The Male Lead’s Younger Sister is Still Sad Today

Episode 4

I completely froze, holding onto his foot and bending my waist so far that my head touched the ground.

“I’m, I’m, I’m sorry!”

But upon further thought, it seemed impolite to keep holding onto his foot, so I carefully released the Duke’s foot to the ground.

At this rate, I felt like I might die before Abel does.

Of course, I couldn’t just die like this. I quickly lowered my head.

Beg for mercy. Right now, that’s the only answer.

Before I could finish my thought, I knelt before him.

“Please kill me! Even if someone like me dies, it’s fine!”

And at the same time, the Duke’s door opened.

Seeing the Duke sitting on the floor with one leg extended awkwardly and me kneeling in front of him, Roel’s face started to pale.

With a sense of trepidation, I cautiously looked at the Duke, wondering what he was thinking. Our eyes met.

The dark circles under his eyes seemed even darker.

In an instant, my spine chilled.

In this atmosphere, Roel also stood there as if nailed to the spot, unable to speak.

“…Do you really want to die?”

Breaking the silence, the Duke spoke. Upon hearing his words, my heart dropped with a thud.

W-What should I say?

Even breathing felt difficult in this tension.

But just for a moment, the Duke’s lips curled up.

“I’m just kidding.”

“…”

Though his words didn’t sound like a joke at all given the harsh atmosphere, if he said it was a joke, then it must be a joke.

As I observed his expression, the Duke stood up from his seat. Then he flopped onto the sofa and brushed away the strands of hair that fell onto his face.

He didn’t look like someone who had just fallen. In fact, he seemed rather relaxed.

A languid voice spread throughout my mind.

“Do I appear to be someone who would harm people so easily?”

“No!”

As if waiting for my response, ready to clear up any misunderstandings, the Duke answered with a smirk, seeming to find my answer pleasing.

His laughter somehow relieved the tension a bit.

Perhaps due to that, his face seemed to radiate a light.

He looked so different from the rumors I had heard about him.

Well, whatever. The important thing is that he’s letting my mistake slide so leniently!

Contrary to my expectations, my heart which had been leaping at the sight of the Duke quite pleased settled back into place.

He took out a cigar from the cigar case on the table. After cutting the tip and putting it in his mouth, he lit it.

“What’s your name?”

Even though it had been less than a day since I told him my name, I answered calmly without being flustered.

“Chase.”

However, the Duke seemed not to hear my words. He put his hand into his pocket, searching for something. But it seemed like he couldn’t find it. His neatly spaced brows were slightly furrowed.

Beside us, Roel, who had been watching us closely, hurriedly lit the cigar that was nestled between the Duke’s red lips.

The Duke, with the cigar in his mouth, looked down at me kneeling in front of him. Then he exhaled the smoke he had been holding in his mouth.

Amidst the acrid smoke, I could see the Duke’s face, which gave no hint about what he was thinking.

“Stand up.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I quickly rose from my spot, feeling nervous. The Duke then nodded slightly towards the sofa in front of him.

I hesitated for a moment and then, as he suggested, lightly sat down on the sofa.

Roel, who had been watching us, seemed to finally feel at ease. He let out a sigh of relief and began placing the brought food on the table.

At that moment, the Duke started talking nonsense out of the blue.

“Hey.”

“Yes!”

“Did you have breakfast?”

Why does asking if I had breakfast with that handsome and kind face make me feel so irked?

I nodded slightly in response to his question.

“Yes, I had breakfast.”

“Really? Then you must be hungry.”

While my brain raced to grasp his intention, the Duke spoke in a voice that seemed to suppress any such thoughts, his tone brimming with suppressed laughter.

“I’m quite a lenient person, you know.”

“Yes, yes? Ah, Your Grace, you do seem very lenient.”

I quickly nodded and responded to the Duke’s words.

He might look like the world’s greatest villain just by his face, but I heard he doesn’t judge people by appearances.

Upon hearing my answer, the Duke’s expression turned highly satisfied. He seemed oddly pleased.

Listening to our conversation, the Duke turned his attention to Roel, who had been frozen stiff and opened his mouth with a sharp tone.

“Why are you just standing there?”

“…I’m sorry. I’ll get things ready quickly.”

Roel couldn’t hide his anxiety even as he set up the plates with food on the table. Of course, to some extent, his emotions and mine seemed to be in sync.

…Why does this man act like this, anyway?

The Duke extinguished the cigar and opened his mouth.

“Eat up.”

It hadn’t even been a minute since I said I had breakfast.

However, the Duke’s eyes, fixed on me, felt more imposing than I expected.

“Since you said you want to have a meal together because you like me, how about you relax a bit?”

“…Then, thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”

The breakfast was already wonderful, but the Duke’s meal was even more splendid. It felt like fireworks were going off inside my mouth.

However, I couldn’t just cheer loudly in front of the Duke, so I enthusiastically conveyed my gratitude to him like a parrot. His occasional warm laughter was a bonus.

“I’m glad you like it.”

With a grin, the Duke observed me closely, then leaned comfortably against the back of his chair.

Considering that I had been starving on the streets without anything to eat and that I was in front of the only Duke in the kingdom, having a meal like this was a stroke of luck. Yet…

The situation was incredibly strange.

As proof, Roel, who stood next to me, seemed fidgety. Finally, even he seemed to be concerned, as the Duke gave him an ushering gesture.

Even Roel, who was my only lifeline, left the room, and I found it impossible to swallow anything beyond my throat.

Moreover, the Duke’s gaze staring intently at me was so burdensome that I couldn’t tell if the food was going into my nose or my mouth.

In the end, I had to cautiously ask the Duke, who seemed like he might devour me at any moment.

“But… Your Grace, aren’t you going to eat?”

In response to my question, the Duke smiled sweetly and opened his mouth.

“Just watching you eat makes me full.”

With simple praise alone, the Duke possessed an exceptional talent to intimidate people.

“I guess I’ll have to invite you for meals often. It seems even more economical and nice to share food.”

He was being entirely thorny. Of course, compared to the Duke’s harsh reputation, this was a rather mild punishment…

The Duke, who had been intently watching me eat, changed his posture.

“Are you from the southern region?”

I was surprised by each of his movements and cautiously nodded my head.

“Though my hometown is in the south, I’ve been living in the capital since I was 11.”

“So you’re practically a city person?”

“Well… yes?”

“What were your parents like?”

Maybe he saw a hint of fear in my face from his stern expression, as the Duke loosened the corner of his lips and began to speak.

It wasn’t about whether my parents were alive or dead, but about what kind of people they were. He must have thoroughly examined the letter of recommendation.

“They were good people. I think to live on and meet people like my parents again would be a thought that crosses my mind.”

As I finished speaking, an eerie silence settled in.

Of course, it wasn’t complete silence. There were sounds—the ticking of the clock’s hands, and the clinking of utensils as I wielded the fork.

Then, Raiden opened his mouth with a neutral expression.

“You eat well.”

“T-Thank you. I really enjoy eating.”

“Seems like it.”

His praise made me pick up my fork with renewed enthusiasm.

As long as he wasn’t blowing my head off with a revolver, I figured his relatively mild reputation of beheading people without grand reasons was better than that ruthless rumor.

* * *

“Chase!”

Peter appeared at the end of the corridor, waving his hand towards me. He approached me and playfully tapped my shoulder, then asked,

“Today was your first day at work, how was it?”

In response to his question, I smiled awkwardly and scratched my cheek.

“Well… actually, I had an accident.”

I omitted the part about throwing the Duke with all my might. Upon hearing my words, Peter chuckled softly and replied,

“It’s normal to make mistakes as a newcomer. You’re doing fine.”

Even though Peter’s comforting words were there, I still couldn’t easily shake off my unease.

“What if the Duke ends up hating me…?”

“It’s okay. I made plenty of mistakes when I started too, but I’m still doing just fine.”

Peter shrugged his shoulders as if to dismiss any worries.

“…Did you make a lot of mistakes too, brother?” (note It said hyung which is the Korean term to referring as brother)

“Yeah. I can’t remember the details, but what I do remember is that the Duke was so furious that he wanted to throw me out of the window with his anger reaching his head.”

“…”

“But well… it was my first time too. As I started to adapt to the job, he didn’t really pay much attention anymore. So don’t blame yourself too much.”

Peter lightly tapped my shoulder and grinned. His words brought a bit of relief, but a heavy feeling still lingered in a corner of my heart.