He couldn't have sensed my presence...
Is it because he is a duke? It's very suspicious.
I thought about it as I carefully touched the necklace. As she expected, the spell on her seemed to have disappeared, as she had no reaction when touched.
The Duke scanned the room with his gaze, as he looked at Delaney, who stood motionless like a statue.
He said in a calm but menacing voice:
“Or should I search the place myself and make you live in shame?”
“…Bring it.”
In the end, the Duchess gave in and backed down.
"Wait...was there other memorabilia? This is terrible!"
I thought that only the necklace was left...!
I cursed loudly on purpose, intending for the Duke to hear my complaining.
“This Duke is also a problem! Doesn’t he know how much Didi misses his mother? And why didn’t he move until now?!”
Even if he needed a guide to act, there were too many strange things about him.
“Even in the novel, the Duke was the most mysterious character.”
He is presented in the story as a completely enigmatic character. He seemed to love Daedric's mother, Amelia, but he locked her in the tower and left her to die alone.
He also seemed concerned for Daedric, but never made any move to help him.
In the original novel, he was the most difficult character to understand, as after handing over the position of head of the family to the main hero, he completely disappeared, leaving all the mysteries unanswered.
This guy is… very suspicious.
“What is he planning?”
As I stared at him suspiciously, his eyebrows rose slightly in annoyance.
“I brought it, Your Highness.”
Gemma handed a box to the assistant, who in turn passed it to the Duke. The Duke placed the necklace on the box and said coldly:
“You could have hidden it better.”
“…”
“If I hadn't seen it, I would have ignored it as usual.”
Does he really think this is something worth bragging about?
“Sir, ignoring things is also a sin, do you know that?”
I whimpered, and suddenly, his hand hit my forehead lightly before he pulled away.
It didn't hurt, but I was so shocked I stared at him with wide eyes.
"What?! You can already see me!"
So, it wasn't just an illusion… he could really see me!
“Get it to Daedric.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Duke left the Duchess's room without hesitation, and I quickly rushed after him.
“Wait! I want to talk to you for a moment…!”
But he did not stop, so she finally shouted:
“Why do you pretend you don't know?!”
Just then, his steps suddenly stopped. I took the opportunity and ran towards him with all my might, then his eyes met mine directly.
“Shouldn't you wait and see how happy he will be?”
He said this with a mysterious sentence before he waved his hand, and in an instant, I found myself back inside my closet.
Once again… everything was calm again.
I couldn't focus on studying for several days, because my mind was occupied with it all the time.
While Derek was holding his head in frustration, the closet door suddenly opened, and the girl jumped out as if nothing had happened, then smiled happily.
“Didi.”
“…”
“You will soon receive a gift from me.”
She was saying mysterious things that he couldn't understand. In the end, Diedrick had no choice but to look at her.
“I saw him!”
She exclaimed excitedly, jumping in place as if just seeing him made her happy.
Derek felt strangely embarrassed and looked away.
There has never been anyone who felt happy just looking at him...
On the contrary, everyone was alienated from him because of his “curse.”
But this girl was different.
“Why are you treating me like this? Is it just because the closet is in my room? Or is there another reason why she appeared in front of me?”
Before he could think further, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Mr. Derek, this is Jenkinson. May I come in?”
“…Jenkinson?”
Jenkinson was the Duke's loyal assistant and was rarely seen, just like his father.
When Derek did not move to open the door, the girl pushed him, saying:
“Come on, open it quickly!”
“…”
Jenkinson rarely came himself, unless it was dangerous.
Still confused, Derek opened the door, and Jenkinson smiled kindly at him.
"How are you?"
“Fine… thanks to you.”
Jenkinson gestured lightly, and a servant who had been waiting outside entered and placed a box on the table.
“…”
Derek looked at the box in confusion, and Jenkinson explained calmly:
“Your Highness ordered me to deliver this to you.”
"…my father?"
His father, who barely interferes in his affairs...why now?
Jenkinson saw his confusion, but quickly hid his expression.
“Are you having any difficulties?”
"The food! The food is bad! Tell him that, Didi!"
The girl screamed, as if she had been waiting for this moment.
Derek hesitated before opening his mouth shyly:
“Food...”
But he couldn't finish his sentence and closed his lips again.
Jenkinson nodded in understanding.
"I see. I'll take care of it right away. I apologize for that. Is there anything else?"
“No, it's okay.”
“No, it's not okay! Tell him about Somerset and Axel's injustice too!”
The girl continued to scream, urging him to tell everything, but he ignored her and approached the box.
“There's no evidence they're bothering me anyway.”
He knew very well that the Duke would not act unless there was conclusive evidence.
Jenkinson left, leaving Derek staring at the box in confusion.
“Open it quickly! I worked so hard to get it!”
Although she had been annoyed before, she now seemed very excited, as if she was impatiently waiting for his reaction.
Derek carefully pressed the lid of the box, and when he opened it, he recoiled in shock.
“This...”
His trembling pupils widened.
“Mom...”
The necklace, bracelet, and other items belonged to his late mother.
"Surprise! These are your mother's memorabilia! I got them—I mean, I got them back through perfectly legal means."
Derek stared at the mementos, then at the girl who seemed to be waiting for his praise, and bit his lower lip in silence.
He never thought he'd be able to get it back so quickly.
For the first time in a long time, he felt like someone had done something for him.
"…Thank you."
"You're welcome!"
The girl smiled the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.