Chapter 26
Her gentle brown eyes, shimmering with tears of embarrassment, wandered without focus.
‘So even a pervert knows shame.’
Without realizing it, Dominic found his gaze fixed on her small lips as he continued his interrogation.
“And when did these antisocial thoughts of yours begin?”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
“You said you look forward to seeing wealthy, powerful men lose everything. You said as much to Chloe. Are you going to deny that too?”
“W-What? Me? No! I never—”
She broke off as the memory suddenly resurfaced.
‘I look forward to watching men with immense wealth and power destroy themselves through their own bad choices.’
But I was talking about the scumbags in trashy romance novels!
“Well, that’s not what I meant…In the novel, there’s this scum—no, this man—and I just like stories where men like that get what’s coming to them… I definitely, definitely, never meant anything about real life. Never.”
The moment the explanation left her mouth, she realized how it sounded. Even to her own ears, it came across as something beyond merely antisocial. It was positively unhinged. The look Dominic gave her was no longer one of contempt. It had become something closer to bewilderment.
“…So, is that all you have to say?”
“I’m truly sorry. Under the circumstances, it’s obvious I’ll only be a bad influence on Lady Chloe, so I’ll resign.”
Oddly enough, the thought of leaving Whitmore Manor made her feel lighter. At the very least, the Duke wouldn’t spread rumors that Irene Vanderberg was an irredeemable pervert. Doing so would inevitably cast unwanted suspicion on Chloe Whitmore as well.
“Haa…”
Covering his eyes with one large hand, Dominic let out a long, weary sigh before calling to her in a low voice.
“Miss Vanderberg.”
“Yes?”
“Could you at least try to hide that perverted side of yourself?”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand…”
“I mean, while you’re staying here, couldn’t you exercise a little restraint and behave like a proper lady?”
Irene frowned. What is he talking about? I just offered to resign. Don’t tell me… He isn’t planning to fire me?
Regardless of what the duke was thinking, Irene had already made up her mind. Now that she’d been exposed as both a depraved pervert and a complete psychopath, she had no desire to keep working in this manor while enduring his contempt.
“I’m sorry. How should I put this… Well, you could call it instinct. Your Grace knows how it is, doesn’t he? The more you try to suppress something, the more likely it is to burst out. So I’d rather leave cleanly.”
“I can’t very well dismiss you unless you’re actually an anarchist.”
“No. I recommended trashy novels to Lady Chloe, so I intend to take responsibility by resigning.”
“Chloe has only just started to come out of her shell. She talks far more during meals now.”
“No, I’m saying I’m resigning.”
“She even raised her voice by the pond. She’s changed a great deal.”
“Your Grace? I’m resigning. Would you please listen to me…?”
At some point, Dominic had folded his arms across his chest. His eyes swept over her from head to toe. For some reason, it all made her feel uneasy.
“So I appeared in your dream?”
“…Well, yes, but—”
“And how often do you have dreams like that?”
“What? I-I don’t really know… W-Why?”
Receiving only a lukewarm answer, Dominic abruptly turned and walked over to his desk. He opened the coverless novel, read a few lines, then frowned deeply and let out a long sigh.
“Miss Irene Vanderberg.”
His resolute gaze slowly settled on her. Wait, why is he looking at me like that?
“If that’s the sort of thing you’re after, then I’ll handle it personally. From now on, as for Chloe and these trashy books—”
“Ah! No! No, please don’t say another word! Absolutely not! You’ve completely misunderstood! Really… I’ll just resign!”
The instant her heart plummeted for an entirely different reason, Irene let out a shriek.
Thump. Dominic tossed the coverless novel onto the desk and glared at her in irritation.
“I told you that wasn’t an option.”
“Th-Then I’ll endure it. I really will. No matter what happens, I’ll just suppress it—”
“I thought you said the more you suppress it, the more it’ll explode.”
“Th-That’s…!”
Caught in her own contradiction, Irene could only open and close her mouth soundlessly.
His eyes lingered for a moment on those flushed red lips. Then, without the slightest change in expression, Dominic picked up the two trashy novels and walked over to her, holding them out.
“…I need to clear my head a bit today, too.”
“You don’t have to. You really don’t…”
“We’ll continue this discussion later.”
And just like that, Irene left the duke’s study with <Miss Lamour’s Scandalous Secret> and the coverless copy of <Lady Scarlet’s Secret Hobby> cradled in her arms, wearing the hollow, defeated expression of someone who no longer had the faintest idea what had just happened.
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