Chapter 7

The Male Lover of the Duke of Hermont

Roy’s heart dropped.

Seeing Roy’s eyes widen, Vitor gave her a relaxed smile.

“I wondered if you might have a younger sister. Violet eyes aren’t exactly common.”

Come to think of it, he had mentioned her eyes the first time they had faced each other.

When she had been Natalie, she had worn a wig, so the color of her hair had been different, but her eye color had remained the same.

Roy was flustered, but she did her best to remain calm as she answered.

“Well, I wouldn’t say they’re particularly unusual in Claireville. I’ve seen several people in this village with similar eyes.”

“But not only your eyes. Your facial features are similar too.”

His immediate response left Roy speechless.

She barely managed to force a smile.

“I’ve actually been told many times that I have an ordinary-looking face. You can find faces like mine all over the streets.”

“Is that so? You kept pulling your hat down so low that I couldn’t get a proper look.”

“If you look properly, you’ll see I’m really very ordinary.”

“Then shall I have a proper look?”

“What?”

Vitor took a large step toward Roy.

“Let’s find out whether your face really is ordinary or not.”

As the distance between them steadily closed, Roy backed away until her back hit a hard tree trunk.

Vitor removed her hunting cap as though it were bothering him and tilted his head.

A cool breeze swept through her bangs.

“D-Duke, wait a moment…”

“Don’t move.”

Vitor’s voice suddenly became commanding.

His firm hand grasped Roy’s chin.

His gaze was unusually sharp.

There was a force in Vitor’s expressionless face that made him difficult to resist.

“Your height and build are similar too. Even your overall impression is the same. How can you possibly look this much alike?”

He turned Roy’s face from side to side as though genuinely fascinated.

With every similarity he listed, Roy felt as though her remaining lifespan was being shortened in real time.

“And yet the only difference is your gender.”

“Isn’t it strange? How can a man be this pretty?”

“E-Even if you interrogate me like this, I really don’t…”

There was only one thing Roy could do in this situation.

Play dumb.

“I suppose my parents simply made me this way. I never even met them, so I can’t say for sure. But it really is strange. To think there’s someone out there with a face similar to mine. But is it really wrong for us to look alike? She and I are different people anyway. Did she perhaps do something terrible to you…?”

Her mind was in complete chaos from the sense of danger.

She didn’t even know what she was saying anymore, simply blurting out whatever came to mind.

“She did something terrible to me?”

Vitor’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Yes. She did.”

His expression darkened.

“She abandoned me and ran away.”

“Huh?”

“She got up and left the moment she woke up, before we’d even had the chance to do anything. As though the very thought of being involved with me was horrifying. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.”

Roy blinked blankly.

Vitor wasn’t wrong.

She had run away because she didn’t want to become involved with him.

But was that really such a terrible offense?

Vitor was still smiling, but somehow he looked deeply offended.

Does he think I ran away because I wasn’t satisfied with what happened between us?

That’s not it. I genuinely don’t remember anything…

Roy couldn’t tell him the truth, so she was in a difficult position.

She hesitated, desperately wracking her brain before finally coming up with an excuse.

“M-Maybe that woman had her own circumstances?”

“What circumstances?”

“Well, I don’t know…”

“Since you’ve brought it up, Mr. Roy, why don’t you think about it yourself? What possible circumstances could have made her run away as though she couldn’t bear to stay?”

“How would I know when I’m not her?”

“You look similar, so wouldn’t you think similarly?”

“What kind of ridiculous logic is that? Ah… Why are you doing this to me?”

Roy let out a groan of despair at Vitor’s bizarre line of reasoning.

It seemed that because the person involved had run away, he wanted to hear a convincing explanation from anyone he could get one from.

But Roy was terrified that if she said the wrong thing, she might accidentally reveal herself.

Flustered and anxious, Roy habitually reached up to touch the back of her neck.

But she couldn’t feel the familiar weight that should have been there.

Come to think of it… when was the last time I felt my pendant?

Her mind went blank.

She looked around frantically.

Vitor, who had been staring intensely at her, narrowed his eyes and murmured,

“Well, yes…”

He paused.

“She doesn’t necessarily have to be a woman.”

What on earth was he talking about now?

The corners of his lips curled upward ominously.

“No. This might actually be better.”

Vitor’s hand covered Roy’s ear and cheek at the same time.

His fingers slowly rubbed just beneath her ear.

The sensation tickled.

The faint, unfamiliar scent of the sea made her body tense.

“Why are you suddenly touching my face…”

“AAAAAH!”

At that exact moment, a scream rang out from somewhere in the distance.

Alan and the servants came running toward them with terrified expressions.

Behind them, a brown bear charged after them with a menacing momentum.

“Vitor! A-A bear! Run!”

The brown bear came barreling forward, breathing heavily as its massive body smashed through branches in its path.

Bang!

Before Roy could even lower herself and load her rifle, a gunshot rang out.

Vitor’s bullet pierced the bear’s shoulder with perfect accuracy.

But the bear merely staggered.

It didn’t stop.

With one shoulder badly wounded, it continued limping toward them.

Its eyes were tinged red, and there was a look of madness in them.

It was a truly terrifying sight.

Vitor fired again and again.

Only then did Roy pull out the rifle hanging from her left shoulder.

The heavy weight of the firearm settled into her hands.

Bang! Bang!

The first bullet struck the bear in the side.

The second was aimed at its leg.

The bear staggered.

Taking advantage of the opening, Roy pulled the trigger once more.

The final bullet struck the bear directly in the forehead.

Dark red blood poured from the wound as the bear finally collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

A chilling silence descended upon the forest.

“Is… Is it really dead?”

Alan cautiously asked from behind the tree where he had been hiding.

Roy approached the bear.

Keeping a firm grip on her rifle, she checked its condition.

“Yes. It looks like we’ve taken care of it.”

Only then did everyone let out sighs of relief.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I really thought I was going to die.”

The servants supported one another as they examined their clothes, which had been torn after catching on branches.

Roy also breathed a sigh of relief.

“What kind of firearm is that?”

Vitor approached and asked her.

“It sounds different from the other rifles.”

“Oh, this is a rifle for large game. I carry it around in case of an accident like this.”

“You saved my life.”

Vitor smiled.

“That bear just kept charging even after being shot. I was quite startled.”

He lies so casually…

Roy had witnessed it clearly, even if only for a fleeting moment.

When the bear refused to go down, Vitor had reached into his coat and drawn a dagger.

And on Vitor’s face, instead of fear, Roy had seen an unfamiliar excitement.

He was actually going to fight a bear at close range.

This man really isn’t sane either.

A shiver ran through Roy, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Vitor smiled brightly.

“Then I suppose that means Mr. Roy wins our bet.”

“Huh?”

“You’re the one who brought down the bear.”

Oh, right.

They had made a bet.

Roy awkwardly scratched her forehead.

“Then do I have to call you ‘Master’ now?”

He said he’d become the gamekeeper’s slave… Surely he was joking, right?

Roy had no idea how to respond.

She simply stood there with an awkward smile.

“What do you mean, ‘Master’? Catch what?!”

Alan, who had been watching them, suddenly shouted.

“We nearly got killed because of him! How the hell have you been managing these hunting grounds?!”

“……I’m sorry. I’ll take full responsibility for what happened.”

“Exactly! You should be properly punished!”

“There were signs that someone deliberately cut the wire fence.”

As Roy lowered her head and bit her lip tightly, Vitor calmly interrupted.

“Mr. Roy said the fence was intact as recently as this morning. It looks like someone deliberately caused this.”

“So it’s not Mr. Roy’s fault.”

“R-Really? Then who would do something like that?”

“Who knows?”

Vitor’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.

“Perhaps someone participating in the hunt had a grudge against someone.”

“Grudge? Then…”

Alan began to say something, but abruptly closed his mouth.

There was an inexplicable pressure in Vitor’s voice.

“There are so many people who’ve had reasons to hold grudges that I can’t possibly guess who it was.”

Vitor glanced at Alan.

“You have no idea either, do you?”

Alan remained silent.

“Then let’s consider this our welcome ceremony and head back.”

Everyone silently nodded and turned their steps toward home.