As Long As You Are Happy

, who found herself unexpectedly holding a glass, blinked. 

“Use this hand.”

As he spoke, the Duke of Winfried pulled off one of Rhett’s hands which had been clasped over her mouth. 

“To pinch your nose and drink the water.”

“… L-like this?”

Rhett stared at her awkwardly pinched nose 

“Tighter.”

“Ah, yes… Hick!”

Was this tight enough? The moment she pinched her nose so tightly she couldn’t breath, the Duke of Winfried bent over and leaned closer.
With this strange position he had placed them in, what on earth was he trying to make her do? 

When Rhett looked up at the duke warily, the Duke of Winfried glanced at the glass of water and nodded.

‘He’s telling me to drink it, right?’

But could she even drink water like this? But her agonising was only temporary.
As soon as she noticed the duke seemingly asking her why she wasn’t drinking with his eyes, Rhett gulped down the water at one go. 

“… Cough!”

This time, she choked. Cough, cough! Water spilled with her every cough. 

“Aigoo, miss!”

Delphia quickly ran towards her before patting Rhett’s back.
Rhett’s eyes filled with tears as she coughed. 

Why was he making her do this? Why did she cling onto the duke for dear life? Was it because she had offended him by thinking that this was Baron Barrodon’s estate?

With her face as red as a tomato and tears hanging onto the corner of her eyes, Rhett glanced at the duke who was standing in front of her and staring down at her. 

His expression looked grave. 

She did not know why.
Her mind started spinning.
Continuing to pat her back, Delphia spoke.

“Her hiccups stopped.”

“… Ah?”

The hiccups that had been tormenting her just earlier had disappeared. 

Rhett sat there blinking. 

Was it because she had drunk water in a strange position? Or did they put something special in the duchy’s water? 

Whatever it was, she felt as though she could finally live when the hiccups that had been choking her disappeared. 

… It seems like her plan to not offend the Duke of Winfried had been ruined. 

“Your hand.”

She might have hung her head in a daze but his voice washed over her head. 

“Why did you hurt your hand?”

The space between the duke’s brows wrinkled. 

“It smells like blood too.”

“What happened was, your grace.”

Delphia sounded troubled. 

“I-I was responsible.”

Rhett raised her head before making eye contact with the Duke of Winfried. 

“I was the one responsible.
I thought this was Baron Barrodon’s estate…”

“Barrodon?”

The Duke of Winfried asked.
Did he really not know him? Baron Barrodon was a wealthy man who had lived in a fairly large mansion near the slums.
He even owned some nice shops in the downtown area. 

So, there was no one around her who had not heard of his name. 

But, on this day alone, she met two people who hadn’t heard of him. 

“Who is that?”

“I don’t know him either.
Should I find out who he is?”

“No.”

The Duke of Winfried shook his head when he heard Delphia’s reply.
No matter who Baron Barrodon was, he was not someone the duke found the need to put in effort to learn. 

The baron should be the one to approach the duke to introduce himself. 

The duke only found the need to know and feel the urge to approach a few people. 

And one of them was the woman sitting in front of him now. 

“Your grace?”

Rhett sat there blinking.
Why were they looking at her like that? She was getting scared.
For some reason, she could feel a heavy stone land in her chest which prompted her to press her hand against her stomach. 

‘Did I do something wrong?’

“You must have questions for me.”

“Ah.”

Upon hearing the duke’s voice, she straightened her posture.
She did have questions.
Too many. 

That made it harder to ask any so casually. 

What should she ask? Why did he bring me here? Why did he save her from Ben?

Or why did he promise to protect me? Should she ask that first? 

As Rhett agonised over her dilemma, the Duke of Winfrey’s gaze turned to Delphia. 

“Delphia, tea.”

“Yes!”

Springing up out of reflex, Delphia froze as though she was still processing the command she had just heard. 

“Uhm, your grace.
I’m sure it’s already on its way, you already know that…”

Unlike her usual cheerful and lively deposition, Delphia mumbled her words.
She excelled at everything else but the same could not be said about cooking. 

What was even more shameful was the fact that the mere act of tea preparation also fell under the list of what she cannot do.

“…..”

Winfried nodded as though he already knew and Delphia was prompted to exclaim ‘I’ll be back soon’ before rushing out the door. 

“Ah.”

Rhett inhaled sharply as she stared at the door that had been closed shut.
She wanted her to stay.
She was scared to be alone with him. 

“I’m here to explain why I brought you here.”

In the meantime, the duke walked away before burying himself into the sofa.
The two sat across a low table and faced each other.

“Let me introduce myself first.
I am Rogan Winfried.
The Duke of Winfried and the one who owns the Order of the Winfried Duchy.”

“Ah, hello…”

She should introduce herself too, right? 

However, Rogan had continued speaking nonchalantly before Rhett could finish worrying. 

“The reason I was looking for you and brought you here is because you are the daughter of Azen and Leira.”

“Azen and… Leira?”

Rhett muttered their names in spite of herself.
Azen, Leira.
They were names she had never heard of before.

“Those are your parents’ names.”