Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

Elizabeth had just woken up when she heard a knock on her door. But before she could even take a step, the door started knocking incessantly. She frowned as no one in the palace could do so except Evelyn. But she was behaving properly after her last scolding.

A scowl formed on her face as the door continued to bang. But before she could open the door and scold Eve, she mumbled,

"Leo fell in love with Evangeline." making Eli dumbfounded. It took her a second to come back to her senses. She turned and entered back in her room without saying a word.

Evelyn was expecting Eli to be flabbergasted just like her. She frowned when she did not get any reaction let alone be shocked. She followed Eli in, waiting for a word or two but nothing came.

"Are you not shocked?" she could not help but ask. Though Eli was strict, she loved her siblings dearly. And Leo was like a child to her. So, her lack of reaction confused Eve.

"I am." she nodded her head with all seriousness, and Eve's face turned gossipy. But before she could say anything, Eli continued. "I am shocked at your vivid imagination. I wonder how your mind works?" The will to gossip deflated like a balloon when Eli did not believe Eve.

"But I saw Leo coming out of Evangeline's room!" she exclaimed but Eli did not even blink as she continued to look at her as if she was a fool.

"So?" Her bland reply was dowsing all the excitement of Eve but she was not ready to give up.

"What was he doing in his room at this hour?" She knew that Eli believed in Leo but that did not mean she would let her ignore the facts.

"He must be passing by. Or he would have seen her doing anything foolish again. And would have gone to reprimand her." she took a sip of water and replied nonchalantly.

"I do not think so. There was a smile on his lips." came the quick reply of Eve but Eli just shook her head.

"He must be laughing at her foolishness. Or snorting at her actions." she replied but Eve shook her head.

"But.." Eli raised her hand to stop her from giving further justifications. You should trust your brother a bit.`` she added and Eve pursued her lips. It was not like she did not trust her brother. But she had never seen that kind of smile on his face. It was just like the smile described in romance novels when the male lead met the female lead for the first time.

But she knew that there was no way that Eli would believe her and if she told her that her base of evaluation was romance novels, Eli would make sure that she would never read on in the future.

"Alright, I will only talk about it when I get the proof." Eli ignored the determined eyes of Eve and just shook her head.

"Better. Now we have work to do today. I want you to personally taste every dish made by the chefs and uniforms of the staff. I will check the decoration and sitting arrangement.

Then we both would check the gifts to be given to the guests and royal family." Eve turned serious when it came to work and nodded her head at every instruction given by her sister. After their mother passed away, Eli was the one who handled the palace and estate single handedly. She not only respects, but admires her for her wisdom and calm nature.

"Then get going. I will see you at breakfast." Eve stood up and left the room. She went straight to the dining room and ordered the chef to bring all the dishes that have been prepared and bring others as they get prepared.

She started tasting the dishes, when she saw Evan passing from there.

Evan was not able to sleep. Not because she was still worried, but after her exploration of the woods, she was hungry. She decided to drink some water to get rid of her hunger but when she looked at the jug on the table, it was empty. She sighed and stood up to fetch some water from the kitchen. But when she passed the dining hall, Eve was having an early breakfast there. She looked at her with embarrassed eyes but said nothing as she had to behave wickedly. So, she decided to avoid Eve for now. But before she could walk away, Eve called her.

"Would you like to taste some dishes with me?" her voice was calm and sweet as if she was never angry with Evan.

Evan wanted to deny, but before she could do so, her traitor stomach betrayed her again. It grumbled right at that moment to not feed it properly. She looked at her with a red face but nodded and moved towards the large table that was filled with an assortment of dishes.

She drooled looking at the variety of veg, non veg, salad, snacks and an array of desserts.

"It is for the evening tea party. I am checking the quality of the dishes and see if there is any change needed. What would you like to eat?" asked Eve calmly, though she was still angry with Evan. her stomach was churning from the will to know the truth. She knew she would not be able to let the matter go.

"Thank you." she nodded as she heard the sweet voice of Evan. She looked at the girl who sat and took a spoon to taste the pie first.

Her mother had a sweet tooth too. Her eyes softened at that thought until she remembered her main motto.

"Evangeline" she called the girl who was lost in the delicacy.

"Is the dish tasty?" she asked the girl who nodded her head with vigor.

"Evangeline?" she called again and asked with a smile, "Were you and Leo together last night?"