Chapter 57 - 56: Stay Away From Him

Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Stay Away From Him

"..."

The word "girlfriend" not only stunned the man but also froze the maid behind them, who had been trying to step forward and lead Lilia away.

Yet the girl smiled brightly, as if completely unaware of the bombshell she had just dropped.

"...Girlfriend." The man scoffed. "If you really were his girlfriend, you would have come back with him today instead of being here... all alone like a thieving rat.

"I don’t care who you are. Get lost. Stay away from me, and stay out of that guy’s sight."

The man’s words were merciless, his tone dripping with disgust.

Before Lilia could say anything in response, the maid behind her spoke up first. "Your Grace! Miss Sifris is only here as a guest..."

"Shut up."

The man shot a vicious glare her way, and the maid instantly fell silent.

TAP.

Lilia took a step back, capturing the man’s full attention. "You seem to care a lot about Lucian.

"However, in all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never heard him mention anything about you."

The girl tilted her head, her expression innocent. "I thought his father had died a long time ago."

Behind them, the maid’s eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t expected such a well-behaved and adorable girl to "unintentionally" say something so devastating.

She tried to step forward several times but was deterred by Duke Williams’ oppressive gaze, her mind spinning in panic.

Duke Williams’ gaze toward Lilia grew increasingly dangerous.

After a long moment, he sneered. "It’s still unclear whether you’re even his girlfriend. Do you really think I care about what you have to say?"

"Of course I’m Lucian’s girlfriend." The girl puffed out her chest proudly. "We even went on a date not too long ago."

"A date? Where to?" The man smiled without reaching his eyes. "I don’t recall that guy liking to go out."

"That’s because you don’t know him," Lilia smiled. "Actually, he’s very talkative and patient. He spent the whole day walking with me around the department store in the East District.

"He knows a lot. No matter what questions I had, he could always give me an answer. And..."

At this point, the girl seemed a bit shy, her long, curly eyelashes fluttering slightly. "And he also protected me from Marquis Marlo."

Her voice was soft, yet incredibly sweet.

She looked like a little girl who had just gotten a piece of candy and couldn’t wait to show it off, her heart and eyes brimming with affection.

Seeing her expression, Duke Williams frowned deeply.

However, what he cared about more was that familiar name.

"...Marquis Marlo?" Duke Williams asked in a deep voice. "He’s in Lien now?"

As expected.

He had taken the bait.

Lilia revealed a faint smile.

Duke Williams indeed knew something... Her investigation was heading in the right direction.

The girl lifted her head, still hopelessly immersed in the memories of her perfect boyfriend. "Yes. I heard he’s a Marquis of Ovis, but even facing someone in such a high position, Lucian didn’t hesitate to shield me.

"Doesn’t that prove how important I am to him?"

Duke Williams fell speechless.

"He was willing to confront Declan Marlo for you..." His eyes grew a bit clearer. "Sifris. I’ve never heard of this surname."

"I’m a maid for the Beaumont family," Lilia answered, still completely unguarded.

"A maid?" Duke Williams sneered.

He didn’t believe for a second that a maid was worth Lucian doing all of that.

"So it’s Beaumont..." The man scrutinized Lilia’s face.

Innocent, pure-hearted, her beautiful eyes filled with adoration—it looked as though she would rip out her own heart and hand it to Lucian if he just asked.

Duke Williams took a deep breath. "Stay away from him."

"Why?" The girl was unexpectedly stubborn. "We like each other, and I want to know more about him.

"Has Lucian been to Ovis before? He seems to really like the food there."

Hearing this, Duke Williams furrowed his brow even tighter.

"Laura," the man said, looking up at the maid behind them. "Take her away."

"Yes, Your Grace!"

THUD.

With a soft sound, the master bedroom door was pulled shut once more, shutting the exceptionally persistent girl outside.

The maid, who had been standing stiffly in place, finally found an opening. She took two steps and arrived in front of Lilia. "Miss Sifris, please follow me downstairs."

Lilia didn’t reply.

She stared at the closed door, a theory gradually forming in her mind.

Ovis.

Lucian had been to Ovis before, and he had stayed there for a long time.

This seemed to be a highly sensitive piece of information for Duke Williams; otherwise, he wouldn’t have reacted so strongly when she mentioned the place.

"Miss Sifris..."

The maid Laura’s voice rang out again.

She probably thought Lilia was sad, so a comforting undertone seeped into her voice. "Actually, His Grace doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just... just not used to getting along with people..."

Even she didn’t believe her own words.

From the beginning until now, the reason she kept trying to take Lilia downstairs was out of fear that the Duke might have a drunken outburst and hurt someone. ℯℯ𝑙.

Although the Duke seemed unusually sober today... she still didn’t want to see Lilia get hurt.

The girl finally snapped back to reality and gave her a faint smile. "I’m fine."

"That’s good." The maid also smiled, asking cautiously, "Shall I take you downstairs?"

"Yes, thank you for your trouble."

...

Lilia didn’t stay at the Duke Williams Mansion for too long.

Lucian could come back at any time. Although he had silently permitted her investigation, Lilia didn’t want him to find out she had been here.

It would make her seem highly unprofessional.

It was getting late. Lilia politely declined the maid’s offer to walk her back, and the maid didn’t insist. Instead, she packed some cookies in a clean cloth bag for Lilia, telling her to eat them on the way if she got hungry.

It felt like she was feeding a small animal.

The two parted ways at the entrance of the Duke Mansion. Lilia had only taken a few steps before she turned back and asked, "Laura?"

"Is there anything else, Miss Sifris?"

"Does the Duke not like me?" Lilia thought of the last thing Duke Williams had said to her.

—Stay away from him.

If the setting hadn’t been inappropriate, Lilia genuinely suspected he would have tossed a bank card at her and said, "There’s five million in here. Leave my son."

"Not at all, Miss Sifris. You’re so kind and adorable, how could anyone not like you?" The maid hesitated for a moment before finally telling the truth. "His Grace is just... very harsh when it comes to anything related to Young Master Lucian."