At the news that the Duchess had disappeared, the ducal estate was thrown into chaos from early dawn. The servants who had rushed out from their sleep were dismayed at their master’s atmosphere, more menacing than ever.

“What exactly were you all doing while Evelyn left the estate?”

“Last night was the same as usual. She said she had no appetite and went to bed early. How could this happen…”

Penny, who had spoken up to that point, soon choked up with self-reproach for not serving her properly. The servants standing behind her could only prostrate themselves flat and tremble.

In truth, Elkas only appeared affectionate and upright in front of Evelyn—his true nature wasn’t particularly benevolent. The servants who had been personally selected from the estate and brought here knew well how strict and difficult to serve their master was.

Conversely, to those who had only seen formal noble ladies, the Duchess, who laughed freely without reserve, was bright and cheerful, leaving a refreshing impression.

She was quite easy to serve. Though she always moved around here and there, they could tell where she was and what she was doing without needing to search. 

Wherever a crash sounded, my lady was there, and in front of the butler who rushed over asking who was running through the corridors so rudely, Evelyn would always wave her hand cheerfully with a beaming smile.

In other words, since the warm and compassionate lady had arrived, caring more about people than status, their rigid master had completely changed—who wouldn’t welcome that?

But now that lady, the noblewoman who had breathed vitality into this suffocatingly silent estate, had disappeared, so naturally they couldn’t help but be distressed.

“Don’t worry. If she left on her own, there’s a possibility it’s just a momentary whim. I’ve discreetly dispatched knights, so news will come soon.”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

Elkas, who had no intention of waiting idly, was just about to leave the room when a sudden visitor stopped him. Elkas, pressed for time, quickly passed by Aiden who had come so early in the morning.

“I don’t have time to deal with you right now, so let’s meet another time.”

“Wait, I came because of exactly what you’re rushing about. About the Duchess.”

At his tone suggesting he knew about news that hadn’t even spread yet, Elkas, who had been flinging open the door, slammed it shut with a bang.

“How do you know about that?”

Elkas asked fiercely, showing hostility even to the friend he’d known half his life. It hadn’t been long since Evelyn disappeared, and moreover, everyone working at the estate had been carefully selected by Elkas himself, so there was no way the outsider Aiden could know.

At Elkas’s sharp reaction, Aiden swept back his bangs and let out something like a sigh.

“Hah… I hoped it wasn’t true… but it really is. If it’s true, rather than asking me, you should interrogate that person first.”

Right after that conversation, Elkas immediately gave orders to summon the person Aiden had mentioned.

While waiting for that person to arrive, Elkas, who had been pacing with his arms crossed, put a cigar in his mouth out of anxiety—something he’d quit after marriage. 

His expression grew vicious as he mulled over his conversation with Aiden once more. What he’d heard from Aiden was unexpected.

<I didn’t tell you the details last time, but actually, the story about Miss Evelyn bringing men into the estate was me softening it, and there’s more I didn’t tell you.>

The story he heard was quite specific and sordid.

<As soon as you left for work, carriages carrying young men would enter the ducal estate like they’d been waiting, and rumors spread that those men and the Duchess played around dissolutely.>

<They were all physicians.>

After hearing the truth from Evelyn, what he heard from the butler confirmed her words were sincere.

<I dismissed it as false rumors too. But after that, I kept hearing rumors about you two as a couple. Not just about you two, but together with the Marquis Douglas household. I thought it was strange and should look into it, but I forgot, and yesterday I heard an even more ridiculous false rumor.>

<What was it?>

<That the Duchess is planning to elope with some outside man she’s taken a fancy to, and has already conceived his child…>

The moment he heard those words, the doorknob in Elkas’s hand crumbled with a crunch, making an ugly sound.

<Right. I figured you’d react like this, so I looked into it discreetly, and there was someone who’d been spreading talk about you two all this time.>

It was news to Elkas, whose nature had no interest in high society or rumors. Even if he had learned of it, he would have passed over it without reacting like he had at the hunting festival before. 

As a result, because of rumors he hadn’t corrected himself, scandal had stuck to Evelyn.

Just then, after the butler’s voice announcing the guest had arrived, sharp clicking heels echoed through the silent drawing room.

The person who had spread false rumors about the couple, and the last person Evelyn had contact with yesterday.

Caroline of House Coven.

Caroline finally appeared, seemingly having expected this, dressed up with effort in that short time.

“It’s been a while, Duke. The reason you called me so early…”

“Skip the useless talk…”

Elkas, who had ground out the cigar he’d been holding between his teeth into a glass ashtray, approached with long strides without even telling her to sit.

“What conversation did you have when you visited Evelyn yesterday?”

The reason he’d called Caroline to interrogate her despite being pressed for time was separate. 

Though he had no leisure to deal with her, he’d heard things, and in any case, he needed the content of their conversation to find clues about where Evelyn had gone.

Caroline, who had briefly frowned at his curtly cut tone, smiled brightly.

“I came to see her face. We’re close enough to share secret conversations, but we’d been too distant lately.”

“You must think I’m a fool. Evelyn left home after talking with you, yet you expect me to believe that?”

Though his voice sounded superficially polite, his eyes bristling with murderous intent were different. His voice suppressing anger was fierce enough to make anyone flinch.

“I know you’re the one who spread the rumors about Evelyn, so spill it right now.”

The purely affectionate man who existed only in front of Evelyn was nowhere to be found. From Elkas’s face before others flowed an atmosphere so cold it could freeze the space, beyond merely chilly.

Caroline, who had flinched momentarily at the mention that he even knew about the rumors, composed her expression.

“Evelyn knew her place and left on her own. She belatedly realized the position of mistress of a ducal house didn’t suit her.”

“What did you just say?”

His languid voice instantly sharpened.

“It’s not wrong, is it? Evelyn falls far short compared to you, Duke. She left on her own two feet, so I’m telling you to cleanly divorce her now and take a suitable woman as your wife.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Unlike those around him who knew well that ominous aura, Caroline, who only remembered the excellent smile he showed in front of Evelyn, seized this opportunity and rattled on.

“The excellent lady comparable to Lady Sheila isn’t Evelyn—it’s me. The woman who suits you better, Duke, is me.”

“To my eyes, you only look like a woman spouting words that don’t even sound like words.”

Caroline flinched at the coldness laced with strength, but she was confident.

“The marriage proposal wasn’t sent to Evelyn from the start anyway. I know you admire Lady Sheila, who’s already married. But Lady Sheila would never do something like divorce. Then the only person suitable for you, Duke, is me, currently called the finest lady.”

“You’re thoroughly mad. To think that what you say to a man already married, without knowing shame, amounts to just that drivel.”

“I’m giving you a chance to correct your mistake. You married Evelyn because of her face that resembled Lady Sheila. But don’t you know now? That except for her face, she doesn’t resemble Lady Sheila in a single aspect. That she’s an ordinary wench. Evelyn can’t catch up to Lady Sheila, let alone follow in her footsteps.”

Her thinking was that the only reason the Duke married the lacking Evelyn instead of herself, who had become the finest lady in high society following Sheila, was nothing but bloodline.

Even with such a great sister, Evelyn, who still couldn’t shed her immaturity, was unqualified. 

Her frivolous words and actions that she still couldn’t abandon despite having caught a man beyond her station also greatly deviated from the basic virtues of a lady.

If she had been in Evelyn’s position instead, she would have received everyone’s admiration much earlier.

Jealousy toward her friend who was lacking despite having such an excellent sister she herself didn’t have, combined with an inferiority complex that the finest man had chosen Evelyn instead of her, created baseless confidence.

That’s why she did it. She wanted to flatten the smug face of her friend who had a great sister and husband, so she cunningly sowed discord. She felt no guilt.

Because she firmly believed it was the truth.

“The lady who suits you, Duke, isn’t Evelyn but me…”

At that moment, a tremendous boom that burst out with a bang covered Caroline’s next words. 

When Caroline, startled out of her wits, opened her tightly shut eyes, the desk that had been in front of Elkas was overturned on the floor. 

He rose to his feet, having lightly flipped over with both hands the mahogany desk that would require two strong men to move.

“I showed courtesy for Evelyn’s sake, but I can no longer tolerate you disparaging my wife so carelessly.”

The color drained from Caroline’s face as she stumbled backward, overwhelmed by the Duke’s menacingly fierce aura of oppressive authority. 

She swallowed hard under the chilling gaze of the towering man, whose massive frame could easily be mistaken for that of a fearsome beast.

“You dare insult my wife and hope to keep your life intact!”

“But… I… even now, an excellent lady…!”

“If I listen any more, my ears will rot, so I can’t stand it. Another woman besides Evelyn?”

At that moment, Elkas snorted and scattered a sneer.

“Other women don’t even enter my eyes. That goes for you too.”

“…Pardon?”

“You must not have known my standards are quite high.”

Caroline blinked with a face doubting her ears. Soon, looking at her expression stained with obstinacy that it absolutely couldn’t be so, Elkas declared coldly.

“I have no obligation to explain, but I’ll make this clear. The marriage proposal I sent was for Evelyn from the start, not Sheila.”

“That can’t… be…”

“Stop spouting nonsense and just tell me what conversation you had with Evelyn. Before I overturn House Coven right now.”

Caroline, who had been trembling with humiliation, flinched when he mentioned the family name. Nevertheless, Elkas, who had no intention of tolerating Caroline keeping her mouth shut any longer, slammed his fist into the wall with a bang.

Caroline, whose complexion had turned pale, couldn’t support her trembling legs and collapsed on the spot with a thud.

“I… I already told you everything.”

“Not that nonsense you just spouted, the truth…”

Elkas, who had been speaking without hesitation, momentarily faltered.

“The conversation you just had was what you discussed with Evelyn?”

For a moment, Elkas felt dizzy. He had overlooked it because she was just bright without ever getting angry. Inferring from the letter’s content, Evelyn must have been thoroughly upset about something.

But if Evelyn had believed that absurd content like that woman all this time, he thought he finally understood what the letter meant.

That wishing him to eat well and live well meant she was wishing for his happiness with another woman, not her.

Elkas, who had coldly glanced at Caroline collapsed on the floor, immediately kicked open the door and mounted his horse in one motion.

“Since she left a letter, she might return soon.”

As the butler said, since she’d left a letter, there was no reason to be this anxious. But.

“Evelyn isn’t alone.”

An impatient hand swept over his face.