Appearance Of The Duke
Though Terry had not been acquainted with Arielle for very long, he found himself trusting her easily for
some reason.
As a result, any residual trace of Terry’s skepticism vanished with her assurance.
Despite being in awe at Arielle, Terry could not help teasing Trisha who was looking thoroughly
bewildered. “Trisha, you’re ranked number six in our class!” He prodded her enthusiastically. “Looks
like we’re shortlisted for the interviews.”
With great effort, Trisha regained her composure as she turned to gaze at Arielle. At the reminder of
her being granted an interview with Maxwell University, a mixture of shock, delight, and anxiety
appeared on her face.
“Sannie, how have you never told me any of this?” she asked apprehensively.
Arielle answered gently, “I was going to tell you that I don’t need the spot to get into Maxwell University
and that I think you deserve this more than anyone else. However, you never did give me the
opportunity to tell you this, you know.”
With a sob of gratitude, Trisha threw herself into her friend’s arms.
“Thank you, Sannie. Thank you so much!”
Pleasantly surprised, Arielle returned the hug with one arm around Trisha’s back and caressed her
head with the other hand.
Unnoticed by the girls locked in an embrace, a pair of dark, sinister eyes were watching them closely,
like a predator watching its prey before it moved in for the kill.
The pair of eyes belonged to a tall, broad-shouldered man. He was clad in a suit of jet-black which
served to camouflage him seamlessly against the darkest shadows of the auditorium. His carefully
measured, shallow breathing allowed him to hide himself without being noticed by a single soul.
Despite being rooted at the spot for over half an hour, not a single person had been aware of his
presence.
At that moment, another dark shadow flitted across the entrance to the auditorium and arrived at the
large man’s side.
“Duke, that young lady is Arielle Moore.”
The large man raised his eyebrows. “A rare beauty, indeed.”
“Are we going to make our move now?” his subordinate enquired. “It’s pretty crowded here. I’m afraid
that it would not be too convenient.”
“Of course not, you fool!”
“A-All right. When shall we do it then?” replied the subordinate, somewhat flustered.
“Let’s see how it turns out. If she is able to be converted into an ally, our work ahead against Vinson
would be made much easier.”
The subordinate was taken aback. “Aren’t we going to kill her?”
“The Chaneans have a saying that an additional friend guarantees an additional option.”
As soon as he said that, the duke felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. As if by instinct, he
turned his gaze toward the entrance of the auditorium and found a handsome but familiar face that was
just barely visible under the faint lights.
“He’s here!” The duke muttered, confusion and suspicion arising in his heart.
The subordinate piped up, “There is something else I have forgotten to inform you. His Majesty’s loser
son has, for some reason, became smitten with Arielle, which is why he’s spending all his time here at
Jadeborough University. He has even gotten himself enrolled in the preparatory class just to be near
her.”
“That’s strange. What is the nature of their relationship, I wonder?”
“Regarding our plan to abduct Arielle…”
“That will be put on hold. We’ll make our next move after ascertaining Aaron’s motives. We can’t afford
to make an enemy out of Turlen right now.”
“Understood.”
After exchanging another meaningful glance, the men exited the auditorium noiselessly through a side
door.
By then, the ushers were already onstage with the first item for auction.
As a result, Aaron’s sudden appearance in the auditorium went unnoticed as the crowd’s attention was
captured by the item.
It was a beautiful sculpture of Jadeborough University made of white marble. The work was so intricate
that even the miniature models of students striding across the grounds were captured in startling detail.
“That sculpture’s pretty nice.” Arielle gave a nod of approval, which was considered high praise.
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