Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! - Chapter 21

Audrey, who headed to Rokt early Saturday morning, was shocked.

《Ah! Communication Orb, Cheaper than Messenger Orb》

“…Is that supposed to be an advertising slogan?”

That Hans!

She wanted to grab him right away and give him a piece of her mind.

He was so proud of coming up with a killer phrase! Who would come looking after seeing such a half-hearted advertisement?

‘Is this to sabotage someone else’s new product…!’

Audrey huffed as she opened the door.

“Oh, CEO, you’re here?”

“Amelie, why is the promotional slogan outside like that? It’s Hans’s doing, isn’t it! Right!”

“Huh? Yes. Isn’t it very fresh and good?”

“No! Who would come to buy after seeing that-“

─Ding-a-ling.

“Is the Communication Orb really cheaper than the Messenger Orb?”

“Ah, please come this way!”

“……”

The first customer who came after seeing the promotional slogan immediately bought a Communication Orb.

There was no need for further explanation. It was enough that the Communication Orb was cheaper than the Messenger Orb.

“Ahem. Well, it’s a good start.”

“…I don’t understand.”

Somehow, she felt like she was the only fool. Audrey shook her head as she put down the wooden box.

“This is the Communication Orb, and this is the custom-made product from before.”

“If you had told me in advance, I would have gone to pick it up. Oh, by the way, how is Claudia doing?”

“Huh? Oh, well… She’s such an unfortunate person.”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. She cried so much back then.”

“Sigh.”

Remembering the customer’s story, a regretful sigh escaped involuntarily.

In fact, Rokt had not been taking custom orders for a year. Even without custom orders, there was more than enough work to do.

When Audrey found herself short on time to chase after Claude, she immediately went on strike.

“Give me love or give me death!”

“…Hey, what are you doing?”

“Is this why you hired me, to work myself to death? I want to live like a human being, you evil boss, wake up!”

“Y-You crazy girl…!”

“Wake up! Wake up!”

For a week, Audrey followed Hans around, chanting slogans until his ears bled.

She even installed a portal to Hans’s room and visited him every night.

In the dim darkness.

Audrey crouched next to the bed and whispered in her friend’s ear.

“Freedom for Audrey… Love for Audrey…”

“Ugh, Zerg!”

Hans apparently had nightmares every night without knowing why.

Finally, he surrendered after a week. Thus, Rokt’s custom orders had officially disappeared into the annals of history long ago.

But there were very rare cases where they would accept orders depending on the situation.

Most of these were for the weak or those in difficult circumstances. A kind of social contribution activity, you could say?

“I’ll throw this in too.”

“Huh? What’s this?”

“A baby toy.”

“Wow.”

Audrey put a sphere similar to the Communication Orb into the wooden box. It was a lighting orb that spread light throughout the entire room.

‘Baby, you need to grow up healthy.’

The light would soon become a three-dimensional image, taking you to mountains, seas, space, canyons, animal habitats, or anywhere else.

Probably in place of the busy father.

“Call me when that customer comes later!”

“Yes. Understood.”

Audrey handed the box to Amelie and disappeared behind the curtain.

She intended to meet the customer directly to offer some heartfelt consolation. And to explain how to use the magic tool.

─Ding-a-ling.

“Oh, you’re here! Just a moment. The CEO is here too.”

“Huh? No, there’s no need-“

“CEO!”

Lucas, who came to receive the confession tool, awkwardly lingered in front of the counter.

‘Is there really a need to call the CEO?’

He wanted to receive it quickly and leave out of embarrassment…

Before he could stop her, Amelie disappeared behind the curtain.

Left alone, Lucas began to look around at various things out of awkwardness.

“CEO, it’s that person.”

“Hello. Audrey Kevel, oh? Assistant?”

“…!”

Lucas’s eyes trembled wildly as he was examining the magic tools.

“I-I thought this place belonged to the Emilton family…”

“Ah. But I’m the CEO. Hans is just a figurehead!”

“……”

“Oops.”

Audrey understood his reaction a beat late.

‘Right! His wife had an affair, no, the baby!’

How embarrassing it must be to have a family dispute exposed to an acquaintance.

She regretted acknowledging him first.

“Uh, t-take this with you.”

“Ah, yes.”

“This is a baby toy. You press here to…”

The longer they talked, the more awkward the atmosphere became. The two couldn’t even make eye contact and just stared at empty space.

“By the way, Assistant, are you marr- Oh! What am I thinking? I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright. Well, there are some circumstances.”

“You must be busy, uh, please go ahead.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Lucas’s face looked miserable as he left the shop.

Had he now become a real father with no way out? This was all because of his lord.

‘I’m only guilty of working hard…’

It was none other than Duke Frith who had dissuaded Lucas from disguising himself as a prison guard.

He urged for a more powerful and effective method, and his close associates unanimously recommended ‘poor father of a child’.

The reason is that it seemed to suit Lucas the best.

But who knew that a single mission would completely ruin a promising bachelor’s marriage prospects.

‘Would people believe me if I said I’m a pure single man? Would they?’

Soon, rumors would spread uncontrollably. He was already on the verge of tears from the injustice.

While Duke Frith himself was making a fuss about dating, someone else was left with a scarlet letter preventing him from getting married!

If Lucas never gets married in his life, it would surely be all Duke Frith’s fault.

Meanwhile, Audrey covered her mouth in shock.

“Wow, I had no idea he was married because you don’t look it at all. And even a father!”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Huh? Just… just… someone I know.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t surprised. However, she thought there must be a reason for hiding the marriage.

Perhaps because she had witnessed him working frantically beside Duke Frith, she naturally felt sympathy.

‘If you work like that all the time, who’s raising the child?’

Audrey knew well the hardships of a father raising a child alone.

Her father, Count Kevelson, had to work overtime all week just to go on a picnic with his children.

Moreover, Lucas was an assistant who stayed by Duke Frith’s side all day.

He must surely be busy without a moment to spare.

Audrey started to worry about the baby she had never even seen.

“Amelie, how old did you say that person’s child was?”

“Just a moment. Ah, he said the baby just started babbling. So, maybe about two or three months old? I’m not sure though.”

“Oh my…”

How could one so young understand anything!

How would the baby know if Dad had left home or gone to work?

Unable to even babble properly, just waiting for dad to return…

“This won’t do. I should send a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes. It must be hard raising a child alone. And every child has the right to grow up healthy.”

“That’s true.”

Amelie agreed while shredding the paper. It was because of Rokt’s iron rule. Guaranteeing the identity and secrecy of clients.

‘What does a child need most?’

Audrey pondered over what gift to send anonymously. Revealing her name might make things awkward for both parties.

Ah, for now, sending some vitamins or snacks might be good.

***

Even while searching desperately for Dodori, Derek didn’t neglect his studies.

Today, taking advantage of the weekend, he was planning to practice writing love letters.

He wanted to hand over a reply when Dodori appeared before him someday.

Derek seriously opened “Love Letters, Write Like Casanova in Just a Week”.

‘As expected.’

The clerk’s eyes weren’t wrong.

Although it was a bit dusty, perhaps from improper storage, the content was quite substantial.

“Let’s begin.”

With a sheet of paper beside him, the Duke reading the book looked quite solemn.

《(Let’s write 10 times each!) Beautiful expressions to capture his/her heart》

“Just write ten times? That’s easy.”

Derek wrote each character with care, pouring his heart into it.

“Cute, you are, my, baby kitten… Your, eyes, like the sun, in that sky, blind, my eyes…”

Writing such flowery expressions with his own hand felt awkward and embarrassing.

His sheepish hand couldn’t write quickly, pausing now and then to unnecessarily brush through his hair.

“…It doesn’t feel natural at all.”

The beautiful expressions had many unnecessary modifiers.

The superfluous additions that made the sentences excessive were no different from the frills on his sleeves.

Pretty when present, but not particularly useful.

The thing he had written most in his life was telegrams.

On the battlefield, telegrams had to convey maximum meaning with minimum words. So Derek preferred a dry and concise writing style.

However, if he wrote a love letter like a telegram, he’d likely get rejected outright.

“That won’t do.”

If he hadn’t encountered this book, Derek’s love letter might have ended up looking like this:

Agree. Marriage proposal. Await swift reply.

“Terrible.”

Giving such a shriveled letter to the adorable and sensitive Dodori? That really won’t do.

Derek shook his head and turned the page.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

“…This.”

It was because the example sentences were full of expressions he had seen somewhere before.

Still finding it difficult? Let’s try using the provided expressions.

1. Surprising confession method: Set up the other person as a third party ‘that person’, develop the content repeatedly, and finally reveal that ‘that person’ is the recipient. The unsuspecting recipient’s heart will drop with a thud. *Usage example: That person is as warm as sunshine. That person is as delicate as a cotton swab. …(omitted)… That person is you.
2. Redefining the relationship: Let’s express the relationship between you and the other person metaphorically. It’s better to assume an inseparable relationship if possible. This emphasizes that the two are destined beings. Heart and electricity, fork and knife, paper and pen, tuna and fisherman. All are good. *Usage example: You are electricity. That’s why my heart can’t beat without you. That’s why I can’t live without you. You are my soulmate sent by heaven.

“…!”

He knew this content. He couldn’t not know it.

 Wasn’t this Dodori’s letter that he had read hundreds of times?

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  a reference to the Zerg race from the popular video game StarCraft. The Zerg are an alien species known for their ability to quickly overwhelm their enemies with large numbers. I think it should convey his feeling of being overwhelmed or swarmed, similar to how a player might feel when attacked by a horde of Zerg in the game.