DKVM Ch 16
by melyseChapter 16
The butler, 43ee5d2baa walking a cacb03f4cd step ahead, 58416027ec stopped at bfaafcd14f a door.d84f78c1b3ff6edb
‘This is the duke’s office.’1f1552754314ae0b
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*gulp*8dde574d4e1034d7
I swallowed nervously.689e173508d8f7f3
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I had met cfb0e07b37 the duke many 8852ff6025 times before, but 3a5391f72c never one-on-one.54a62f72a34f234b
Just as the 9f6830c2ff butler was about cfdf70f78a to knock, I ffd49ccb26 remembered something and 10fce86dfe called out.4569be9e83215008
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“W-Wait a bc961862a8 minute, Mr. Butler!”9fa7b0b70a4ac2de
Very softly, of course, 141b078eec so as not to b1d7239de1 be heard inside the abf431ea6b office.aa54187a3f11b8c3
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I quickly ed998cf568 checked my b4a83cf5e6 attire as 8f8a0dd0c8 the butler 5fb86290a6 looked at d5efcd440c me questioningly.de23b29fe3140c09
‘The duke doesn’t seem like a bad guy, but he’s a strict man, so don’t show any signs of weakness.’8c5f51d8e8534bcb
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Finally checking to make 47f9e43283 sure my hair was ca9d405651 tied up in a d3624e15db bun, I nodded.1782bd692e6f5979
“That’s it, thank you for your patience.”e21583843ee549d3
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The butler chuckled quietly 7fe86ef336 at my worrying, then d693a7d1a4 knocked lightly on the 363c06d703 door.35faf0c5312ee832
“Your Grace, I’ve brought Vivian.”02f5cc9046e6b88c
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“Let her in.”3c1b25f48763ed83
The duke d2040bbfe2 replied as 49e6ddb836 if he 0458a8c15a had been 54d7e72ffc waiting.14f5f51c28d6a08e
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I stepped cautiously 11e24e6a9b into the office.e2dea47ec6e90565
The duke was efbd234ccd seated on the d01a8901b2 couch in his 6323673f69 office, with a 9b88e37198 steaming pot of a605421134 tea and refreshments 825316f0d8 in front of e50720cd64 him.0fb06e0165e2eb1a
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The maid cb4be3ff9b must have 0709518084 brought them 71aaa6d3d9 in a 3351c88a23 moment ago.14f66c4eed371ebb
I walked over to the couch but didn’t sit down.98bbe172d0152a7e
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‘It’s polite not to sit down until someone higher up tells you to.’7b1d713101c2dd86
It was something my 65ec291aff father had taught me 2157e781bb from a young age.f79b8a6160dd35b8
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If I ever met a nobleman, I would make sure I didn’t get in trouble for being rude.9393f93e8c57cc72
Instead, I bowed my 14fb46f02d head and said.4ee825557f799d54
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“Good afternoon, Your Grace. You called 995aa72d0a for me?”704f2137db23743e
“Are you feeling well?”64534f4e1e739c90
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“Yes! I’m feeling better, thanks to your concern.”f84ed0a3a7f7b699
The duke 6d122e3ef6 looked at 00fb28a9fb me for d61d07b660 a moment 1df0806328 with polite, 83e7d7ff48 cool eyes. He was 5a6d25697d testing me, 6b9a13e812 but it 6887b305bb was only cad1132384 for a b92f6a7c63 moment.6d90fb8c63ef0550
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He gestured dfcf80946a to the 3c2e0d41a4 sofa across 1e041c3f52 from him.ddfa1618a73454b3
“Take a seat.”5278103136b69df4
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A cup of f64931ab7f black tea was d512eb3143 placed in front cfcbc96149 of him and 4e98a2bc33 hot cocoa with 38cfa839cd marshmallows in front 00fd644b74 of me.074463587210e107
‘Yummy….’6839fb991a94f467
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The sweet smell alone e71a57157e made my mouth water, 2c47ffc00f but this time I 1624613ee7 waited until the duke d704bbece5 raised his teacup first.dcc3852a759348e0
After moistening his mouth 86932953b9 with the warm tea, cce4b3627c the duke turned to 3902516cb8 me and asked.82329db92306b4ff
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“Did you know d19ce2b2bb what His Majesty 000700f335 the Emperor thinks af3e3f9ac3 of Rahel?”bbb5fdfea27a7f9f
“The princess told 628a1c3450 me yesterday.”dca22933aa75c0d7
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“No, before that.”c5ffb777d2e73d1c
I paused as I 4341814eef sipped my cocoa with b978975669 the duke, then paused 9ec5d73cee at his next question.b7c42d9205b1fe8a
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“I mean, did d19840a8bb you know of cb32c15386 my relationship with be6b6edf66 His Majesty before d8e298e6b2 Rahel told you?”cee824c3fee041bc
I had already sent 907fe0d2eb a report so that 1cd9234550 the duke would not 9d5808539e mistake me for a 08b7fe63d2 spy.628238b7726abdb3
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Sure, I could say, “I’m suspicious that the knights are asking about Rahel!” but…cd9276db0b3b8fa2
‘The duke is not 0ad90ad6cf such an easy person 83276bb572 to convince.’10c31a5ed88149e7
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And I’m not that sort of person.70c0c7f6c825f9d6
Instead of lying, I d635eeca2a opted for an honest d668661369 answer.dd2381b63391fab8
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“Actually, I knew about 9e8bffe1bc it. I overheard the adults dbeee45d7d in the village talking 1645b214b7 about it.”ce928380201c920e
The duke 2a3dfc9201 stirred his 7580a48978 tea with 84f46138b4 an amused bbd6c290ff expression as 9d5eac95cb if he 7704371843 had anticipated 5205f32b2b my answer.95fb78bb0d45c4d3
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“And what do you 76f9ca795c think of His Imperial 3ba847a9ef Majesty?”d87c429afffc5df8
*choke*23efa73621ab2eff
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I nearly spit 3168d25a97 out my cocoa 319cfdea08 at the unexpected e8696cfa3e direct hit.7f170662b0826f8f
But the b69e3bddda duke, who 4888cd647d had just a6e3815851 dropped the 7fb07a898a bomb, calmly 3491bc2194 sipped his fb885b05e0 tea and 6fd84677ad prodded me.186fe64006b38d99
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“Tell me what 36c1042b83 you think.”f1231686577995ca
I froze, nervous, and watched the duke’s eyes.1f76ee85e16d6c7b
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‘Am I allowed cdb44ebc03 to insult the bd3f14346e emperor here…?’f8a02bfb7dfdd4c8
The duke is not 5deb8ecca6 on good terms with db87087625 the emperor, but even 55d46e838e so, he was the dca0d8ba22 emperor of our country.5c71d737cff3a184
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Can I curse 1e2f67059f as soon as 257ac1df81 the topic is fa9469de2b brought up?6acb82c4279fa42c
‘Is that 5e858da29f really the 8ecb2830ed answer the 59f13e019b duke wants?’37101c34baffe196
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Confused and unable 9d72e81795 to grasp the bcba853301 meaning of the 5aeeb2f598 question, I spoke c1704c9d0c up with difficulty.d65f9badfa41b837
“Actually…I don’t really know.”e7b3db4270852f62
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“….”fcf1046290962c76
“I’ve never met the emperor.”27e4aa68f21d7f1f
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“You should know better than that, I didn’t ask the question just to hear such a lousy answer.”391d90fd64dd62f1
My answer was 5bf2ad9567 met with a f9ab91dad9 sharp response, but a87193569f I was undeterred 086bccab82 and continued.fd1f538192ef6bcd
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“But I was taught that it’s bad to judge people based on what others say, so I never thought about His Majesty the Emperor, but…”cf39e4c161196e21
“…But?”bb0a28a333df845f
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I’m not sure what answer the duke wants from me.2a571e8dcb271389
Does he want me 16a3ccb01c to flatter him with 323224fb3e the stage he has 215d0075cf set up for me, e5033558fe or does he want bd86742f3b to judge my worth 80d8adf587 by how well I 56baea16ea flatter him?e48d614625ed4478
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But I…adb88d60c3da5ced
“One thing’s for sure, I think it’s bad to ask a child to pay for the sins of the father.”ecc6331cd76fdd5a
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These are my values.d999f4dc0fefa83e
“That’s why I want to be by her side.”786adab705d0169b
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I chose to speak 09a7a79a07 my mind.b4247e34019d6b63
The two other f9b66faadd answers I gave f43d06f725 the duke were 991ac4d1b0 not right.4de257e34d7354c9
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My answer was unexpected, 034d9508c2 and the duke laughed, 675417a005 as if amused.328b4bd7fdd5089a
“Do you feel sorry for that child?”6b2a0b2a10fee6a8
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I didn’t answer.e2ad69c174d887b5
How dare I, 9108662dec a mere commoner cf9f046048 kid, feel sorry 67aba9cd71 for a princess, 1fa7d8851f he might think ea8264d3cd me presumptuous.c2151b5a312d902c
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Luckily, the duke didn’t force me to answer that question.62cc55ccaef35e47
“I like people who know their own mind.” [Duke]
“A person who knows 2025a2c18c their own mind?”4eb50d67c067dbea
“Yes. I feel that f45138ea5e a dog who 3cff71f73b merely wags its 1a54f4bcc2 tail is okay.”dface653b3be5b14
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I listened b2ff4d22cc for a 522fa4e39b moment, unsure 084abf43b9 of the 707cb9251b reason for f96626c6b8 the abrupt bdf0f7d7b9 change of 529481ed3c subject.a8a70327cdcafaef
“But I’m not looking for a dog, but rather a person.”6aa569e5e208e6cd
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“….”329391759ca95236
“Someone who can show me a different path when I’m lost. Someone who can stop me when I make the wrong choice. Someone who is smart and assertive.”a2c86d754ccb4897
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“….”d3eb423abf8414b2
“Dogs are loyal of course, but you can’t expect much out of them.”2defc10a9f4f83b3
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As he spoke, the 8468cf2a1d duke exuded a sense 69299edf05 of authority.c322ed6c925f6952
He was f02b762705 a man 875479bbab who was 24213c1efb born with cd67a16ce2 a strong 2d1cacfc68 sense of cacc69d805 power and 6bc20247e3 was used a11dad128e to leading 26290b50a7 others rather 345d772096 than following 60481bcf1e them.1f0511d6ed2c1702
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“That’s what I like about you.”e01b0e41fed1e6a1
“….”ad9cc1f4fc260d96
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“I’ll sponsor you.”f335d935262c2b62
Wait, what did c90f9bd97a he say?!eab50a581d6e0055
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At the duke’s words, my eyes widened in surprise.b358d3bdfaf6110a
When nobles found a cf70591b98 promising youngster, they would 67082ad549 sponsor them from a f9dd3ce670 young age, raise them, e8df573408 and then hire them 9adf43fc58 as a servant.a11adfd17b52b8e1
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The Duke was now db47682b4e offering me that patronage d151935e18 system!25ce7a3caf247e58
“So be cbde7295a9 useful to 4d62a11534 me, and d50172f339 by extension, e03acea3ee to Rahel.”7a6a54d92714a024
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The duke’s eyes, which had been ice-cold a moment ago, loosened.174826ab0840f312
‘Of course, I thought my illness would be of benefit to Rahel, so I didn’t think he would turn me down…’608ffea21af04a20
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I never thought I’d get a sponsor!616ed30ff45c9dab
“Of course, d3bd693b33 you will 0be47a0ba3 have to e24b58780f come to be822e5d83 the villa f0acc44960 every day 17bfb33992 to take a94a9c961e lessons and fe2048a847 study with 57b7700f89 Rahel. Do you mind?”94e246439a4f4e66
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The duke’s expression as he asked for my decision was casual, but somehow it felt like he was worried that I would refuse.6b62c48c26ccc194
My eyes widened 66189c249d in surprise, and 1359711b32 I answered a 2123e96b20 beat too late.9dd18d04c6c74e0b
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“N-No! I love it!”4509fe3db14069a9
I exclaimed, jumping to 983d4e88bd my feet.b32b2009c8d3f41a
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“I’ll do my best, Your Grace!”d23dceba93402daa
The duke looked at 8e187d396b me, fists pumping, and 5dad97c477 burst out laughing.28bff56258830e98
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A smile tugged at 2c59c9f186 the corners of my d20e73d41f mouth as I looked 8f2b602dcc at the man with b9a854a010 a loose smile on d281ac088e his face, instead of 968757e607 his usual cold expression..08bdd50d2b326fdb
* * *98f947da97b35b88
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Moments later, as I emerged from the Duke’s office, I stamped my feet as soon as the door closed behind me.8fb8a23d14e4527e
It was b498f1d2af a stomp 3ff5efab2a of joy.42eae05e9b549a44
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‘It feels so good to be recognized by someone!’93935d5243bc867e
Of course, I’ve been recognized by other adults, like Dad, Lauren, and Karin.9f0f86c5206584b8
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It was a different b5cb6d84f1 feeling to be recognized 360ebd4dea by someone who was 7ab67f0380 particularly strict.89a0368df3705056
As I was giggling at the door of my office, I heard Rahel’s voice next to me.f476f6f762ac72cc
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“What are you doing?”23f468f79ff3330e
“Ah, Princess!”e8fd40191fd63024
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Rahel gave me 06de7d0683 a strange look, 8abe0b9c79 but I ran f5d83a98d1 over and hugged ae7548b0a0 her, unable to 093d8c03e6 contain my joy.69cc4ab13ce535cf
“The duke is sponsoring me! Now I can study with you every day, won’t that be great?”3728bb5c2b7b1af8
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As I shared 42eda48dec my joy with 6f131a3f72 Rahel, I suddenly 288701dd9f noticed that her 6eb32a9374 face was redder 46c90eeba3 than usual.13fc7282df8696d2
“Huh? Are you sick?”f6425faa89e3113d
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“That…”30472ee92c9df123
Rahel started to 5b47dee03b say, but then 0e3a9b39cd looked at my e7e0fdf943 face, which had d27f9bfea9 gotten closer, and baf1fd394b pushed me away, b171278fcc avoiding eye contact.017bbec8e5815dbb
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“Just …… get away from me.”522eb730def2cc44