Chapter 98: The Duke Is Cooking
The parchment was scorched heavily at the edges, and it had some heavy stink seeped into it, that Evelina wasn’t familiar with.
Her eyes scanned the faded lines until her gaze locked onto a deeply stamped royal crest that didn’t belong to this kingdom.
And underneath it was a name she hadn’t mentioned or heard in years, in both her lifetimes.
Silver Snow.
The person behind this name was more stunning than the name itself.
Evelina had faint impressions of the woman in the most graceful red dresses, eyes that reflected the deep forests and a smile that could melt the freezing snow in the entire empire.
She was young when her mother was executed for infidelity and after that incident, she had mentioned her mother many times.
But each time, the punishment would be more severe than the time before. So Evelina grew timid.
Afraid of the pain and afraid of incurring her father’s wrath, she stopped mentioning her mother’s name.
But that did not do much in her favor. Her father still hated her deep down and it took her an entire life to understand that. He loved Selene.
But everytime he looked at her, his face reflected a hint of malice he could barely contain.
In this life, Evelina concluded the real reason behind it being that she resembled her mother too much.
Although she came to the realization, she had never acknowledged it before. She had made her peace with it.
But right now, as she looked at the parchment in her hand, Evelina’s world shifted slightly.
The parchment in her hand was a map and from what it pointed out, the Snow Family in the kingdom of Aurelia was non-existent.
Because the surname ’Snow’ did not belong to her father Baron Snow. But rather, it was the true surname of her mother.
And the real Snow family resided in an ancient dynasty across the great seas.
Written across the map were a few words that made Evelina’s blood freeze: Silver Snow has been dealt with.
[New Mission: The Mystery Lady]
[Objective: Infiltrate the Jade Dynasty, establish a new base of power, and uncover the truth about Silver Snow]
[Potential Reward: 900,000 Gold, Passive Skill: Ghost Routes & 1 Hidden Reward (To be revealed soon)]
A hurried knock broke the silence of the study.
One of the servants stepped inside, looking completely pale and out of breath.
"Your Grace," the servant gasped, bowing frantically. "We... we have a situation in the estate kitchen. The Great Duke has locked the head chefs out. He insists on preparing your meal himself, and the staff can barely stop him!"
Evelina paused.
"Tell him not to bother," Evelina said nonchalantly, "Inform the Duke that we are leaving immediately. We must return to the North."
Meanwhile, down in the estate kitchen, the air was thick with tension.
Ace stood by the grand prep station, his tall and broad figure looking completely out of place among the silver pots and pans.
He had a high-end cookbook propped open in front of him.
Following every instruction meticulously, he had already prepared half the dishes himself, cutting the ingredients to perfect uniform sizes.
At this moment, the door creaked open, and the trembling head servant walked in, swallowing hard, "Y-Your Grace... the Duchess sends her word. She is not eating. She orders the carriages to be packed immediately for your return to the North."
Ace stopped mid-motion.
"She isn’t eating?" Ace rumbled, his face darkening.
The look on his face nearly made the kitchen staff drop to their knees in terror.
They looked at the perfect meal he had spent so long preparing for her, "Your Grace, the food..."
"Take all of it and throw it to the strays," Ace ordered coldly, wiping his hands on a cloth without a shred of emotion, " If she doesn’t want it, it’s trash."
The servants shivered but obeyed the commands instantly.
...
The carriage finally crossed the border, officially entering the North.
The shift in the air was instant.
While the capital was choking under a miserable frost, the Alvarez Duchy was absolutely thriving.
From the very edge of the border all the way to the castle gates, elite northern soldiers lined the roads, standing perfectly straight to guard the glorious return of their Duke and Duchess.
When the grand carriage finally pulled into the castle’s central courtyard, Evelina looked out the window.
The sheer scale of the people standing to welcome them caught her completely off guard.
Standing at the front was Head Steward Henderson, his posture perfectly straight, flanked by the now-head maid Marta and a long line of estate servants.
Next to them stood the Duke’s second-in-command, Marcus, alongside the elite soldiers of the northern vanguard.
Even the members of the Northern Council, the Master Smith, and the Head Architect were present, all dressed in their finest formal northern attire to give them a grand welcome.
They all bowed deeply the moment Ace and Evelina crossed the threshold, her gloved hand placed in his.
Right at this moment, a deafening roar of cheering echoed from just beyond the castle gates.
Evelina paused.
She and Ace turned simultaneously toward the noise.
Outside the courtyard walls, a massive crowd had gathered at some point.
The sea of people stretched so far behind the manor, back into the city streets that no visible end could be found.
Men, women, and children were cheering, waving banners, and tossing winter flowers into the air.
Evelina blinked, completely taken aback, "Henderson," her voice carried a touch of confusion, "why are there so many people outside? Did a military division return?"
Henderson bowed deeply again with a proud smile sweeping across his face, "No, Your Grace. They are here for you."
"For me?" Evelina asked.
In her past life, people had visited the castle gates in grand waves like this, but it was always during the Duke’s major victories on the battlefields.
The citizens would line up to admire Ace, throwing wreaths and singing songs of the God of War.
Evelina had always been an invisible wallflower in the background, never once expecting a single voice to call out for her.
"I don’t understand," Evelina murmured, more to herself than anyone else, "Why?"
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