Published at 23rd of November 2022 9:52 am

Chapter 16: So Does The Duke, After All

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So Does The Duke, After All

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As he followed her with his eyes as she moved, he suddenly tilted his head.

"Eve?"

"......."

Evelyn faced Islay with her eyes squinted.

"I never expected the Duke to visit my coffee house."

Despite the pointed tone, there was not a single shadow on Islay's beaming smile.

Rather, he answered Evelyn with a lovely face.

"That's it, there might be someone who's been acting up to you."

"......."

The eyes of Islay who said that were clear, as if to claim, 'I'm just purely worried about Evelyn'.

Evelyn narrowed her brows unconsciously.

When Islay has that look on his face, it's hard to know what the hell to protest against him.

At that time, Islay kindly asked the question.

"More than that, have you had any inconveniences lately?"

"An inconvenience?"

"Yes, if someone bothers you or walks around the coffee house......."

But unlike the soft voice, there was a strange life in the black eyes.

"If there's anyone who puts a finger on Eve.......'

Such a man should be quietly dragged away without making a fuss, and buried in the yard without being seen.

Hiding his innermost thoughts, Islay hid his gruesome energy behind his smile.

Meanwhile, Evelyn, who had no inkling of Islay's bloody heart, replied with a straight line that sounded rather cold.

"None."

"Is that right? That's a relief."

In Islay's refreshing answer, Evelyn glared at him with a stunning face.

"You have to do that, right? The Duke is here every time."

Recently, Islay's visit to this coffee house has become almost routine.

It was Islay's morning routine to visit his mother and daughter's house in the morning and take Bianca to kindergarten, and drop Evelyn off at the coffee house.

Whenever a top-notch wagon, which is never seen in Annette, stops in front of a kindergarten, it is hard to get used to it no matter how much people experience it.

'Mom, my friends told me that our wagon was the best!'

Unlike Evelyn, who feels like she's going to have an upset stomach right away, Bianca seemed to like the current situation of receiving the attention and envy of her friends.

Evelyn hated it when she was preparing to open the coffee house, so Islay didn't bother her in the coffee house, but.......

Instead, visit the coffee house every day.'

It's like going back to the days when they were dating.

Evelyn, who piled up the drained coffee cups one by one, fixed her eyes on Islay once again.

"I like that you worry about me, but I'm fine now."

"What do you mean you're fine?"

"Mr. Jones doesn't seem to be around me and Bibi anymore, so if you don't come......."

Evelyn, who opened her mouth thoughtlessly to persuade Islay, instantly hardened her face.

Come to think of it, after what happened at the Dantel Hotel.

Kevin had never approached Evelyn or Bianca.

Later on, Kevin was also fired from the Dantel Hotel because of this incident.

Then it would be a pretty embarrassing situation.....

'In that nature, it's natural for me and Bibi to come to vent their anger.'

It had vaguely been speculated that Kevin was out of reach, as Islay guarded their mother and daughter without a leak.

But it suddenly occurred to me that this was a little too much.

As if I erased it with an eraser, how can one person disappear this cleanly?

"Well, Duke."

Evelyn opened her mouth in a suspicious voice.

Just having a sip of coffee, Islay put down the coffee cup and fixed her gaze.

"Yes, go ahead."

Replying like that, smiling brightly, Islay seemed really harmless.

Facing such a slay, Evelyn unwittingly retorted her doubts.

"Am I thinking too much?'

But that man with a naive face in front of her, was the Duke of Neidhart.

The supreme nobleman of the Empire and the right to stand next to the Emperor.

A man in a position where no one can match not only force and wealth, but also inherent nobility.

If such a man makes up his mind, it would be so easy to wipe a man out of the world.

"I don't think I've met Mr. Jones lately."

In Evelyn's suspicious voice, Islay finely narrowed the brow.

He pretended to be fine and asked Evelyn again.

"I see. But what's wrong with that?"

"No, it's more of a problem than it's a problem....it's a little weird."

Evelyn tilted her head slightly.

Toward her, Islay nailed in a determined voice.

"Well, I don't know."

Are you sure you don't know?

Evelyn stared at Islay with a suspicious look, but Islay shrugged and only returned a smile.

Eventually Evelyn gave up asking Islay about it.

In fact, no matter what happened to Kevin, Evelyn had no reason to care.

But then, Islay opened the door.

"And Eve."

With an unusually slightly sharp voice, Evelyn donned a mysterious face.

Towards her, Islay continued, narrowing his brows.

"If you'll excuse me, I don't like it when you talk about a man other than me."

Islay made a determined conclusion.

Looking at the blatant jealousy in view of Islay, Evelyn was at a loss for words to stop answering.

Evelyn, who couldn't hide her ridiculous expression, asked him back.

"Are you jealous now?"

"Why, can't I?"

But Islay only answered the question with a relaxed voice.

He came out so brazen that Evelyn was rather speechless.

Evelyn, whose lips were rattling, replied in a subdued tone after a while.

"Yes, you can."

"......."

Islay raised his eyebrows slightly.

The rather soft atmosphere just before disappeared, and only ice-cold air filled the spot again.

Meanwhile, Evelyn reflected on her actions, which she was already wrangling with Islay.

Perhaps he was secretly accepting her approach with a friendly smile on the grounds that he could not help it.

I shouldn't have, but I don't even deserve it myself.

"I know you want to reunite with me."

Therefore, Evelyn calmly opened her mouth.

Islay remained silent, as if to listen to her first.

"But I can't listen to that wish, and I've told you so many times......."

"But Eve, don't you have Bibi?"

Hearing that, Evelyn bit her lips to the point of bleeding.

Islay continued in a desperate voice.

"I have no intention of forcing you to reunite with me, but-"

To persuade her somehow, Islay chose his words as carefully as he could and opened his mouth.

"But to Bianca...... Don't you need the protection your father can give you?"

As for Islay, it was brought up with considerable determination.

Nevertheless, Islay wanted to be of help to her somehow, and.......

'......I want to get a little closer to Eve.'

I said I'd give you time and I could wait forever.

Islay laughed briefly.

"Dear Duke of Neidhart."

Then, Evelyn opened her mouth in a cold voice.

In that cool look, Islay sensed that he had touched something wrong.

Calling him in, Evelyn remained silent for quite a long time.

But the silence was not a silence to keep because there was nothing to say, but a silence to organize him because there was so much to say.

Watching Evelyn's reaction, Islay grew increasingly nervous.

"What's the matter, Eve?"

Unable to wait, Islay cautiously asked her back.

Then, Evelyn faced Islay with cold eyes.

With a cold sneer, she opened her mouth.

"It's just that the Duke...I think I just realized that I'm no different from everyone else."

"......What do you mean?"

The meaningless selling hardened Islay's face.

But Evelyn was already in a deep sense of despondency and lethargy.

She did, too, raising Bianca alone and hearing that over and over again.

Didn't Kevin smile smugly and talk to her?

'I'm confident that I can raise Bibi like a daughter.'

Recalling the words, she couldn't overcome the disgust and narrowed her brows.

"What's the difference between what the Duke said and what Mr. Jones told me?"

With her fists clenched, she opened her mouth furiously.

Even though her nails had been poking painfully into her palm, Evelyn was not even feeling the pain.

Being Bianca's father, being an equal member of Evelyn and Bianca's family.

And giving Evelyn and Bianca 'father protection'.

Sounds similar at first glance, but it was a completely different word.

No matter how hard a single mother tries, there will be a lack of raising a daughter alone, and Islay "fills in" the lack.'

That's what he was thinking after all.

No matter how carefully you say it, the meaning underlying what Islay said now does not change itself.

"The Duke, by being Bianca's 'father'......."

Feeling unbearable, Evelyn opened her mouth again towards Islay.

Words as sharp as broken glass poured down.

"I think you're very confident that the benefits you can give us will be amazing."

Of course, materially, it could benefit enormously.

Luxurious mansions, well-educated employees, knights to protect themselves, high-end wagons, expensive clothing, and rare food.

Islay is very friendly to Bianca, so she may also be emotionally satisfied.

But...

Evelyn had a cold smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry, but even if Bianca's 'father' does us no credit."

Evelyn raised her head straight up.

The lackluster amber eyes glanced at the dewley.

"Me and Bianca have been happy."

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I am.........."

Islay tried to persuade Evelyn in a hurry.

But Evelyn shook her head firmly and continued.

"Even without a father."

"...... Eve."

"I and Bianca are a whole family."

Their mother and daughter have so far had to be treated as "a family with some defects" just because their father was absent.

Evelyn took a big breath.

I know it's not rational to throw up all the emotions that have been suppressed by him.

Islay tried to be considerate of Evelyn and Bianca.

"And I, just because I don't have a father." (a husband)

But knowing that, emotions continue to pour down like a burst bank.

"......I don't like the fact that the Duke is looking down on my family."

Listening to Evelyn's sad voice, Islay chewed his lips unconsciously.

That's not it, that's your misunderstanding.

I wanted to say that right now.

But is it really a misunderstanding?

Can you be confident that Evelyn had no prejudice at all?

"......."

Islay could not answer that question.

"And the Duke's question itself is like a rebuttal that he knows nothing about the situation we're in."

Towards him, Evelyn smiled faintly.

As if he had given up all his affection and expectations, the end was a cool smile.

"I'm opening my eyes blue, and I can't watch Bianca being hated."

"Eve, no. Who hates Bianca......!"

"Of course, I'm afraid of the Duke, and I'm not going to show that feeling in front of him. But."

Evelyn, who seemed to pick a horse for a moment, asked Islay back in a sigh of voice.

"You can't stay with us forever, can you?""

Islay felt a choking sensation.

No, I'll stay with you forever.

The words came up to the neck, but the reason why I can't bring them up is.

"......."

......because I can't.

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