Guidebook for the Dark Duke

Chapter 48 - GDD Chapter 48

After Evan’s confession, Duke Wilson looked at Evan with a much softer expression. He walked to sit by Evan’s side and said, “If it’s as you said, then in this matter, there is nothing wrong with you. Please leave this matter to me, and I will give an explanation to Mr. Ford.”

Evan smiled in his heart when he heard this, but his face still had a worried look as he said, “No, I don’t want to involve you in this matter. I will explain my previous entanglement with Mr Ford to him personally. I just hope that if I get caught in a bad event where Mr Ford still accuses me, I don’t want you to have a bad impression of me, this is very important to me.”

Duke Wilson looked straight at Evan and his heart was beating rapidly, what does he mean? Does Evan take his relationship with him so seriously? Duke Wilson felt an ecstasy in his heart.

Duke Wilson’s hands shook a little as he clenched his fist tightly. He hid his face in the shadows as he tried to keep a very calm voice, “Don’t worry, my behavior towards you will never change. I have complete trust in our friendship.”

Duke Wilson said this sentence without feeling any embarrassment. Even if he had doubted Evan before, he didn’t mind telling lies in a situation where he could obviously win Evan’s favor.

Evan curled his lips slightly when he heard it. Of course he knew that the duke had doubts about him before, but he was not stupid enough to bring up this matter. What he hoped for the most was to maintain Duke Wilson’s goodwill towards him.

Just as the two of them sat facing each other with their own thoughts, the bell downstairs broke the silence between them. Duke Wilson finally woke up from his joy, he coughed a few times and spoke, “The time is already so late. Your health is not good, you should rest.”

Evan nodded, “You have been busy for a day, so rest.” After speaking, he turned to go back to his room.

When Evan returned to the room, he leaned against the door limply and slid down the door to the floor.

Today, his plan has finally taken the next step. Duke Wilson’s preconceived ideas have finally laid the cornerstone and the future will depend on his fate. He only hopes that what the original owner did back then was sufficiently secretive, otherwise…

Evan didn’t sleep peacefully that night. He couldn’t fall asleep again at five in the morning. He didn’t force himself to go to sleep, got up directly, but he didn’t call the servant to come in. Instead, he dressed himself and went to sit on the balcony with the book the duke had given him earlier.

The air in the morning is very fresh. Evan is wearing a coat, but he still feels a little cold. At this time, the sun has not yet risen and it is still a little gray outside. Evan looked at the distant horizon as his heart stirred, overflowing unstoppably with his thoughts. Since he is here in this world now, he must not be defeated so easily.

Evan sat on the balcony for a long time, until the servants were up and there was a knock on his door. Evan closed the book on his lap, “Come in.”

The man who came in was the manservant who served him. The manservant was still a young man, looking a little anxious. Seeing that Evan was already up, the expression on his face became even more anxious, “You…I’m really sorry, I didn’t get up early and I didn’t serve you well.”

Evan waved his hand indifferently and replied, “I was only a little bit tired yesterday. I couldn’t sleep, I just woke up early. It has nothing to do with you.”

The servant sighed with relief and said, “So that’s the case. Reverend, breakfast is ready, please go downstairs to eat.”

Evan raised his eyebrows. If he goes downstairs to eat, it means that the duke was there, and the duke did not leave early today. It looks like the duke has eliminated the estrangement he had with himself.

“Okay, I’ll come down soon, you go down first.” Evan lowered his head and the expression on his face couldn’t be seen as he said warmly. The servant bowed, turned and left.

Evan walked into the room from the balcony, put down the book in his hand, and put on a formal suit jacket before walking downstairs.

When Evan got downstairs, Duke Wilson was already sitting at the dining table. He was wearing a very formal three-piece brown striped suit, and a smoky gray dark-patterned tie made him look very elegant.

Evan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked with a smile, “Are you going out today?”

Duke Wilson looked at Evan with a hint of tenderness in his eyes and a rare warmth. He pointed to the seat beside him as he said softly, “You guessed it right. Today is Colonel Mel’s birthday. He is holding a birthday party and has invited almost the whole town. He worked under my father before, so I want to give him some face.”

Colonel Mel? Evan thought of the mild-mannered middle-aged man, who was a rare military officer in the town and had been in contact with him a few times before.

“So that’s the case. Then, do I need to go there?” Evan is the priest of the town’s parish, and it is impossible for Colonel Mel to not invite Evan.

Duke Wilson frowned when he heard him talk about this. What he disliked the most was Evan’s contact with others, and he really didn’t want to see him smile at anyone other than himself.

“Colonel Mel did send you an invitation, but your health is not yet fully recovered. How will you go this time?” Duke Wilson asked tentatively for fear that Evan would be frightened by his arbitrariness.

Evan smiled, “Colonel Mel is a parishioner, and is usually very friendly to the church. It would be rude for me not to go.”

Although Duke Wilson was still a little reluctant, he also understood that Evan still had to go there. In Delanlier, some things simply cannot be avoided.

“What you said is very true, then you can go with me. Colonel Mel has always respected you very much. If you go, he will welcome you.” Duke Wilson looked at Evan with some relief and tenderness.

Evan twitched the corners of his mouth, he really couldn’t understand Duke Wilson’s strange feelings.

The two of them had breakfast. Duke Wilson went to the study to handle business and Evan stayed downstairs with his unfinished book. Although he seemed to be reading, he was actually thinking about Duke Wilson.

In Evan’s view, Duke Wilson is a very emotional person. Although he looks very cold and arrogant on the surface, most of the time when he does things, he relies on his own likes and dislikes. When he likes or hates people, those he likes will live well and those he hates will die. Evan has seen this kind of thing a lot in his last life and he has basically managed to get along well in this life, but sometimes it is still dangerous. Because as an emotional person, you never know what he is going to do next so Evan secretly made up his mind that he must be more vigilant about Duke Wilson in the future. Such a passive thing cannot happen next time.

After Duke Wilson finished dealing with his matters, it was already time for Colonel Mel’s party. Duke Wilson walked downstairs, already wearing a black coat and holding Evan’s coat in his hand.

Evan was stunned for a while, that coat was his favorite and the one he wore most often. Evan’s bright eyes flashed with a dim light.

Duke Wilson walked up to Evan, bowed slightly and stretched out his arm towards Evan, “It’s time.”

Evan looked at the arm in front of him, squinted slightly and lowered his head. He suddenly felt uncertain about what Duke Wilson thinks of him.

When Evan raised his head again, he became the gentle priest again. He didn’t take the duke’s arm but stood up a little slowly, and said warmly, “Thank you for your consideration but I think I can still get up by myself.”

Duke Wilson seemed to suddenly realize his rudeness. The man in front of him was a gentleman, and his action just now made him seem like a lady. His face instantly became blank.

“No…no…” Duke Wilson stammered and waved his hand, “I’m just afraid that you will aggravate or open the wound. I didn’t mean anything else.”

Seeing Duke Wilson’s panicked look, Evan felt slightly tickled as he raised the corners of his lips, “I know what you mean, you don’t have to worry about this.”

Duke Wilson carefully looked at Evan’s expression, and he was relieved to see that he was not dissatisfied.

“I’m being so rude today.” He said again, embarrassed.

Evan changed the subject this time and said with a smile, “The time has come, let’s go first.”

Duke Wilson was stunned for a moment, then nodded and walked out with Evan. The carriage was waiting outside the door, Evan first got into the carriage as a guest, and then the duke came up. The two rode towards Colonel Mel’s manor amid the sound of hoofs.

Evan leaned against the carriage window and looked like he was reading the Bible in his hand. In fact, his heart was already in a mess. He had never thought about how Duke Wilson viewed him before, but today, Duke Wilson’s kind but subconscious action proved that Duke Wilson still regarded him as being in a weak position.

Evan felt a little irritable for a while. He hadn’t experienced this feeling of being regarded as weak for a long time. He showed weakness before, which was also a gesture he made deliberately, but when he realized that the duke really treated him like this, Evan felt hesitant. He had been a top all his life in the past life. Could it be that he will stumble into being the bottom in this life?

Evan’s thoughts did not lead to any substantial progress, and their carriage soon reached Colonel Mel’s manor.

Colonel Mel was just a poor military officer when he retired, but he made a very successful investment and got a large amount of property. He used these assets to buy a large piece of land in Delanlier and build this manor, and now Colonel Mel is a prestigious squire in Delanlier.

Duke Wilson’s carriage was very conspicuous and well-known throughout Delanlier, so as soon as they entered Colonel Mel’s land, they were treated differently. The carriage didn’t even stop and went straight through the gate towards the manor.

Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the manor and Colonel Mel came out to meet them. Duke Wilson got out of the carriage first and Evan followed.

Colonel Mel was surprised for a moment when he saw Evan, but then he put on a very friendly smile and said warmly, “Reverend, I didn’t expect you to come here. I heard that you were injured. God has blessed you and you’re back to good health.”

Evan and Colonel Mel didn’t have much interaction, so he just smiled reservedly, “Thank you for your concern.”

Duke Wilson frowned at the gentle conversation between the two, and said, “Let’s go in first, the Reverend’s body is still a little weak.”

Colonel Mel seemed to come back to his senses, and immediately said, “I was negligent, please come in quickly. Sheriff Chandler just got here now. I heard that you have a very good relationship with the sheriff so this time you can have a good chat.”

Evan’s eyebrows moved slightly, Sheriff Chandler is also here?

T/N: Does Cornwall Castle sound better? Because, I feel that others having manors like the duke isn’t right since the duke is richer and has higher status. Or should I just leave it as is since manors are for nobles anyway? Any alternatives? 

By the way, if you remove the D in Duke, you get uke. 🤭😜😂