Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"So do you know where the coins are?" her gleaming eyes were taken back from the jewels when she heard Leo's cold voice and nodded.

"They are in the centre, below the portrait of your grandfather." she pointed at a large portrait of an old man that was looking regal by his posture. But he was not dressed up as the duke. He was sitting on the throne of the royal family. 

Gabriella looked at the portrait with pride as she mumbled, "I missed you grandfather!" She took slow steps towards the portrait and then opened a red velvet box below it. 

The box had the same gold coins that were found in the black box of Evangeline. 

"Count them.'' Leo pointed at a knight but Gabriella did not let go of the box. She squinted her eyes at the knight who tried to come closer and he took a few steps backward with fear.

"I will count by myself." she replied as she stroked the corners of the coin with longing. 

"Very well, start then." She looked coldly at the young boy but his gaze was sharper than her. 

She took a deep breath and then started to count the coins slowly. Her face had a satisfied smile, as if she knew that she was right already. Evan and Eli were sure about it too, Evan's mind was already running like a headless chicken as she continued to make her escape plan only to reject them due to feasibility.

Only Leo was the one whose expressions are unreadable. His eyes were not on the counting of coins but were on the scared face of Evangeline. The light in his eyes was dim. 

"115, 116, 117, 118." all the colours of her face drained when she ended the counting of coins and her eyes bulged out. The coins were full, not a single coin was less. So there was no way that Evan had taken the coins from there/

Even those who had lost all hopes and were looking like a deflated balloon inflated once again. Her eyes sparkled and her jaw hit the floor. But soon she covered her shock and looked at the old lady with haughty expressions.

"See, i have told you that i am not a thief. Yet not only did you not believe in me, but created such a fuss too. But I will still forgive you since you are the matriarch of the family."  Evan was too pleased to continue arguing. First she was free from the allegation of being a thief and secondly, Leo had given her much more reward than she had thought. 

He must be only joking when he had said that she would have to pay the ladies per hour. 

Listening to her, Eli came back to her senses again. Yet she did not understand how it happened! If the coins were rare as Gabriella had said, how could a mere commoner have them. Not to forget the rare jewels with it.

As far as she knew each of them was a valueless treasure. By all those jewels she was richer than a count. But there was no source from which a commoner could have earned that much wealth.

"You! This is all your trap! How could you have so many jewels if you have not stolen. I will check the authenticity of each jewel and personally ask all the nobles if there was a theft in their palaces in the past few days!!" Gabriella mumbled with rage. Her eyes were shining like crazies. 

She had never been humiliated all her life, but this was the epitome of it.

"I will not let you go so easily, Evangeline!" she promised in a cold voice, but before she could speak further. Leo moved from his place and stood in front of evan.

Though he did not say a word, his cold eyes were enough to pass the message. A single step towards Evan and he would make sure that Gabriella would be the one who would suffer.

Her eyes widened and then turned cold when she felt Evan had a deeper place in Leo's heart than she had expected! She gritted her teeth and her hands clenched into a fist, but she did not say a word. 

She looked at each of them who had humiliated her today and left silently. Her rage could be felt by the pressure she was using in the clinking of her sandals. 

"I think we shall go too." Eli looked at Leo but was not able to receive any reply. The man was looking lost somewhere. But Evan nodded. She wanted to go and close her room and sleep. She did not want to do anything with these crazy people who created a show every time.

She left the room with high spirits. Walking back into the hall, she picked up the box and then left to her room with a big bright smile that was filled with the shine of gold.

Though the gold coins were not given back by Gabriella. There were too many other jewels by which Evan can spend all her life easily. 

Reaching her room, she closed the door and hugged the box to her bosom. That was the ticket of her freedom, her future's protection and a way to live a better life.

Walking in she opened the box again and looked at each of the jewels with dreamy eyes. 

"That Leo is not that bad! At least he had the conscience to fulfil his promise well." she chuckled again as the dream of her bright future started to fill in her eyes.

She jumped on the bed in glee and looked at the ceiling with a contented smile on her face.

Now all she had to do was to make an aggrieved face in the morning, and leave the palace with the excuse that she could not marry into a family where everyone would take her as a thief. She could even smell her freedom with her closed eyes, she could see all her dreams getting fulfilled.

"gurrrrr?"