After hurriedly washing his face and shaving, Duke Bold headed straight to the drawing room.
Fortunately, Lobelia was still waiting in the lobby on the first floor.
“Now bring the guests.”
At his words, the maid came out of the parlor to fetch the guest.
Duke Bold, who was left alone, stood in front of the full-length mirror next to the sofa and checked his appearance.
Then he frowned as he checked for bad breath by blowing on both hands.
Even though he had just brushed his teeth, he still smelled strongly of alcohol.
“It’s the day I meet the distinguished guest I’ve been waiting for so long, and this is it.”
He naturally remembered the reason why he sought out alcohol every day, and suddenly became nervous.
'Rebecca, how many humiliations have you given me?'
A few days ago, the memory of running amok in front of his obnoxious daughter Rebecca made his face heat up once again.
He was on his way to vent his anger at Rebecca, who had stepped down from her position as Grand Duchess without permission.
But instead, he came back only to be humiliated.
Moreover, with a man with strong bones standing by her side, he had no choice but to vent his anger in the future.
In addition, his anger deepened as he remembered his situation, having to hide from the eyes of the Katsis royal family because of Rebecca.
'It's not true for a man whose name is a Duke.'
The shame that came from meeting Rebecca a few days ago. He's in a situation where he doesn't know when he will be removed from the Katsis Kingdom.
The depression that came from such a situation kept pushing him into a drinking bin.
Duke Bold gritted his teeth against the boiling quarter again.
‘Just wait and see. Today, I will properly roast and boil Lobelia Bart and prove my worth to the Katsis royal family.'
Well, Rebecca, it would be easier to punish that bitch than to twist that little boy's wrists.
Chuckle.
It was a time when Duke Bold was laughing sinisterly.
His maid's voice came from outside the door.
“Duke, we have brought you a guest.”
Duke Bold shouted happily as he hurriedly adjusted his appearance.
"Oh! Take her inside now, right now!”
Soon the door opened, and a beautiful woman walked into the drawing room.
Duke Bold raised the corner of his mouth as he saw Lobelia's appearance, which was much better than he expected.
He liked the fact that she was a beautiful woman with an innocent image, the opposite of Rebecca.
Considering that the Duke of Twins had stayed away from Rebecca for such a long time, it seemed like flashy looks were not his style.
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am. I am just grateful that you have accepted my request.”
Duke Bold pretended to be polite and smiled kindly.
Lobelia stared at his face in wonder.
‘Oh my, can you smell alcohol on this street too? I think the redness has subsided a little.'
At a time when the Duke was inwardly embarrassed, the corners of Lobelia's lips curved into a soft line.
“Nice to meet you, Duke Bold. I came here because you had something you wanted to share with me alone...”
He already wrote his true feelings clearly in the letter and sent it, but now that she's here, she's being sneaky.
Even as Duke Bold thought this to himself, he smiled brightly again.
“Please sit down first. Isn’t it the inviter’s duty to keep precious guests standing?”
Lobelia said her thanks and sat down on the sofa.
Duke Bold then also took a seat opposite her.
The maid, who had been watching them, placed the teacup in front of them and left the drawing room.
“Probably it's cheap tea leaves, at least old ones. All temporary villas are like this. I’m embarrassed, but please understand, Ma’am.”
“...Yes, of course.”
His maid's voice came from outside the door.
“Duke, we have brought you a guest.”
Duke Bold shouted happily as he hurriedly adjusted his appearance.
"Oh! Take her inside now, right now!”
Soon the door opened, and a beautiful woman walked into the drawing room.
Duke Bold raised the corner of his mouth as he saw Lobelia's appearance, which was much better than he expected.
He liked the fact that she was a beautiful woman with an innocent image, the opposite of Rebecca.
Considering that the Duke of Twins had stayed away from Rebecca for such a long time, it seemed like flashy looks were not his style.
“Nice to meet you, Ma’am. I am just grateful that you have accepted my request.”
Duke Bold pretended to be polite and smiled kindly.
Lobelia stared at his face in wonder.
‘Oh my, can you smell alcohol on this street too? I think the redness has subsided a little.'
At a time when the Duke was inwardly embarrassed, the corners of Lobelia's lips curved into a soft line.
“Nice to meet you, Duke Bold. I came here because you had something you wanted to share with me alone...”
He already wrote his true feelings clearly in the letter and sent it, but now that she's here, she's being sneaky.
Even as Duke Bold thought this to himself, he smiled brightly again.
“Please sit down first. Isn’t it the inviter’s duty to keep precious guests standing?”
Lobelia said her thanks and sat down on the sofa.
Duke Bold then also took a seat opposite her.
The maid, who had been watching them, placed the teacup in front of them and left the drawing room.
“Probably it's cheap tea leaves, at least old ones. All temporary villas are like this. I’m embarrassed, but please understand, Ma’am.”
“...Yes, of course.”
Lobelia's voice rang elegantly through the living room.
She lifted the teacup and pretended to put it to her lips for a moment, but then she naturally put it down, as if she had remembered what she wanted to say.
“...If this is a secret alliance, what do you want me to do for you, Duke?”
Lobelia seemed a little overwhelmed by her opponent's momentum.
However, the question was surprisingly straightforward.
The Duke of Bold was slightly startled and blinked at her, then quickly lifted the corner of one of his lips.
He really liked the flow of getting straight to the point without wasting time.
“What I want is simple, Ma’am.”
After taking a sip of his tea, Duke Bold furrowed his brow at the astringent taste and put down the teacup.
“Madam, you are seducing the Grand Duke, who is alone, and spending the night with him.”
A large wave crashed through Lobelia's bright eyes.
“Even though I am a single woman, how can you say such a thing...!”
Duke Bold nodded his head as if such a reaction was natural, but then waved his hand.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. This is definitely not something I want to ignore just because you lost your husband. One night with the Grand Duke, that one night...”
“...”
“You could become the Grand Duchess of the Twins Grand Duchy.”
At those words, Lobelia's attitude became much calmer.
“...I just checked your letter and got curious.”
“...”
“And if every one-night stand had to be his wife, no man in this empire would have more than one wife, Duke.”
Of course, she was 100% right.
But that was only when the man was a ‘human’.
She said that if that man was a half-blood demon, she would be anxious to give something to that 'one-night stand'.
The Duke of Twins hasn't spent the night with Rebecca yet, so he could be an imprint or something.'
He smiled confidently, not even knowing that he was making a mistake.
“That isn’t necessarily true when the opponent is the Duke of Twins, Ma’am.”
“What do you mean...”
“Trust me and spend the night with the Duke of Twins.”
“...”
“Then he will be desperate to give you anything other than the position of Grand Duchess.”
Lobelia looked at Duke Bold with one half-eyed look of her own.
But his attitude was still confident.
Lobelia eventually gave up on his persuasion and let out a long sigh.
“...Even if what Duke Bold said is right, how dare I covet the position of Grand Duchess.”
At those words, Duke Bold snapped his fingers and shook his head in rhythm.
“Um, um... Don't say things like that. In my opinion, your qualifications are already sufficient.”
“That can’t be right.”
“...This is it. If you don’t feel confident, think about your current situation.”
At those words, Lobelia raised her head, which had been bowed the entire time, and looked at Duke Bold.
“Then, regardless of confidence or whatever, you will definitely have a justification to sit in the position of Grand Duchess.”
A sinister smile spread across Duke Bold's lips.
“There are a lot of rumors in the empire, so I also heard something.”
“...”
“After Sir Henry passed away, the whereabouts of the family fortune are unknown, and the Bart family is now on the verge of bankruptcy, right?”
At those words, Lobelia's eyes widened as she remembered her situation.
Duke Bold did not miss the moment.
“Isn’t the Bart family your family?”
“...”
“For a family like that to lose everything and sink... Are you planning to just watch?”
The Duke imitated a warm tone and spoke as if he was admonishing.
“Imagine that, just in case, Madam won the heart of His Highness the Grand Duke and she became the Grand Duchess. Then, His Highness the Grand Duke..."
“...”
“Are he just going to watch as the Grand Duchess’s own family disappears?”
Fortunately, the arrow fired by Duke Bold hit the target.
Lobelia's face soon began to darken with worry.
She tried to keep her silence for a while.
Her lips were carefully pulled apart
“Let’s say I have that advantage... Why does Duke Bold want to make me a Grand Duchess?”
“...”
“I don’t have any connection to the Duke.”
Duke Bold smiled brightly at the plausible question.
“Hahaha, the first connection is that you is currently staying at Twins Castle.”
“...”
“And it’s about the second ointment...Shouldn’t we just start making it now?”
In fact, Duke Bold had only one reason to help her.
Lillian's heart.
Thinking about that, Duke Bold, who had rediscovered his appetite, suddenly stretched out his hand in front of Lobelia.
It meant promising an alliance.
“So Ma’am. From now on, be with me...”
The Duke's red eyes gradually began to emit a mysterious light.
“Would you like to gamble your life?”
***
That night, the Mansion of Light.
Cedric, who had been lost in thought for a while, stepped out of the bathtub.
He roughly draped the robe over his body and brushed back his wet hair.
When he looked out the window, he saw that darkness had already fallen.
'I'm sure she's drying her hair and drinking tea by now.'
It was one of Rebecca's habits that filled her day.
And thinking of her every time became a habit for Cedric.
It has been since Rebecca left the castle.
His daily life hasn't changed much since she left.
As usual, he woke up early, read the newspaper, ate, worked, and often spent time with Bianca.
In the meantime, he thought of Rebecca.
He thought she was having the same day as before.
However, although her absence was subtle, she was creating a clear crack.
The crack gradually collapsed starting from Cedric's most intimate places.
Even though it was Cedric, it wasn't that he didn't prepare for a life in which Rebecca disappeared.
He expected it would be difficult, so he made up his mind.
But the problem was that the reality was worse than expected.
He knew he would feel anxious and distressed without Rebecca by his side, but he never thought it would be to this extent.
In the meantime, Adrian appears in front of Rebecca again.
He really felt like he was going crazy.
Anger rose up again as he remembered the fox-like face that had smiled and rolled his eyes at Rebecca.
“Damn it.”
Cedric let out a short curse and left the bathroom.
Just like that, he was walking alone down a dark hallway.
“...Your Highness?”
When he suddenly raised his head at the sound of a beautiful voice, he saw an unexpected figure.
It was Bianca's tutor, Lobelia Bart.
“Why are you here?”
Even a faint note of caution was evident in Cedric's voice.
Lobelia, who was standing at the end of the dark hallway, froze for a moment.
Then, for a moment, she began to slowly approach Cedric.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I saw a cute squirrel on the stairs, so I just followed it... I guess I came this far without even realizing it.”
This happened often because the castle was surrounded by forests.
For a moment, she shook her head low for a good reason.
As the distance between him and the woman gradually narrowed, a crack appeared between Cedric's eyebrows.
It was because of Lobelia's behavior that began to gradually emerge from the darkness.
Maybe it was because it was late at night right before she went to sleep.
She was wearing an off-white sleeveless slip and a sheer, sheer silk gown.
Displeasure passed over Cedric's face as he faced her hot appearance.
“I don’t like noise at night, so please do it in moderation before heading back.”
Then he was about to walk straight past Lobelia towards his bedroom.
Cedric's movements were suddenly stopped by a subtle hand grabbing the end of his sleeve.
“Wait a moment, Your Highness..."
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