The Duke's Daughter Is A Villainess (29)

Dahlia didn't wake up until the next day. When she woke, she stretched, and yawned, as if she'd just woken up from a regular night of sleep.

It wasn't until she felt a sudden weight on her legs and long arms stretch around her that she remembered what happened.

She laughed underneath the duke and Stella, who both tried to smother her with their hugs the moment she opened her eyes.

"I'm okay." She said, though it came out a bit muffled.

Stella looked as if she was about to cry, but Dahlia assured her that she felt fine. Still, Stella insisted on crawling onto Dahlia's lap and keeping close to her so that she couldn't suddenly leave her.

The duke, meanwhile, sat at Dahlia's bedside and informed her of everything that happened while she was unconscious. They caught and apprehended Anna, then killed her. Alice was eventually forced to leave the palace. No one felt comfortable keeping her employed in the palace due to what happened with her mother. It seemed now Alice really wasn't a heroine anymore.

Then, the most surprising of all, the duke announced that Dahlia now had her own personal knight. The moment he said this, Zeke stepped out from somewhere unknown and went down on his knee, swearing an oath of loyalty to Dahlia. Dahlia could only gape in shock. She was finally seeing what Zeke looked like.

He had fiery red hair and shining black eyes. In a word, he looked formidable. Certainly he seemed up to the task of protecting her, and she really didn't mind being looked after by someone so good looking.

It was a bit unnerving to know that Zeke would now be openly watching and following her every move though. It was easy to ignore when he was out of sight, and she would often forget that there was anyone watching her in the first place. But now he would be protecting her openly... she was worried she would not be able to act natural anymore, and she'd just be nervous constantly.

He was handsome, but still she'd prefer to not see him than to know he was watching after her every move.

"For the next few days don't leave, okay? And definitely don't go back to the palace. If you have to leave for town make sure you bring lots of knights with you." The duke told Dahlia, his face serious.

Dahlia sighed, but nodded. He had good reason to be worried. "Alright. I'll listen to you. But... won't the king still want to see Stella?"

"If the king wants to see Stella then he can just come here!" The duke said, indignant.

Dahlia couldn't help but laugh. If anyone else said that she's sure they'd face a horrible death, but since it was the duke, he could get away with it without any worries. Besides, Dahlia had almost been killed in the king's territory, in this sense the king kind of owed the duke.

The doctor arrived just a bit later to check up on Dahlia, and after a while she pronounced Dahlia to be completely normal. Despite the ugly looking bruises around Dahlia's throat, she was otherwise genuinely unharmed. It was strange, but the doctor simply chucked it up to good luck and prescribed a cream for the bruises before she left.

For the rest of the day Dahlia did nothing but stay in her room. The duke made sure she wasn't bored by sending in interesting books to read, and visited almost once every hour. Stella, too, came running into her room the moment one of her lessons was over. And Zeke, he just stood silently in the corner of the room, making Dahlia feel uncomfortable and tense even in her own room.

~Buddy... I really hate this.

[Host! You should've expected this! I still can't believe you made Alice's mother do that!]

~It all worked out though, didn't it? Now Alice's status is practically worth dirt, and both Noah and Lucas also seem to hate her now.

[Well, yes, but...]

~So what's the problem?

[I just don't think Anna needed to die... right?]

~Oh, Buddy... you really are so innocent. Now that she's dead, Alice will be well and truly alone. Despised by the people closest to her, left alone by her dead mother, and finally kicked out of the palace for good... isn't she at rock bottom right now? This is exactly what we've been working for!

[... Host, you really are too efficient.]

~Why thank you, Buddy. I think we make a great team, don't you?

[.... Yes...]

Buddy felt like crying once again.