♦Chapter 59: Conflict and Questions♦
The Duke and I met each other's stare without any sign of averting it.
"Speak.", he ordered.
I slowly opened my mouth and spoke with half-lies.
"I cannot give you a valid reason. However..."
"I admit it that I ran away."
There was no longer a particular reason for me to involve Aiden in this mess. It was better for me to take responsibility of this, myself, unless they had the awareness that Aiden was an accomplice of mine in this incident.
The Duke narrowed his eyes.
"Do you even understand what you've committed?! It was well-known among the nobles that you were a person of common background, and so it was to the Imperial Family!!"
He instantly covered his forehead with his hand as he had a troubled expression.
"...Just how can you be this clueless.", he added.
I carefully bowed in front of his eyes as an apology for what happened.
"I'm truly sorry for causing you trouble."
If I wasn't prepared for this, the conflict was likely to get worse since I must've talked back to him by now. Even still, uneasiness continued to dwell in me. Because my apology might not get accepted that easily, this time.
The Duke came approaching my direction without saying a thing.
While the sound of his footsteps slowly went toward the me, who was still making a bow before him, I clenched my hands out of nervousness.
As soon as he reached my side, he said.
"Lift your head."
Ah...........
Knowing the twist of events that was about to happen, my eyes went dead.
I have underestimated him, just because of the kindness he showed me during the previous incident. At this rate, I guess I had the need to face what was about to happen.
*Whack!!*
It was just as I've expected.
My left cheek eventually went red not long after. Truth to be told, I no longer thought of this as something unusual.
The strength of his hand was the same as before. This, again, was ironical to think of.
Those hands of his that once comforted me came back to be used in a horrible way.
"Just because you look identical to Sherryl, don't assume that I can't punish you like this."
That line... I have been aware of that for a while.
'I know.', I wish I could respond that to him. But I would just be wasting time if I did.
I won't gain anything like mercy from him even if I have uttered those words.
The me that he sees right now is clearly the real me. Not the me who was a replacement for Sherryl, but the me who was a mere child of common birth that didn't have any connection to him.
He was the one who was on the upper hand here, so he had the authority to rule over a lowly person like me.
I didn't like how it was for even a tiny bit.
Right. In the end, I was still a person that the Duke could easily control whenever he wanted, all thanks to the gap of our rankings. Technically, with the agreement between us, that was something definite.
He had no merit to gain from someone like me except for having me as his dog. And I was forced to include that in our contract since that was the only thing that I could offer to him in exchange. It was in fact a miracle that he accepted those conditions.
Hence, I still had a collar attached on my neck.
There was nothing else I could do about it but endure until the day of my parting to this Household. However, I believed that this would pass very quickly.
Furthermore, I wished to enjoy the so-called life of luxury to the fullest. To be honest, that was my secondary objective in that agreement.
Thinking about that made me brighten up a little despite the situation.
"You better be thankful that His Imperial Majesty let this pass.", the conversation continued.
"Know that there's no next time."
Wow. I can feel the chills running from this damned old man.
Before I knew it, I began mocking the Duke after receiving his cold gaze. Somehow, the nervousness melted away for no reason.
"I'll keep that in mind.", I replied with a fake smile.
"You better do.", he muttered, then made his way to the door.
I stuck out my tongue and made a stupid face on his back. Then when I noticed him turning his head back while opening the door, I immediately wore a poker face.
"Remember your words.", he lastly reminded me.
After that, he left the scene with the door being shut properly.
"Sh*thead.", I whispered.
This feeling..... I wonder what is this called...?
Somehow, though it might sound childish of me, I kind of wanted to act as if I was in my rebellious phase and play with him.
No- I better stop having such thoughts.
Playing along with that idea would simply make things a lot more troublesome. I didn't want to keep the situation unstable.
"Come to think of it... the Duchess-"
When will she come back?
It has been a while since she left the Shevaria Territory. Maybe it was because she was a close friend of mine that I came to yearn for her presence.
"How strange.", I murmured.
Thinking it back now, Duchess Fleurette was supposed to be my stepmother if I was really one of Lady Evangeline's children.
If I was a child with a naive way of thinking, I must've considered her as a natural enemy. Honestly, I'm glad I wasn't that stupid when I was told of the truth about my family relations.
I cannot compromise that I wouldn't resent her since I am still doubtful whether the method she used to have Lucian in her womb was true or false. But for now, I choose to believe what's in front of me.
For now, I will believe that she's not a bad person at least. Furthermore, there's that case that she just got married to the Duke because it was an arranged marriage.
It's just that... I can't put my trust on her that yet. After all, who knows if the moment where she would try to kill me again would arrive in this life.
Wait. From the start, why did the Duchess try to kill me...?
She wouldn't have gained anything from murdering me that time. Also, why did she even do it in such a bold and eye-catching way?
The Duchess wasn't an unwise person. She could've easily planned something to murder me using a method that wouldn't make her look like the perpetrator at all cost.
And... the expression she showed me that time.......
Was it on purpose...? But, why? What would that do for her?
The happenings that occurred between us back then became a very intriguing mystery.
Now that I've mentioned it, I was never informed of what happened to the Duchess after that incident. In the end, was she sent to prison??
Another unanswerable question has been added. At the beginning, I haven't had any proper thought of that occurrence since every time I recalled it, I felt restless. It was the first time that I got myself into the verge of death after all.
I want to know the answers.
Who knew that this would eventually make me realize.......
That danger has been residing me, all this time.