Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

Evangeline had never thought that her small adventure to look at the estate from that height would cost her her life. She closed her eyes as her fear crawled in. she screamed hard hoping that someone might listen to her and catch her when she fell though it was all her wishful thinking.

"Ahhh" her shriek cut the silence, her heart palpitating in her rib cage. She had thought that was the end, when someone held her hands. Her fear still did not let her eyes open until she was pulled up. She did not know how but when her feet touched ground again she was so overwhelmed with the series of actions that she hugged her savior with all her might. A little bit of gratitude and a large part of fear were making her not let go of the man. As if she wanted to be assured that it was not a dream and she was alive in reality.

"You should try to lose your weight if you are going to continue that stunt?" the face that was full of fear filled with embarrassment and then anger when she heard him. She even forgot how grateful she was when he had pulled her up.

"I am not fat at all." she replied as she glared at him. Her face was still red and her chest was heaving up and down due to the racing of her heart.

"I could see that you still have the energy to fight with me. You were not as scared as I had thought." she pursued her lips as she remembered the fear of losing her life and desperation she had faced and lowered her eyes.

"Thank you, my lord, for saving my life." This was the first time that the girl had talked to him formally and given him the respect he deserved. But instead of feeling good as he had thought, he felt awkward. But his pride would never let him accept that. So, he nodded and decided to change the matter of conversation.

"What were you doing here at this hour?" He was sure that Eli had given lectures all day and so the maids continued to force her to follow norms. He had thought that she would sleep soundly as she was even able to sleep in the carriage with all the bumps and neighing of horses.

"I wanted to see the view from here. I was not sure if I would get a chance after tomorrow's party. So, I decided to explore it as much as I could.`` Her honest reply left Leo at a loss for words. In any other case, he would have been delighted to hear that she was leaving but the way she presented it made him feel guilty.

"How will you be able to explore the estate alone? You will end up getting lost and then I have to waste the whole day searching for you so that you would be present at the evening party.`` His voice was filled with sarcasm that made her embarrassed and angry again. She knew that she had flaws but was it necessary to rub them on her face every time by all three siblings. It was not like she had asked them to entertain her or keep her here.

"I would certainly not get lost. I would take a knight with me to make sure that I am taking the right path." she replied with a huff. Leo frowned that she did not request him to come with her but instead chose a knight to give her company. Were the knights more qualified than him who had saved her!

"ha! So you want to spend all night with a knight exploring the estate when you are going to be announced as my future wife in the morning. Are you not afraid that it would create rumors and tarnish your image?" deep lines formed on her forehead as she heard his anger filled voice. She couldn't understand why he was being angry when he should feel relieved that he had discovered an instant and better plan. She did not even need to act for that.

"Shouldn't you be happy then or relieved at least. If that happened, it would be easy for you to reject me. And no one would be able to force you to marry me?" she was sure the image was what nobles live for! They would not let it be tarnished for a mere promise.

He looked at her with widened eyes as she replied so leisurely as if they were not talking about her image as a woman. "How could you be so reckless and relaxed over such a sensitive topic. Did you not care at all what others would think about you?" He knew from the start she was not like other women at all! Image of a woman was a sacred thing, and even if he wanted to nullify this marriage, not even in his dreams had he thought to lay a finger on her character. His mother had always taught her to honor the woman without discriminating against them.

She chuckled at his worrisome face and foolish question. It was not that she did not care about her image. She knew that once she left this palace, it would not matter what others think about her here. The place where she was not and the place where she would return to are two different worlds that would never collide with each other.

"I certainly do not care about what nobles think about me since I was a mere commoner from the start." she replied making him dumbfounded but his eyes only narrowed at her which made her jittery. No matter how much she argued with him easily she was still a bit scared of his fury. Her gut feeling told her that she would not be able to handle it anyway.

"Alright, I got it. I will return back to my room and rest." she replied with a sigh.

"That would not be needed.. I have a perfect person in mind to show you the estate."