Chapter 15

Raul threw the lighter hard onto the ground. With a short metallic crack, the lighter disappeared into the darkness of the back alley.

Yes. It was lucky that his mother, who used to sell her body in a brothel, became an opera singer and caught the eye of a great noble.

Because of her lowly background, his mother was still not accepted by the family. But it was fine that she had completely won the previous Duke’s affection, allowing Raul to easily be entered into the ducal family.

Even though he was not the legitimate eldest son, he had received heir training together with Vitor when they were young.

If only the previous Duke had not died in a carriage accident.

By now, the position of Duke might have belonged to Raul.

“That damn Vitor, Vitor!”

The name that jumped from the tip of his tongue always tasted like poison.

After the previous Duke passed away, everything began to fall sharply.

Raul was treated like a cracked piece of glass in the House of Hermont.

He was not broken, but the cracks were so obvious that everyone who looked at him frowned. His lowly bloodline always held him back.

On top of that, the times began to change.

The political landscape shook, and the power of House Hermont, which had once controlled the Empire, gradually faded.

Raul worked in politics in Vitor’s place, but people mocked him as a replacement with nothing left but the shell.

And the family filled that empty space of power with Vitor’s military achievements.

The hero of the Empire who always brought news of victory.

The Emperor’s trust, the nobles’ cheers, even the people’s praise.

The important figures of the family, including Leonora, placed him on the ducal seat as if they had been waiting for him.

But Raul knew.

Vitor had originally left for the sea because he wanted to escape the family.

He had only become a hero by chance on the battlefield. The fame he gained was not something he had earned to become a man worthy of being the head of House Hermont.

And even now, he still did not want the position of Duke.

He was trying to avoid marriage somehow, deliberately ruining his reputation and creating flaws for himself.

He was sitting in a position he never wanted and kicking away the good fortune that had fallen into his lap.

‘If you don’t want it, you could at least give it to me…….’

Even though he behaved so foolishly, everywhere Raul went, people kept chattering about Vitor, Vitor, like parrots.

It was enough to make Raul sick with anger.

And if Vitor got married this time, his position as head of the ducal family would become permanent.

Annoyed by that shameless attitude, Raul had even tampered with the hunting ground’s wire fence just to give him some trouble.

But that annoyingly tough bastard had even taken down a bear that suddenly appeared.

The mansion servants could not stop admiring him.

As expected, once again, it was the Duke of Hermont.

Raul felt so frustrated that it seemed his heart had risen all the way into his throat.

“Raul!”

Evern came running toward him, gasping for breath.

Raul did not answer. He only bit down hard on the cigar that had been hanging from his lips.

“Calm down. Anyway, people singing Vitor’s name will only last for a little while.”

“You call that a little while?”

Was Evern here just to fan the flames of a burning house?

“If Vitor can’t get married again this year, doesn’t that mean you’ll finally get your chance?”

“If he actually wants to marry, why would it have to be this year? He could walk into a wedding hall right now. He’s already met several women for marriage arrangements.”

“The rumors will spread everywhere soon. How could he get married?”

“All of that is a lie. You still don’t know that his reputation for being a womanizer and seeing many women was all an act?”

“I think you’re the one who doesn’t know.”

“What?”

Raul repeated the same words he had said so many times that they were almost boring, then asked sharply.

The corner of Evern’s mouth twisted unpleasantly.

“Vitor is seeing a man these days.”

“A man……?”

The cigar slipped from Raul’s fingertips.

“I heard Vitor went to Clareville with him. You really didn’t know?”

“What is there to see in some countryside village that he’d stay there all summer? I only went to greet Grandmother and came straight back. Anyway, what do you mean by a man?”

“My younger sister married into the Rüssel family, remember? Apparently Vitor recently went to meet their young lady for a marriage arrangement. The two families were subtly encouraging them, and they said the atmosphere was good. But……”

Evern suddenly stopped and lowered his voice.

“Apparently, that young lady saw Vitor kissing a man.”

“C-Crazy. Are you sure?!”

Raul’s eyes widened.

“Yes. She saw it clearly with her own eyes. And apparently, he even got tickets from the Young Lady of Rüssel so he could watch a play with that man. He introduced him right to her face as his lover, too.”

“That crazy bastard……”

Raul was so shocked that he could barely speak.

He knew Vitor was not an ordinary man.

But this was on a completely different level from the scandals he had caused before.

Hadn’t he crossed the line by a long way?

This was almost self-destruction.

It was not simply rebellion anymore. It was close to social suicide.

‘The head of a great noble family, and the current Duke at that, introduced a man as his lover in front of a noble lady and kissed him?’

It was a scandal worthy of being carved into the history of House Hermont.

If Grand Lady Leonora heard about this……

“This is getting interesting.”

A smile naturally spread across Raul’s lips.

“But isn’t he acting like last time?”

Except that the partner was a man, it followed such a familiar pattern that Raul could not help but doubt it.

“Have you ever seen Vitor kiss a woman? He was always good at creating an atmosphere and then quietly slipping away.”

“That is true, but……”

Raul narrowed his eyes.

‘Then is it really true? Does Vitor really have a male lover? Is it not an act?’

Since he had been caught before, perhaps Vitor was simply acting even more thoroughly this time.

Raul found it hard to believe that Vitor actually liked men.

Even when they had lived in the same mansion, Raul had never been close to Vitor. But he had watched him for years.

He had never once sensed that Vitor was interested in men.

He was always surrounded by women, and Vitor seemed to enjoy it as well.

‘But it doesn’t matter what the truth is.’

What mattered was that gossip about Vitor dating a man was spreading.

And because of that, Vitor’s marriage would be pushed even farther away once again.

This might be the last perfect opportunity Raul would ever get.

“By the way, what does the other guy do?”

What kind of crazy bastard was going along with Vitor’s act?

Raul suddenly became curious.

“They said he seems to be a commoner. Apparently, he’s quite pretty. They said they even mistook him for a woman at first. Oh, and apparently his hair is silver?”

Raul let out a small laugh.

‘I can already tell what kind he is.’

Vitor must have paid someone somewhere and hired a gigolo.

The type with a pretty face, obedient personality, and just enough acting ability.

“Anyway, what a ridiculous bastard.”

Raul’s mood suddenly improved.

At that moment, Raul’s carriage arrived.

The coachman opened the door and greeted him.

“Oh, by the way, Ollie said he was sorry. He said he couldn’t control his temper for a moment. You know how hot-headed he can be sometimes. As an apology, he invited you to the mansion tomorrow. He said he even prepared some high-quality liquor that’s several hundred years old. You’re going, right?”

“I won’t be in the capital for a while.”

“Why?”

Raul answered with a crooked smile.

“I have to go see it for myself. I hear the Duke’s wife might be a man. No, maybe Vitor will be the wife instead? Hahaha!”

Raul climbed into the carriage while making a vulgar joke.

Soon, the wheels began rolling energetically.

“What a vulgar bastard……”

Evern quietly muttered before returning to the gambling house.

Whoever became the leader of the black eagle did not matter.

As long as he chose the right side, that was all that mattered.

A cool palm covered Roy’s lips.

The sharp sound of cicadas rang from far away, and a light breeze passed between the leaves.

The voices of people passing by could be faintly heard from the end of the alley.

‘He is really focused.’

Vitor lowered his gaze and remained alert to the entrance of the alley.

He watched to make sure no one came in and no one was paying attention to them.

All the nerves in his body were focused there.

Roy quietly looked at Vitor.

The beautiful, sculpture-like face of the man filled her violet eyes.

This way of kissing had naturally settled in after they first started their “act.”

Instead of covering their lips with only one thumb like the first time, Vitor now completely covered Roy’s mouth with his entire palm before touching his lips to hers.

All of Roy’s breath was trapped inside Vitor’s large hand.

His hand was so large that their lips never accidentally touched at all.

Seeing how he had immediately changed the method, as if he was conscious of what had happened that day, it seemed Vitor also considered what happened then a mistake.

They had almost really kissed.

And that was with the gamekeeper he believed was a man.