If I Disobey the Duke - Chapter 117

Sore Finger (1)

The thick wooden door opened with a heavy sound.

Hans stepped in, fluttering his squirrel-smooth brown hair.

His smile was refreshing as he walked in with a light gait.

“Good morning. Madam. It’s a day like spring rain.”

“You look good. Maybe your work was successful?”

“Haha. Of course. I didn’t even have to take much time. Now, the only thing left is that the lord come back quickly!”

Lily nodded her head slightly as if in agreement.

“It’s okay to sit. Your work… Good that it’s done.”

Lily waited quietly for Hans to take his seat and sit down.

For a moment after he sat down, she lowered her hand under the table and laid it gently on her lap, staring at Hans.

“Hans. I’ve only called you since early in the morning, because I have another question for you.”

He looked at her table with a sad expression on his face.

The response was that he already knew what the question was.

“To ask about what happened in the alley yesterday… Is that correct?”

Lily was silent for a moment instead of nodding her head.

Her silence did not last long. She had a lot to think about, but it was thanks to her diligently organizing her words before Hans arrived.

“…Did Vlad instruct Sir Talin to get prostitutes out of the Isles?”

Hans flinched. That alone was hard enough to answer.

A guy with a majestic body, who dragged a dozen women and disappeared to the entrance of her alley.

It was Johannes Talin.

Hans wet his parched lips. “The lord told me to proceed in absolute secret,” he said. “A very big conspiracy… Well…”

It was true that they were plotting something big.

He resented his incapability to lie.

What if this mistake ruins the relationship between them?

The responsibility would remain a burden on his heart forever.

As if she had read his thoughts, Lily’s smile was kind. “Don’t worry, Hans. That was unexpected… It is nothing.”

He was the one who issued a deportation and ban on entry even for just people from the Isles. He was also doing something he knew would cause problems.

“Why me…?”

Why would you have married me?

The sad question that was about to come out of her mouth lingered in her throat.

Vlad always said nothing. Both about himself and his work. She would have cooperated without any hesitation if he needed it…

“…”

Could he have done a background check on me?

Lily’s life wasn’t for her. It was like that from the beginning.

Failing to be a son was a failure in the first place, and then she became nothing more than a tool to support her family in place of her mother’s vacancy.

Wasn’t this marriage just her father’s plan to create the safety and future of the family with her womb?

If he finds out…

A greater fear grabbed her by the neck and tightened her.

She felt as if she had a knife againt her neck at the thought that he was going to hurt her.

Before Vlad returned, she had to solve this problem.

Lily lowered her voice, wiping her smile off her lips, “I think my brother is in Cadis.”

Hans, who had been very nervous, blinked for a moment.

That’s right, Dandelion is in Cadis…

He took a deep breath. The lady he served was one of the most intelligent people he had ever met.

She wasn’t the type to summon the chief executive to talk to her little brother, who was stuck in the city.

“Is Madam’s first brother here?” Hans gulped, terrified of her answer.

Crocus Isles.

Having investigated the Isles, he fully knew what kind of person he was.

A recognized swordsman. A commoner who was an aide to an official knight. It was a rare case.

Of course, there were many vacancies because it was wartime, and there was financial support from the Isles. It was clear that he was an unusual figure.

“As you may know, my brother… He left the knight he served half-paralyzed and became a criminal. From then on, he has been managing the mercenaries at the Isles.”

After Rocus’s rise in status was halted, Lily was the only hope left in the family.

Even after that, regardless of his status, he used his fists and sold a few mines.

There were still many doubts, but the conclusion was that Sir Talin was ordered by Vlad to take the women out.

Rocus infiltrated Cadis, and found Dandelion…

“…”

When asked about the scar on the cheek.  Dandelion was extremely stubborn and closed his mouth.

There was only one person who would do that to a child.

Dandelion was her restraint, planted by her father. A leash of guilt and remorse. It was like the way the prostitutes were kept from escaping.

Lily was one such person in her family.

As her thoughts deepened, it felt like the ground beneath her feet was suffocating.

“Chief Lowell is here!”

Lily and Hans looked at the door at the same time at the loud cry.

Lowell, brushing his gray hair neatly, stepped in, with a rather emaciated face. After being sentenced to ‘Dandelion Raising Program’ as a disciplinary measure, he was becoming more and more miserable every day.

“Forgive my rudeness Madam. An urgent letter from Cadis… It is said that the vicious serfs who assaulted Sir Dandelion Isles have been arrested.” Lowell, who stood far away from Lily’s table, bowed his head.

“That person… I think you should see him, Madam.”