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He quickly read through documents and signed below them. For things that needed to be looked over separately, they were marked and placed to the side.

On the left were things that he had to process and ones the right were also things he had to process, piled up together.

No matter how much his eyes felt like falling off and he massaged his aching head, going through the papers, he couldn’t see the bottom of the pile of documents to his left.

At one point, he flung the pen away and leaned backwards to rest. Even though he closed his eyes, his head was full of things he needed to do.

He was fed up with it. He wondered how much more of this he would have to do.

‘Maybe 10 more years? Come to think of it, how old will that boy be in 10 years?’

He would be 18. At that age, he would just be graduating from the Academy. If so, it won’t be in 10 years. Maybe in about 15 years?

That boy wasn’t a dim-witted child so if he was taught for about 4-5 years, he would become useful.

’15 years, huh...’

Even the minimum amount was way too far.

‘I have to do this crap for 15 more years...’

As it was raining, he looked outside the window, staring at the dim sky. It had been raining since morning.

At first, he never looked outside the window but eventually, three days ago, he stole a glimpse of Lucia walking through the garden without going to the balcony.

He didn’t realize how unbecoming his behavior was and only grumbled about not seeing her because of the rain.

‘If I don’t see her now, I don’t get to see her at all.’

He mumbled irritatedly then stopped himself with a chuckle.

‘You are so pathetic. Why don’t you just go and take a look?’

It was not far, he just had to go down the stairs and walk for a bit. At this time of the day, she was usually in the receiving room on the first floor.

The way she lived was monotonous and simple but it was regulated as she had things scheduled to do at almost every hour.

She didn’t seem to want to go out these days so he knew her schedule more than he knew his own schedule.

‘I am doing the stupidest things.’

He was now avoiding his wife. To be more precise, he was running away from his own heart.

‘Love? How absurd.’

He continuously denied it. His heart should only belong to himself. He would never waver because of someone else.

Even with such confidence in himself, he didn’t have the courage to meet her. He felt like if he met her, everything would crumble down in a moment.

With the excuse that there was a lot of work, he stayed late at night in his office, dealing with documents.

After which he left the office and slept in his own bedroom that he had not used in the last few months.

‘I can do well without her.’

That was his excuse to keep going. His rationality called him a loser and a coward but he ignored it.

The first one or two days were fine.

‘Right. There is no way I am being swayed by a woman.’

He had felt elated like an immature child. But it didn’t take long for such confidence to disappear.

As time went by, his mood gradually declined and the contents of the documents failed to enter his head making his work speed drop.

Even though he spent the same amount of time on them, because the efficiency was lower, his working time grew longer.

He was uncomfortable with his current state that was very different from what he was used to and the work in his hands entered this vicious cycle.

But he still didn’t want to admit it. He was denying his withdrawal from her, and persisted in his stubbornness.

Unfortunately, there was no one around him to pull his ears and scream out the facts to him.

“Your Grace.”

The moment he heard that familiar voice from outside, annoyance swiftly swelled within him. The owner of that voice always brought a lot of work for him.

And as expected, once the owner of the voice entered, it was not a baseless notion.

Ashin, one of the Duke’s secretaries, the administrative officer, entered found Hugo fiercely looking at him, making his hairs stand on end but he stayed firm and placed a pile of documents on the left side of Hugo’s desk.

Spitefully looking at the sight of Ashin furtively going away, Hugo spoke curtly.

“When is that boy’s vacation?”

Ashin was confident of being able to answer whatever question thrown at him, anytime, anywhere but he started sweating at the Duke’s unexpected question.

Fortunately for him, his mind was clear so he found the answer without pause.

“...I do know he doesn’t have any vacations.”

There was only one person that would make the Duke talk about vacations. The one who was appointed as successor and the only son of the Duke, Damian Taran.

Accurately speaking, he was the illegitimate child of the Duke but unless one wanted to die, they wouldn’t say such words in front of the Duke.

No one amongst the Duke’s vassals mentioned Damian in the presence of the Duke.

‘They were still the same, doubting the possibility...’

They all thought that it could change and hoped for that change, after all the Duke was still very young and had just gotten married.

There were many that did not understand the illegitimate child becoming the Duke’s legitimate heir.

However, Ashin was convinced that as long as there was no unexpected event, the successor of the Duke’s name would be the illegitimate young lord.

This was something the Duke had gathered his vassals together and announced and the Duke had never once gone back on something that he had said.

The event of succession to the Duke send a huge ripple through the entire region. The fact that such a huge scandal was not even more widely spread was because the Duke’s vassals had watched their mouths.

They were uncomfortable with the fact that an illegitimate child could perhaps become their master in the future and did not want to publicize it.

‘Although he made such a loud entrance into society, the relationship of this father and son is completely...’

As soon as his son was six years old, the Duke threw him into a boarding school.

Frankly, the people around him tried to dissuade him. They told him that Damian was young and maybe the Duke could try waiting one or two more years before putting him in boarding but the Duke snorted at them.

[Young? At six years old, he should be able to survive even if he’s thrown into a desert.]

They were all shocked at the standard he held Damian to. But the words that came out of the young lord’s mouth was even more astonishing.

[The survival rate of boarding school is surely more than that of a desert. Thank you for your generous actions.]

And so, the young master that was grossly mature for his age, went to boarding school without any hesitation.

< — Ducal couple — > (16)

TN: Question: So I am going off the assumption that most of you read on your phones so I activated the mobile theme. Is it better? for your reading experience!

Two years passed and the Duke did not so much as mention his son making one wonder if he actually had a son, and likewise the young lord did not so much as briefly contact his home.

‘I won’t be surprised at all if it remains this way till he graduates in ten years.’

As irony would have it, the Duke’s indifference towards Damian suppressed hostile forces and stopped them from acting hastily towards Damian.

‘The Duke may have purposefully intended for that to happen.’

“He can’t leave at all?” (Hugo)

Ashin quickly pushed away his straying thoughts.

“An outing is possible.”

“Tell him to come then.”

“...Do you mean right now? But the semester just began and we need to notify them at least one week in advance to get permission for an outing–”

“When did you start questioning my words?”

If you are given orders, just follow them.

Ashin immediately broke out in cold sweat and his expression grew stiff as he replied.

“...I understand. I will immediately send out a message.”

“I have sent someone to the capital to tell Fabian to prepare the family register and bring it back with him when he returns.”

‘So he wants to elevate the little lord’s status. If the little lord’s status is elevated...no one would be able utter any complaint.’

It had been announced that the little lord would become the Duke’s successor but he was still merely an illegitimate child.

But if his legal status was elevated, he stops being a demerit of the duke and becomes the perfect successor.

Those who were still expecting some kind of change in the future would have to give up once the little lord’s status was elevated.

‘The Duchess must have agreed to his entry into the family register. I did hear their marital relationship is very good but what will happen if the Duchess gives birth to a child? If she gives birth to a son, that will be a headache...’

“It’s Elliot, your Grace.”

The instant those words fell, a scary-looking middle-aged knight walked in. The Knight Captain, Elliot Caliss appropriately paid his respects then lifted up the lengthy bamboo barrel.

Hugo received the barrel and pulled apart the top, revealing the rolled up letter within it.

Ashin felt a shiver run down his spine as he watched Hugo read the letter, narrow his eyes and give a dreary smile.

‘Fuck, he scares me more when he’s like that.’*

“Mobilize seven people. I will leave the assignments to you and we will set out as soon as they are ready.”

The rain was almost over but the sun was already setting on the afternoon.

It was different from the usual early departure at dawn, but the faithful Knight Caliss answered with only a few words and withdrew.*

“Hunting after a long time, huh.” (Caliss)

‘Human hunting.’

To Hugo’s mutterance, Ashin mumbled the hidden words to himself.

‘Whew...today’s dreams will not be peaceful.’

Ashin had once unintentionally followed the Duke to the battlefield a few years ago as an administrative officer although he was far away from the battlefield.

From time to time, he still saw scenes from that time and they made his heart palpitate.

His chills were not caused from seeing the cold-blooded killing. On the contrary, that was easier to see than the unrealistic and dizzying sight of the Duke slicing off someone’s throat and making their heads fly to the sky.

The Black Lion? Ashin found that nickname to be much embellished.

The Taran Duke who donned a black armor as he tore through the battlefield was understandably a godsend and most certainly a devil.

As he took in the sight of the Duke covered in blood like a wild beast and laughing comfortably, Ashin had muttered something without realizing it.

‘What a lunatic.’

He was startled as the words left his mouth and worried as to whether someone heard him but fortunately, his monologue was buried under the cries of soldiers drunk with the madness of war.

Ashin was someone who wasn’t scared of anything in the world. He did not hold back whatever he wanted to say and his capability matched his reckless personality that made both his superiors and subordinates leave him.

But, from that day onwards, Ashin became a docile sheep in front of the Duke of Taran.

He realized how terrifying the Taran Duke was. Of course, the Duke was publically known to be a pretty scary person but he felt the duke was even more terrifying than how they described him.

In places other than the battlefield, the Duke put on a mask of good manners and his rough side could not be seen at all.

People who interacted with him only focused on the fact that he was a young duke and a great dancer.

That was why it was scarier. It was frightening that the bloody thing he witnessed on the battlefield could hide its madness and pretend to be a classic nobleman that had never held a sword before.

“Will the agenda be prolonged?”

“I know I have to go but I’m afraid it will take a while.”

“Then, during the time you are gone, the young lord could look over it.”

Hugo thought about it for a moment.

Although that child was young, he was of the Taran bloodline. It was difficult to think of him as another eight year old.

That boy had plunged a sword into the heart of a man whose ankle Hugo had caught in a trap and finished him off.

He recalled the past for a moment then returned to reality. That boy was never an innocent one.

There wasn’t any insanity coursing through his veins yet but who knew when it would appear. But still, he was currently the mild type.

According to the reports he continuously received, he wasn’t foolishly nice like his father but he didn’t have a cruel temperament.

The first time Hugo met Damian, if he hadn’t seen eyes similar to that of his dead brother then he would have killed him on the spot and disposed of him.

No matter how mild he was, malicious intent wouldn’t fly. Compared to Damian, his wife was a docile rabbit.

He couldn’t help but get worried that it would just be the two of them. He didn’t find it strange at all as he subconsciously worried about her.

“Why don’t you personally go get him?”

“...Huh?”

“Make sure to warn him when he arrives, to give the proper respect to his mother. If I return and hear anything strange...”

“Ah, yes. I will make sure there is nothing to worry about.”

Shortly after Ashin withdrew, Jerome rushed into the office after hearing that the knights were preparing to leave.

‘I think it began the day after we called the doctor...’

He was unsure as to what happened between the two of them but from that day onwards, their relationship grew strange.

His master was taking the initiative to distance himself from her Grace. Saying he was busy was just an excuse.

His master always had a lot of work however it was never to the extent where he couldn’t eat or sleep.

According to the maids, they also slept separately. Every time he looked at her Grace as she tried to act like everything was fine even though she was dismayed, he felt his heart ache.

‘Don’t do this, master.’

For the first time ever, he felt rebellious towards his master in his heart.

He could barely stop himself from asking his master why he would leave on a long term absence without resolving this situation.

Jerome brought in warm tea just as usual and its delicate fragrance filled the air. He poured the tea, filling up the empty cup.

“What should I do about your evening meal?”

“Mmm, you don’t need to prepare it. I will be leaving soon.”

Hugo raised his head and lifted the cup of tea to his mouth.

“I will be going hunting but I don’t know the exact schedule.”

“...it’s already late. How about leaving tomorrow at dawn?”

“No, I am about to get ready and I already ordered for it.”

“As for her Grace...”

“Inform her for me.”

“...Did her Grace make a huge mistake?”

Jerome spoke firmly as Hugo gaze fell on him.

“Even if she did make a mistake, I hope you can generously forgive her. For the past few days, her Grace has not exchanged any words with your Grace.”

“This isn’t something you have a say in. You are crossing the line.”

“Yes. I have to say something presumptuous. Her Grace is the Duchess. She is different from the other women you were fascinated with for a bit and then threw away. You have to treat her valuably.”

Hugo stared at Jerome with slightly widened eyes. Watching Jerome’s slightly downcast gaze as he stubbornly persisted, Hugo narrowed his eyes.

Translator’s Corner:

*Never heard the first word before so I googled it and all I could for find it is: it’s a ‘vulgar profanity.’ It sounds very similar to the word for ‘shit’ though. Btw, this book is tagged smut & mature so you won’t be getting any censoring from me.

* The raw translation says he answers with only two words but I couldn’t translate that sentence to only two words. I mean in Korean, it is two words but English doesn’t words that mean a whole sentence.

And new goal up on patreon for an extra release on here.