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I Hid the Duke’s Daughter (Web Novel) - Chapter 11: Apologize to my lover.
Chapter 11: Apologize to my lover.
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
My lover.
At those words, both Kevin and Evelyn were shocked. Only Islay had on a calm expression.
“Did you say lo, lover?”
It was so surprising that even the terrified Kevin cried out in a daze. At the question, Islay drove the nail into the coffin.
“As I already said, Evelyn Martinise is my lover.”
“What does that mea-”
“It seems as though you think that the fact that she could be my lover is impossible.”
“No, no, not at all!”
Kevin quickly shook his head at the words that poured out like a knife, but he couldn’t shake off the shock that he felt upon hearing those words.
Wasn’t Evelyn Martinise just a single mother?
How could she be the Duke of Neidhart’s lover?
‘He called me his lover.’
On the other hand, Evelyn didn’t know what to do. Though she wanted to deny their relationship after coming to her senses, she then realized it wasn’t the best time to say that. And it seemed that Islay had changed a lot in seven years.
Any traces of the warm, sunny man from the last time she had seen him were long gone. Instead, a man with a sharp aura and eyes like blades was staring at Kevin.
“So.”
Islay’s dark eyes glared at Kevin as if he wanted to tear him apart immediately.
“Are you not going to apologize?”
Kevin clenched his teeth.
Why did he have to apologize?
To a single mother who was raising a child from an unknown father?
But Islay had on a face that said his words were final.
Damn!
Kevin squeezed his eyes shut. He got up from his spot, falling on his knees before Evelyn and murmuring.
“I am sorry, Ms. Martinise…”
“You think that’s enough for an apology?”
Islay interrupted, speaking in a soft voice. Kevin stammered, his eyes wide open.
“Th-then…”
“You should lower your head while apologizing, of course.”
At those words, Kevin swallowed the feeling of humiliation down his throat.
But Islay pressured Kevin with his impassive stare, and he realized he couldn’t avoid the situation. He knelt on the ground and lowered his head.
“I, I am really sorry.”
But right at that moment. Islay’s shoes gracefully pressed down on Kevin’s back. As if saying, don’t you dare look at Evelyn. With his head pressed down on the stone-paved ground, Kevin let out a yell in pain.
“Ugh….”
Evelyn had mixed feelings while looking at this scene. Islay had really changed a lot. His soft personality, like feathers, had altogether disappeared, like a withered tree that had suffered from a long storm. She felt a deep sense of guilt. Was the reason Islay changed…..
‘Was it because of me.’
Immediately after thinking so, Evelyn felt pathetic.
‘Did my heart seriously just go soft after hearing that one word?’
Focus, Evelyn. You’re just……a single mother raising a child of an unknown father. In comparison to the empire’s one and only duke, you’re nothing.
Trying to throw away her thoughts, Evelyn tightened her grip on her child’s hand.
“Mommy, it hurts…….”
Bianca quietly spoke in pain. Startled, Evelyn quickly released her hand and apologized to her child.
“So-sorry.”
At those words, however, Bianca shook her head and carefully spoke.
“But, why is Mr. Lay so angry like that?”
Oh. Evelyn paused. It’s true, this wasn’t very good to show to a child. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn’t been able to think of that.
Pushing her daughter to stand behind her, Evelyn spoke.
“Please stop.”
Islay slightly looked at Evelyn, who spoke steadily while trying to stop trembling.
“There is a child here.”
“…….I see.”
After a few seconds, Islay responded. The child that Evelyn had clasped in her arms like a precious treasure. A child with hair as bright as the sun and amber eyes just like Evelyn’s. Her child, Bianca…..so who exactly was the father.
“This would indeed not be a good thing for a child to see.”
Vacantly glancing at Bianca’s scared look, Islay slowly retracted his foot from Kevin’s back. Immediately, Kevin scurried a bit of a distance away. People had already cleared the way for the duke when he began causing a commotion, so currently, there were only three people silently standing together.
“Eve.”
A moment later, Islay called out to Evelyn. His low voice evoked old memories. Evelyn’s brows furrowed. What a lie it was that memories held no power. Just because he called her name, the feelings she had locked away were bursting out like water from a dam. The feelings from seven years ago were gripping and shaking her neck.
“……..Eve.”
That breathtaking voice. Longing, hatred, sorrow, resentment, and the feeling of being unable to let go. Unable to let go of those many emotions, Islay slowly clenched his hand into a fist. He didn’t notice the pain when his fine nails pierced his palm.
‘She hasn’t changed at all.’
With her long, flowing hair, Evelyn looked timeless. A long neck like a deer, beautiful amber eyes, spotless white skin, calm expression. It was exactly like how she appeared the last time he had seen her. How long had he wished for this moment. He swallowed.
“Thank you for helping Bianca and me, really, thank you.”
At that moment, Evelyn spoke, snapping him out of his memories. Noticing that her behavior seemed to be drawing a line between them, Islay’s breath shortened.
Evelyn closed her eyes and then opened them again. The fact that the situation was very dangerous kept ringing through her head. Emotions and memories that she had tried to repress and forget overwhelmed her like a tidal wave, and it was difficult for her to come to her senses. Under a guise of calmness, she continued speaking.
“And you found Bianca, who had gotten lost.”
“Eve, wait…..”
“I had come to visit to thank you, but it seems that I’ve only caused you trouble.”
Evelyn spoke with an expressionless face. At her words, Islay shook his head. His desperate, black eyes stared at her. He then opened his mouth and spoke as if he were suppressing deep emotions.
“You know that’s not what’s important.”
“No, it’s important to me.”
Evelyn slowly shook her head. Islay then listened to her next words that seemed akin to a death sentence.
“My daughter was helped my Sir Duke.”
“…….”
Feeling as if he were suffocated, Islay was silent for a moment.
My daughter. Evelyn hadn’t said “our daughter.”
‘Then that means, Bianca is…’
Not his daughter. It felt as if the last remains of hope of a happy reunion had been completely eliminated. The despair-filled eyes sank even deeper. Trying to pull away from his thoughts, Islay quickly shook his head. He had to stay calm. Of course Islay had countless questions he wanted to ask Evelyn, but he didn’t want to act like Kevin.
“Evelyn, you…”
Islay bit his lips until they started to bleed. Countless questions stirred in his head. Who was Bianca’s father, and exactly where did he go leaving only the mother to raise the child. Exactly why did Evelyn endure Kevin’s vulgar sexual harassment. And why didn’t she rely on him……
“Exactly why…why did you leave me?”
Among the countless questions, this was the first one that popped out. Why did she leave? Did she really hate being with me.
At the question he asked in a choking voice, Evelyn calmly answered.
“I already explained in the letter.”
“…….Letter?”
“Yes. I said in the letter that we don’t belong together, and so that it would be better if we separated.”
“Did you really think that’s an explanation?!”
Islay roared out, exploding. But Evelyn stood like a tranquil lake.
“Duke Neidhart, I want you to be happy.”
Duke Neidhart. She was calling him by a title. A clear sign of distance, as if they didn’t have any sort of relationship, that type of title. Evelyn continued to speak.
“If you think about it logically, it’ll make sense.”
“What do you mean, logically…….!”
“If you were to stay with me, you would never be able to be happy.”
Evelyn spoke as if she were talking about a long-standing, absolute, universal truth. At such decisiveness, Islay was speechless. Her deeply set amber eyes stared straight at him.
“At best, I’m from a fallen noble family….No, I’m just a commoner now.”
“Eve.”
“Sir Duke is the precious head of the Neidhart Household, so you must meet a lady who fits you perfectly.”
Islay looked at the resolutely speaking Evelyn and gave a despondent smile. Evelyn paused for a bit and then continued.
“Honestly, I had thought that Sir Duke had already met a lady who could match you well in these seven years.”
“…….Don’t tell me, did you think that I had a family with a woman other than you?”
Islay couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His expression was pained, as if salt had been sprinkled on a severe, old wound. He continued speaking in a low voice after a pause.
“Eve, you are my one and only lover. But you still……”
His black eyes seemed to have cooled.
“It seems that you still don’t know me well enough.”
The sharp voice startled Evelyn into subconsciously straightening her back.
“Do you really think that our relationship is impossible?”
“Duke Neidhart, I-”
“Hahhhh…seriously, just….what should I do.”
He let out a deep breath before smiling. Like dust that fell apart at that smile, Evelyn dazed out.
“First, it’s not Duke Neidhart.”
After a moment, Islay put away his smile and looked straight at Evelyn. His eyes gleamed and shined.
“It’s Lay.”
“No, How could sa fallen noble’s daughter dare to call the duke in such a way?”
Evelyn took a step back. However, at her defensive behavior, Islay didn’t falter a bit.
“Eve, you know, don’t you know?”
“…….”
“You are the only person who can forever call me ‘Lay.’”
At those words, Evelyn bit down hard on her lips. She felt exhausted more than ever. Even if he said a single word, she felt that she was going to fall apart.
“After you left me, I have never had a single moment of happiness.”
The low, magnetic voice continued. Instead of a conversation, it seemed more like a desperate plea from him to her. She looked at Islay’s ashen face like a snowy field, and chewed even more on her lips.
“After you left my side, I felt like I was in hell.”
Islay’s voice faded, getting smaller, to the point that you had to strain your ears to hear.
“I was basically…..I went insane while frantically searching for you.”
Islay recalled all the countless failures in his search and the despair that followed him.
Evelyn stood dazed, her eyes on the man in front of her eyes. When she had seen Islay last, he had been as happy, as if he had embraced all the joy of the world.
Islay remembered that when he found out that she had disappeared, his face was a desolate as if he were in a hellish pit.
“But at that time, when I couldn’t find a single hair of you and realized I couldn’t find you, at that time.”
“……Duke Neidhart.”
“For the first time…..I thought that it would be much more comfortable for me to just die instead or living in the agony.”
Like the grains of sand, his voice tapered off into a sob. Looking at such a despairing Islay, Evelyn squeezed the hem of her dress. Just looking at him in pain made her feel like her heart had been stapped with a sharp blade.
“But then I finally meet you like this…..”
The voice was as if he were throwing up blood. Islay twisted his lips.
“……And you tell me that if we are together, we could never be happy. I see.”
“Sir Duke, I-”
“In the case that by being with you, I actually end up being unhappy.”
At the cold voice, Evelyn froze for a moment. The heel of his shoes clacked as he walked towards her until he stood closely in front of her.
“Then I will stay by your side and be unhappy.”
“No way, that’s ridiculous!”
“Because I will be unhappy if you aren’t by my side anyway.”
At that steady response, Evelyn swallowed. Islay’s twisted smile softened a little.
“So, I choose to remain at your side.”
