Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! - Chapter 20

It seems Dodori is a master of push and pull.

Without even showing her face, she stole his heart with just one letter.

It’s been two weeks already. Derek waited every morning for her to appear.

During that time, his feelings only grew stronger.

What was initially close to curiosity and unfamiliarity had now transformed into affection and impatience.

But there was still no news from Dodori.

By this point, he was starting to worry.

‘Could something have happened to her?’

A sudden carriage accident, or perhaps kidnapped by thugs.

“…!”

Derek dropped his pen with a thud.

Simultaneously, the eyes of everyone in the finance department turned to one spot.

‘…Whoever dares to touch my Dodori, they will not escape unscathed.’

His blood-red eyes gleamed with directionless anger and killing intent.

Derek vowed as he broke the fountain pen in half with his bare hands.

He would protect his Dodori for life, by any means necessary.

If anyone so much as touched a hair on her head, he would make them writhe in pain worse than hell for the rest of their lives.

“Hmm? That’s strange?”

“…..”

Before that, he needed to do something about that naive back of the head first.

Duke Frith looked with displeasure at Audrey’s busy back of the head.

For some reason, every action she took irritated him, and he couldn’t just leave her alone.

Derek began to pressure Audrey without hesitation. That’s the only way she’d do her work properly.

“You’ve finished organizing the loan documents, right?”

“What? You clearly said by noon-“

“So. Are you saying you couldn’t do it?”

“…!”

Her round face instantly turned pale with fear.

Judging by her flustered appearance, she seemed quite panicked.

“If it’s urgent, I-I’ll finish it within thirty minutes.”

And then she ends up making an empty promise.

She didn’t know that in the Duke’s estate, ‘by noon’ was commonly understood as ‘finish and report within 10 o’clock’.

Duke Frith responded coldly, with a face that showed he hadn’t expected anything in the first place.

“Do you want to play house here?”

“…N-No, I don’t.”

“Then when I order one thing, you should have finished two. Being this slow, you’ll never fit into the Duke’s estate system.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The estate doesn’t suit you, my lady. Maybe the Academy’s Grasshopper Department would be more fitting.”

“…!”

“Though I’m not sure if such a department exists.”

H-How could he say such harsh things!

Audrey bit her lips to hide their trembling. She felt like crying from the injustice.

Hadn’t she worked tirelessly because she was less skilled than others? She had done her best, keeping her head down to avoid falling out of favor.

She had put her heart and soul, especially into organizing the archives. She thought she had made some progress in that area.

But to suddenly call her a grasshopper?

It felt like all her efforts had turned into bubbles in an instant. This was too much.

“I guarantee, you’re the grasshopper of all grasshoppers.”

“…..”

“So I’d rather you leave now. You’re worse than not being here at all.”

“…!”

Audrey, who had been sulking all along, suddenly lifted her head.

‘Is, is this for real?’

This was welcome news. Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier?

There was a way to leave the Duke’s estate without necessarily fulfilling the contract period!

If she had known this, she would have gotten fired an hour earlier. She should have made a complete mess and gotten fired right away!

Meanwhile, Derek stared at her shocked face with cold eyes.

‘I guess she finally realizes how scary the Duke’s estate is.’

But it’s strange.

Looking at her excessively surprised expression, an inexplicable sense of guilt washed over him.

‘Have I become unnecessarily emotional from reading too many love letters?’

But Derek steeled his softening heart.

His kindness was solely for Dodori, wasn’t it? He had no business with other people.

It was the same in the love letters. ‘Be kind only to your woman,’ they said.

Didn’t they warn that being kind to other women was a sure way to get dumped?

‘No. I can’t do that.’

Duke Frith’s dream was to live happily ever after with Dodori without being abandoned.

So all he could give this sluggard was shock therapy, not kindness.

‘Now that she’s properly scared, maybe she’ll finally do some real work.’

Audrey, thoroughly intimidated, hesitantly asked.

“Um… am I fired?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, then I’ll just-“

“Your Grace.”

But an unexpected obstacle appeared. It was Claude, full of righteousness.

“Although she’s a bit clumsy, Audrey is fulfilling her role sufficiently.”

“Are you taking her side due to personal friendship?”

“It’s not like that. A unilateral dismissal notice is too harsh a measure.”

“Too harsh?”

“Yes. Audrey is quick to adapt and has a sense of responsibility. She will be a great help to the finance department someday.”

“…!”

Audrey felt like grabbing onto his trouser leg.

If Duke Frith were to retract his decision now, wouldn’t she be stuck here?

‘Oppa, please don’t do this!’

She tried sending desperate looks, but his reassuring smile seemed particularly unkind today.

However, very fortunately, Duke Frith looked quite displeased.

‘This isn’t going as planned.’

Originally, he had intended to just scare her a little and then naturally give her another chance.

But with this unexpected interference, he had missed the timing to smooth things over.

Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to retract his words now?

Since it had come to this, it might not be bad to nip it in the bud.

“…There will be no retraction. My lady, you may return home.”

“Your Grace!”

“O-Oppa. I’m fine.”

“Audrey.”

Audrey grabbed Claude’s collar and shook her head sadly.

Sympathetic gazes poured toward her drooping head.

But she was truly fine.

‘Now I don’t have to come anymore.’

She doesn’t have to face that uncomfortable face anymore or worry about when her true identity might be discovered.

By being fired, she would be permanently removed from the list of suspects!

Audrey tried to put on a bitter face. If she looked too excited about being fired, it might raise suspicions.

“Thank you… for everything.”

Goodbye, everyone!

“Everyone, stay healthy.”

I’m leaving to find my freedom!

As her heavy footsteps faded away, regretful sighs poured out behind her.

“……”

Derek seemed somewhat flustered.

He had expected her to look back at least once.

But the retreating back of her head stubbornly faced forward.

Just before getting into the carriage.

Audrey looked up at the Duke’s estate, which had now turned into a rose castle.

‘Hooray! Audrey is free!’

Now it’s time to bid farewell to the tiresome Duke Frith.

***

“I can’t just stand by and watch anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“We need to come up with a plan.”

Lucas’s face turned incredulous.

‘This was just watching?’

For a man who had surrounded the entire castle with roses, he lacked conscience.

Duke Frith remained as stubborn as ever.

No matter how many times he was told it was a threatening letter, he wouldn’t believe it.

He seemed to be under the illusion that the terrifying challenge letter was actually a love letter.

“Contact the newspaper and have them publish an article first thing tomorrow morning.”

“…Understood.”

Derek stared out the window with a terrifying expression.

If, as he predicted, something had happened to Dodori’s safety… he would personally hunt down those who harmed her and exterminate their entire families.

However, the next morning, when Derek checked the newspaper article, he couldn’t hide his displeasure.

《(Exclusive) Duke’s Estate Threatening Letter, Handwriting Analysis Planned… Suspect’s Profile Emerging?》

《Duke Frith’s Rage… “I Have No Intention of Letting Them Go”》

“Why is the article like this?”

Threatening letter? Suspect? And rage?

He swore he never said anything like that.

He had only said that he would request a handwriting analysis to find the letter’s owner and that he wanted to find them to spend a lifetime together.

“They’re writing a novel here.”

But these so-called journalists wielded their pens as they pleased.

Just looking at the headlines, it seemed incredibly hostile.

Doesn’t it look like he’s trying to find Dodori to kill her?

If he couldn’t meet Dodori, it would all be because of these guys.

“…Secure the journalists.”

“W-Why are you doing this?”

“If there’s no Dodori, there’s no life for them. I will hold them accountable without fail.”

Duke Frith tore the newspaper to shreds.

“From today, we’ll begin our full-scale search for Dodori. Something must have happened to her.”

“……”

Lucas clutched his chest in frustration.

‘No, it’s just a bluff from a blackmailer, I tell you!’

What could have happened? My foot.

Why wouldn’t she appear even after he’d plastered everything with roses?

It’s because she knows she won’t die peacefully if caught.

“You first go around the capital area and find the owner of this seal.”

“…Yes.”

“We must find her before the golden time passes. We need to hurry. If necessary, you may put the Duke’s knights on standby.”

“……”

“I will rescue Dodori without fail before it’s too late.”

Derek’s current appearance was reminiscent of a commander.

His reputation for striking fear into neighboring countries was being reenacted in an unexpected place.

The focus that never gives up even in adverse situations, the tenacity of holding on like a dog, the patience of waiting without blinking until the opponent falls into the trap.

Lucas recalled the forgotten image of his lord.

‘Right. This is how he used to be.’

Just because the war ended doesn’t mean a person’s nature changes.

His lord might seem to be sitting quietly in the Duke’s estate, but he was still hiding sharp claws beneath his feet.

“I will… definitely get her back. I will.”

Even if that threatening letter was a real love letter, it wouldn’t change much.

The final destination might change from a coffin to a wedding hall, but the fact that she couldn’t escape from him would remain the same.

Wasn’t Duke Frith the world’s most persistent man?

Moreover, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a man who had never been close to love or marriage.

So there was no way he would let go of the fish that had swum to him of its own accord.