For Your Failed Unrequited Love

His eyes alternated between Lucy and the man standing in front of her.
His forehead was covered with sweat.
Then he stood up straight and opened his mouth.

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“Father.”

Father?

Lucy looked back at the man.
It was not easy to recognize because he was skinny like a skull, but come to think of it, he has a strange resemblance to Felix.
He wasn’t Wayne Millard; he was Duke Arthur Berg.

The duke looked at his son and opened his mouth with an indifferent face.

“What’s going on, Felix? I’m sure there are still guests left to serve.”

At his words, Felix turned to Lucy.
His eyes, which looked deep blue in the dark, were shaking finely.

“…… Lucy.
Rosé is looking for you.
Go down to the first floor.”

She doesn’t know why, but he looks nervous.
Desperately pretending to be fine, only the slight twitching around his mouth seemed impossible to hide.

Lucy realized that the Duke of Berg was staring at his son, and now he was looking at her.
There was a strange curiosity on his face, which had never contained any emotions.
She had an ominous feeling.
She thought of getting out of here quickly.
Lucy bowed slightly to the duke and turned to leave the terrace.

“Wait.”

However, a heavy and cold voice from behind her stopped her steps.
Lucy couldn’t move anymore and froze in her seat.

“You should take this.”

When Lucy turned around, she picked up the paper the duke was holding.
It was her sponsorship application and transcript.

“Oh…….”

Lucy dared not look up at him and approached the duke.

“Excuse me, Duke.”

She murmured in a low voice and reached out to the paper.
But as soon as she caught it, Lucy felt the chills spreading all over her body.
The duke put strength in his grip on the papers.

Lucy, who was confused by his mysterious behavior, tried again.
But still the duke did not let go of the paper.

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“Why are you looking for a sponsor?”

On Lucy’s top of the head, an ice-cold voice fell.
She raised her head with a tense face.

“Yes?”

“Why are you looking for a sponsor?” asked the duke repeatedly.
Lucy replied, trying to conceal her confusion.

“……I have to get my own tuition.”

“Why does a noble lady go around looking for her own tuition? Has your family gone bankrupt?”

The duke looked into Lucy’s sponsorship application after muttering a question or a word to himself with an unknown smile around his mouth.

“Lucy Keenan… Keenan… That’s a name I’ve never heard of.
Are you a marginal aristocrat?”

“No, Duke.
I’m not an aristocrat.”

The duke’s eyes narrowed at Lucy’s answer.
Soon there was a deeper smile around his mouth.
It was an ominous and eerie smile.

He wasn’t looking at Lucy now.
Before she knew it, his sharp eyes had shifted to Felix, who was standing behind him.

“I see.
A commoner.”

The duke muttered, looking at his son.

It was only a few minutes since they met, but Lucy didn’t like the duke.
This man was the father of the Berg twins, but he has no resemblance between Felix and Adrian.

“She’s Adrian’s junior in the book club.”

Felix said in a calm voice as if he had regained his composure.

“I was invited to attend by Adrian.”

“Really?”

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The duke replied, amused.
He had been holding Lucy’s application all along, and seemed unwilling to return it.
Lucy just decided to give up the document.
At this point, she thought it would be good to go back to the banquet hall.

“Excuse me, Duke.”

Lucy bowed again, then turned around.
He looks like a dangerous person.
Lucy thought, who felt uncomfortable the whole time she was standing facing the duke.
Somehow, she didn’t want to be in this position anymore.

“If you need support, the Berg family will do it for you.”

“Father.”

It was Felix, rather than Lucy, who responded to the duke’s unexpected suggestion first.
He plodded up in front of the duke and continued.

“Wayne Millard has already decided to be Lucy’s sponsor.”

“But that’s not what this lady told me just now.”

The duke looked at his son and said with a relaxed smile.

“She’s talking about sponsorship as if nothing had been decided.
She also gave me an application.
Isn’t that right?”

The duke shifted his gaze and looked at Lucy.
Lucy couldn’t open her mouth with the piercing gaze and just swallowed her saliva.

“I accept this sponsorship request.”

While holding up the sponsorship application, the duke spit out surprising words in a calm tone.
Lucy had no idea how things were going.
Why does the duke suddenly want to support her?

In addition, Felix’s expression was unusual.
He looked as desperate as if his father had sentenced him to death.

“Well….duke.”

“Don’t say refused.”

The duke gave Lucy no time to speak.
He went on looking through her transcript.

“Your grades are very good.
Not once did you miss the top spot.
I don’t think you’ve been trained by a decent tutor.”

Are you serious?

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Unable to understand the duke’s intentions, Lucy’s lips stiffened.

“It is also my job to find talented people and help them not to be frustrated in the face of economic difficulties.”

She couldn’t tell if what he was saying was sincere or if he had other ulterior motives.
It was natural for a rich and talented aristocrat to say, but somehow the reluctant aura he secretly exudes seemed to say that she shouldn’t believe what he said.

“So don’t refuse.
Besides, you seem like a junior my son is taking care of.”

“……Yes, Duke.
Adrian-sunbae helped me in many ways.
He’s been working hard to find me a sponsor here.
So, you don’t have to help me.”

“The son I’m talking about is not that son.”

As he said so, the duke smiled softly at Felix.

“I’ll write the sponsorship contract in my office.”

The duke’s tone was determined and there was something coercive that made it difficult for the other party to refuse.
Lucy tried to say something more, but the duke stepped out of the terrace first.

Of course, the most important thing for Lucy tonight was to get a safe supporter.
That was the first, the priority.

So, it may be natural to rejoice at this moment when the Duke of Berg, the wealthiest man in the Beros Empire, willingly offered to be his patron.

In addition, as Rosé said in the carriage, she could have established herself in an influential position in the capital thanks to the duke’s support after graduation.

But Lucy somehow felt scared.
She has never met anyone so cold and scary as the Duke of Berg.

“Lucy.”

Felix, who did not leave the terrace with the duke, called her with a face still uneasy. 

“Get the backing of Wayne Millard.”

His voice sounded nervous.
Seeing his attitude like that, Lucy became uneasy.
Just as Felix was about to say something, another man appeared on the terrace.
It was an old man with his whole hair white, but standing with his back straight.

“Young master.”

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“Rayleigh.”

An old man called Rayleigh came into the terrace and stood toward Lucy.
He bowed politely.

“Hello, miss.
I’m Rayleigh Phillegman, the butler of the Berg’s mansion.”

He pointed politely to the big door at the end of the hall and said,

“The duke is waiting in the office.”

She had no intention of signing the contract, so it seemed she needed to give the duke another refusal.
Lucy passed Felix and followed the butler’s instructions.

As she walked into the office, Rayleigh said, stopping Felix from following her.

“You have to finish the reception on the first floor.”

Felix tried to refute something, but the door closed coldly in his face.
Inside the office, the Duke of Berg was sitting at his desk.
And a slender man Lucy had never seen before stood next to him.
It was a tall, thin, mottled blond man.

This must be Wayne Millard.

A man who she had been searching so much stood next to the duke’s desk.
He saw Lucy entering the office and smiled broadly.
Although he looked subtly like Rose, he was a person who showed a gentler impression.

“Oh, Lucy Keenan!”

He strode up and asked Lucy for a handshake in a friendly manner.

“My name is Wayne Millard, the owner of the Wayne guild.
I heard from Rosé, and while I was looking for Miss Keenan, I heard that the Duke of Berg will be sponsoring you?”

“No, that’s…….”

Lucy wanted to deny it, but Wayne shook Lucy’s hand with a happy face.

“As soon as I heard about Ms.
Keenan from Rosé, I thought she was a very commendable student.
So, I really wanted to sponsor you, but if the duke will, I’ll take a step back.
There is nothing more glorious and reassuring than being sponsored by the Duke of Berg.”

Then she whispered in Lucy’s ear.

“The door to success is wide open.”