When I left the welfare foundation and arrived at the mansion, it was a little after work time at the secretariat.
As soon as I knocked on the front door, Mina opened the door and welcomed me.
She was about to go out, and she was carrying a thick coat.
After looking at Mina in confusion, I took off my gloves, and Mina roughly placed my coat on the lobby sofa and took the gloves from my hood.
Soon after, she took my coat and put it away in a familiar manner, then pursed her lips.
“Are you not here until the end without seeing Mr. Anton?”
"Huh? Ah... He looked very busy. There’s no way he's going to have time to say hello.”
I looked at Mina's sullen face curiously and finally spoke.
“Please show your face at least once. Even though you stopped by the foundation, you just left and Anton was very disappointed...”
When I saw Mina, who somehow seemed more disappointed than Anton, one corner of my mouth slightly turned up.
“Do you think your relationship has become so deep that you can exchange even such trivial things so quickly?”
Mina's face quickly turned red at the mischievous teasing.
“W-What is deepening...?! It’s not that, I just stopped by while I was visiting the market earlier!”
“Ah, you went to see the market and got a grill! So you stopped by there...”
“Oh my, Your Highness! Stop teasing me and go up to your room...”
The moment when a playful argument continued in the lobby.
A familiar voice was heard along with a knock on the front door.
“Are you there?”
The man on the other side of the door soon lowered his voice and asked cautiously.
“Mina, this is Anton. You are there... Right?”
When I looked back at Mina with meaningful smile, she cleared her throat and looked the other way.
It would be a lie if I said I wasn't jealous at all that I couldn't meet Cedric as much as I wanted.
But just because I'm single doesn't mean I have to stop other people from dating. Isn’t that a level of evil that would surprise even the original Rebecca?
I pursed my lower lip and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Go out. I think he's here for a date.”
“Well, it’s not like that, um... I guess you came to say hello to Your Highness ?”
Ha ha ha...
I looked at Mina, who was smiling awkwardly, with flounder eyes.
“Ah, then shall I follow you two?”
“Wow, it’s already been so long... I’ll be back quickly, Your Highness!”
Mina quickly grabbed her coat that had been left on the sofa and stormed out the front door.
The sight of her disappearing so quickly was so cute that I burst into laughter.
“I really can’t stop her.”
I shook my head and locked the front door myself.
I've already gotten used to this kind of thing.
Because we haven't hired enough manpower yet, a few users are busy doing their jobs, so the lobby is always empty.
Then, as I was climbing the wooden stairs, I suddenly stopped.
This was because my attention was taken by the large glass window on the left side of the stairs and the stylish brown brick wall beyond it.
It was a mansion right next door that had been completed not long ago.
I smiled playfully as I looked at the beautifully built mansion.
'The mansion next to it is bigger and nicer than my mansion, the former Grand Duchess of the Twins. Somehow it hurts my pride.'
By the way, who is the owner of that mansion?
It was a time when I was curious again.
She was about to go out, and she was carrying a thick coat.
After looking at Mina in confusion, I took off my gloves, and Mina roughly placed my coat on the lobby sofa and took the gloves from my hood.
Soon after, she took my coat and put it away in a familiar manner, then pursed her lips.
“Are you not here until the end without seeing Mr. Anton?”
"Huh? Ah... He looked very busy. There’s no way he's going to have time to say hello.”
I looked at Mina's sullen face curiously and finally spoke.
“Please show your face at least once. Even though you stopped by the foundation, you just left and Anton was very disappointed...”
When I saw Mina, who somehow seemed more disappointed than Anton, one corner of my mouth slightly turned up.
“Do you think your relationship has become so deep that you can exchange even such trivial things so quickly?”
Mina's face quickly turned red at the mischievous teasing.
“W-What is deepening...?! It’s not that, I just stopped by while I was visiting the market earlier!”
“Ah, you went to see the market and got a grill! So you stopped by there...”
“Oh my, Your Highness! Stop teasing me and go up to your room...”
The moment when a playful argument continued in the lobby.
A familiar voice was heard along with a knock on the front door.
“Are you there?”
The man on the other side of the door soon lowered his voice and asked cautiously.
“Mina, this is Anton. You are there... Right?”
When I looked back at Mina with meaningful smile, she cleared her throat and looked the other way.
It would be a lie if I said I wasn't jealous at all that I couldn't meet Cedric as much as I wanted.
But just because I'm single doesn't mean I have to stop other people from dating. Isn’t that a level of evil that would surprise even the original Rebecca?
I pursed my lower lip and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Go out. I think he's here for a date.”
“Well, it’s not like that, um... I guess you came to say hello to Your Highness ?”
Ha ha ha...
I looked at Mina, who was smiling awkwardly, with flounder eyes.
“Ah, then shall I follow you two?”
“Wow, it’s already been so long... I’ll be back quickly, Your Highness!”
Mina quickly grabbed her coat that had been left on the sofa and stormed out the front door.
The sight of her disappearing so quickly was so cute that I burst into laughter.
“I really can’t stop her.”
I shook my head and locked the front door myself.
I've already gotten used to this kind of thing.
Because we haven't hired enough manpower yet, a few users are busy doing their jobs, so the lobby is always empty.
Then, as I was climbing the wooden stairs, I suddenly stopped.
This was because my attention was taken by the large glass window on the left side of the stairs and the stylish brown brick wall beyond it.
It was a mansion right next door that had been completed not long ago.
I smiled playfully as I looked at the beautifully built mansion.
'The mansion next to it is bigger and nicer than my mansion, the former Grand Duchess of the Twins. Somehow it hurts my pride.'
By the way, who is the owner of that mansion?
It was a time when I was curious again.
Knock, knock.
A soft knock was heard from the front door.
'Who... Oh, did Mina leave something behind?'
Mina must have relaxed after leaving the Twins Castle, but recently she rarely went out at once.
I opened the latch like I was used to and pushed the door hard.
“Mina, what else did you leave behind..."
At the same time, a large shadow fell over my head.
It was at that time that I slowly raised my face, which was filled with an ominous look.
"Oh dear. I'm sad. Rebecca...”
The voice of a middle-aged man who is trying to suppress his anger while feigning composure.
I cursed internally at that familiar yet creepy voice.
As if he sensed my inner thoughts, he chuckled unpleasantly.
“Your one and only father came all the way to you, and you weren’t happy to see me?”
“How did you find out about this place?”
I asked Duke Bold with a calm expression.
I tried my best to pretend to be calm, but in reality, I was very anxious.
'Everyone who uses the mansion is probably out looking at the market right now, or working in the backyard no matter how close it is...'
That meant that no matter how much I screamed near the front door, no one would come running.
However, such anxious feelings could not be revealed to Duke Bold.
'If Duke Bold finds out that there are no servants near me... He'll go on a rampage no matter what.'
'Who... Oh, did Mina leave something behind?'
Mina must have relaxed after leaving the Twins Castle, but recently she rarely went out at once.
I opened the latch like I was used to and pushed the door hard.
“Mina, what else did you leave behind..."
At the same time, a large shadow fell over my head.
It was at that time that I slowly raised my face, which was filled with an ominous look.
"Oh dear. I'm sad. Rebecca...”
The voice of a middle-aged man who is trying to suppress his anger while feigning composure.
I cursed internally at that familiar yet creepy voice.
As if he sensed my inner thoughts, he chuckled unpleasantly.
“Your one and only father came all the way to you, and you weren’t happy to see me?”
***
“How did you find out about this place?”
I asked Duke Bold with a calm expression.
I tried my best to pretend to be calm, but in reality, I was very anxious.
'Everyone who uses the mansion is probably out looking at the market right now, or working in the backyard no matter how close it is...'
That meant that no matter how much I screamed near the front door, no one would come running.
However, such anxious feelings could not be revealed to Duke Bold.
'If Duke Bold finds out that there are no servants near me... He'll go on a rampage no matter what.'
It was a time when I was controlling my facial expressions and trying to act calm.
“How do I know? Since you did not directly tell me the address of the mansion my unfilial daughter moved to, is there any other way?”
Thick sinews rose from the forehead of Duke Bold, who smiled like a serpent.
“I’ve been waiting all this time to see if you’d show up at some sort of welfare foundation for those mongrels that you created yourself. Then, when I saw you there, wouldn’t I have followed you all the way to your mansion?”
He was pretending to imitate my father's soft voice, but I knew there was a mean wolf in him.
Especially after learning of the divorce between Cedric and I, the wolf must have become even more bloodthirsty.
Duke Bold's appearance also seemed to testify to the time he spent like that.
A sallow face, a beard growing haphazardly, and a hairstyle just as messy.
The whites of the eyes are full of veins, and the dry lips are crusted with blood.
No matter how I look at it, it could never be seen as the appearance of an emotionally stable person.
I calmly walked out the front door to lure Duke Bold.
"Hmm? You’re not going to kick me out at the door without even offering me a cup of tea, are you?”
He chuckled behind my back as if mocking me.
I ignored him and kept walking with my face frozen.
'It's dangerous to let Duke Bold into the mansion. It's better to go out into the streets where there are a lot of people.'
Duke Bold, who was quietly watching my back, soon let out a loud sigh of frustration.
Still, he soon started walking after me.
'Maybe it's because the exchange's operating hours are over, but the streets are quite deserted.'
There is still a long way to go before the stall owners come out onto the streets to do their evening business.
Thanks to this, there were few people nearby, and I ended up randomly stopping on the street in front of the garden, unable to find a suitable place.
“What is your business?”
When I suddenly turned around and asked, Duke Bold narrowed his eyebrows fiercely as if he felt anger rising at the sight of me like that.
But he soon snorted and sneered.
“I was so angry at you for arbitrarily leaving the position of Grand Duchess...”
For a moment, I lowered my head and let out an unpleasant laugh.
Duke Bold raised his head again and a strange look appeared in his eyes as he looked at me.
“But thanks to you, I feel a little relieved now that I think I can treat you like before without worrying about what your handsome husband thinks?”
“Tsk...”
He approached me without any chance of running away, grabbed me by the collar, and quickly walked away somewhere.
The place where I was helplessly dragged by the large middle-aged man was a small, dark alley between my mansion and the mansion next door.
In a word, it is a secluded place where no one's eyes can reach.
Finally, he got where he wanted and Duke Bold pushed me roughly against the wall.
“Ugh...!”
"Huh? Isn’t that right, Rebecca Bold?”
He pronounced the name of the ‘Bold’ family with force as if he was roaring.
He seemed to be furious at his own daughter, who returned to the family on her own terms.
“Ugh, let go of this...!”
I resisted by hitting his chest, but he, with his sturdy appearance, did not flinch a bit.
He continued to let out an unpleasant laugh as if he was pleased with my futile resistance.
"Hmm? Why? Because you kept coming back to the Bold family, even after you fucked me up...”
A murderous spirit bloomed in the red eyes that had been staring at me all along.
“I came here because I felt like I should host a welcome banquet myself as your father, but why?”
The eyes of Duke Bold, who smiled while asking that question, were already that of a half-crazy person.
“Don’t worry, Rebecca. Now, even if someone like you disappears, no one will care?”
Duke Bold burst out laughing heartily while still clutching my collar.
I struggled to get away from him, but it was all in vain.
At some point, a loud alarm bell was ringing in my head.
'It's dangerous, I really don't know what could happen...!'
My survival instinct led me to throw my fists, but Duke Bold easily dodged my attacks and immediately began strangling me.
“Ugh... !”
“Moreover, if they heard that you, my daughter, died at the hands of me, your parent. Who will say anything?”
“Ugh, this... Let go...”
“Maybe everyone will take my side, saying there was a good reason. Unless I'm a sick bastard who just watches the daughter, who is practically the property of the matriarch, dare to go against her father’s wishes!”
The tendons protruding on the back of Duke Bold's hand became more vivid.
The more he did it, the more I started to feel suffocated.
His face heated up as if it were about to burst, and a haze began to form in his vision.
‘No more... I can't bear it...'
It was around the time when the hand that was repeatedly hitting Duke Bold's arm began to lose strength.
Pow!
A loud hitting sound was heard from somewhere.
At the same time, I regained my breathing, quickly bent down, and exhaled harshly.
"Ha... Ha...”
And that moment I quickly raised my head to check the situation.
I couldn't believe the face I was seeing, so I just stared up blankly.
At first glance, I thought I had seen an illusion.
As if to reassure me, a familiar voice reached my ears.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
A smile as bright as sunlight, shiny honey-blonde hair, and brilliant blue-purple eyes.
It was Adrian, my eternal butler.
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