Chapter 6

“Miss!!”

At the sound of a familiar voice as the door opened, Evelyn turned her head sharply. It was Rosa, the maid she had sent to gather information about the Grand Duke.

“Rosa, did you find out anything?”

“Ah, well, huff…”

Having run at full speed, Rosa was out of breath and couldn’t speak right away. At Evelyn’s gesture, another maid quickly brought a glass of water for Rosa. After gulping it down, Rosa caught her breath and cleared her throat.

“So, what’s going on with His Grace the Grand Duke?”

“Well… His Grace is at the mansion right now.”

“What?!”

Evelyn’s eyes grew wide like a startled rabbit. 

The Grand Duke was at the mansion? Could it be he had come to see me?

The thought made Evelyn’s heart pound.

“He’s speaking with the Earl right now. From what I found out, it wasn’t a scheduled meeting. It seems to be a sudden visit.”

If it wasn’t a scheduled meeting, that meant it was indeed a sudden one. Since the Grand Duke had come to this mansion, it was likely that he was the one who had requested the meeting.

“Did you find out why he came?”

“I couldn’t figure that out. They’re talking in the Earl’s study, so no one could eavesdrop, and the other staff don’t know anything either.”

Evelyn bit her lip in frustration. The Grand Duke at the mansion—she couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“I heard that someone from the Grand Ducal residence was sent to the boutique to order dresses and jewelry.”

“Sent someone to the boutique?”

Currently, the position of lady of the house at the Grand Ducal household was vacant. Since the previous Grand Duke and his wife had passed away, there had been no reason to use a boutique for some time. But sending someone to the boutique now meant that the position of the lady of the house would soon be filled.

“Could it be that His Grace came to propose to you?”

Rosa whispered this secretively into Evelyn’s ear. At those words, Evelyn’s lips twitched. A marriage proposal—just hearing the words made her heart flutter. Had the Grand Duke really come for that reason?

“Well, there aren’t many brides in the capital as suitable as me.”

She was the Earl’s only daughter, so she’d bring a hefty dowry and inherit the title, making her a young lady coveted by many noble sons.

“Of course. There are rumors all over society that your red hair is as beautiful as a blooming rose, Miss. Maybe His Grace fell for that part? You said you had a brief conversation with him last night.”

At Rosa’s sycophantic words, Evelyn gave a pleased hum and smiled.

“Is that so?”

If, as Rosa said, the Grand Duke had come to propose, then spending her secret stash on a magic potion had been pointless. If he was a man who could be captivated by just a brief conversation, she felt a bit smug.

Knock knock.

“Miss, the Earl is asking for you.”

At that, Evelyn sprang up from the soft sofa where she’d been lounging. Surely, she was being called about something related to the Grand Duke. After quickly checking her appearance, Evelyn walked away with a bright smile.

*** 

“Evelyn Hysenta!”

Evelyn, her face flushed, stared blankly at her father, who was shouting at her. Since she was a child, her father had granted her every wish, so she couldn’t understand why he was now glaring at her in such anger.

“What’s wrong, Father?”

“What’s wrong? Do you really not know the reason?”

Seeing his daughter’s face still full of confusion, the Earl pounded his own chest in frustration.

“Oh, Father, really, what’s gotten into you!”

Looking down at his daughter, who tried to stop him in a hurry, the Earl, feeling as if his head might explode, slumped heavily into his chair.

“Tell me, Evelyn.”

“W-what is it?”

Feeling her father’s angry gaze, Evelyn instinctively realized something was wrong. No matter what mistake she made, her father would always laugh it off, but today, he wore a stern face.

But she still wanted to ignore that fact. However, at her father’s next words, the excitement she’d felt on her way to the study vanished like cold water thrown over her.

“Do you really not know what you did wrong?”

“What did I do to make you this angry?”

“Did you really put a magic potion in His Grace the Grand Duke’s drink? Hm?”

“……”

Instead of denying it, Evelyn simply pressed her lips together. The Earl clutched his head. He had hoped it wasn’t true, but it was. He wished it were all a dream, but reality was only tightening around his throat.

“What were you thinking, doing something like that! Do you know how serious a crime that is?! That could be grounds for a trial!!”

At her father’s scolding, which she’d never heard before, Evelyn began to cry as she opened her mouth.

“But I fell in love at first sight!”

A sigh escaped the Earl.

“What?”

“I-I mean, I fell for His Grace the Grand Duke… I was afraid another young lady would take him…”

He’d spoiled his precious daughter, born late in his life, but he hadn’t realized she was so naive about the world. The Earl’s worries only deepened.

“You are forbidden to go out until the end of this social season, Evelyn Hysenta.”

“Father!”

Being grounded during the social season was enough to send Evelyn into shock. The social season was the most important time of year for noble young ladies—if she were forbidden from going out, rumors would spread like wildfire throughout society. The thought of being stuck in the mansion watching it all unfold made Evelyn’s lips tremble.

“Be grateful that this is all you get. If His Grace had made an issue of this, do you realize how much damage our family could have suffered?”

At the Earl’s cold voice, Evelyn could only bite her trembling lips, unable to argue further.

“Go to your room. Don’t leave it for the rest of the day, and reflect on your actions!”

“But…”

“Didn’t you hear me say get out!”

At the harsh words, Evelyn barely held back her tears as she turned away. The Earl let out a sigh as he watched his daughter stagger out of the room.

‘He’s letting this go with just this, hoping there will soon be good news from the Grand Ducal household, so hopefully, there won’t be any more unpleasant scenes.’

Even at a young age, the Grand Duke’s presence was overwhelming. Even the Earl, who had spent decades in noble society, had felt intimidated to the point of shrinking back, so if Evelyn had faced him directly, she might have fainted on the spot.

What’s more, somehow the Grand Duke had discovered that the Earl had swapped out some goods among those delivered to the Imperial Palace. If that were to become known, the Earl himself would not escape unscathed, and he felt a tightness in his chest.

“Hoo…”

Fortunately, the Grand Duke agreed to let everything go as long as Evelyn was kept confined at home. Of course, the Earl had to give up a few pieces of information he held, but those were nothing but trivial things.

For example, things like what hobbies the Marquis Berloni had, or what kind of jewelry the Marchioness Berloni liked—just trivial information.

“When did things develop between Marquis Berloni’s young lady and him, really.”

As a father, it was not pleasant to know that the man his daughter admired had become involved with another young lady. But above all, the family came first. He was the head of the Earl’s household, after all.

Now that it had come to this, the Earl just hoped the two would get married quickly and leave the capital.