If You’re Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 67 - No Strings Attached

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Ruby was quietly surprised by their strong grip, but perhaps because they were all women, she quickly composed herself.

Leslie kept herself close, leading Ruby herself, and whispered to her, “The clothes the Duke wears are made of very expensive fabrics. So, you must carefully wash each one by hand. Understood…”

Despite being forcibly dragged along, Ruby listened attentively to Leslie’s instructions. Then, she suddenly stopped walking and talking at the same time.

Why did she do that?

Quietly waiting for the conversation to continue, Ruby turned her head a beat too late and gave Leslie a questioning glance.

Leslie, with a cold expression, was glaring at the nape of Ruby’s neck. Ruby wondered what she was looking at, but since there was no way for her to see her own neck, she simply waited for her next words.

In the meantime, the others who were following along also noticed where Leslie was staring. One of them muttered with a pale face, “That red spot, it looks like she was…”

Leslie decisively cut off the words that no one dared to utter, “Bitten by a bug.”

Ruby confidently responded to Leslie’s statement. “Oh, are bugs a problem in the Wolf Territory even during winter?”

Since Ruby hated bugs, she didn’t hide her discomfort.

Unable to bring herself to say anything more, Leslie remained silent in response to Ruby’s innocent, waiting gaze. Her face flushed bright red. She was angry and embarrassed that she’d been caught with a lame excuse.

“…This way, my Lady.”

Speaking in a lowered voice, Leslie took another step forward, still holding onto Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby shuffled her feet.

It was only now that Leslie noticed the strong scent of the Duke’s pheromones emanating from Ruby. It was so perfectly masked, almost like Ruby’s own pheromones. Despite the mounting frustration that made her chew her lip, Leslie couldn’t give up. She felt an urgency that she might truly lose the Duke’s favor if things continued this way.

Leading Ruby towards the well, which was still some distance away, Leslie pointed to the large pile of clothes she had prepared ahead of time.

“You need to wash all of these before you can have dinner. Consider it repayment for the comfort you’ve enjoyed so far. We hope you understand, we’re quite busy…”

They hurriedly left before Ruby could ask anything else. They looked as if they were running away, and for a moment Ruby had her doubts, but then she realized that Leslie wasn’t entirely off base. She was dressed like a maid and was under the employ of the Duke, so it was reasonable to expect this from her.

“I see that even Duke uses cold water to wash his clothes.”

She dropped the bucket of water and tugged on the rope. It gave her a sense of camaraderie with the wolves as she recalled doing this in her home village. Then she felt a chill in the air beside her.

Aware of the figure that had been secretly following her, Ruby spoke without turning her head, “I had my reasons.”

‘You thought I forgot the promise.’

“To be honest, it wasn’t a proper promise.”

‘But you plan to help, don’t you?’

Without a hint of resentment, Ruby turned her head to look at Louis after pulling up the water bucket. He had the same expression as when he stood atop the gardener’s platform earlier, patiently waiting for her..

“I haven’t forgotten, so stop staring. This is going to take a while anyway.”