Vellus spoke to Duke Buin, who heaved a sigh.

“Your Grace. And it seems you’re misunderstanding something, even if I were to reject Zen Baker,
Zen Baker will eventually become a proper member of this Gracian social circle.”

What nonsense is this? Beads of sweat formed on Duke Buin’s forehead.

Could it be that the snake-like cunning Vellus knows about his relationship with Zen? Or perhaps,
Duke Delta might have planned this whole thing.

‘If he makes that bastard his man, he could control the Buin duchy to his liking without marrying Margaret to his grandson…!’

To Duke Buin, who was worrying needlessly with a pale face, Vellus showed an irritating smile and continued.

“Don’t you remember who his fiancée was?”

Duke Buin’s narrowed eyes widened in surprise.

‘Fiancée?’

Come to think of it, there was a woman by Zen’s side. Certainly…

“I heard it was the daughter of Count Blaise.”

Vellus said before Duke Buin could complete his thought.

“A count’s daughter? Nonsense. What count would dare place his daughter beside a mere commoner?”

“Not all young ladies are born into good circumstances like the Buin duke’s daughter.”

Duke Buin frowned at the seemingly lecturing tone.

“From what I’ve learned, the Blaise family is in a financial state that can hardly be considered noble. But what does finance matter? What’s important is that the Blaise family is listed in the nobility register and that the count’s daughter is an only child.”

Duke Buin’s pupils trembled. Vellus let out a chuckle and said,

“Judging by your expression, you’ve already understood their relationship. As expected of Your Grace. It would have taken me a bit longer to figure it out…”

Vellus stood up and said,

“Anyway, Your Grace, don’t hate him too much. He’ll soon become a noble anyway.”

“That’s impossible. How could such a thing…”

Vellus didn’t find Duke Buin’s aversion to Zen strange.

Duke Buin was this kind of person. A nobleman so conservative that the term barely did justice to his narrow-mindedness.

‘He’s like an ancient relic that will soon disappear.’

Vellus, smiling so deeply that his dimples showed, said,

“Other nobles will welcome him. They’re surely all trying to get close to him.”

Zen, who had been too proud as a noble to even greet others, attended Duke Delta’s party.
And he brought a count’s daughter as his partner, no less. Everyone will have done their calculations and try to establish connections with him.

Vellus was certain. There would surely be families thinking of forming in-law relationships with the two who weren’t even married yet.

‘How can you be so leisurely at such a busy time, Duke Buin.’

Before bowing to Duke Buin, Vellus said this,

“Since I’m here, I’ll go meet the duke’s daughter. Then…”

Left alone in the office after Vellus’s departure, Duke Buin buried his face in his hands.

‘That bastard is going to become a count?’

Duke Buin found it difficult to breathe, as if he was being strangled.

‘He’s not the type to be satisfied with being a count.’

Duke Buin recalled Zen whom he had met at dawn. At that time, Zen had pretended to know his place, but hadn’t he ended up looking straight at Duke Buin?

‘It was the look of an untrained dog eyeing my ankles.’

If Zen, upon becoming a count, revealed his identity and gathered power, his relatives would naturally disregard Margaret’s legitimacy and cling to Zen’s wealth and the fact that he was a man.

Such a thing could happen even after Vellus became Duke Buin.

If Zen could prove that he was Duke Buin’s child, he could add his name to the Buin family tree, and the same would go for the child who made him a count and the countess.

That alone was horrible, but the situation could get even worse.

‘What if Margaret’s child is a daughter and that bastard’s child is a son.’

In that case, Zen’s son would become the first in line to inherit the Buin duchy title.

This worst-case scenario wasn’t necessarily going to happen, but it was entirely possible.
Duke Buin couldn’t tolerate even the possibility.

The Buin duchy belonged to Margaret and should belong to Margaret’s child. It wasn’t something that could be coveted by a child born to such trash.

‘I need to deal with that bastard before he becomes a count.’

How should he deal with him? Killing would be the best method, but as Vellus said, with the current high interest in Zen, dealing with him in an obvious way could be dangerous.
Moreover, if Vellus was interested, it was likely that Duke Delta was also interested in him.

‘First, the interest in that bastard needs to disappear.’

To the point where, even if Zen died in the future, people would just briefly mourn, saying “There was such a person,” and move on.

Usually, inflated interest subsides with time, but Duke Buin’s instinct was telling him.
This wasn’t a problem that time could solve. And he wasn’t in the mood to sit and wait either.

‘I must create an opposing force.’

Fortunately, Duke Buin was the only duke in Gracian, and thanks to that, he had a few nobles he could use discreetly.
Using those nobles to create a force that would ostracize Zen, who was still just a commoner, didn’t seem too difficult.

But it would be impossible for them to dominate public opinion.
After all, Zen was outwardly impressive, young, and possessed enviable wealth.
So, thoughtless young nobles like Vellus wouldn’t easily lose interest in Zen.

‘It would be good if Zen Baker did something to disappoint the nobles, but…’

Zen wouldn’t make such mistakes.

‘Then.’

Duke Buin, who had been pondering so deeply that his wrinkles deepened even more, thought of Dia.
A woman who, despite being noble, shamelessly chose to stand beside a commoner. A foolish woman trying to corrupt the Gracian social world like Geman or Astrian for her own benefit.

‘They said she was the daughter of a poor count’s family.’

Duke Buin immediately called his butler and gave a discreet order.

“Quickly find out about Dia Blaise, and also about the servants working in Zen Baker’s mansion. Everyone down to the kitchen maid.”

“Understood.”

After the butler left, Duke Buin leaned back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling. The grand and beautiful Buin duchy.
The owner of this place was his daughter Margaret. Even giving the duke title to Vellus was just a means to give this duchy to Margaret.

‘I’ll try anything. For my daughter.’

Duke Buin was prepared to do anything, even if it meant rolling in the mud.

“Ah, Father was looking for you?”

Perhaps because of their previous conversation, Margaret was anxious at the news that Duke Buin had sought out Vellus.

“Are, are you alright?”

Vellus chuckled at Margaret’s innocent face, worried that he might have received harsh words.

“As expected, the duke doesn’t approve of me… But it wasn’t a bad visit since I got to see Margaret.”

As Margaret let out a small sigh with a face full of worry, Vellus continued.

“Well, now that I’ve seen your face, I should…”

As Vellus was about to leave, Margaret hurriedly said,

“Um, actually, I, I have something to tell you…”

“What is it?”

Vellus said, narrowing his eyes. Margaret glanced at the servants near the reception room and whispered quietly to Vellus.

“I, I’ve prepared what I mentioned before.”

“Already?”

“Yes, yes.”

Vellus thought.

‘Hmm. I guess she had that much in the bank. Well, that’s good.’

Vellus took both of Margaret’s hands.
To her, who was trembling slightly with a reddened face, Vellus whispered in a voice so sweet it was chilling.

“As I told you before, I’ll invest in Margaret’s name, but still, I don’t feel good about it.”

“No, no. I’m, I’m very happy that I can be of help.”

Vellus smiled brightly and naturally distanced himself from her.
He could have kissed her forehead to match the mood, but Vellus didn’t.
Why go that far with a woman he didn’t even like? It wouldn’t be right for either of them.

“Thank you. But I’m afraid I’ll be too busy to meet you properly for a while. What should we do?”

“It’s, it’s okay. I’ll, I’ll send letters occasionally.”

Vellus only showed an ecstatic smile without promising to reply.
As soon as he left the reception room, Vellus erased his smile. The thought of living in this duke’s mansion in a few years already made him feel suffocated.

‘If I could surprise our grandfather with the results of this venture, couldn’t I make this marriage disappear?’

Vellus laughed bitterly at his own thought. Grandfather would never allow it. He always tries to give Vellus the best.

‘But grandfather. Is this family really the best?’

Everything was lacking except for the title.

As Vellus was swiftly descending the central staircase, he suddenly felt something odd and turned his head.
In the middle of the central staircase wall, the portrait of the previous Duke Buin, which had been looking down on everyone majestically, was gone.

‘What?’

Even Vellus, who didn’t visit this mansion often, felt the emptiness where the portrait of the previous Duke Buin had been, so large and his face so intense.

‘Wasn’t that his proud father? Why did they remove it?’

Vellus, who had furrowed his brow, soon started moving again.

‘Is he planning to hang his own portrait now? Ugh. This place that I already don’t want to come to will become even more unpleasant.’

Shuddering, Vellus headed without a moment’s hesitation towards the carriage waiting for him.

“Go to the Baker mansion.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, no.”

Vellus, who was about to board the carriage, turned to the coachman and said,

“Let’s go to the flower shop first.”