Evil Duke, Please Be Gentle!

"Father, will you please listen to me?" Eve could not help but shout. She had been sitting in his office for long but all he was doing was announcing orders like

"Write a letter of the emperor informing him that we are imprisoning the envoy of the Arcedian empire."

"And write another letter to his family announcing his sin and its punishment. If they want him back, they have to wage a war against their family." it was such a mess that she wanted to pull all her hair and so did her father's!

Was announcing war against the emperor not enough when Eli did not return that he was announcing the war against the neighboring empire now? How would she explain to her in-laws later about what had happened.

"Father, don't you think it is too much? You can not wage a war against everyone? You are not that strong?" she challenged when finally leo and william turned to look at her.

"We have more than 500 knights and more wealth than the emperor. And if we want, we can ask the first of knights to support us too as their commander." alright, they have the power. But so what?

"But that does not mean you can put all of their life in danger because you did not want your daughter to marry.

Chris is a good man, and I like him. He just proposed to me so i ki.."

"Evelyn Meliane Thawyne, have you forgotten who you are talking to? You are not allowed to marry him. He is not from this empire.

If you ask me to marry you, even a commoner, I would do that but I will not marry you to another empire. Do you not know the rules of the empire? Huh?" His harsh and cold tone made her flinch and her head lowered automatically.

The aura his father was leaving was too much for her to bear, she felt like she could not take breath at all. It was too suffocating.

"But father!"

"Go back to your room. We will talk about it later." She stared back at Leo hoping he would help her. When he had fallen in love she had supported him a lot but he looked away.

".........." anger rose in her heart. She could understand their worries but that did not mean that she could let them control her life. She wanted to marry the man whom she loved. What was so wrong in it?

"No! I will not marry anyone else but him. If not.."

"You can stay unmarried all your life then for all I care. But you can not marry him." William cut her in between as he stared at Leo who signed but took steps towards Eve and held her hands.

She glared back at him with all the force as tears started to make her visions blurry and she felt choked on her own saliva.

She struggled when he held her hands and started dragging her out of the office.

"Let me go! I am not done yet. How could they do this to me? They did not even let me speak. This.. this!" more tears welled her eyes.

Leo knew that she was not the one who cried easily; she was a tough nut and always lived a free spirited life. Always blunt to her words and sharp towards others.

It would be impossible to control her if she had made up her mind to not relent and marry that man.

"Eve, father is not in a mood to listen. When it comes to stubbornness, you both are the same. He will only be enraged if you continue to argue with him. Do you really want to lose all the chances to negotiate. '' he sighed as he looked at her with a peathetic look in his eyes.

He had felt rage too when he had found a man kissing his sweet little sister intensely while his hands were in her dress.

He could understand why father was ready to wage a war. But he could see the pain in her eyes too. But if they both continued to shout at each other, there was only going to be more mess.

"How could you expect him to keep his calm when he found you in such a compromising situation. I have kissed Evan after months of being announced as a couple yet you have kissed him when we did not even know about his existence and then you expect us to give you our blessings.

Have you lost your mind completely? You should be glad that your father has not locked you up or has not announced your marriage with another man.

And how are you so sure about that man, what if he had ulterior motives for approaching you? Huh!

It had not been a single day since he had come here and yet you are announcing your marriage with him? No father would be able to accept it!

Do not force father for what he could not do, Eve. go to your room. Or better go and spend time with Evan and let me see what can happen.

I will try to convince my father to have dinner first and send the letter tomorrow. But this is your only chance, if you threaten him again instead of convincing him with logic then do not expect me to support you again, Eve.

I could not understand how you are being so reckless. It is about your whole life." he shook his head as he ran a hand in his hair for the umpteenth time. He felt like he was suffocating.

He wanted to tell her that she should give up but knew that she would not listen to him. In the end, he could only hope that the man was worth it.

She choked further as she muffled her cries but nodded her head. She knew that if she went back to the office again it would only end up in her being locked up in the room too but that did not mean that it did not hurt.