Please support the work with power stones!
" Ah is this not Miss Jerk?" said the Duke with a smile that was tinged with both amusement and arrogance. He tilted his head when Ginny looked away and smirked with an evil glint twinkling in his eyes as he raised one of his brows. " What's wrong, Miss Jerk? Don't tell me that you have forgotten about me, my poor little heart would hurt a bit too much."
Ginny mentally thought of several ways to kill the duke as she took in a breath and looked at the man in front of her. She didn't say anything and for once she was glad that she was passing herself as a mute, it was during these times that her temporary 'muteness' came in handy.
"My lord have you met with Ginny before?" asked Greta, her eyes flickering between the two of them.
" Oh yes, a very interesting encounter." Duke Terranova mused as he smiled at Ginny who wished that she will wake up from this horrible nightmare or whatever it was because no way in hell, the world can be this damn small. " And what was even interesting is the name with which she called me, didn't you Miss Jerk?"
Ginny would have called him something worse if she could but she held that thought back and simply tried to make herself look as innocent as she could, but of course, the duke wasn't fooled in fact that teasing glint in his eyes got even wild after she tried to control her expression.
"By any chance did she…did she call you a j..jer…jerk?" Greta wasn't stupid after she heard how the Duke was addressing Ginny, she was stupefied as she turned to look at Ginny with questions swirling in her eyes. Ginny didn't dare to look at Greta, she knew that all the efforts she just wasted on Greta to make herself look pitiful and a child to be sympathised with just went down the drain.
All because of this loud-mouthed duke!
" Isn't it fascinating?" asked Duke Terranova as he smiled while resting his chin on his clenched fist. " I have been called a lot of names before but jerk that was something new for me."
Greta looked at Ginny like she was trying to figure out how she was still alive after all that. She pressed her hand on her forehead and cursed in the language that Ginny didn't understand before she turned to look at the Duke whose attention was on Ginny and Ginny alone. " I will get you a new maid, my lord. I am really sorry about this… I didn't know that Ginny..she said something so rude to you."
Ginny clenched her fingers, if she was replaced as the Duke's maid then how was she going to enter the library? That place was barred and no one other than Duke could enter that place, she needed the Duke's trust to enter that room, if not how she was going to steal the books?
She was wondering whether she should start showing off her acting skills and pretend that she was dying to work as the duke's maid but just as she raised her head to summon up the tears in her eyes to make it look like she was really heartbroken by their decision but just as she was trying to make her eyes look watery, she realised that looking at that smug face she couldn't even make herself look like she was crying much less actually cry.
Not that she was going to cry.
Looking at the duke's handsome face, Ginny couldn't help but wonder how can someone be so hateful?
Just as she was running out of options, the duke raised his hand and stopped Greta. "It's all right, I don't want you to go through the same trouble all over again." Then he turned to Ginny and with an air of someone who was doing a great favour on her added with a sigh, " I will make do with her?"
' Make do with her?' At that moment Ginny very much wanted to throw her hands at him. Make do with her? Who was he to 'make do with her?' She was the one who was the one suffering here!
An arrogant, highly narcissistic, crazy archmage—— compared to a woman who was beautiful, and would never say a word.
In fact, with her face alone she was winning over the Duke with a ten-on-ten score. And yet he was saying that he was going to make do with her?
Her cheeks flushed red as she looked at the Duke who raised his brow at her. " Are you dissatisfied?"
Dissatisfied? Of course, she was dissatisfied! But Ginny just shook her head and looked down. She bowed her head so that she didn't have to look at him but the duke didn't even give her this much amnesty instead he raised his hand and tipped her chin up. " What's wrong why not look at me, weren't you brave back then when you called me a jerk?"
Ginny called him petty inside her head as she blinked her eyes and smiled at the Duke who let go of her chin as if her skin has burned him. He wiped his hands on the robe that he was wearing and then looked at her with a glance that flipped in an instant to a cold one though he was still smiling. " All right, now that we have gotten past all that, then I should clear a few things to you, first— never lie to me, second—— I don't like anyone with deception in their hearts approaching me and lastly ——— if you are here with hidden intentions, then I need to warn you. Either you be a f*cking amazing actress and liar or walk out of the door and never return, I will give you an hour to consider this, if you chose to leave I will not come for you that's my promise."
He leaned in closer causing Ginny to retreat a few steps back and smiled eerily before pointing behind his shoulder. " Or else your end will be like that, got it?"
She looked in the direction where he was pointing and sucked in a breath.
Behind him was nothing but a pile of bones, sated and contented with the meal they just had, the wolves sat languidly behind their master.