The Useless Duke's Daughter Saves the World

♧ [V1 || Chapter 04] ♧

Out of everyone crowding around to look at me, the man and woman stood out from the rest. 

The man was tall, had broad shoulders and despite having a few wrinkles under his eyes, he was quite handsome. He had salt and pepper hair and his eyes were the color of amethyst. The beautiful woman holding onto the man's hand had an elegant and dignified air around her. Her brown hair was tied in a loose braid to the side. Her golden eyes shone with gentleness. Her face, although tired looking, could rival any beauty on tv. 

Foreigners? Did foreigners kidnap me?

Their faces were both painted white as if they had seen a ghost.

Well, I guess technically I had become a ghost at one point.

"Hmm—?"

The name Evangeline sounded familiar. Where have I heard that name before? It felt strangely unpleasant to the ears, like a buzzing mosquito that I wanted to slap out of the way.

"My dear daughter, you're really alive!" the woman cried, rushing to my side and suddenly pulling me into her arms. I was shocked at the sudden action—why is this unfamiliar woman calling and touching me so affectionately? I know my mother and as beautiful as you are, madam, I would recognise my own mother's face.

The man who came along with her was still standing at the doorway, his face suddenly twitching with a cautious gaze. He glanced at the wide-open doors of the balcony next to my bed, his expression instantly hardened.

"Why are my daughter's doors open? Was there an intruder? Why wasn't I informed?" his voice boomed with anger, turning towards the men behind him. The other men cowered under his glare. How scary was this man to cause a bunch of other big, grown men to shake in their boots?

"Master Alcmene, the alarms have not been tripped the whole night," a man with brown hair and brown eyes stepped forward. He looks only slightly older than me and had a very expressionless face. My eyes drifted towards the sword on his belt. 

This person was just carrying around a sword like it's no big deal. I'm pretty sure it breaks a couple of laws.

"Head Guard Dmitri Klein, are you questioning my judgment? I implore you to tell me, what is more important? The alarms going off or the safety of my daughter?"

All of a sudden, the air turned chilly and thick. The other men dropped to their knees in an instant submission. The thickness of the air was so strong that I began coughing violently.

"Dear!" the woman yelled. She turned to the man, whom I now suspected was her husband, and reprimanded him. The chilly air immediately dissipated and I could finally breathe properly. I grabbed my throat—it almost felt like freezing cold air was shoved down my windpipe.

The man turned towards us once again, a mixture of regret and worries flickered in his eyes.

"I'm sorry"

The woman huffed and looked back towards me. She cupped my cheeks and checked my body to see if I was alright.

"I'm sorry. Sometimes, your father forgets to use that brain of his. Are you alright, my dear?"

Upon hearing the words 'forgets to use that brain of his', the man shrunk. I could almost see a pair of invisible dog ears and tail dropping. I nodded, holding my hand to my erratic heart. Ugh. I've never felt anything like that before. I hated that feeling.

"Have you called for Dr. Yulem?" the woman asked out loud.

"Yes, madam. He's on his way," someone responded from the small gathering at the door.

"Good. The guards can do a sweep on the area while we wait"

"Yes, madam!" the men who were previously on their knees, stood up and bowed before taking off.

"Honey...." the man whined softly. I didn't realise he was already this close to my bed. He must have slowly inched his way here without me noticing.

"Pay attention to your surroundings next time. You may be Duke Alcmene but, you are her father first!" the woman scolded.

For a moment, I felt like it was really amusing to watch this grown man, who a few seconds ago scared so many guards, had shrunken so much when being berated by this petite woman.

Wait—

Duke Alcmene? Evangeline?

Oh my god....

My eyes widened at the sudden realization, barely paying attention to the bickering of the man and woman in front of me. Another image flashed before my eyes. 

It was an memory of the screen of my phone and on it, a black text stood out: "Evangeline Amelia Alcmene, the third and final representative for the sealing ritual"

     ⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

A/N: Couldn't find a good pic for this chapter so I took a gif of my OG Yami (from Black Clover) to portray how the Duke basically acted when he got mad  >w<