Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

Only yesterday she was playing with kids and enjoying her carefree life. How did the castle of her life tumble down so suddenly? She could not believe that she was going to marry a stranger that was also a crude and cruel noble!

There were times when she went out with her friends only to see the haughtiness and rude behavior of nobles towards the commoners like her. They did not look towards them as humans and she was sure even if she married once, he would never love her.

Like any other girl of her age, Evangeline also has dreams of a loving marriage, a budding romance and a man who would see only her in this whole world. There was no way she would settle for a marriage that was forced on her.

She clutched her dress in her hands tightly with that thought when she heard the door of the room open. She looked back only to see a girl wearing the uniform of a servant entered.

"My lady, your highness has sent fresh clothes for you and asked me to help you in taking a bath." she replied dutifully. Her voice was neither friendly but not filled with ridicule too like she had seen on the faces of other maids.

"Aah, I can bathe myself. So, your help is not needed." said Evangeline as a commoner she had done all the household chores herself with much efficiency, much less bathing herself.

"I insist that I shall help, my lady." said the maid in a determined tone, and Evangeline sighed. Even the maids of this palace did not listen to anyone in front of themselves.

"How about I bathe myself and then you help in combing my hair?" asked Evangeline and finally the maid nodded after some consideration.

Evangeline smiled and took the dress into the bathroom which was larger than her whole house. There were bathtubs, showers and a small pool which she did not understand how it was even built inside the room. The large chandeliers that have more than hundred candles would have been able to light the whole plaza where the town folks collect and spend time.

Shaking her head, as she had nothing to do with it, she took her bath and walked out speedily wearing the luxurious dress, she did not dare ruin it. As she was sure she would not be able to pay for it.

She sat in front of the mirror as the girl braided her hair and decorated her with makeup and ornaments like she was a thing that needed to be decorated to attract her buyers.

"You are looking beautiful, my lady." complemented the main as finally Evangeline looked at her in the mirror.

She could not believe that the girl that was staring back at her was herself! Her golden hair was falling like a waterfall and her face was looking fairer than normal. Her lips were looking redder and her thin body was looking much more proportionate.

She smiled and nodded under the expectant eyes of the maid.

"Are you not hungry, my lady?" asked the maid once Evangeline was ready.

Before Evangeline could deny, her stomach grumbled. It had been more than a day since she last had the meal and her stomach had chosen this moment to protest against her.

She looked at the maid embarrassedly who was around her age.

"Why don't you come with me to the dining hall. I will serve you dinner there." she asked with a smile and Evangline nodded.

To think better, she needed all the energy she could get.

But her smile did not last long, as she noticed two young girls and the same old man on the table.

"Ah, you are finally here .we are waiting for you.'' William smiled as Evangeline entered the dining hall. Though he knew that the girl was beautiful under those rags and dirt, he had never thought that she was so beautiful!

"Evangeline, this is Elizabeth, my eldest daughter and this is Evelyn, my second daughter. They both will teach you manners and etiquettes, if there is any problem, you can always go to them." said the man with a cheery face that Evangeline really wanted to point out the darkened faces of his daughters to him.

'From which angle did he see that his daughters wanted to help me! This man is surely delusional!.' Evangeline rolled her eyes at his over enthusiasm as she took the empty seat on the other side.

"Wait! You can not sit there." said Elizabeth in a hash tone stopping her in the mid air in a very awkward posture.

"That seat belongs to our brother. You shall pick any other seat." pointed Evelyn, looking at the frowning face of Evangeline.

Evangeline frowned as she did not understand the sense to keep a seat empty even when the person was not present there. She had heard that nobles were crazy but it looked like that they were crazier than she had thought.

"It is alright, since they were going to marry anyway, it did not matter if she took her husband's seat for the dinner." said William with a smile as he saw the tense atmosphere between his family.

Both Elizabeth and Evelyn frowned hearing their father. The man who has always been strict with manners and etiquette was ready to bend the law for a girl whom they did not even know properly. They still did not understand why their brother, who was no less than a rare gem, needed to marry this country girl!

They agreed that the man had done a favor on them by saving their fathers life, but instead of marriage, money could be paid or a monthly allowance for the lifetime for this poor girl. After all, money did solve all the problems. No!?

"So, Evangeline, what do you do?" asked Elizabeth, trying to strike a conversation to assure her father, but in reality she wanted to dig more about the girl who had come to their lives out of nowhere.