Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"Hello, I am Olivia Grasitias. Nice to meet you Evangeline.'' A deep breath of relief was taken by Eli in her heart when she saw Olivia behaving nicely with her but it did not stay for long.

"You must be delighted to be here?" she stated in a questioning tone and before Evan could reply, she added "After all, i am sure you would have never thought that you would get the chance to meet nobles!" her sweet tone turned sarcastic. She looked at Evan with disdain as if she was a pest among them.

Gasps could be heard around. Olivia's words had cleared that the girl was a commoner and they all had treated her so polite and respectfully. The one who should be serving them as servant had gained so much importance could not be accepted by them.

"What does it mean, lady Elizabeth?" Eli closed her eyes and cursed her luck. She knew that she was walking on a thin ice sheet. That was the reason she was taking slow steps. She had warned her father again and again but he did not listen. And she had no choice but to support him in case he did a disaster.

She did not understand why her wise father was so crazy about the idea of marrying Leo with this commoner. And now look at what had happened.

"Are you perhaps forgetting the norms of noble parties?" came another sarcastic voice, blaming Eli for everything that happened.

"That's not.." Eli held the hand of Eve and shook her head. She knew that mud was going to be thrown. But she did not want her sister to be part of it either. She would handle this situation somehow.

Eve bit her lips at the stubbornness of Eli but nodded and did not speak a word further. She turned her head and glared at both Olivia and Evan who were the reason that her sister was getting harsh comments from the nobles for the first time in her life.

Evan felt miserable in her heart, not because of her condition but because of Eli and Eve. She knew she was the reason but no one would believe her if she said she did not want to be here in the first place.

"We should not reach a conclusion just by listening to a statement, should we?" Asked Eli with a calm face and sweet smile on her face. But before she could explain further a strong chuckle resonated in the air.

"So, you are telling me that she is a noble but not a commoner, Lady Elizabeth?" asked Olivia as she continued to look at Evan.

Whole Thawyne family knew of Olivia's obsession towards Leo since she had seen him for the first time. She had expressed her will to marry Leo personally and through her family too but their father always eluded the conversation. Now the way she was trying to insult Evan, It was clear that she knew Evan was the chosen bride of Leo.

"I did not mean that, I wanted to.." Eli tried to explain again and finally Olivia looked away from Evan towards Eli when a laughter, melodious as a musical tone resonated in the air again.

Evan laughed as if she could not believe the absurdity of the situation. Olivia looked back at Evan and so did everyone else. Even Eli was dumbfounded to speak further for a second.

"Who said that I am a commoner?" asked Evan as she tilted her head and looked sharply at Olivia, making her confused. She had checked the name Evangeline all night in the list of nobles and books about the noble families but she did not find anything so she assumed that she was not a noble. But the confidence Evan was showing created doubt in her mind.

Was she a noble from another kingdom or empire? If that was the case, then defeating her would not be that easy as she had thought! She gritted her teeth but she was not ready to give up that easily, even if she was a noble she was nowhere in her comparison in terms of beauty or wisdom and she would show this to the whole Tna Wayne family no matter what!

"Then you are?" Asked Olivia, her one hand was on her waist as she continued to look down on Evan.

"I am the fiance of Leo Thawyne, the new duchess of the dukedom Thawyne and the mistress of the palace where you are standing and spouting nonsense. Do you not know that insulting the owner in her own palace could be treated as treason?" Evan's tone was calm and collected and she spoke every word slowly but it was cold. It sounded more like a fact than threat yet her authoritative aura was strong enough that even Olivia turned silent for a second.

As if the fire was lit in the garden, it turned silent for a few seconds but then it ended in uproar. Audible gasps could be heard and then a commotion started.

The garden filled with whispers that even reached to the other part of the garden where men were having the conversation about the war and its victory only due to leo. He was recognized as a war hero. Everyone was praising him yet he was sitting there like a rock. There was not a single expression of delight on his face. That was how others knew Leo, a blank statue that never smiled. But if anything goes wrong his ferocity could shake the whole area.

He frowned as everyone started whispering around him and then they looked at him oddly as if he was a new creature in the forest. Everyone's eyes were widening and then they were looking at him and then whispering again.

"What is the matter?" he asked when he could not hold for long. He could feel everyone's eyes were set on him but it was not the admiring look he received like always but shock filled eyes.

The man shook his head but then nodded, making Leo's frown deeper.

"Congratulations on your marriage!"

"............"