Chapter 166.

Ilsun’s brain turned white.

“Why is the Duke ……”

The moment he gathered such thoughts. The knock on the door sounded once more.

“Penelope, may I come in?”

“Ah, yes, yes. Please come in.”

At no time should I leave the Duke outside, I shouted in panic. The door opened immediately. He who walked into the room suddenly saw me and stopped in his tracks.

The corner of Duke’s eye twitched slightly.

“…… Dad?”

Inexplicably calling out to the Duke, he immediately closed the door to the room and walked in completely. The Duke walked over to the desk in front of the window and sat down, as he had done the day before when talking about transferring the mine. I sat down at the desk and followed him across the room.

Facing the Duke in this state without spirit became a flawed burden and bewilderment. I took several deep breaths to calm my quivering chest.

Then the breathing calmed a bit and spoke.

“Why did …… come to me?”

“That.” Duke spoke at the same time.

An awkward silence fell. He showed no sign of speaking first, and reluctantly I spoke first.

“What brings you here …… What’s the matter?”

The Duke rarely showed a look of alarm in my words.

“Didn’t …… you tell you to come and say hello the morning of the Bar Mitzvah?”

“Ah.”

Please, really. That’s what Iben said in the cafeteria before he showed up. Forgotten. So it didn’t make much sense.

At the time, filled with dreams of escaping today, one day, losing his understanding adopted daughter overnight, the Duke was a bit saddened.

“I didn’t know it would be like this ……”

Of course it’s all nonsense now that I think about it. I tried not to show my rough state of mind and answered listlessly.

“Thank you, please listen to me.” “Today ……”

The Duke hesitated a little.

“It’s a beautiful day, Penelope.”

The Duke was supposed to be praised. I was a little surprised by his righteous and lonely praise, which soon became boring.” Thank you, Papa.”

The Duke’s look really overflowed with the majesty of a great nobleman. Looking at the silversmith’s Eckhardt-patterned sharp black jacket, I replied witheringly.” Papa looks handsome today too.”

“Is the invisible dress and accessories …… do not like to customize through the Queen’s tailor, is it for the daughter?” “…… Yes.”

“It suits you. Beautiful.”

Couldn’t bear to say it was a gift from the Crown Prince, just initialed it, and the Duke said the same thing twice.

The mood was becoming stranger and stranger. My stomach wants to rumble again, and my clenched fists harden.

“But what’s in the hand?”

Suddenly the Duke glanced at one of my hands. Following his eyes downward, I saw the long silver line between clenched fists.

“Ah.” I let out a crisp gag. Too nervous to remember now that I’ve held the necklace in my hand so far. Between the gaps in my fingers, stars adorned the jagged ends.

“Is it a necklace?”

Probably because of the unusual appearance, the Duke’s eyes filled with interest. I reached out in a panic and hung it around my neck.

“Yes, it was received as a gift.”

“A gift? From whom?”

“The owner of the frequent weapons store sent the necklace with magic hanging from it, saying congratulations on the bar mitzvah. It’s the place where dad bought the simulator.”

“Ah, that place. It should be not bad. Next time I’m going to prepare to buy one one for my arrows as well.” Although they were perfunctory words, fortunately the duke readily agreed.

“But it seems to be a bit incompatible with the gown I’m wearing today.”

“But looking at the sincerity of the gift, I want to wear it.” Of course, I really didn’t intend to.

Duke went out, intending to take off right away.

“…… Good heart.”

But the reaction to coming back was strange. Why on earth are you like this today.

I looked up at him with puzzled eyes and asked carefully.

“…… Do you have something to say to me?”

“No, not really. Just wanted to hear what you requested …….”

“I see. It’s nice to meet before dinner, Dad. You must be busy with your guests, and I’m afraid I’ve taken up a lot of your time.”

Well, don’t say it now. But there might be something more to say, and the Duke did not leave his seat, hesitating.

After a long time, he suddenly sighed deeply and spat out something.

“…… I’m sorry.”

It was an unexpected apology. I asked back with a face full of confusion.” Why?”

“Isn’t it depressing that …… in the meantime, because of my escort, it’s not close but close. After the coming of age ceremony, it will all be removed.”

Ah, that. The period of being so depressed that you’re going crazy is over.

“I understand, dad.”

The clichéd voice flowed out. After conversing with me, it seems to be regretful. The Duke has always been like that. If you want to be serious, make material compensation. That was his way of apologizing.

I didn’t expect to say sorry straight away. As always, I said what the Duke might want, to mitigate his guilt. Can’t that be done since it’s the Duke anyway.

“In order to stop the harmed me, I had to have the strong man conduct surveillance. There’s no going out anyway, and I’m fine.”

“…… What?”

The Duke stopped and gave me a surprised look.

“What are you talking about, Penelope. Child, it’s not like that.”

“Then?”

“Because I’m worried about you.”

“…… Are you?”

“Didn’t you look at the guy with Iben with that …… kind of expression?”

“What ……”

I felt a sense of majesty coming from the Duke’s deep blue eyes. There was a subtle change from the time and answer when we had a conversation with the same topic a few days ago. Before, he never answered clearly but didn’t deny my words whether it was for surveillance or not. But ……

“So …… what did you say, dad.”

I asked back, full of confusion. The Duke was silent for half a day and opened his mouth heavily.

“Was …… it shortly after the hunting match.”

“Leonard came to see me. I heard there was something to confess.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Remember the incident that happened shortly after you came to the Duke’s house. The reason for closing the third floor.”

“Yes, of course ……”

Not really Penelope’s I can’t forget it either. The aggravation she felt at the time, the misery of the Duke who deserved to be called a “Duke” instead of a father.

“Leonard …… spilled the beans on what happened back then. In fact, that was when you stole Ibn’s necklace.”

My eyes widened. I’d never imagined such a thing.

“Did you know all …… that?”

Even if I hadn’t experienced it, something hot rushed up my throat at that moment. In the game, Penelope never got rid of that charge until she died. Otherwise, she couldn’t be allowed to go back to the horrible place, climb up, and casually putter around in the fields.

“I’m not like that …… Leonard is like that too, all …… of it?” A shivering voice popped up. The Duke nodded grimly.

“Want me …… to punish me.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, my face contorted for a moment.

The Duke said slowly.” …… I can’t make the right punishment for that guy. Make him do some close and intense training.”

“I want to hit that guy hard, but suddenly I doubt I’m qualified to do so.”

“…… Penelope.”

The Duke punctuated it with regret and remorse, his red eyes fixed on me.

“When I first saw you, you were so small and wasted. While begging me for something to eat with dry, thin eyes not unlike a child’s, somewhere along the line, Ibn was trampled by the eyes of others just like the scared you.”

“Sometimes when I came begging, I tried to bring you something to eat, but one day you received a gold coin and smiled for the first time. That was beautiful.”

“I couldn’t get over how you starved to death next to your dead mother. So it was decided. Let you eat and not starve.”

This was the first time I heard about Penelope’s first meeting with the Duke. Not even out of the game.

“But I was foolish to bring you here on impulse, not knowing how to take care of you. You’re a male daughter, and so are Derrick and Leonard.”

“So the events of that time were just as much about what you wanted as what you didn’t want. I thought as a father I was supposed to harbor your faults.”

“Not if I had known you would call me Duke for six years.” The Duke muttered coldly, as if remembering that day.

“Why, now come ……” I gritted my teeth. It was already too late. It was then that the first button was wrongly fastened, and Penelope was abused, inexplicably crooked, and ended in the worst possible way. Saying nothing, looking on vainly, he spoke again with difficulty.

“…… forgot all about that. The look you gave me that day is still vivid.”

“A few days ago, I saw the man with Iben show the same expression.”

“In that moment, I just wanted to get you off that guy no matter what.”

“What expression did I …… make?”

“That was ……” Duke swept his face, unable to speak.

“…… didn’t make any faces.” He hesitated and spat it out laboriously.

“You’ve been prone to anger since you were a child, and when you get to the extreme of anger, you instead shut your mouth and remove the emotion.”

I was a little surprised. Because it was supposed to be my way of killing feelings. Using my will to suppress what stood out, holding my breath until I suffocated, and a moment later it all went away and peace was found.

As if remembering how I looked then, the Duke chanted with confused eyes.

“But the eyes …… gradually changed, the anger disappeared, became strange ……”

“That was, when it felt like death ……” The Duke frowned, finally unable to speak.

Ah! At that moment, a sudden, intense realization came. I knew instinctively. Penelope, dead. In order to kill the feelings, holding her breath, holding it again, holding it again, and finally really dying.

In the game of losing the wicked girl like that, I possessed myself.