“…I don’t find it a waste of time to converse with the Duke.”
Despite her effort, her words were not reciprocated. The smile on Margaret’s face quickly hardened.
“If you have a specific reason for coming here, feel free to share.”
“You know, Duke, I came here purely out of concern.”
“It’s a long way to come just out of concern.”
Margaret bristled at the suggestion that her family wouldn’t have allowed her to make such a long journey purely out of concern.
“My family sent me here to strengthen our ties.”
Again, it was an empty statement.
The Duke was silent, it should be that they had sent her because it would be difficult to assess the situation with a simple servant.
The title of fiancée would allow her to stay at the Duke’s Mansion and monitor his condition.
To determine whether the Duke was still a useful figure or not. She still came knowing the intentions of her family.
‘If she had refused to meet and stayed in the harsh north for a long time, he might have trusted her feelings.’
She held back a bitter smile at the thought of a scenario that wouldn’t happen.
“As you can see, I’m still suffering from the aftereffects.”
“That doesn’t matter. Because it means you’ll get better someday.”
Even though it was a strategic alliance in the eyes of the world, Margaret loved the Duke.
Even if she had other intentions, the Duke’s cold words came back as wounds.
“Let’s talk again next time.”
“If it’s a conversation between families, I’ll respond anytime.”
Cough.
It means that he would meet her anytime if it was to break off the engagement. If you reverse his words, it means he drew a line saying there would be no more personal meetings.
He says that so openly?
The Duke that Carol knew, the Duke in the original work, had never spoken so directly to Margaret.
Even if the original work had changed, she did not expect this development.
If he was going to talk like this, it would have been better to do it through someone else later.
To revive the northern economy and develop tourist products, the power of the Chesworth family was absolutely necessary.
It was also something the Duke wanted to do until the end.
“Carol, are you okay?”
Louis patted Carol’s back as she coughed. Kevin and Dylan also clung to Carol.
‘No, everyone, be mindful.’
Carol waved her hand and told the three to go away.
“It sounds like she needs water.”
“No, doesn’t she want to rest?”
“It seems like she wants us to hold her hand.”
They all gave absurd answers, even though they had been together for several years.
“No, cough, cough!”
Carol pushed the three away and gulped down the lukewarm tea. Carol, who had wiped away the tears that had trickled out, pushed the three people who were huddled next to her.
Margaret, who had been still, blinked her eyes.
“You can’t treat me like this.”
The Duke’s cold response played over and over in Margaret’s head. She couldn’t control her anger and stood up abruptly.
The Duke is so cold, it should be because, he couldn’t prove his love.
A somewhat reckless move was needed.
“Is there a next time?”
“Young lady.”
She had a strong premonition that if it stayed like this, this distance would be maintained until she goes back.
“I don’t care if the Duke has any scars.”
Margaret strode towards where the Duke was.
It seemed like she was saying that she would show him that she was fine even if she saw him injured right now.
Carol instinctively felt that she had come to the Duke’s Mansion for this moment.
But contrary to her heart, her body stiffened and wouldn’t move as she wanted.
As if a huge flow was blocking her.
No.
I have to move.
Carol clenched her fist so hard that her hand turned pale.
“Young lady!”
Mrs. Wells was the first to block the young lady, but the old woman couldn’t stop the agitated young lady.
Thud.
Margaret pushed Mrs. Wells aside, forgetting her dignity.
“My goodness! Young lady, what on earth…!”
This was the first time she had experienced such humiliation. Margaret blushed and exhaled hot breath. She wanted to resolve this humiliation quickly, being treated like this in front of commoners.
If she showed that she was fine after seeing the Duke’s appearance, she felt that everything would be resolved.
Her narrowed vision due to agitation didn’t consider other things.
Staggering.
Kevin and Dylan were frozen, and Louis didn’t take any action, judging that it wasn’t his place to intervene.
“No!”
Even if time changes, will they end up reuniting and discovering each other’s identities just like before?
The Duke is just beginning to accept himself.
Margaret won’t accept the Duke.
When she thought that far, Carol’s stiff body moved.
There was no time to measure what action was best.
Carol, who had abruptly risen from the sofa, ran towards Margaret.
Margaret’s hand touched the curtain.
“You’ll regret it.”
The Duke sat quietly and warned in a low voice.
“Just a moment! Ah.”
Thud.
Carol, who was rushing, tripped over the wheel of the trolley. Her body, which had lost its balance, fell helplessly to the floor.
Crash!
The dishes on the trolley fell onto Carol, who had fallen on the carpet.
But even then, Carol reached out.
Carol didn’t miss Margaret, who turned her gaze at the noisy sound.
“What are you doing, Miss Carol?”
While falling, she reached out and grabbed the hem of Margaret’s dress.
“I’m sorry.”
“Let go.”
There was an undeniable disgust in Margaret’s expression. But Carol didn’t let go.
“I know it’s not my place to step in.”
“Mrs. Wells, I’m disappointed that you’re educating your direct subordinates like this.”
“…I apologize for my rudeness. But I don’t think it’s right to push your views on someone who doesn’t want them.”
She knew it was overstepping, but she couldn’t swallow it without saying it.
Even though she didn’t know anything else because nothing had happened yet.
‘Because I know how much the Duke has been hurt.’
****
She was prepared to be scolded by Mrs. Wells.
It was an emergency situation, and it was commendable to protect the Duke’s drape, but the method was too reckless.
‘But even if I get scolded, it’ll be a warning.’
Because she kept the highest priority.
She blocked it.
The trigger that would start the tragedy of the two.
From now on, the Duke will be more careful, and Margaret Chesworth, who received the Duke’s warning, won’t be able to openly spread her wings at the Duke’s Mansion.
Carol came to this castle for this moment.
‘I feel strange.’
She should be feeling good, but she felt uneasy.
The promised three months were almost over.
If she quietly fills the three months, says she can’t do it anymore, and goes back, that’s it.
Carol pressed her wildly beating heart and tilted her head.
“Sister…!”
Only after her siblings looked at her with bewildered faces did she realize that she was not making any sense.
Thud. Thud.
She got up, brushing off her messed-up knees with a plucky attitude.
‘I have to keep my place too.’
Margaret ran out, and Mrs. Wells chased after Margaret, flustered.
Louis, who had been sitting elegantly, got up.
“Carol.”
“Hmm?”
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Let’s talk later.”
“Duke, it seems difficult to continue the banquet any longer.”
Before the Duke could say anything, Louis took Carol away.
“Let go.”
The Duke will be left alone to guard inside the drape while everyone leaves their seats.
She had thought of being by his side.
“Let go!”
Despite Carol’s words, Louis remained unchanged.
“Let’s talk.”
“Why did you leave the siblings inside and come out? Why are you doing this?”
Only when they reached the end of the corridor did Louis’s heavy mouth open. Before Carol could get angry, Louis questioned Carol, touching his forehead.
“Why did you do that?”
“What?”
“You know that a commoner shouldn’t touch a noble’s body carelessly, right?”
“I know. But it’s already an apologized and passed issue.”
The Duke wrapped up the matter, saying that Carol was just overly devoted to her mission.
“I owe you, and I may not seem reliable.”
Carol shrugged her shoulders and took a deep breath.
She knew that she had lost her parents and Louis had helped her a lot.
It was a debt that she could never repay in her lifetime.
But that didn’t mean she should be treated like this.
“There’s no reason to be dragged like this.”
“…Sorry.”
His momentum from a while ago was gone, and he lowered his eyes like a deflated puppy.
Carol took this opportunity to vent her long-held complaints.
“It was over the line to bring even the siblings to my workplace without permission.”
“That’s!”
“It’s a job introduced by Lord Elias.”
“What’s with changing the name?”
At Louis’s question, Carol scratched her head.
It was something she didn’t want to talk about to anyone.
“That’s… none of your business.”
Coming to the castle was her own decision. She couldn’t involve others.
“Please don’t speak so coldly to me.”
At Louis’s desperate voice, Carol lowered her head.
Besides, the one who should be questioned now was not her.
“Then let’s talk about something else. What was that rumor about earlier?”
For a moment, Louis hesitated. He knew after all.
“…Carol.”
“You know, don’t you?”
“That’s…”
“It seems like the only ones who didn’t know about that rumor were me and my siblings.”
She thought that the rumor the Duke mentioned when he was alone with her at the banquet earlier was the same story.
Louis ruffled his well-arranged hair.
“It’s a rumor about us.”
“A rumor about us?”
“The rumor that the two of us were together all night.”
