9. Me, the Duke’s Mistress?!

“…A scandal, you say?”

“Yes, I’m telling you! This is no time to be leisurely going through paperwork. The whole capital is buzzing with it!”

The one who barged into the office making a commotion was someone Evelyn knew well.

Adelio O’Brian.

He was the third son of Count O’Brian and, like Evelyn, one of Rashid Egenhart’s childhood companions.

“When even my sister-in-law—who’s totally oblivious to social gossip—has heard of it, you know this is serious.”

Adelio, clearly alarmed, tried to impress the urgency of the situation with his voice growing ever more frantic.

“I see. So have you heard what the scandal is actually about?”

Evelyn asked nonchalantly while idly scribbling with her pen. Adelio, exasperated, snatched the pen away from her.

“I’m a bit embarrassed to say it myself, but… apparently you manipulated Rashid into—”

“Breaking up with Lady Cecilia?”

“Whoa, Evelyn. You already knew?”

“If that’s the matter at hand, then that storm has already come and gone. Lady Cecilia threw quite the tantrum before storming out of the mansion.”

With a calm reply, Evelyn took the pen back from Adelio.

“What? She came in person?”

“Don’t even ask. It was complete chaos.”

Despite her words, Evelyn calmly resumed writing her letter, leaving Adelio shaking his head in disbelief.

“Incredible, Evelyn. You’re not even angry? If it were me, I’d have exploded already.”

“Why would I be mad? They’re calling me the Duke’s ‘mastermind.’ I’m not exactly offended.”

A fallen baron’s daughter. An unmarried lady who had missed her prime. And penniless, with not even a dowry to her name.

In the original story, Evelyn had been portrayed as a pitiful and insignificant figure.’“But to think I’m now the hidden force pulling strings in the empire’s most powerful ducal house? That’s downright cool.’

Evelyn genuinely thought so.

“I don’t care about scandals. What I’m really worried about is next month’s tuition fee for my youngest sibling. Why is it so absurdly expensive?!”

Though she meant every word, Adelio could only look at her in awe.

“Evelyn, I truly admire you. If only I had your strength of heart, maybe Father would’ve acknowledged me just a little…”

Since he wasn’t the eldest son, Adelio was ineligible to inherit the count’s title.

In such cases, noble sons like him often became knights, bureaucrats, scholars—or more rarely, merchants or investors.

But Adelio was too timid to be a knight, too impatient to be a bureaucrat or scholar, and too cautious to run a merchant guild or become an investor.

‘A good-for-nothing.’

That was how the food-loving Count O’Brian described his third son.

Thankfully, thanks to his friend Rashid, Adelio had managed to secure an executive position at one of the companies run by the Egenhart ducal house.

Surprisingly, his work performance was quite respectable—though the constant stress of working under Rashid, the owner himself, was another matter entirely.

At the time, more than ten childhood friends had been recruited to work with Rashid. Now, only two remained by his side: Adelio and Evelyn. The others had all fled early on, unable to endure the arrogant and icy Duke’s temperament.

“Anyway, Evelyn, I was worried after hearing the rumors, but it’s a relief to see you’re unfazed. You really are Evelyn through and through.”

“I’ve heard more than a few rumors about me and His Grace. None of them have done me any real harm.”

Evelyn tidied up the finished letter and pulled out a fresh sheet of stationery.

“True enough. But this is the first time people are saying you’re His Grace’s… mistress—”

“Wait a second, Adelio. What did you just say?”

Evelyn froze and sharply looked up from her work.

“Mistress…? Me, the Duke’s?”

Now that was truly something she’d never heard before.

***

“Puhahahaha!”

A laugh unfitting of a noble lady had been echoing through the Duke’s office for three full minutes now. In that vast space, Evelyn’s laughter reverberated like a bouncing echo.

“A mistress! Puhaha! Me, in an improper relationship with His Grace? Oh, that’s rich!”

The words pouring from the mouth of a noblewoman were anything but appropriate. And watching Evelyn clutch her stomach and double over with laughter only made the two men across from her grow increasingly grim.

Especially Adelio, who kept glancing anxiously at Rashid. His expression darkened by the second.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

At last, Adelio cleared his throat loudly to get Evelyn’s attention.

“Anyway… there are rumors going around that Lady Evelyn is in an improper relationship with His Grace, and that this is why he refuses to get engaged. We need to take swift action to—”

He didn’t even finish before:

“Pft.”

Another burst of laughter erupted from Evelyn’s mouth.

The two men, already tense, stiffened further.

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, Rashid spoke.

“Lady Evelyn, what exactly is so amusing?”

His voice was one tone lower than usual, steeped in displeasure—but Evelyn remained entirely oblivious.

“Of course it’s funny. Me, the Duke’s mistress? Honestly, it would be more believable to say that three suns will rise in the sky tomorrow morning.”

Indeed, he was none other than Duke Rashid Egenhart—the darling of high society, the eye of the storm, the most popular man in the Empire.

There was even a running joke that if you lined up all the young ladies who had feelings for him, they could circle the Imperial Palace a hundred times and still have some left over.

And now, a scandal involving himself and a mere secretary? How utterly absurd.

“Isn’t this hilarious? Duke Rashid involved in a scandal with me? Puhahaha…”

Evelyn, who had burst into laughter once again, slowly closed her mouth after a moment.

Strangely, the atmosphere in the office had turned cold.

“Um, I’ll just step out to the restroom for a bit…”

Sensing the icy mood, Adelio quickly slipped out of the office.

Evelyn, paying him no mind, picked up the teacup that the butler, Robert, had brought her.

“The tea’s getting cold. Why don’t you drink it?”

Her throat was parched from laughing so much, so Evelyn took a sip of tea.

The fragrant black tea was slightly lukewarm, but it was enough to quench her thirst.

Just then, Rashid’s voice rang out—so calm it was almost frightening.

“Lady Evelyn Berge.”

“Yes?”

Startled, Evelyn looked up at her employer with the teacup still in hand.

“Is it so amusing to be mistaken as my ‘mistress’?”

The question, oddly serious and completely inappropriate for the mood, made Evelyn suppress yet another burst of laughter.

“Then… are you saying, Duke Rashid, that you’re fine with people misunderstanding you like that…?”

“Of course not.”

Rashid cut her off sharply.

“I find it extremely unpleasant as well. The very notion that such rumors are circulating about you and me.”

“As you should.”

When Evelyn promptly replied, the duke’s expression twisted again.

In the original work, 《Duke’s Secret Seduction》, Duke Rashid Egenhart was a selfish man who wouldn’t spare a glance for a minor supporting character like Evelyn.

That’s why the current situation amused Evelyn just a little.

‘A scandal with a background character he wouldn’t have even looked at in the original story? That must really sting.’

Of course, it wasn’t as if Evelyn was thrilled about this situation, either.

In the original story, maybe—but the current Evelyn had not the slightest bit of affection for Rashid.

She was simply finding the deviation from the original plot entertaining.

Just then—

Knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door, and butler Robert entered, holding a silver tray.

“Your Grace, a message has arrived from Baron Pruden’s household.”

“A message?”

Rashid’s eyes fell on the bouquet of red roses atop the silver tray.

They were roses Evelyn had ordered and sent to the baron’s house.

The fact that the bouquet had returned to the duke’s residence meant…

Without a word, Rashid opened the envelope that came with the flowers.

Thud.

After silently reading the letter in full, Rashid tossed the envelope aside with an unreadable expression.

“Baron Pruden’s daughter has declined my invitation to the Imperial Ball.”

At that moment, Evelyn’s jaw dropped.

Good heavens. A young lady who would reject none other than Duke Rashid Egenhart?

While Evelyn was at a loss for words, Rashid, still expressionless, looked straight at her.

“Therefore, you’ll have to take responsibility, Lady Evelyn.”

“…Excuse me? Responsibility? What do you mean, Your Grace?”

Evelyn asked in shock, and Rashid ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh.

“Because of the rumor that you’re my mistress, Lady Melissa, the baron’s daughter, refused my invitation.”

“I don’t know if that’s the exact reason, but yes, I just heard that the baron’s daughter declined your offer to be your partner.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Given how things have turned out, I have no other choice. Lady Evelyn, you’ll have to be my partner for the Imperial Ball.”

“What?”

What?! How on earth did he come to that conclusion?

At Rashid’s outrageous declaration, Evelyn felt like jumping up right there and then.

To attend the Imperial Ball as his partner?

The Evelyn from the original story might have fainted with joy, but not her—not this Evelyn.

She had no desire to be entangled with Rashid in such a way.

“That seems… like a rather unwise decision, in my opinion.”

“Why do you say that, Lady Evelyn?”

Before she knew it, Rashid had leaned back leisurely against the sofa and opened his mouth again.

A satisfied smile appeared on his statue-like, elegant face.

“Surely… you’re not saying you dislike the idea of being my partner for the ball?”