Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! - Chapter 27

Of course, Arnold seemed to really believe that all of this was a surprise party.

He had an innocent side, resembling Dodori.

“Now, now! Everyone raise your hands high!”

“Like this?”

“Lower your hand if you tie or lose to me!”

“Oh my, how exciting.”

“Ready~ Set! Rock, paper, scissors!”

“Woohoo!”

Arnold was having a great time playing with the Duke’s employees in the guest room.

Judging by the constant laughter from beyond the door, his sociability was top-notch.

“Since he’s enjoying it so much, wouldn’t it be better to let him play to his heart’s content before leaving?”

“……”

“He’s said to be close with the young masters of the Emilton Count’s family, so we should probably let them all in. The Kevelson Count too.”

“Let’s do that for now.”

“Yes!”

The three men who had been focused on work were called to the hospitality room without knowing why.

Thanks to Arnold, they had received an unintended vacation.

“Father! Claude! Hans!”

“Why are you here instead of at home……”

“Arnold?”

“Hey, when did you get out?”

Arnold, who had already exchanged names with the employees, was too busy enjoying himself to answer.

“Let’s all play together!”

“Woohoo!”

“My goodness. What in the world is all this about.”

The party that had started in the afternoon consumed no less than 80 bottles of wine, and the turkey that should have been on the dinner table was also gone.

However, Duke Frith didn’t reproach him.

‘If Dodori’s brother is having fun, that’s good enough.’

If he could make up for his mistake like this, it would be fortunate.

He spared no support to ensure Arnold could focus on the party, forgetting the unpleasantness in the underground prison.

Thanks to this support, the party continued for quite a while. Until Arnold collapsed from exhaustion.

***

Late at night.

A messenger arrived at the Duke’s castle.

“This is wine sent by Count Kevelson. He expressed his gratitude for your warm hospitality towards his son.”

“……”

Count Kevelson had sent a gift as soon as he returned home.

The aide who had not only kidnapped their precious son but also grabbed him by the collar was truly ashamed.

Derek wrapped up the matter well by adding flattery that such a welcome was only natural for a talent who would lead the Magic Department in the future.

Thanks to this, Lucas was able to keep his life.

“Come to think of it, I shouldn’t just focus on my Dodori.”

“……”

“Marriage is a union of families, so of course it would be good to maintain a close relationship.”

The aide had much to say but held his tongue.

His lord was thinking about running before he could even walk.

He probably had already decided on names for children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren in his mind.

“Count Kevelson… Right. It must be frustrating to work in the Justice Department. How thoughtless of me not to provide a separate office for the head of a department.”

The longer Derek spoke, the more uneasy it became somehow.

“Prepare an office for Count Kevelson on the fourth floor immediately. Make it usable within this week.”

“Your Grace. There’s no suitable space on the fourth floor.”

“Just remove something, can’t we?”

“……”

Aren’t those all rooms that Your Grace uses?

But the man in love didn’t care about his own convenience at all.

‘If we meet often, the Count will feel familiar with me too. Like… a son-in-law.’

Derek imagined a happy family as he pleased.

A grandfather-in-law with excellent character, a loving mother, a strict but loving father, and an uncle with outstanding social skills.

The child raised under them would surely be intelligent and full of love.

‘Combining a character from each of our names would be good too. If it’s a boy, Dedrick, no, Ded would be nice. If it’s a girl, Odette……’

He imagined the children’s faces by mixing their features.

But none of the children resembled him. There were only copies of Dodori, like ‘Dodori_final1’, ‘Dodori_really_final’.

At this point, Derek was practically just lending his name.

‘I hope the stork delivers them well……’

The children he had given birth to in his heart years early were lovable enough to want to bite. This must be thanks to them resembling Dodori.

It was truly an ecstatic Dodori family, even in imagination.

***

There was a commotion at the Kevelson Count’s house.

“His Grace said to move my workplace from next week. To the fourth floor.”

“Is the entire Justice Department moving?”

“No. He said only I should come.”

“……!”

“There are certainly no offices on the fourth floor, how strange.”

Audrey’s heart sank.

Duke Frith had called her father to the 4th floor. And there were no offices there.

Then where was her father going?

Suddenly, Hans’s words flashed through her mind.

“You won’t have any reason to go to the fourth floor anyway, but don’t go there even by mistake. That floor has all the bedrooms, offices, and libraries. Even a torture chamber.”

“Don’t poke around and end up in a terrible situation.”

“……!”

Audrey turned pale.

It seems Duke Frith must have figured out that she was the one who sent the letter!

Otherwise, there would be no reason to take her father to the 4th floor where the torture chamber is, right?

Could it be… that even Arnold’s welcome party was a pre-planned event?

‘It was a preliminary investigation!’

Audrey collapsed with a despairing face.

Because of her alone, the Kevelson Count’s family had become entangled with a dangerous man.

She could almost see the terrible future that would soon come.

The ‘execution of the Kevelson family’ lies side by side with their heads chopped off.

‘No!’

This can’t happen. She must prevent that at all costs.

***

After a sleepless night, Audrey headed to the Duke’s castle as soon as dawn broke.

“Your Grace! A guest has come to visit!”

“I’m busy. Send them away.”

“Well, Lady Kevelson-“

“……!”

─Thump.

Derek stood up hurriedly.

Ink spilled out of the overturned inkwell.

Important documents were ruined with black stains, but he stood there stupidly, unable to move.

‘My Dodori? Why? Could it be…… she found out about the kidnapping?’

Having many things to feel guilty about, naturally, bad thoughts came first.

It was truly ironic that above his neck he looked extremely grim, while below his neck he was fidgeting restlessly.

“Your Grace. The young lady is waiting.”

“What should I do? How adorable she’ll be today, no, before that, how should I explain……”

“……”

Lucas pretended not to hear anything and looked at distant mountains.

Sometimes he was curious about what his lord was thinking. But he didn’t want to know like this.

Meanwhile, Derek pulled out all his books and began studying frantically.

‘Women prefer when you echo their questions back to them. I can manage at least that much.’

Before letting Dodori into his office, he gave himself a final once-over.

‘Should I stand by the window? No, I shouldn’t look intimidating. Should I sit at the desk? Yes. It will exude intellectual charm.’

Lastly, he took out <A Book Critically Interpreting the Laws Related to Aslita Empire’s Protectionism from the Beneficiary’s Perspective>.

“Come in.”

“I-I’m here to see Duke Frith.”

“……!”

Ah, his Dodori appeared in an even more adorable outfit today.

‘Ugh.’

Derek secretly clutched his chest.

Her looking at him with clear eyes made his heart ache especially today.

“I-I’ve come despite the rudeness. I heard you called my father to the fourth, sob, fourth floor……”

Oh no.

He came to his senses after briefly losing himself. This is the time to ask back.

“Did I call him?”

“……!”

However, contrary to expectations, Audrey’s face became as if she had lost the whole world.

It was because his tone sounded too coercive, as if saying ‘What can you do about it?’

Audrey barely held back her tears.

With trembling hands grasping her skirt, she boldly stated the reason she came here.

“Instead of my father…… sob, take me!”

“You, my lady?”

“Hic!”

But her voice was trembling terribly like a baby goat’s.

On the other hand, Derek, who had unintentionally received a strong blow to his heart, was almost in a state of panic.

‘So now, is she asking to be sent to the fourth floor? To the same floor as me?’

“……!”

The moment he had been longing for had come.

Dodori had directly declared that she would return to him!

Ah, Duke Frith now had no regrets even if he were to die.

***

“Oof.”

Andre, the tailor of the Duke’s castle, was returning from about 20 days of vacation.

It was thanks to Duke Frith rewarding him with a long vacation for completing his spring clothes collection.

“It passed in an instant, indeed.”

Andre enjoyed the lingering feeling of the southern kingdom while fiddling with the flower necklace around his neck.

But just as he was about to leave the port, a woman came rushing fiercely.

“Hello. I’m Nicole Boekisir, a reporter from the Trashy Daily. You’ve worried the empire’s citizens with your mysterious whereabouts for the past twenty days, is it related to Duke Frith by any chance?”

“Pardon?”

Andre scratched his head in confusion.

While he was grateful for the empire’s citizens’ concern…

Why on earth would they worry about a mere tailor like him?

“Look over here please!”

“Here too!”

“Oh?”

The late-joining group kept pressing their shutters incessantly.

Andre unconsciously frowned and covered his eyes with his arm at the shower of flashes bursting from all directions.

“Can we assume that your disappearance was related to Duke Frith?”

“Well…… His Grace gave me a twenty-day overseas vacation-“

“Are you saying Duke Frith sent you abroad?”

“Yes, well. That’s right. Thanks to that, I ate well and played well in the southern kingdom-“

“How do you feel about being exiled to the far southern kingdom?”

“Exiled? It was just a vacation visit-“

“Wasn’t it hard to adapt?”

“Well, the food didn’t quite suit my taste-“

“Lastly, please give us one final comment!”

“Uh. Th-thank you?”

The reporters who had finished their business disappeared in an instant, packing their belongings.

Left alone, Andre sat down with an exhausted face.

“Sigh.”

Is this what the life of a celebrity is like?

It was so sudden that he could barely remember what he had said.

‘I hope the photos turned out well, though.’

If he had known this would happen, he should have at least washed his face before coming. After all, he was the Duke’s castle tailor, it was terribly embarrassing.

‘I should be more careful from now on.’

Andre hurriedly got on the carriage, unnecessarily conscious of his surroundings.

Now it was time to return to reality, leaving behind the dream-like vacation.