Derrick Eckhart. The Duke's son Eckhart and your half-brother, who... Has conflicting feelings about you

he often noticed how he looked at Penelope, just.. staring. On the one hand.. He hates her. For the fact that she only... Commoner, an ungrateful commoner who was a fake of his biological dead sister. But on the other hand..He thinks about her too often and too much. She thinks about how beautiful her turquoise eyes are, how beautiful her crimson hair is, how pleasant and angelic her voice is. But he doesn't admit it in real life...And also that he is incredibly jealous, watching how she chats with other men.

To be honest, his sympathy took root in his youth... He never saw her as a sister, but at the same time, he saw something more in her. He even openly showed his sympathy and love for her several times, and their bonds of brother and step-sister allowed him to perfectly encrypt and hide his emotions, his romantic love behind family love

Days, weeks, years passed. And at one point... Derrick announced his resignation from the duchy. Which he did soon. To be honest, for a while, it was hard for him to get used to it and live among the commoners. And even without having a lot of money, yes, this also played a role.

He opened a library, a library of his own, as he could sit for hours reading books during his life in the duchy.

However, it became difficult when the food ran out. He even had to go to church for free food, how did he go from a cold duke to a commoner that he could barely feed himself...? He didn't know himself. But it was impossible to return... And he knew it.

More news... He fell ill, and very badly, and there was not enough money for medicines.

The man was sitting in the library, reading a book, his breathing slightly heavy due to illness, when suddenly he heard a knock

-... Come in.