409: GOSSIP-GUY

GOSSIP-GUY

Veronica came out of the carriage and looked at the huge mansion in the west territory of Tybu.

Ovior, Zinnia, Darius, Felix, Sebastian and most certainly the host himself came out of the long carriage. 

Arthur teleported them to the western territory.

They looked at the palace before them. It was huge enough to compete with the Royal Palace of Tybu.

In front of the palace was a wide green valley. Behind the palace was the largest rose garden Veronica had ever seen.

"Wait a second. This place looks familiar," Darius mentioned all of a sudden. 

"Did you come here before?" Veronica asked him.

"No, but I heard from an informant about the largest rose garden in Tybu. I think this is the place. This is the western territory, isn't it?"

"Correct. This is indeed the largest rose garden in the world," Arthur admitted.

Darius stated, "But then, this place belongs to the Murderous Mad Duke!"

"Murderous Mad Duke? Sounds ominous." Veronica touched her chest.

Darius went into the gossip mood. "There is a reason behind it. He is the cruelest man at war. He mercilessly kills his opponent. He is super swift. Also, there is other news about his cruelty.

"He kidnapped a noblewoman and kept her captive in his castle. He didn't want her to die in boredom. So, he asked the gardeners to make a rose garden so that she could watch the roses from the room she was locked into."

"How ferocious? What about the girl's family? The poor girl must be scared." Veronica was sympathetic.

"Of course, the woman's family and her fiancé's family came to rescue her but who could win against the murderous Mad Duke?"

Veronica gasped in shock. "Oh, no! She was engaged?! What a vicious duke!"

"At least the woman's family members were untouched. They were just slightly injured."

"So, he went easy on them because of the girl then. But why does it matter? She is still held captive."

Veronica stared at the rose garden from afar and then looked down.

After hearing the story from Darius, the rose garden didn't look appealing anymore.

Arthur looked at her expression and pulled her hand. "Don't be sad. The Murderous Mad Duke isn't as bad as you think."

Veronica raised her head to see his face. "But is it a lie that he kidnapped a girl who was engaged?"

Arthur's reply was rather late. "…It's not."

"Then he is a bad guy, isn't he?"

"There is always a reason behind one's actions. Let's not judge people by what idiots have to say," Ovior calmly said as he walked past them.

"Hey! Who are you calling idiots?" Darius yelled from behind.

"Someone knows that he is an idiot," Ovior muttered.

"Hey!!"

Darius strode forward and suddenly halted in his tracks as the main doors of the castle opened. 

A fifty-year-old man came out wearing a formal uniform. Behind him were maids in two rows. Everyone was bowing their heads.

"Master, welcome home." The butler bowed toward Ironin.

Veronica: "…"

Darius: "!!!"

Zinnia: "…"

Felix: "???"

Sebastian: "… … …"

Five pairs of eyes turned toward Ironin. Ironin walked forward and gave a small nod to the butler.

Darius finally found his voice back, "No way, Ironin is the Murderous Mad Duk– kuff!"

He couldn't finish his sentence since Zinnia elbowed the lower left of his chest. Her elbow hit his lower ribcage and it throbbed.

Veronica turned into stone. Arthur noticed that and hid his smile. He touched her hand and pulled her forward. "Come."

They went inside. Veronica looked up and held her breath. It was a breathless sight. She had never seen such gorgeous interior design in her entire life.

The inside of the castle was made of white and gray marble stones. All decorated picture frames, showpieces, chandeliers, light holders, and statues were made of gold.

Except for having a chessboard-designed marble floor, the carpet was pure black Kashmir. The edges of the carpet were embroidered with golden fiber.

The butler smiled warmly at the guests and said, "Welcome, esteemed guests. You are precious friends of our Master. Our Master may not have said it but he is very happy to have you here and so are we. We have heard so many stories about you."

"You heard about us?" Zinnia took a quick glance at Ironin who was still walking. "There is no way Ironin told you about us."

"No, he didn't but I did." The blond-haired woman came down the stairs with a sweet smile on her face.

She was the same woman Darius flirted with and later got hit by Ironin.

Ironin's wife. 

And…

"The kidnapped bride…" Darius whispered.

Veronica gulped. She was the Murderous Mad Duke aka Ironin's bride who was someone else's would-be wife, but he kidnapped her and imprisoned her.

The 'kidnapped bride' hugged Ironin and kissed his face.

The so-called kidnapped fiancée of someone else didn't seem to be held captive at all.

Those who didn't know their real relationship stared at them with dumbstruck expressions.

"Wait! Ironin, didn't you kidnap her? Why are you two so lovey-dovey?"

Darius couldn't hold back his curiosity and shot his mouth.

The gorgeous woman laughed when she heard his question while Ironin turned around and glared at him.

The lady replied, "That's a long story. You will be hearing the story later on. Welcome to our house. I've wanted to meet you all for a long time. In the end, the opportunity came. I'm so glad that I can finally invite you to our house. Please make yourself at home."

"Thank you for having us." Veronica came forward with a smile. "I'm Veronica."

"I'm Jenette. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Veronica." Lady Jenette gave her a slight bow.

Veronica hurriedly stated, "Oh, please call me Veronica. No need for formalities between us."1

"As you wish, Veronica. Call me Jenette as well."

Zinnia came forward and introduced herself, "Jenette, I'm–"

"Zinnia, I know." Lady Jenette sweetly smiled at them. Her blue eyes curved like a pair of half-moons. "And you must be Ovior, Arthur, Felix, Sebastian and… Darius. Did I get your names correctly?"

At her accurate answer, everyone was stunned.

"How?!"

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