Dalena thought that the dinner last time was going to be the only instance where she was going to eat with the Duke and Little George.

However, for several weeks now, she has been invited to eat with them for lunch outside the estate after Little George finishes his horse-riding lessons.

Although Dalena worried a lot at first, she now enjoyed the routine and secretly looked forward for it every week since she got to eat in different restaurants.

Before being employed at the Grosvenor Estate, she would only stare at those restaurants and wonder if she would ever get to eat there in her lifetime, so it was definitely a joyful thing for her.

Besides, she also had a clearer perception of the Duke now. Since there was that weird rule in her employment contract, she had all kinds of prejudices against him, such as him being a playboy who seduces his employees using his looks and money.

But as she spent time with him, Dalena figured that the Duke was actually very formal and respectful. He also seemed to love Little George a lot and their great father-son relationship was very evident.

"You're back again from lunch with the masters?"

Dalena turned around and found that it was Andrea, the head of the housekeeping department in the Grosvenor Estate.

She was the first and only one who approached Dalena when she first came to the estate and even toured her around a little, so Dalena had a good impression of her.

"Yes." Dalena replied simply.

Andrea raised her eyebrows a little but smiled wider at Dalena.

"Woah! The masters must really like you. The Duke never brought the Young Master's nanny before whenever he would spend time with him." Andrea said in an excitable tone.

"Hmm. Is that so..." Dalena replied, not really taking it seriously.

Suddenly, Andrea hooked her arm over Dalena's and led her to a corner.

"Say, since you've been seeing the Duke a lot more now, do you have a little crush on him?" Andrea whispered.

Dalena widened her eyes a little, surprised that Andrea would ask her a question like that. She knew that Andrea was always a little chatty, but she never expected that she would ask such a question.

But before Dalena could even answer, Andrea kept on talking.

"It's not hard to like the Duke, right? He's handsome, rich and treats employees well at the same time. You know, a lot have always been saying that he's even better than those princes from the royal family." she continued.

Dalena didn't know why, but she felt kind of awkward at that topic. She shook her head and said, "The Duke is quite admirable but I don't have a crush on him."

Andrea stared at Dalena with disbelief and snorted a laugh.

"Oh? I don't really believe you! But even so, maybe the Duke is the one who has crush on you instead? Since he lets you hang around even when he spends time with the Young Master?"

Dalena shook her head again.

"No, it is really not what you think. The Young Master likes my company so he is probably the one who requests that I go with them, even if it troubles the Duke."

With the mention of that, Andrea's lips curved down a little before her expression brightened up once again.

"But with the time you spend with them, it's really not impossible for feelings to cultivate, right? As you know, the Duke is a bachelor. He is definitely single and ready to mingle." Andrea said in an exaggerated tone, even emphasising the last words.

Dalena wanted to stop the useless topic but since she wanted to maintain a good co-worker relationship with Andrea, she can only shake her head.

She never thought that Andrea would have this kind of side with her. Although Dalena finds some entertainment in gossip, she was never the kind who takes it seriously and spreads it around.

Based from Andrea's remarks, she was implying that a romantic relationship with the Duke was possible. But Dalena immediately bluffed at that implication.

For Dalena, she would rather eat a horse's poo rather than dare to have a 'little crush' on the Duke.

"No... I think you're going too far, Andrea. We might get punished as well if others hear you." Dalena said.

Andrea sighed and patted Dalena's back softly.

"Don't worry. I have been working in this estate for many years and no one would really dare to expose us. So you can be honest with me, do you like the Duke?" Andrea said, expecting an answer.

Much to her disappointment though, Dalena shook her head again.

Then, Andrea loosened her grip on Dalena and took a deep breath before talking again.

"Then how about I tell you an interesting story? You must not believe that the Duke is truly single because of how amazing he is, right?"

Dalena wanted to remove Andrea's grip on her but the latter only held her grip tighter.

"It's actually related to the Young Master. You must also be curious who his mother is, hmm? It's not allowed to say in the mansion but I know because I have sources outside." Andrea whispred.

At the mention of Little George's mother, Dalena flinched a little. Indeed, she was curious about that but she could not care less about why the Duke was single.

Seeing Dalena's easy-to-read expression, Andrea smirked.

"You see, His Grace already had the Young Master two years before he was proclaimed as the Duke. Apparently, he was almost disowned by his family because of it, since the Young Master's mother was a prostitute-like foreigner who only seduced the Duke."

Andrea coughed a little before continuing the rest of her story.

"Then, you know they're part of the aristocratic circle, right? Having an illegitimate child was looked down on, more so if it was a child from a low-born foreigner. So, the aristocratic circle actually shuns His Grace and secretly mock him. Actually, if it wasn't only for His Grace being the only son of the former Duke and Dowager Duchess, he would not even be able to inherit the title."

Dalena only listened silently, not brazen enough to make any unnecessary comments. But truthfully, the story that Andrea was telling her was quite surprising.

"So now, none of those ladies from good families want to even consider His Grace. They are ashamed of his past mistake and of course, they do not want to be a stepmother. But only if they knew..." Andrea said, cutting off her story in a suspenseful tone.

She looked directly at Dalena, who was still listening intently.

"The truth is, His Grace is such a good man, and only felt sorry which is why he registered the Young Master's birth. When in fact... His Grace was only drugged and taken advantage of by that wild woman... I really feel sorry for His Grace."

Dalena's mouth couldn't help but open a little, really too surprised from what she's hearing.

Looking at Dalena's reaction, Andrea sneaked a smirk and patted Dalena's back softly once again.

"See? That is why they never mention the Young Master's mother in this estate. It is probably disrespectful for His Grace. Until now, my heart is still sorrowful since His Grace is so wronged and still paying for the mistakes he did not commit..."