Ep. 8: Cuff seeks literacy lessons from Duke while Walter feels overshadowed by his brother and Viola

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Cuff requests reading instruction from Duke to impress Zain. Walter resents his mother favoring Duke as heir and Viola’s preference for him due to his inferiority complex. Viola encounters Cuff at Duke’s residence, attempting to detain her as an intruder, but feels humiliated when Rob discovers her sitting on another woman. During a snowstorm, Alice recalls her arrival at the mansion when Duke was younger and depressed by his curse. He once destroyed rooms in anger and rejected Alice, a childhood friend who refused to leave. He challenged her to clean his ruined bedroom in three days or face dismissal. Alice completed the task in one night, prompting Duke to flee. After nearly freezing, Alice found him, scolding his suicide attempt and noting how he once comforted her during her own childhood illness. Duke returned with her, realizing he had fallen in love.