Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! - Chapter 11 - 2. Finding the Hidden Dodori

“They said it was Confession Day. It was all a lie!”

Audrey glared at the empty space with puffy eyes.

Yes, this was all because of that strange magazine article.

If it weren’t for that article, she wouldn’t have decided to confess, and she wouldn’t have witnessed such a scene.

Then she wouldn’t have been hurt.

“Sniff.”

After sniffling for a while, Audrey hung her head dejectedly again.

Yes, she knew it wasn’t really anyone’s fault. The two of them could never have been together anyway.

But if she didn’t blame someone, she felt like she couldn’t bear it.

Wasn’t it too cruel to take on the responsibility of rejection on top of an already aching heart?

“Ouch, geez.”

Audrey felt so sorry for herself that she wanted to take out her frustration even on the innocent wall.

“Who carved such a thing on the wall, unnecessarily? It’s just hurting my back! This should be on doors!”

However, after fuming for a while, Audrey eventually apologized while feeling the wall.

“I’m sorry, sob, it’s not your fault. Walls look pretty when they’re ornate too. I went too far……”

Ah, there couldn’t be a more miserable rejection than this. To be rejected before even confessing!

“It’s all useless. It’s over. There’s no hope……”

Audrey took out the letter, shook it by its end, and then put it down listlessly.

“Hic……”

As tears were about to well up again, familiar footsteps were heard nearby.

“Acorn? Is that you?”

“……”

The nickname from her snotty-nosed days that would normally have made her scoff. But given the situation, even this made her feel unreasonably sad.

‘Why am I Acorn? My name is Audrey!’

But how strange.

As soon as she heard the familiar voice, tears welled up to her chin, as if she had found someone to lean on.

‘He always finds me like a ghost at times like this……”

Unlike her grumpy face, her fragile shoulders started to shake rapidly as if starting an engine.

It looked like she was about to burst into a bout of wailing at any moment.

“Are you there?”

“…Hic….”

Hans’s footsteps quickened as he sensed something odd.

Audrey frantically tried to compose herself, but it was too late.

Her face was already a mess of tears.

“You, you……”

“W-what, what, sob, what are you looking at.”

“……”

Her vision was too blurry to see anything properly.

However, contrary to Audrey’s expectation that Hans would tease her with a mischievous smile, he said nothing.

It seems the sight of her swollen face was quite a shock to him.

This made Audrey feel even more embarrassed and miserable.

“H-have you never seen someone cry before?”

“……!”

Audrey roughly wiped her tears, then tried to act as if nothing was wrong as she took the lead.

─Flutter.

Following her brisk footsteps, a feather-like letter floated here and there.

However, no one noticed this.

“Hey, hey, wait a moment!”

“Go away.”

Hans, who became urgent, belatedly chased after her.

But the more he did so, the faster Audrey’s footsteps became.

Not knowing where the letter, written after being intoxicated once by dawn emotions and twice by three glasses of alcohol, had fluttered away in the wind.

“Hey! Acorn!”

“Don’t follow me!”

“You really……”

Right now, the whereabouts of the letter weren’t important.

***

“I’m going to drink myself to death!”

A look of determination spread across the face of the rejected one.

Hans watched her with anxious eyes.

‘Acting tough when she can’t even drink.’

Doesn’t this acorn turn into a dog that can’t even talk to people after three tiny glasses of alcohol?

Normally, he would have scolded her for treating him like a porter, but today was different.

“Fine. Just drink as much as you want. And go ahead and die.”

“I’m gonna die!”

“You’ve already drunk? You’re always quick at times like this, huh?”

He’d end up carrying her anyway. Just like he always has.

Hans secretly let out a sigh.

***

One hour ago. Audrey, who had left saying she was going to the bathroom, hadn’t returned for a long time.

Her destination was obvious. Judging by her suspicious behavior earlier, she must have gone to confess to his brother.

Despite all that surveillance, she still managed to.

Although it wasn’t unexpected, he felt anxious for no reason.

‘She might have gotten lost.’

Hans set out to find Audrey, making all sorts of excuses and justifications for his actions.

After wandering around the Duke’s mansion, he finally found her, and her appearance was alarming.

How much had she cried for that pretty face to be so swollen?

For a moment, his heart sank, and he couldn’t think of anything.

An unknown fear blossomed from his stiffened fingertips.

‘This is strange.’

Her face, was wet enough to be clearly visible even in the darkness, her eyes so swollen it was worrying if she could see ahead.

The five-year-long unrequited love must have finally ended with a sad ending.

‘……I thought I’d feel relieved.’

But Hans’s feelings weren’t as refreshed as he had thought.

Rather, he felt frustrated, his heart ached, somewhere hurt, and he felt angry for no reason.

He hated the idea of Audrey getting along well with his brother. He just hated it.

But seeing her cry and hurt like this, he regretted that it might have been better to see her being lovey-dovey with his brother.

Even while knowing how cowardly and petty this made him.

‘What’s so great about my brother that you’d go this far? What are you lacking?’

Seeing Audrey crying her eyes out just upset him.

***

“Urrrwaaah. Uwuuaaa.”

“What are you saying?”

In the brief moment Hans was distracted, Audrey had instantly turned into a dog.

On the table, six thumb-sized glasses of alcohol were rolling around.

Despite being completely drunk, she had so many things she wanted to mumble about.

Her incessant barking made her look like a puppy.

“This acorn, not knowing how others feel……”

“Wooah.”

“You fool.”

Yes, in fact, it was something he was saying to himself, not to Audrey.

His large hand was habitually in his pocket.

It was a place he had reached into several times just today.

Every time his long fingers moved, a small rustling sound of something like paper leaked out.

However, what came out after hesitating was ultimately the same empty hand as when it went in.

Meanwhile, Claude, who had been absent for a long time, entered the banquet hall.

“Did Audrey drink?”

“……”

He was surprised to see Audrey in such a mess.

‘Whose fault is this?’

Hans felt angry without realizing it.

He was disgusted by his brother’s behavior, cruelly pushing away this blindly devoted girl and then acting as if nothing had happened.

Did he think no one would know if he approached with such an innocent face?

How long did he intend to hide it from Hans?

“You should have stopped her. She can’t even drink……”

“……”

“This won’t do. I need to take her away before she gets more drunk. Lift Audrey up. I’ll carry her on my back.”

“……”

“Hans?”

Hans firmly gripped Audrey’s shoulder, which was slumped over the table.

His gaze, which had been persistently following his brother since entering the banquet hall, was full of wariness.

“Why you?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you carrying her?”

“What are you saying? Are you drunk too? Should I carry you on my back?”

Even with the light joke, the atmosphere showed no signs of lightening.

Hans stared at his brother as if looking at a stranger. He really disliked everything about him.

Toying with a precious friend.

Meaningless consideration that confuses people without any intention of accepting them.

Making someone who only had their face going for them swell up.

Trying to remain the good guy alone without considering the position of the person who was rejected, he disliked it all.

Hans, in his agitated state, ended up spitting out thorny words.

“I’ll carry Audrey, so mind your own business.”

Thinking that only he, the stupid one, truly worried about his foolishly kind friend.

Chapter 2. Finding the Hidden Dodori

Derek Frith’s daily routine was no different on holidays.

He woke up before the rooster crowed, finished washing his face, and perfectly combed his hair before the sun rose.

By the time he left his bedroom wearing a sharply pressed uniform, the rooster was just crowing.

Walking down the empty corridor with wide strides, it didn’t take long to reach his office.

Opening the door with its lavish gold embossed molding, everything was perfect-

─Rustle.

“……”

Correction. This morning, an unfamiliar noise intruded from under his feet.

Derek coldly looked down at the source that ruined his morning.

“What’s this?”

There lay a pink envelope that didn’t fit at all with the Duke’s mansion. It looked as if it might stain one’s fingertips pink if touched.

Derek immediately took out a handkerchief from his inner pocket, folded it neatly, and picked up the letter.

“It doesn’t seem to be chemically treated.”

He carefully examined the surface. He also thoroughly inspected the floor near where the letter had been.

Given that it was near the door, it was presumed to have been inserted through the small gap under the door.

Other than that, no particularly suspicious points were found.

“……”

That, rather, made Derek feel uneasy.

A letter? For him? From whom? Why?

Countless letters poured into the Duke’s mansion. Their purposes varied, from party invitations to flattery.

However, this was the first letter that exuded such a private nuance.

“……It smells dangerous.”

Derek carefully picked up the pink letter as if it were a time bomb.

At first, he placed it on top of a distant cabinet.

However, even while wiping plant leaves as usual, his gaze kept turning towards it.

“……”

Derek, with an expressionless face, took out his handkerchief again.

Holding the edge of the letter, this time he placed it on a closer tea table.

But even while watering the plants, he kept getting distracted.

“Oh dear.”

Eventually, water overflowed from the pot. It was a messy morning in many ways.

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  : “도돌이” (Dodori) is likely a playful nickname derived from “도돌” (Dodol). While Dodol is a sweet dessert in Southeast Asia, in Korean, it can be used as an affectionate term, possibly implying sweetness or playfulness. The “-이” (-i) suffix adds a cute or diminutive quality to the nickname.