Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! - Chapter 24

“Your Grace. Where on earth have you been all night-, hieek!”

“……”

Duke Frith looked at his aide through the mirror.

With dark circles under his eyes, there was something devilish about him, as if he had crawled out of hell.

However, what was even more chilling was that the corners of his mouth were twitching strangely.

“Y-Your Grace! Your mouth is twitching, it’s facial paralysis, no, a spasm!”

“……”

The disappointed corners of his mouth instantly returned to their original position. His face showed undisguised dejection.

“……Is it that strange?”

“Phew, you scared me! Pardon?”

“……”

Derek picked up a book with a gloomy expression.

He had just tried following the “How to Make Someone Like You” instructions.

But something was definitely off. Nothing in the book was right.

Despite waiting all night, his Dodori didn’t show even a single hair, and the expression meant to be likable only caused unnecessary worry.

The author seemed suspicious.

“……A liar, perhaps.”

Duke Frith flipped through the book with eyes that looked like they could kill someone.

Then, upon seeing the author’s introduction, he muttered some harsh words and threw the book far away.

“Hieek!”

“This book, burn it, immediately!”

“Pardon? But isn’t this Your Grace’s most treasured book?”

“……”

The aide, wondering why his lord was so upset, cautiously picked up the book.

There, a brief biography of the now-deceased author was written.

Mertel Seollen

: Aged 82. Lived a pure life and was buried in holy ground. His books continue to be an inspiration to many lifelong singles.

“Huh?”

Lived a pure life? Buried in holy ground?

Such a person wrote a romance book?

‘Ah, so that’s why he’s angry!’

Derek glared at the book with an enraged face.

To think that “Wolf, Step Aside!: Killer Seduction Techniques More Charming Than a Wolf”, which he had been clinging to for over two weeks, was actually written by a lifelong single not much different from himself!

‘……Yes, it’s all because of this book.’

He finally found the cause.

This bogus book had messed up his love life.

He had merely fallen for this author’s trickery.

“Find this person’s grave immediately.”

“Your Grace! Please calm down. No matter how angry you are, desecrating a grave-“

“And buy up all of these books. This book doesn’t deserve to exist.”

Duke Frith vowed while glaring at the book written by Satan.

He would somehow buy them all up, then burn them in front of that pure lifelong single’s grave.

The price for interfering with his love must be paid, even from the grave.

***

While Claude was away briefly, the remaining two sat far apart, reading books.

Hans glanced alternately at his book and his friend, subtly trying to start a conversation.

“……Do you like my brother that much?”

“How can you ask such an obvious question? Ruining my Sunday lunch mood.”

“Why do you like him so much anyway?”

Audrey snapped her book shut.

Her eyes were full of exasperation as she looked at her friend.

“Why, you ask? Claude Oppa is kind, handsome… No, why do you even want to know? It’s really ridiculous.”

“……”

Hans sank into the sofa, nearly reclining. His foot tapped the floor silently, while his face betrayed clear annoyance.

Audrey was dumbfounded.

What kind of personality is it to pick a fight first and then get upset?

“Do you just like anyone who’s older?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“He walks around the mansion shirtless every summer, you know?”

“You really……”

“I never do that. It’s quite barbaric, isn’t it? Don’t you agree? You can’t stand that either, right?”

Audrey’s brows furrowed.

Seeing that expression, Hans felt a surge of anticipation.

“You’ve been keeping such a good sight all to yourself?”

……Huh?

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

The heavy breathing sounded genuinely angry.

Audrey approached threateningly, stomping like a bear cub.

Judging by the undisguised anger in each step, she seemed ready to grab him by the collar if necessary.

“If I had known earlier, I would have moved into your house last summer! I would have lived there all summer long!”

“……Hey. You don’t know, but my brother’s drunk behavior is terrible too. When he’s drunk, he just sleeps completely naked. He’s like a raw chicken, I tell you. Tsk, for a grown man to behave like that, how unsightly-“

“He, he drinks too!”

Audrey’s nostrils flared rapidly.

Her face, flushed red, made one wonder what kind of imagination she was indulging in.

However, when his companion didn’t agree, Hans felt a strange stubbornness.

Somehow, it felt like he needed to see her deny those blind emotions with her own mouth to be satisfied.

“Hey. Listen carefully. There are only two men left in the world. Me and Cla-“

“Claude oppa.”

“Oh come on! What’s wrong with listening to everything before choosing? Always so impatient……”

“It still doesn’t change. Claude oppa.”

“……”

What an unkind girl. Truly unwavering devotion.

“Fine, whatever.”

What’s so great about his brother anyway?

Even if not as much as his brother, Hans wasn’t someone to be outdone anywhere.

Only this acorn in the whole world treated him like a doormat.

‘Do you know how popular I am?’

Huh, really. Does she think no one likes him?

His footsteps became loud and stomping due to his suddenly irritated mood.

Even though he knew full well that Audrey wouldn’t care either way.

***

The books Derek had cherished underwent a major overhaul.

He had his aide investigate the authors’ backgrounds, then carefully screened them, keeping only the books by verified authors.

The rest turned to ashes and disappeared.

Mertel Seollen’s book was torn apart most cruelly and thrown into a pile of firewood blazing like hellfire.

《The #1 Thing You Should Never Do in a Relationship: ‘Going to their house without notice and waiting indefinitely’》

Nothing could be more disrespectful. If you want to break up, the first thing to do is visit their house!

You say you’ll even stay up all night in front of it? That’s the same as saying let’s live as strangers forever.

Here’s a toast to your breakup!

“……”

Derek gritted his molars.

He was rebuilding his foundation with a new book.

It was called “The Secret to Capturing Cunning Foxes,” written by a womanizer who had dated over 1,000 women in his lifetime.

Of course, he had no intention of seducing 1,000 women as Dodori was his only one.

But Dodori’s perspective might be different, right?

What if she gets bored of him?

What if cunning and lecherous men approach and beguile the innocent Dodori?

“……You lot won’t be able to rest in peace.”

They have eyes too, so they must know.

How lovable and adorable Dodori is.

Moreover, her charm, like a horn of plenty, doesn’t stop there.

Her tightly closed lips and resolute green eyes, cotton candy-like pink hair, and the patience to endure even unreasonable verbal abuse.

Ah, how upright and reliable she is.

“Everyone will try to get their hands on Dodori.”

Oops.

Derek, who had momentarily fallen deep into Dodori’s charms, came to his senses and his eyes flashed sharply.

“This is war.”

At this moment, the second war of his life was beginning.

The objective: Protect Dodori for life.

Duration: Until his black hair turns white.

The enemy: An unspecified multitude of vicious bastards.

Core strategy: Seduce Dodori.

The most urgent task in the current situation was to hone his own charm.

After all, he couldn’t forcibly tie up Dodori who wasn’t even a prisoner, could he?

“That’s absolutely out of the question.”

So he would compete with charm.

With a powerful charm that would make Dodori fall hard and never escape for a lifetime.

Although this concept of ‘charm’ was quite abstract and vague… it wasn’t much different from sword training.

If you steadily progress at your own pace every day, someday you’ll achieve as much as the sweat you’ve shed.

《Good Gifts for Reconciliation: Flowers》

Is there a gift more romantic than flowers? Jewelry, clothes, and accessories are all too common gifts.

Try mixing things she usually likes or is interested in with flowers.

Like wrapping a pretty necklace around the flowers, or decorating with beautiful jewels instead of baby’s breath.

The important thing is to exude the feeling of ‘I’m this interested in you’.

Let’s carefully recall what she liked usually. That’s the first step to reconciliation.

“What she likes……”

Derek’s face darkened.

He hit a huge wall right from the start.

What did his Dodori like?

Until now, he hadn’t paid much attention, so nothing came to mind.

The Dodori he had seen was only sleeping, eating snacks, or adorably flustered after making mistakes.

‘What on earth should I give her?’

He couldn’t spray sleep fragrance on flowers just because she sleeps a lot, could he?

And crudely inserting snacks wouldn’t look like a gift either.

‘I want to give her something unique……”

After pondering all night, he decided to gift sugar flowers.

Since she likes sweet things, he would coat edible flowers with sugar syrup of the same color and let it harden.

The glossy flowers would surely be beautiful. And very sweet too.

Derek desperately hoped that Dodori would soften her heart.

However, there was something Duke Frith hadn’t considered.

It was now the end of May, just about to transition into summer.

***

On a peaceful Monday morning.

The Kevelson Count’s household received an unexpected threat from an anonymous assailant.

“Kyaah!”

“Young miss! Step back!”

At the sound of Audrey’s scream, the servants rushed in.

In front of the entrance was something hideous and unidentifiable.

It seemed to be a basket full of red flowers.

However, everyone who saw it was terrified.

“Who on earth would…!”

A sticky red liquid was dripping down over the romantic flowers.

No matter how you looked at it, it appeared to be blood dripping down.

The scene was so horrific that some were dry-heaving.

“Oh my God… Urgh.”

“Escort the young miss to a safe place first!”

“Young miss, come this way. Quickly!”

Audrey was hurriedly led back to her room by the servants’ hands.

Her pale face looked like it might collapse at any moment.

“Who… on earth……”