I Promise, I'll Leave! But, With No Regrets!!

Chapter 59

♦Chapter 59: Conflict and Questions♦

The Duke and I met each other's stare without any sign of averting it.

"Speak.", he ordered.

I slowly opened my mouth and spoke with half-lies.

"I cannot give you a valid reason. However..."

"I admit it that I ran away."

There was no longer a particular reason for me to involve Aiden in this mess. It was better for me to take responsibility of this, myself, unless they had the awareness that Aiden was an accomplice of mine in this incident.

The Duke narrowed his eyes.

"Do you even understand what you've committed?! It was well-known among the nobles that you were a person of common background, and so it was to the Imperial Family!!"

He instantly covered his forehead with his hand as he had a troubled expression.

"...Just how can you be this clueless.", he added.

I carefully bowed in front of his eyes as an apology for what happened.

"I'm truly sorry for causing you trouble."

If I wasn't prepared for this, the conflict was likely to get worse since I must've talked back to him by now. Even still, uneasiness continued to dwell in me. Because my apology might not get accepted that easily, this time.

The Duke came approaching my direction without saying a thing.

While the sound of his footsteps slowly went toward the me, who was still making a bow before him, I clenched my hands out of nervousness.

As soon as he reached my side, he said.

"Lift your head."

Ah...........

Knowing the twist of events that was about to happen, my eyes went dead.

I have underestimated him, just because of the kindness he showed me during the previous incident. At this rate, I guess I had the need to face what was about to happen.

*Whack!!*

It was just as I've expected.

My left cheek eventually went red not long after. Truth to be told, I no longer thought of this as something unusual.

The strength of his hand was the same as before. This, again, was ironical to think of.

Those hands of his that once comforted me came back to be used in a horrible way.

"Just because you look identical to Sherryl, don't assume that I can't punish you like this."

That line... I have been aware of that for a while.

'I know.', I wish I could respond that to him. But I would just be wasting time if I did.

I won't gain anything like mercy from him even if I have uttered those words.

The me that he sees right now is clearly the real me. Not the me who was a replacement for Sherryl, but the me who was a mere child of common birth that didn't have any connection to him.

He was the one who was on the upper hand here, so he had the authority to rule over a lowly person like me.

I didn't like how it was for even a tiny bit.

Right. In the end, I was still a person that the Duke could easily control whenever he wanted, all thanks to the gap of our rankings. Technically, with the agreement between us, that was something definite.