Hopefully, at Your Mercy - Chapter 12

Chapter 7.1

“Delinda? What’s the matter? Are you still in pain from yesterday’s incident?”

The duke rushed over to check on Delinda’s hand, his concern outweighing any reprimand for her rudeness toward Iskan, the prince and grand duke.

That was when Delinda finally snapped out of her daze.

She glanced between her father, who was anxiously inspecting her hand, and Iskan, who observed her silently, showing no emotion.

Then, she bowed her head and apologized.

“Forgive me, Your Highness. I recently held the flame of a spirit stone with my bare hands, and when our hands touched, the pain caused my discourtesy.”

Would this excuse work on him?

What if my father faces repercussions because of me?

It didn’t matter how kind his smile seemed, the man before her was one of the most powerful figures in the empire.

A member of the imperial family who wielded absolute power. He was not someone she could afford to offend or brush off so carelessly.

However, he was also the same terrifying man who had taken a life without a second thought the night before.

A ruthless murderer with power. Could anything in the world get scarier than that?

But Iskan merely smiled gently.

“It’s all right, my lady. Is your hand okay?”

He even went as far as to express concern for her.

Delinda nodded, assuring him that she was fine. But when he took a step forward to examine her hand, she instinctively took a step back.

It was an automatic reaction triggered by the horrifying memory of last night.

Iskan, however, paid no mind to her reaction. It was as if he had encountered enough people who feared him that it no longer fazed him.

“Now, shall we hear what the duke has to say? I’m curious, what do you expect to gain by putting this beautiful mansion up as collateral?”

Smoothly shifting the conversation back to the duke, Iskan confidently took his place at the head of the sofa. His demeanor made it clear he was used to being in charge of others.

“As a matter of fact, I recently came across a promising investment opportunity. After reviewing the contract… I didn’t see any particular risks… so I reached out to Your Highness for assistance…”

Once the conversation got underway, the duke began speaking carefully. Delinda also took a seat on the sofa, silently observing the discussion between her father and Iskan.

Iskan listened to the duke with a smug expression, resting his elbow on the armrest of the sofa and propping his chin on his hand.

Delinda tried to figure out what Iskan was thinking, but no matter how hard she looked, all she saw were his gentle, smiling eyes.

‘Is he letting this slide because he’s heard the rumors about how foolish the real Delinda is… or because I mentioned touching a spirit stone with my bare hands yesterday?’

Is he a man who can tolerate disrespect but has no qualms about killing?

…That doesn’t make any sense.

And would he really be so willing to lend money in a situation that was so obviously a scam?

I don’t trust him either.

‘Could he be after the mansion? Or maybe he’s working with that con-artist? But what could a prince lack that would make him resort to conning others?’

Delinda’s suspicions kept building as she observed him.

Meanwhile, the conversation between the duke and Iskan was drawing to a close, ending with the duke offering to show Iskan around the mansion.

After dismissing the knights and attendants, the duke began the tour.

They passed through the large drawing room, a corridor filled with paintings and sculptures, and continued on past a small indoor fountain and the dining room.

“Impressive.”

Iskan uttered a short remark of admiration as they entered the grand central hall in the center.

Delinda had to agree, the place looked truly extraordinary.

Up close, one could see the elegant designs on the walls were actually delicate mosaic work. Such decorations could only come from tremendous effort and wealth.

The windows stretched all the way to the ceiling and were stained in various colors. As tree branches swayed outside, their shadows cast vibrant patterns of light.

‘Wow. This is amazing!’

No wonder her father, the duke, always remained so confident, even as he was being scammed and their family was crumbling. Owning a place like this must give him that sense of security. At least they have a home.

Delinda trailed her fingers along the walls, slowly taking in the grandeur of the hall. Somewhere in the distance, it sounded like a graceful melody was playing. The place was beautiful, filled with the glory of the past.

Forgetting entirely about the duke and Iskan’s presence, she admired it as one would a precious relic.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she gazed up at a grand portrait of a beautiful woman and sensed someone behind her.

“That must be your late mother. I remember meeting her once when I was young.”

Delinda jolted in surprise, her shoulders tensing.