Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

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"I did not understand what is happening these days. People are taking and we are losing the trust of other nobles.

Many asked me to return their money since they were not sure if my business would thrive in the future.

They are the same people who used to beg me to invest their money in my business since I am the closest vassal of lord Thawyne." Eli noticed how the man had efficiently taken out the title of duke from the name of her father.

Not only that she could feel his hostility towards her. Since they came here, father had called them personally and told them about Ethan.

From then, they are staring at Ethan as if trying to assess if he was valuable or not and trying to challenge her authority as the mistress of the palace since she was not their daughter anymore.

She had asked Eve to handle them but she denied telling she could not stand their actions. If Eli would force her to attend all of them, she would rub truth on their faces and ask them to leave at once.

Evan was looking too strange these days. She had thought that Evan would not care much about aunt since they had only met once for a few days and their meeting was not pleasant at all.

But who would have thought that she would look lost. These days her behavior was strange and gloomy as if something bad had happened to her.

Her eyes kept looking at the distance lost in her own thoughts.

In the end she had no one to rely on.

"You are only exaggerating the matter like others, Marvyne. If you think that your project was worth investing yet they took their hands back, then send me the files. I will check them personally and see its profitability percentage.

If it is as good as you are saying, I will personally invest all the money in it." with a calm face, she replied while looking into the eyes of the man who blinked and then started chuckling softly.

"That would not be needed. I am still competent enough to arrange money for my projects. How could I burden you? You shall save your money for your future. Who knows what might happen to you." His words brought muffling laughter in the whole room while a few chuckled brazenly and looked at her with a mocking gaze.

She was nothing but a fake peacock that was an ugly chicken in reality.

She could be thrown out anytime from the palace and yet she was offering her support to them? Ha! What a joke!

If it had been before, the man would have thanked her again and again to be kind but now he only felt that she was trying to show off her authority so that they would forget she was not their daughter and take her as the mistress after knowing the truth.

She could feel their mocking gazes and it would be a lie if she would say that it did not affect her but she could not give them the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.

"Then I can only pray that you will get good investors. Since he had denied, I still have the annual investment left given by MY FATHER. If anyone wants us to invest, they can give their plans to me.`` She smiled brightly as she looked at them, making many of them surprised.

Each year the family of the duke invests in many projects of their vassal family or anyone who comes asking for help. That way, they encourage new traders and use their royalty wisely making them the richest family of the empire that even the royal family was wary of.

That dumb old man rejected such huge amount just to mock the lady. They all sneered at him but when they looked back at Eli this time, their face was beaming with joy and flattery.

"I have a new plan of.."

"I was wondering if…" those who were laughing at her just a while ago started flattering her again when she sighed in her heart.

All they cared about was their benefit. But since they respect her father and have helped a lot in flourishing the family of Thawyne, she ignored their behavior and listened to their plans calmly while the old man gnashed his teeth.

He stood up and walked out of the room as he could not bear a fake girl, who was nothing to the family and had filthy blood in her nerves was trying to act high and mighty in front of them, when she should be begging to not throw her out of the palace.

If not for the death of the matriarch, he would have gone to the duke and told him to give a fair judgment.

"Just you wait!" he muttered as he walked out. He had just taken a few steps when his eyes fell on Ethan who was climbing the stairs and his eyes sparkled.

Now he would show her how to behave when you do not have any power.

"My lord, I have finally got the chance to meet you." Ethan halted and turned to look at the fat man with a dark mustache and slightly white hair, he would be around his father's age. He concluded that he would be one of the vassals and nodded his head. Glad that they knew who he was!

He had started to feel their intense glance yesterday and decided to stay in his room today since he did not want to ruin his good mood after the kiss.

"I am glad to meet you too. Hope you are having a comfortable stay here.`` He did not know what to say to a stranger. He was not much aware of their etiquettes and did not want to make a fool of himself.

"Of course, but I have been worried about you since the time I came to know about your existence. If you have some time, can I have a brief conversation with you in private?"