Duke, Is This Your First Time?

Chapter 43

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“Har.”

“Spit it out.”

When Har replied as if he had been expecting it, Elysia looked at him with a thoughtful look and asked.

“Who else could put me and the Camellia Family in danger other than Duke Russet and the Second Prince?”

“No one else.”

“Is that so? So it’s just the two of them?”

“For now.”

If this continued, he thought he might have to add Duke Deimos, who took Elysia’s spirit away, but Har didn’t say it because he thought it was against the intent of her question.

“That means what he’s trying to do is offend them. So, I would say it’s dangerous if they find out.”

Looking at Elysia who kept muttering to herself, Har raised his eyebrows slightly. 

Listening to it, he thought there was something unusual.

“What are you saying? Say it properly so I can understand.”

“Oh? Ah, that’s……. Before the accident, Lulien said that the duke and my mother had met, did you know?”

Har nodded without answering. He was the one who found out she used Helios, so there was no way he didn’t know.

“I asked him about it when we met today. But he said he can’t tell me yet. Because I could be in danger.”

“Duke Deimos said that?”

“Yes. I feel a bit perturbed after hearing that from him. I think there’s something that I don’t know. So would you find out what happened in the aristocracy before my parents got into an accident?”

Har pondered over Elysia’s question for a moment. He felt like she was trying to assess whether she could do it.

He slowly nodded after a while.

“I would have said it was impossible in the past, but it’s possible now. Instead, it will take time. I have to sneak away from the eyes of Veramus.”

“It won’t take more than three months, right?”

She should move cautiously, but it would be useless if the investigation passed the period she promised to Iker.

When Elysia asked with narrowed eyes, Har answered with a look that seemed to be asking if she was being serious or not.

“It’s a negligence of duty, and I think I will need at least a month.”

“I’m counting on you.”

After her parents died in the wagon accident, Elysia had no time to grieve. It was because the Camellia Family was faltering due to the sudden disappearance of obligee.

Duke Russet reached out to her when she, along with Lulien and Har, was barely able to prevent the family from going down the road of failure.

It was so that she could succeed her mother and walked in her footsteps to become the head of the aristocracy. He also promised to provide support if she complied.

That would have been the best option for the duke as well.

At that time, the aristocracy was like an active volcano on the verge of exploding because of the viscous dissatisfaction that kept flowing from the inside and they needed to be calmed down.

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad offer for Elysia either.

It was also an opportunity to reclaim her mother’s position and stabilize the Camellia Family.

Of course, it was uncomfortable to be controlled by the hands of Duke Russet.

When the situation calmed down to some extent and they got a hang of it, Lulien found and brought the arrangements that had been prepared by her mother ahead of time to avoid the eyes of Duke Russet.

Elysia was not aware of these things.

It must have been that way since then. The Camellia Family began to regain power they had in the past at a rapid pace.

Elysia, Lulien, and Har put their heads together to contemplate whether to repay the money borrowed from Duke Russet and provide the interest immediately.

Elysia said she wanted to return it, but Lulien was against it. Something was off, so they should observe the situation a bit more.

Lulien’s hunch wasn’t off the mark. In the meantime, the debt owed to Duke Russet was increasing.

Elysia realized it was because of Veramus’ manipulation.

And that she fell into Duke Russet’s trap. At this rate, she would never be able to escape from the duke.

At that time, Har said he intended to create an organization that could compete against Veramus. If there was no way out, they should overcome it.

When Lulien agreed with Har’s opinion, Elysia gave Har all the money she had prepared to repay Duke Russet.

The challenge they took might have been a reckless decision.

Luckily, Har had a natural talent for leading the organization and they successfully overcame the challenge. Helios grew at a very rapid pace and caught up to Veramus in no time. With a little more time and support, the possibility of being equal with them (Veramus) was there, or they (Helios) could grow even more than Veramus.

In the meantime, Lulien also ran a business under a borrowed name and raised funds to pay back the owed debts to Duke Russet.

The progress has grown to some extent, so Elysia had some spare time for herself. And she was thinking of using it to resolve the new doubt she had in mind.

‘The more I think about it, the more strange it is. As soon as the funeral was over, obligees suddenly appeared from all over the place, and I’m anxious about what His Excellency said, so I will have to talk to Lulien after I return.’

Lulien might have known about the doubts she had in mind right now. She might have kept silent all this time because she didn’t think it was the right time to talk.

Elysia, who was lost in her thoughts, looked up when Har’s voice came into her ears.

“So what trouble happened to you again today?”

How did he know?

Haar said with a tongue as Elicia rolled her eyes unknowingly. “Don’t think too hard. Your face says, ‘I made a mistake.’” Har said with a click of tongue as Elysia unknowingly stared at him.

“Don’t stare at me like that, the words, ‘I’m doomed’ were written on your face.”

“…….It’s not that.”

“Then what is it if it’s not trouble?”

“It’s……..”

It wasn’t an accident, but in reality it was an agreement, so in the end, Nelia told Har about what happened today.

When she visited the Emperor in order to refuse his request for her to become the mentor of the Third Prince. Therefore, she went to persuade the Third Prince and met Iker. She was persuaded by Iker and eventually decided to become the shooting mentor for the Third Prince.

After hearing the whole story, Har only said one word.

“Pushover.”

“Hey!”

“But that’s right. You’re a pushover to reject one and carry two. Lulien would say the same thing.”

Elysia inflated her cheeks.

He wasn’t wrong, but she felt terrible. That’s why she grumbled with a pout.

“Who knew it would be like this? His Majesty is ill-natured as well. I’m sure he’s offering it to you because he knew this would happen. You’re the kind of person who never loses against others.”

But what she got in return was a frank and gruff answer.

“The one who knew it and suffered is a fool.” “The one who knows and takes it is a fool.”

“Whose side are you on? I’m about to get extremely mad at you.”

When Elysia was annoyed and got mad, Har reached out after staring absentmindedly at her.

His hand was big enough, though not as big as Iker, it still enveloped the top of her head.

“I’m on your side. As long as I live.”

The frank yet affectionate pat reduced the anger-filled wind that was about to blow through Elysia’s cheeks.

Her anger subsided in an instant, and she muttered with a pout again.

“…….I’m weak to it in any case.”

“You’re naive. Talk to Lulien when we get back. We don’t know how it will turn out.”

“I have to.”

Elysia nodded because she didn’t know how this would offend Duke Russet and Dustin.

After finishing conversation with Har, she turned her eyes out the window again. Anxiousness hung on the end of her gaze as she looked at the distant sky.

From being the shooting mentor for the Third Prince, the Emperor’s absurd request, and her mother’s plan. She had a strong hunch that something was going to happen.

***

The Empire’s capital stirred up once again after being quiet since early morning after Marquess Camellia and Duke Deimos released their statements.

This time, it wasn’t a scandal, but the official Imperial schedule.

The Emperor announced that he was going to hold a birthday banquet on the birthday of the Third Prince, Rashian Luke Hermann on the first date of the next month.

The appearance of the Third Prince, who had never made an official appearance so far, gathered the attention of the nobles.

In particular, the nobles who followed the Second Prince were incredibly vigilant.

They were extremely vigilant.

When the Second Prince turned twenty-five, they were determined to support the Second Prince to be a Crown Prince when he turned twenty-five, so it was natural to be concerned when the Third Prince, who had been hiding, appeared after a year.

As soon as Duke Russet heard the news, he also went to the palace and headed to Dustin’s Palace.

It wasn’t because of concerns that the plan might go wrong, but because he had to assure the Prince since he wasn’t sure what the angry Dustin would do.

Duke Russet frowned as he paced quickly through the red-carpeted hallway.

There was a loud crashing noise of something breaking from the distance.

‘Anyhow, that guy has such a temper.’

His mother did the same and he seemed to have inherited it by blood.

When Duke Russet walked a little faster, he saw the head servant who stiffened with a pale face outside the door.

Upon spotting him, the head servant approached him hastily and breathed a sigh of relief.

“How’s His Highness?”

“I can’t say he’s doing well. He seemed to be feeling a bit better after being entertained by two maids all night yesterday, but as soon as he heard about the news this morning, he was furious again……..”

Even before the head servant finished what they said, there was another loud breaking noise again. It seemed that he had smashed everything in the bedroom.

Duke Russet exchanged glances with the head servant. He was telling them to announce that he arrived.

“Your Highness, Duke Russet has requested an audience!”

The noise from the inside stopped right after the head servant exclaimed loudly.

“…Come on in.”

Raw anger filled the harsh voice of the Prince through the door.

Duke Russet frowned after he opened the bedroom door and came into the room.

The room was a complete mess. He wondered if there were any decorations left.

Dustin stood in the middle of the bedroom in his one-piece gown.

Perhaps because of his rough breathing caused by his rising anger, the firm muscle on his chest rose and fell through the opened gown.

Fortunately however, his gaze was not completely insane.

He wasn’t sure it was because he broke as much as he could, but it seemed that he had regained his sanity to some extent.

The duke’s gaze turned to the bed after lingering on him.

There were two naked women clinging to the wall while trembling with ashen faces.

Both teary-eyed women have red hair. Which reminded him of someone.

The duke’s eyes turned fierce when he looked at them. It was the same gaze as if looking at an insect.

‘Useless things.’

Why were they shaking like that? Either cling to him or calm him down even if it means they have to be his subject of anger. That was why he let them in.

In order to prevent Dustin from flirting frankly with Elysia, the dukes elected women who resembled her at certain times as maids, educated them on their expressions and speech before sending them to his palace.

He was worried that the Prince might cause trouble at any time if he didn’t deal with his overflowing lust.

As the duke expected, Dustin was locked in the bedroom with the women he let in on the day he had met Elysia.

If one person for one day, it’s two people for a day like today, and they would wallow with him like animals for two or three days to release the lust he held back.

After that, he would put up the well-mannered outer persona again. 

He didn’t know what was going on inside his head, though.

However, when Elysia maintained her position at the Special Assembly two days ago, Dustin’s anger rose and knew no bounds.

As soon as he stormed out of the conference hall, the words the Prince said to him were still vivid in his mind along with glaring eyes.

***