Chapter 19 – Part 2

“Y-your Grace.”

“Shh. Don’t call me that, or we might get caught. We’re supposed to look like commoners working here today.”

“Ah, understood.”

“There’s no one around right now. I’ve sent a little gift to distract the director today, and it should have arrived by now. Everyone’s probably busy unloading it from the carriage, so while we pretend to organize these flower baskets, let’s have a look around the storage.”

Kristin glanced at Raphael, who had followed her.

The Duke had continuously helped her with various matters, such as visiting Lake Matheo to revisit memories with his mother, capturing Finn Declan, and handling the trial regarding Elesia’s death.

She often found it strange how much more he involved himself in her affairs compared to the past.

The thought of him disguising himself as a commoner and sneaking into an orphanage like this made Kristin’s heart stir.

If only he had acted the way he did before his death, she might have been able to completely let go of her feelings for him, making it easier for her to move on.

But ever since he returned, he had changed so much, constantly appearing before her and helping her, and now Kristin wanted to ask him, at least once, why he had changed so much since coming back.

It felt as if he was spending time with her not to use her but because he genuinely cared for her.

So, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Kristin opened her mouth to ask him softly. However, his words came first.

“You seem annoyed that I keep appearing before you. Let me explain the reasons.

First, as the duke of an empire, I have to step in.

Second, as a man who loves you, I’ve come to protect the woman I love.

Third, I’m here to remove the Marquis Winston and Selena Scarlet, who unpleasantly cling to you.

Fourth, I’ve come for the poor children.

Those are the four reasons. Isn’t that a sufficient answer?”

“But, Your Grace, you didn’t love me like this before…”

“Wait, do you see that small door behind the brown flower baskets?”

“What? A small door?”

Kristin focused, trying not even to breathe loudly as she walked slowly toward the brown flower baskets, just as Raphael had pointed out. Only then did she see the hidden door, and Raphael continued.

“It seems this secret space is right here, Kristin.”

As soon as Raphael finished speaking, Kristin hurriedly moved the brown flower baskets aside, revealing a small door.

This was the very secret space Lenci and Cindy had mentioned.

“Kristin, it would be better if you waited safely in the carriage. We don’t know what might be inside.”

However, Kristin felt uneasy about Raphael, who had come all this way because of her, and replied firmly.

“No, Your Grace. I’ll go with you.”

“No, you can’t. Kristin, stay out of this. I’ll handle it. There’s no way you can beat me. I’m determined to protect you today.”

Despite Raphael’s words, Kristin showed no signs of backing down.

She understood that the Duke was trying to protect her, but at least today she could tell that Raphael truly cared about her.

In reality, there was no need for Raphael to go to such lengths, disguising himself as a commoner and infiltrating this place.

Even though he had concealed his face, anyone seeing his eyes might not recognize him as a duke. But this kind of infiltration was dangerous; if they realized who he was, it could cost him his life.

While pretending to listen to the Duke’s words, Kristin quietly turned around and swiftly opened the door handle Raphael had been holding.

Then, she drew out a dagger and spoke firmly to him.

“Even if Your Grace wants to protect me, I’m not a lady who can just sit idly by. I was planning to handle this on my own.”

“As much as I love you, Kristin, doing this alone is too dangerous of an idea. Fine, today I’ll go in with you. But you must follow behind me. It would hurt my pride if you took the lead in a situation like this.”

In response to his words, Kristin showed him a smile, one she hadn’t shown him before.

After waiting for Raphael to step inside, she followed closely behind him.

* * *

“If you feel uncomfortable or cold, let me know.”

A long tunnel began to appear as they opened the door and entered.

The tunnel stretched out as if it had been designed as a secret passage, extending for nearly 300 meters.

As Kristin walked through the dark tunnel, she began to feel increasingly fearful in the narrow space lit only by a few lanterns.

Noticing Kristin’s growing unease, Raphael handed her something.

“Here, hold this.”

It was a handkerchief he had been carrying, embroidered with a blue rose, just like the ones Kristin usually stitched. However, this wasn’t the handkerchief she had given him as a gift.

Though similar, the embroidery skill was noticeably different. Kristin examined the handkerchief with a curious gaze, and Raphael spoke up.

“I see you’ve noticed. Yes, it’s not the handkerchief you made. I simply wanted to try making the blue rose that you always stitch.”

“Who made this for you? Even though the stitching is a bit uneven, the blue rose is embroidered quite well.”

At Kristin’s words, Raphael smiled and replied with a grin.

“Our household servant made it. I ordered them to do it. I told them I’d kick them out if they didn’t.”

“You really are something else, Your Grace.”

Kristin couldn’t help but laugh at Raphael’s words, displaying a smile she had never shown before.

As she laughed so much that her eyes nearly closed, she realized they needed to be quiet in the tunnel and tried to suppress her laughter as she said to him,

“I know you were joking about threatening a servant over a handkerchief. Why did you go that far?”

As she spoke, Kristin suddenly turned around, having heard a sound behind her.

Although no one had been visible when they closed the door to the tunnel, she could now hear footsteps besides their own.

“Could someone be following us?”

Worried, Kristin asked the duke, who shook his head and replied.

“No, that’s not it. I instructed the knights and my aides. I told them to keep an eye out for any suspicious person in the storage.”

“Still, it seems strange that I heard someone else’s footsteps.”

Despite her concern, Kristin continued following the duke as they walked further.

After walking for a long time, Raphael suddenly stopped and said,

“This seems to be it. It looks like this path is just a secret passage.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying this isn’t everything?”

When Kristin asked, Raphael pointed ahead, and she couldn’t help but cover her mouth in surprise.

What caught her eye was a staircase leading up, and at the top of the stairs was another door.

However, this door was made of iron, quite different from a storage door, and it had a warning sign that read “No Entry.”

When Kristin cautiously tried to open the door, it creaked for a moment before slowly beginning to open.

As they passed through the door, they found themselves in another area outside.

Vincent Orphanage, even when briefly seen in the newspaper, had stated that the director lived in the same room as the children.

Looking around the orphanage, there was no personal residence suitable for the director.

Blair Adley, who always appeared to be living for the children, was respected by many nobles, and she originally came from a count’s family.

Additionally, she was said to be very dedicated to the children’s education.

But as Kristin stood before the extravagant mansion that had suddenly appeared before her, she couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

After passing through a corridor over 500 meters long from the orphanage’s storage and climbing the stairs, there stood the real mansion of the orphanage director, which no one knew about.

She had heard that the director had no personal property.

Kristin recalled her previous conversations with her mother, who had once sent a certain amount of sponsorship money to this orphanage.

A brief memory flashed through Kristin’s mind, confirming what she had feared: the claim that Director Blair Adley had spent all her wealth on the orphanage was a lie.

Although it was just a fleeting memory in her mind, it turned out that Blair Adley, the director, had lied about spending all her wealth on the orphanage.

While she would need to enter the two-story mansion to confirm this, it was clear from just looking at the passage that it belonged to the director. No one would go to the trouble of building a secret underground tunnel like this unless the estate was their own.

“Your Grace.”