The Side Character Got Promoted To The Villainness!

Chapter 12: The 2nd Visit

Hmm, I'm sure I put it here......

It was the morning of the duke's second visit. Everyone just had breakfast and were making preparations to welcome the duke.

I looked through the drawer where I had placed the gloves but other than some towels, the box was missing. The place where I put the gloves were empty.

I know I don't have the best memory but I wouldn't forget or misplace something so expensive. I looked through the other drawers to make sure I wasn't searching at the wrong places but they were empty as well.

The more I search, the closer the time for the duke to arrive, the faster my heart was beating. This is bad. If the duke saw me not wearing the gloves as told, he won't execute me on the spot, would he?

Someone must've taken them.

I stopped searching and started thinking. No one in the orphanage knew I had the gloves with me, since I was alone with Ms. Penny. I also didn't see anyone on the way to the bedroom. That means someone must've spotted me without me knowing.

Blanche's face comes onto on my mind.

Could it be her?

If yes, here comes the hard part. If I tried to confront her by myself, she would never admit it herself. If I force her to admit it, she'll be reluctant to learn from this mistake. Should I ask the Sisters for help?

If possible, I want to solve this problem without raising more distaste towards Blanche anymore.

Ugh, my head hurts. I can't think straight at all.

As I was thinking, someone knocked on the door. I turned and saw Corwin standing at the doorway.

"Everyone's lining up now." He came to inform me. He seemed to be avoiding my gaze too. I raised an eyebrow. Children aren't the best at lying, especially this child.

Corwin......?

I stood up and we both headed to the entrance. I had my eyes fixed on him the whole way. It can't be that Corwin took them, can it?

Never mind that for now. I have more important things to do.

What do I tell the duke?!

***

The duke arrived soon after. This time, he has 2 knights following him. One was Elliot, and the other one was a face I've never seen.

He looked like he was a few years younger and shorter than Elliot, almost a teenager. He has extremely short hair and a pair of gleaming ruby eyes. He wasn't smiling, maybe because he's at work. But at the very least, he's not glaring and he looked relaxed, unlike Elliot who has never shown emotion on his face.

The Father gave his greetings as usual. It seems like today the duke just wanted to oversee how the orphanage functions and educate the children. Like last time, the Father prepared tea for them to rest first while we continued with our daily tasks.

Of course, Blanche jumped out with the happiest smile as she walked towards the duke. It's been a while since she smiled like that.

"Mr. Duke! Blanche wants to play with Mr. Duke today!" She said with the sweetest voice ever while holding up her dolls.

"Blanche, the duke is very busy right now......" The Father warned her while sounding troubled.

"So how 'bout I play with you instead?" The other knight came in between Blanche and the duke. "This big brother here knows a lot more about fun than these guys!"

He casually points to the duke and the other 2 men. Elliot's face darkens and without a word, dashes forward and knuckles the guy's head and turned to apologize to the duke, "Apologies, my lord. He is still a trainee."

The duke did not say another word. His eyes were wondering, as if he's looking for something. He looked around and his eyes stopped on me. The next second, he was making his way towards me.

Please, for the love of god, stop giving me attention! I didn't do anything!

This time he stood much closer to me. He was much taller than I had expected......

"Ms. Astria. I see you are not wearing the gloves. Are they not to your liking?" He asked. Casually, but I sensed unhappiness in his voice.

"N-no. They were really pretty!" I managed a smile while my brain racked for any sort of excuse I could find.

"I-It's just......today is a little, uhm, warm! Yes! Today is a little warm!" I fan myself, pretending that I was sweating. But of course, this is a lie. I'm sensitive to the cold and honestly I'm shivering even with the indoor heat on.

The duke raised his eyebrows. He took off one of his gloves and reached his hand towards me. I horrifyingly shut my eyes tightly as I wait for my judgement.

Argh, I knew that was a shitty excuse!! Who the hell would feel warm in the middle of autumn?! I've seen way too many gorey scenes in movies when a man takes their gloves off! D-Don't tell me he's gonna cut my head off or something?!

Then, I felt something warm pressed against my forehead.

Huh, I'm......not dead yet.

I peeked through my eyelids and saw the duke's handsome face closer than ever.

Holy shit his lashes are long were the first thing that came into mind. Then, I slowly realized the situation.

The duke had put his hand on my forehead. The touch was light as feather but nevertheless, left a trailing warmth on my forehead. His hand slide down to my cheek and pressed on one side lightly with the back of his hand which were colder.

"Did you perhaps caught a cold?" He asked in a concerned voice. "It's quite cold today, is it not?"

How can someone look so good while frowning?? My mind was spinning as I tried to comprehend what he asked just now.

"Ah, uhm, I-I feel fine!" I quickly pushed his hand away without looking at him and he caught my hand. Oh my god, I can feel my face burning up because of him. I tried to pull my hand back, without realizing he had clutch them tightly.

W-wow, his hands are big and warm......

"Your hands are cold." He looked at me suspiciously. Uh oh......

I finally brought myself to look him in the eyes. His gaze was as sharp as ever, but this time mixed with a little bit of anxiousness.

I didn't think he was capable of showing emotions like this.

"Did something happened to those gloves?" He asked me, his grip tightened as I try to pull my hands away.

What do I do? How do I answer him? My brain was spinning, and even my vision is starting to get blurry.

"The gloves......were too nice......I did not want to dirty them......" This wasn't the actual reason at all, but I guess it's half true. I did plan on not wearing them because they were far too precious.

"......Silly girl." Did I just heard him chuckle? Wow, today must be my lucky day. So much so that my head's getting heavy.

That was the last thing I heard before I collapsed.