"Why are you here?" Iris asked.
Fredrick did not answer. But instead, he kissed Iris's hands.
Iris tries to take back her hand, but he is more potent than her. Fredrick stands up and looks at Iris, still holding her hand.
"Did you miss me?" Fredrick asked
Iris can't speak because she did miss the guy, but the fact that he sold her annoyed her. With all her might, she took his hand away from Fredrick.
But he just smiled like he understood why Iris did that.
"I coincidentally met him when I was hunting this." Duke Echeron interrupted and showed his hunt to everyone.
It was a lion, and everybody was amazed by the beast the Duke hunted.
"I gave this beast to Lady Iris, and she can do whatever she wants with it," the Duke announced
Everybody knew it was priceless since the beast was so complex to catch, and it would be a great coat to make.
Iris blinked like she'd gotten a speck of dust in her eyes. "Duke... you don't have to do that."
"It's okay, I got that for you," duke echeron said
Fredrick, on the other hand, was uneasy. He wanted to get something good for Iris, too, but the Duke beat him to it.
Fredrick was invited by Count Ronnald to stand for him in hunting because the count was lazy. Although he was a bandit on the side, the noble knew him as a black hood merchant who sold illegal stuff and also a mercenary.
"I also got you something good, but not as good as the duke gave you," Fredrick told Iris and showed a beautiful silver fox.
Everybody was envious of Iris again, including Lady Catherine, because the silver fox is a rare beast that few people can hunt since they are already extinct.
"Hey, that's mine!" one man from the crowd shouted.
They looked in the direction where the voice came from, and they saw a fat man coming towards them.
"Count Ronnald...." Fredrick said
"That's mine!!! I hired you to hunt it for me," he said selfishly to Fredrick, letting everyone hear him rant.
"I am sorry, Count, but you hired me to hunt for you, but your hunt hasn't started yet," Fredrick pointed out, still bowing to the count in respect.
"I don't care; I still paid you," the count said stubbornly.
Fredrick was starting to get pissed with this noble, but he maintained his composure. He bows down again, trying to hide his anger.
"what if I'll get you something good?" Fredrick suggested
The count laughed and asked, "Like what?"
"A wolf, perhaps?" Frederick answered
A wolf is also a rare animal to hunt, which was challenging to capture, too.
The count gave him a very disgusting smile. "Okay, I'll let it slide this time, but don't forget your word."
The count left them with two beauties on his side. Iris just watched the scene, and she thought that count was disgusting to the point that she wanted to puke.
"That's not fair!!!" Lady Catherine yelp
"Only two people gave her those things," she said, pointing out the hunts and flowers Iris received.
"As the rules say, the person who receives the most gifts wins, but the rule did not say how many the people can give," the Duke finally said back.
The referee also agreed with the Duke, so he did not say anything since he had already announced that Iris was the winner of this round.
Lady Catherine was fuming again since she had just lost.
Then she saw another loop whole when she saw Iris and Fredrick together.
"Look at that Duke!" Lady Catherine pointed toward the direction of Iris, "She's flirting with that peasant."
Iris heard what she said and immediately distanced herself from Fredrick.
"I'm not flirting with anyone," Iris said
The Duke just smirked at Lady Catherine because he knew that Fredrick was a selfish person who only loved money more than anything, and he was the one who sold Iris to him.
The Duke knew that Fredrick and Iris did not stay together that long because they had him investigate where he found Iris.
But somehow, it made him uneasy. He doubted if Iris had a feeling for him since he remembered what Iris said a few hours ago that he was the only the second person who was kind to her. So, he has a suspicion that Fredrick was the first person.
Duke echeron hurriedly snatch Iris from Fredrick. And suddenly carried her like a princess.
Everybody was shocked that the cold Duke suddenly did that in front of everyone.
Also, Frederick felt a rage coming out from him when he saw what the Duke did, but he couldn't do anything but watch them walk away.
The servants of the Duke also retrieve the items that Iris got and deliver them to the Duke's storage.
The crowd was also starting to be dismissed, and Lady Catherine was throwing a tantrum again because she lost and was fuming with anger as she walked away with Vanessa and Clair.
Fredrick remained in his position, not moving an inch as he stared at the back of the Duke, slowly fading away from his sight.
"My lord, do we still continue the plan?" Maria said, appearing on the back of Fredrick.
"yes," he answered as he clenched his fist.
At night, another banquet was held again at the Marquis Manor, but Iris was not feeling well and told the Duke she wouldn't come and just sleep tonight; she also said that she was tired and wanted to rest.
The Duke did not argue much because he also had plans for tonight. He left Iris in her room and started to head to the banquet.
Iris is lying on her bed when suddenly a.
(knock)
The sound of a knock came from Iris's balcony. She rose from her bed and looked around. She rubbed her eyes to see clearly since everything was blurry.
(knock knock)
Iris heard another knock. She stood up and sauntered to the balcony. She saw a man in a black hood staring and smiling at her.
"Who----"