my temporary office, the lull of sunlight
Frederick's Perspective
I moved down the service stairs, each step creaking faintly beneath me. The tray in my hand was nothing more than a prop now, but in this manor, props were survival. A lover's tray. A servant's errand. A guest's politeness.
Anything except what I actually was.
A spy.
A shield.
And one wrong move from becoming a corpse.
Sui's words about the gunshot replayed in my head like a glitching gramophone.
A normal couple's quarrel, but with guns…
Ridiculous.
Naive.
Dangerous.
Her loyalties were a tangled web—devoted to Serena, obedient to Serenity, and ultimately reporting to Iansa whether she realized it or not. Sui was useful, but blind. And blind allies were worse than enemies.
Reaching the landing, I paused, gripping the railing. The silence of the hallway below was thick, as if the entire manor were listening.
"I can't overlook this matter."
I whispered it without meaning to. The words hung in the cold air, too honest.
The truth was gnawing at me.
Serena feared Eiser. Hated him. Believed he was capable of anything.
But fear distorts reality. And hate blinds judgment.
What I had seen so far was far more complicated.
Eiser was dangerous—smart, controlled, calculating.
But he had not laid a hand on her. Not directly.
Not yet.
And that was exactly what made him so lethal.
A man like him would never waste a resource before extracting every last drop of value. The moment Serena completed her purpose—whatever it was he wanted from her family—she would become disposable.
An accident.
An illness.
A suicide.
Or another "misfired" gunshot.
Whatever happened, it would be clean. Beautifully staged.
Undeniable.
Unless I found the item.
I reached the bottom of the staircase and stopped. The corridor split into two paths—one toward the bustling kitchen, and one toward the glass-walled hallway connecting to the Annex.
The forbidden wing.
The place where Eiser had barred everyone except himself.
The place Serena avoided like a curse.
The place Sui feared.
The place my midnight instinct had dragged me toward, only to be stopped by Eiser himself.
The gunshot had come from there.
And the thing I was searching for…
It was there.
It had to be.
"The Annex…"
My voice dropped into a low murmur.
That wing held the missing answers.
The truth Eiser was hiding.
The reason Iansa sent me.
The reason Serena was in danger.
I set the empty tray down on the floor. It clattered softly, the sound echoing like a distant alarm.
I needed to report everything to Iansa—Sui's information, Eiser's behavior, and the escalating threat—but my gut twisted with unease.
Once I sent the report, the game would change.
Orders would come.
Pressure would increase.
Eiser would suspect.
Serena…
Serena would become a target.
But hesitation was a luxury I could not afford.
I pulled out my encrypted phone.
The faint glow of the screen lit my face as I typed.
REPORTING: New intel from head maid. Evidence suggests gunshot was real. Serena vulnerable. Eiser's intent unclear, but threat level rising.
Eiser aware of infiltration.
Annex likely holds objective.
Requesting next orders.
My thumb hovered over the send button.
Then—
A quiet, controlled voice echoed from the far end of the hallway.
"Mr. Frederick."
My blood went cold.
Slowly, I turned.
Eiser stood where the hall met the Annex, leaning against the doorframe as if he had been waiting.
No anger.
No surprise.
Just a calm, unreadable expression.
And behind him—
the door to the Annex was slightly open.
As though he wanted me to see it.
As though he wanted me to wonder.
My phone screen dimmed between my fingers.
The
Here's a continuation and expansion of that scene, keeping your first-person perspective for the female character and heightening the tension, emotion, and clandestine atmosphere:
I swallowed hard, forcing my gaze to meet his. The hallway around us seemed to shrink, the polished marble and gilded decorations fading into the background. My pulse hammered in my ears, each "BA-BUMP" a reminder of the stakes—and of him.
"I…" I began, but my voice faltered. Words felt heavy, awkward, inadequate. My chest tightened, caught between fear and an undeniable thrill.
He tilted his head slightly, waiting, patient but insistent. The faint flicker of candlelight on the walls painted shadows across his sharp features, making him appear both alluring and formidable. My mind raced—if we went together, I would be putting myself in his presence in ways I hadn't before. My secret mission, my careful composure, everything risked exposure.
And yet… there was something about the way he looked at me, steady and unyielding, that made it impossible to refuse.
I exhaled slowly, letting my shoulders loosen, and nodded almost imperceptibly. "…Okay."
His lips curved into a faint, approving smile. It was quick, subtle, but it sent a shiver down my spine. "Good," he murmured, his voice low and deliberate, brushing against the quiet tension between us. "Then we go together. Step by step."
I swallowed again, trying to steady the frantic rhythm of my heart. We would enter the annex as one, navigating the unknown side by side. Every step would be a test of trust, every glance a silent negotiation. My head told me to be cautious, to remain alert, but my chest betrayed me, beating erratically with the thrill of proximity, the dangerous intimacy of a shared secret.
I felt the brush of his sleeve as he stepped closer, almost guiding me forward. It was reassuring, grounding—but also disorienting. One wrong move, one moment of hesitation, and everything could unravel.
"Are you ready?" he asked, the question soft, but carrying the weight of unspoken challenges ahead.
I took a deep breath, feeling the cool tension of the marble floor beneath my feet and the warmth of his presence beside me. My lips barely parted as I whispered, "Yes… let's go."
And together, we stepped toward the annex, the quiet hall swallowing our soft footfalls, leaving only the rapid, insistent BA-BUMP of my heart as a witness to our shared venture into danger.



chapter 19 end
Story Art Ina
Tip's
EISER LIKES UNSWEETENED COFFEE AND FREDERICK LIKES COFFEE WITH A LITTLE BIT OF SUGAR OR MILK. SERENA PREFERS TEA AND FRUITY DRINKS OVER COFFEE.