i hid the duke's daughter | completed

Chapter 08

A Cup Of Ice Cream

———

Islay returned to the hotel and thought over the day's events.

He kept thinking about the little girl he had met earlier.

Golden hair that seemed to melt in the sun, and those clear, amber eyes. For some strange reason that child continued to remind him of Evelyn. The little girl's smile was very endearing.

'Did she say her name was Bianca...?'

He kept thinking about the child who had forced him to eat her sandwich. Without realizing, Islay let out a small chuckle. His low laugh echoed across the room. He awkwardly touched his lips that were curled up into a smile.

"....."

He didn't even remember the last time he had laughed out loud. But today, he would keep laughing whenever he thought of that child. Feeling unfamiliar with his laughing self, his eyebrows furrowed.

'That child...I don't know if she was able to return home safely.'

At that moment.

– Knock knock.

Islay slightly raised his head. His watery smile had long since disappeared and he spoke stiffly,

"Enter."

The butler who had opened the door gave a deep bow. With a blank expression, the butler carefully spoke to his master.

"Your Excellency, there is an invite here for you."

"I definitely said to reject all invitations."

Islay was one of the most powerful people in the empire. But despite his influence, in the last seven years of his search for Evelyn, Islay had seen over a hundred local noblewomen, to no avail.

Islay tapped his armrest with his finger.

His butler continued to explain.

"The invite seems to have come from a resident of Annette."

His finger paused for a few seconds. He could understand why his butler didn't immediately reject the invitation and asked him about it.

If it was a resident of Annette, then...

'I can get help in finding Evelyn.'

He had ordered his butler to report to him on any leads on Evelyn. Though right now, he felt that anything he grasped was like grabbing onto a straw while drowning in water.