RTPM 7

Chapter – 7

Perhaps because it felt so unreal, a hollow laugh escaped me. Yet I was the only one laughing. Evangeline turned away as she met his unflinchingly serious gaze. Feeling like my head might explode if I stayed any longer, I started to step forward, but before I could even grasp the doorknob, his arm reached out and held the door.

Clang. The metallic sound of the door closing echoed coldly.

“Why does your face… look like that?”

“Hah…”

“Speak.”

The voice brushing against my ear was ominous. Since things weren’t going his way, it seemed he was picking at every little detail, so I wasn’t particularly surprised. Evangeline let out a silent sigh and turned back. It would have been better if he hadn’t seen it at all, but even if he had, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

“This isn’t a big deal. Nothing matters except finding my father.”

“So you’re saying you won’t say anything until the end?”

“…”

“Very well, then.”

Surprisingly, Decarno stepped aside and opened the door. Evangeline seized the opportunity to slip outside, but his voice behind her bound her feet once again. Yet the Duke was not addressing her.

“Michael. From this moment, control the west entrance.”

“B-but that has traditionally been the Duchess’s private property…”

“Make sure no one enters or exits without my permission.”

“….”

There was no need to ask who he was truly speaking to. Evangeline stared at the Duke, while Michael stood there helplessly between them. Why was he like that? Even though countless words burned in my chest, facing his expression always rendered them meaningless.

He was just that kind of man.

Born imposing, always controlling the world to his will. Would he even blink if I argued a few words? And, most importantly, I was not yet the Duchess of this house. In other words, nothing in this house belonged to me.

“Have you finally decided to speak?”

“No.”

Evangeline shook her head under the strange glint of a smile in his eyes. When the master of the house acts as he pleases, there’s nothing I can do. Confronting him head-on meant only one thing:

Walking out of this house under my own feet.

“Evangeline.”

“…I’ll go.”

With no choice, she turned sharply. Even Decarno, whose jaw had tightened for a moment, averted his gaze from her back and walked inside. Only Michael, expecting the Duke to follow her, awkwardly entered the study.

“Uh, Your Grace. My apologies. Today’s events were beyond our expectations…”

“….”

“But this wasn’t something that could remain buried forever. It was such a serious incident that the time period you mentioned was simply unrealistic.”

Michael, who rarely dared contradict the Duke, found himself helpless this time. After the incident, each day felt like walking on a knife’s edge. While a day or two might have been fine, the period the Duke demanded full control lasted over three months.

“I instructed the guild’s manager to keep things quiet, but who knows how long that will hold…”

“Who?”

“…Pardon?”

“The one who left scratches on that woman’s face.”

The Duke, who had barely reacted to Michael’s report before, now lifted his gaze sharply. I had once heard stories about a volcano boiling without a single bubble in myths, and right now, the Duke’s eyes were exactly like that. Seemingly calm, but beneath the surface, the heat boiled beyond measure.

Michael’s hands began to tremble, even though he had nothing to do with it.

“I-I heard they were from the sailor’s family. We detained them for now, but there was nothing they could do. Anyone would react the same if their child ended up like that…”

“Does that give them the right to leave marks on my woman’s face?”

“Your Grace…”

Philip was utterly flustered by a question that went beyond simple displeasure into near cruelty. It wasn’t about whether the perpetrator was a commoner or noble. The words “my woman” carried a weight beyond measure.

“But if you punish her, public opinion and reputation will suffer. Perhaps it would be wise to let this one slide.”

“Then we’ll catch the one who leaked the news.”

“Pardon?”

“It took over a month just for the news of the ship sinking to reach here. And now, the sailor’s family knew about it before Evangeline, the heir to the guild, who only heard it a week ago?”

Nonsense.

The Duke’s fingers rolled heavily over the desk. His twisted smile grew even crueler than before.

“Either there’s a survivor who spread the news, or someone under my command has a loose tongue.”

“I-I wasn’t involved, Your Grace! Please believe me!”

“Then find them.”

Decarno’s decision was brisk. The cold-blooded Duke’s temperament already made Philip sweat just imagining what would happen if they found the person. Even if there was a survivor of this accident, their future was hardly guaranteed.

“Why? Can’t you find them?”

“No, we must find them. But when the incident occurred during the day, it seems the party with the Marchioness of Revan was present…”

Yet Philip wasn’t worried about anyone else’s life. In this situation, he also knew his own safety was far from guaranteed.

“She happens to be the eldest daughter of the Roark Post, too.”

◇ ◆ ◇

Exclusive Report – Shocking: Ohara Guild Bankrupt

Ohara young lady caught in a major predicament as victims flock to the guild.

Presumed due to the death of Count Ohara.

“…Quick, indeed.”

It wasn’t particularly surprising. Having stayed up the night before and skimmed through the morning papers, Evangeline read the headlines with a detached air. She had suspected this from the start, ever since she realized that among the Marchioness of Revan’s entourage was the daughter of Roark Post, the most influential newspaper in Roark.

It seemed even the proud Duke had now stepped away from this matter.

“Evangeline, where are you going?”

“I just want some fresh air.”

Setting down the newspaper, she glanced outside. A maid, who had been lingering nearby, hurried over. The maid’s pale face betrayed that she knew exactly what she had been told.

“You can stay here. I won’t go far.”

“But the steward said you must never leave the Duke’s residence…”

“Don’t worry. I have nowhere else to go now.”

“….”

The maid finally stepped back, and Evangeline felt a pang of bitterness. Even through the maid’s eyes, it was clear she had nowhere else to go.

Well, that was true.

As Evangeline stepped outside, she instinctively clutched her chest. She had realized since the moment that man had looked at her so provocatively yesterday…

“Make sure no one enters or exits without my permission.”

He knows I have nowhere to go.

Not only had my family vanished, but now I have no freedom to go anywhere. The Count’s residence I left behind, and all the estates scattered across the country, were meaningless like sandcastles. Usually, real estate would be the first to be taken in such situations.

Even if the Duke didn’t confine me, I was like a bird in a cage.

Technically, a bird in a fully open cage.

“….”

It wasn’t merely frustrating to be unable to go outside. She had traveled extensively as a child but had never been particularly outgoing. She preferred quiet, elegant moments, which made her adaptation to the Duke’s household easier.

So the tightness she felt in her chest now had another reason.

Thinking she couldn’t even argue with Decarno and would have to silently endure his words made her eyes sting. Her footsteps quickened unconsciously. She reached the west entrance, stopping abruptly.

No, she had no choice but to stop.

“She’s out! That woman is out!”

“She’s been living fine all this time!”

“….”

The power of the newspaper had been severely underestimated. A crowd had gathered in front of the huge entrance, raising their voices upon seeing her. Sailors’ families, journalists, and even some nobles filled the area.

“What will you do?! You must take responsibility!”

“Thanks to your father, you lived like that, so you should take responsibility! Do you know how much I invested?”