Duke, please let go of my ankle!

CHAPTER 1.1

Audrey won’t stop

“Come on, Jenna, come on!”

“Ho-ho, almost there.”

Audrey stomped her foot, urging her maid on. It was adorable to see her hands and feet flailing about as she burned, unable to move her face for fear of ruining her makeup. Xena smiled secretly at the sight of her.

By noon, the sleepy little girl was up at the crack of dawn and getting dressed, with a very philosophical mantra: “Pretty, unadorned, but natural and lovely.

Jenna smiled meaningfully, already guessing the reason.

“There you go. Ah, you look beautiful today.”

“Thank you!”

“Oh, miss, you’ll trip and fall!”

Audrey ran out of the burinake room as soon as the maid let go of her hand. She was furious that she’d spent so much time on the dress.

“Just one order and I’m done!

But it can’t be helped. If she didn’t want others, even her family, to know she was a wizard, she had to deal with these minor hassles.

“What if Brother Claude leaves?

Her steps were brisk, taking two or three flights of stairs beneath her flowing skirts, but she had an ominous feeling that at this rate she would never catch up with him.

“No!

The situation was getting desperate, and there was only one place to turn.

Audrey looked around cautiously, even as she ran.

“Is anyone here?

And as soon as she was sure there wasn’t a single ant, she cast her spell.

Whirring.

The wind began to whistle through her worn heels.

“Faster, faster!

A flash of the Wizarding Code of Ethics, revised after ten years, flashed through her mind…… but only for a moment.

With only half a floor to go, the wind, which had been blowing only under the hem of her skirt, slowly died down. Audrey took one last breath and cleared her throat. Then, as she took the last step, she began to do a very good impersonation of a fairy lady.

“Dad, are you leaving for work already?”

“……Audrey?”

Count Kevelson, who had just left the mansion, turned around in surprise. The sound of his daughter’s voice, unheard at this hour of the night, was both familiar and pleasing, but as soon as Audrey had finished her ceremonial greeting, she turned her head toward the person she wanted to see.

“Oh, my. You have a brother, Claude, what a coincidence!”

“As much as …….”

Claude’s eyes widened and his feigned surprise was quite convincing. The Count, whom he’d reprimanded the day before, only fiddled with his beard in embarrassment, but Claude smiled and wished him good morning as always.

“Audrey, did you sleep well?”

“Yes!”

“I’ve seen your face since Monday morning, I guess nothing but good things are in store for you this week.”

“……!”

The unabashed Clown of Truth blurted out.

“What does that mean, I’m just, like, a goddess of luck.

Audrey continued to fidget, unable to control her hands and feet. She knew it was a short greeting that meant nothing to Claude, but she kept repeating it word for word, trying to make it mean something. It was one of the habits of long unrequited love.

‘But you can’t be too obvious. Just be as natural and loving as possible…….’

As much as he tried to pretend it wasn’t happening, love and gambling debts are impossible to hide. Audrey’s face had long since turned red.

It was strange. Just looking at his face made me feel like a fool like I couldn’t control my emotions. My whole body tingled, and I felt like I was going numb somewhere. I felt like stubbing my toes, which were hidden by the hem of my dress.

‘If only I could see this gorgeous face every day…….’

Audrey was willing to give up being an owl after 20 years of history and tradition and become a rooster.

“Hehe.”

The woman in love twisted her body this way and that. Her vivid appearance, like a flower that had just bloomed, had faded away, and now she was shriveled up like a vegetable that had been blanched in boiling water for a long time.

Hans, feeling like he was the only one left, looked at the Hulk with disgust. The scowl of arrogance, he realized, was a sign of the boy’s shyness.

“Excuse me, can’t you see me?”

“Yeah, hi. By the way, what has your brother been doing here since Monday morning?”

“Huh.”

What?

For a moment, Hans’s eyes lit up.

I’m not a beggar! The greeting he’d thrown out in 0.1 seconds had been blatantly insincere.

Or not. All Audrey cared about was his brother, Claude.

Claude gave a light chuckle as if he found the morning bickering adorable.

“Count Kevelson’s carriage is being repaired. You stopped by to take a ride with the Count anyway since we have the same destination, right?”

“Ah, my brother, you’re so quick! You could have just rented a carriage from the rental shop…… I’m sorry if I’ve caused you unnecessary hassle.”

“What’s the trouble, I’m on my way anyway, and I’m glad I’m going with the Count so I won’t be lonely.”

“As much as …….”

Count Jolzie Kevelson grew up to be a carefree man.

But when it comes to love, a good, pretty, late daughter is no match. Audrey’s piercing eyes hovered insistently around Claude. Her anxious sighs were full of defiance.

“We’re in trouble. The carriage will have to be fixed soon…….”

“I don’t care.”

“But I can’t keep bothering you.”

“I’m good.”

“What?”

“Well, I got to see your face, so what better excuse is there?”

“……!”

Claude laughed out loud, his face unsuspecting.

Audrey stood dumbfounded, having been unexpectedly punched in the heart. It was hard to hide her secret thoughts in front of such an angelic smile.

“…..I can’t tell you, even in death, that it was me.

How can I tell her that it was my daughter, not anyone else, who snapped the wheel axle in to the middle of the night? I can only smile innocently at her.

Meanwhile, the boy’s friend, who had a sour stomach, couldn’t stand to watch the cheerful scene.

“And you, what, have you been out at a ball since dawn, and what’s with the tail of your dress?”

His eyes scanned Audrey’s outfit up and down.

Of course, she was, trying to light a candle to someone else’s love!

“Ho, ho, ho. What are you talking about? You should be ashamed of yourself for looking so disheveled on a Monday morning. If I knew I was expecting company, I would have done my hair.”

Audrey slapped her head in embarrassment.

But her best friend of 15 years was not amused. Instead, he snorted and was openly sarcastic.

“Nuchuu? Hey, look in the mirror. You’re as colorful as a male peacock you’re courting.”

“What!”

Ouch.

Audrey, who was about to lose her temper as usual, snapped out of it.

“Claude’s still watching!

Her clenched fists slowly lost their strength. Her hand, which had been aimed at Ming Qi, turned sharply and went to her shoulder. His fingertips were sharp as he lightly patted his friend’s shoulder in jest.

“Ho ho, peacock, you’re funny.”

“Hey, where are you touching me, yuck!”

Audrey deftly covered the instep of his foot with the hem of her bountiful skirt and stomped it down without ejaculation, not forgetting to work her magic of the heel on her shoe in the brief moment.

“You, you crazy bitch!”

Hans rolled on the floor, red-faced. He screamed at the top of his lungs that all his toes must have fallen off. Audrey, however, saw the two men off with aplomb, using the horrific screams as background music.

“Dad, brother, you’re going to be late, you better get going.”

“See you later, Audrey.”

And with that, the two men left the mansion, almost as if they were being driven out. Unlike Count Kevelson, who was shaking, Claude kept looking back and smiling.

“What a young man he is.

The Count studied Claude out of the corner of his eye.

‘He’s a very sound and intelligent young man, as befits the first groom of the Empire, but sometimes there’s something just a little off about him. Too positive, or should I say optimistic, like right now, when my sister was screaming for the manor to leave,

“He’s having fun, it’s the best of times.”

The way he smiled while saying that…. didn’t seem normal to me at all.