Although I pretended to like men, I was dumbfounded when he actually said that.

Had I not believed it all along?

“No, I don’t know about that. Even close friends don’t necessarily talk about such things.”

Telling the truth as much as possible except for essential lies reduces errors in lying. Chloe tried to tell only the truth except for one fatal lie.

“If you’re close enough to take care of his mother, you must be very close. You should have told me.”

The duke’s words didn’t make much sense.

Was he saying to tell him that I engage in sodomy, that I like the duke? Even if that were true, why would I tell a friend such things?

“I’ll have breakfast on the balcony. Tell them to prepare it there. For lunch, I’ll eat in the garden gazebo, so have them prepare for that.”

The duke, who had left Chloe perplexed, suddenly gave instructions for meal locations.

“Yes, understood.”

He used to eat breakfast in his room, and lunch and dinner in the dining room, but since he started having Chloe serve his meals, he kept eating in places other than indoors. Seeing that he wanted to eat on the balcony and in the garden today, it probably meant he wanted Chloe to serve him.

By the time Chloe left the duke’s room, any grateful feelings towards the duke had completely vanished.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hugrey was making the guy who made it hard to breathe serve him unnecessarily cumbersome tasks, driven by a desire to torment him and uncover all his secrets.

But the more tasks he assigned, the more the guy’s presence nearby pressured him.

Especially bath service, he couldn’t even think of asking for it again. In the bathtub full of hot water and steam, it was almost impossible to maintain his sanity.

Even dressing service, when the guy brought his head close to his nose to dress him, he almost ended up stroking that crown.

When he put him in the study to translate, he nearly suffocated.

He would think he should stop calling for him, stop giving him tasks, but why did he keep getting curious about things?

It was strange in itself to be curious about a servant.

Right. Being curious was nonsense. He was just trying to uncover the guy’s true identity. There was clearly something fishy about him.

Eventually, by keeping him close, he would find out. What he was truly hiding.

He just wanted to know that.

Not that he wanted to know about the guy himself.

[This is the timeline separator]

Chloe was serving the duke’s meal prepared in the garden. Since giving her a book to translate in the morning, the duke had barely spoken to her.

As if he had returned to his former self.

This should have made her feel at ease, but strangely, she didn’t feel very comfortable. Only the clanking of dishes and the sound of the duke gulping his drink mixed with the sound of the wind could be heard.

It’s so cold. It’s still chilly, why an outdoor meal?

The duke might not feel the cold, being as tough as if clad in iron armor, but Chloe, standing beside him just serving, was shivering to the point her teeth were chattering.

Even though it was spring, in this season where winter’s chill lingered, the duke must be the only one eating outdoors.

“Are you cold?”

Suddenly, the duke looked up at Chloe and asked.

“No, I’m not.”

Chloe quickly replied, startled, wondering if she had shown any signs.

“Yeah, right.”

The duke’s eyes went to Chloe’s clasped hands. Following the duke’s gaze to her own hands, Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment.

Her hands, tightly clasped due to the cold, had turned pale, and she had been gripping them so hard that blue veins were visible.

Ah, come to think of it, I might have been shivering a bit. Thinking back, she realized she might have been shifting her feet slightly too.

Chloe slowly loosened her tightly clasped hands.

And at that very moment,

Gasp!

Her eyes widened in shock as she looked down at her hands. The duke was holding one of her hands that she had just unclenched.

“Ice cold.”

“……!”

Chloe couldn’t think of how to react.

Why, why did he grab my hand?

Why……

As Chloe’s gaze wandered, not knowing what to do, it collided with the duke’s.

“……”

“……”

The silent exchange of gazes felt hot enough to warm even the cold air.

Flap flap flap. Suddenly, the sound of bird wings fluttering was heard.

“Ah!”

With a short exclamation, the duke abruptly let go of her hand.

His expression and gesture suggested he was surprised by his own action.

Chloe also snapped back to her senses and quickly turned her head. Somehow, she felt her face must have turned red.

The hand that the duke had held also felt hot, as if burning. As if the warmth of the duke’s hand had branded her own.

Thump thump thump.

Why is my heart like this too?

It felt like a bird had flown into her heart and was flapping its wings.

“Hmm! It’s cold, let’s go inside.”

The duke stood up abruptly.

“Ah, yes!”

Chloe’s gaze turned to the table. The food was almost untouched.

“From now on, I’ll have meals in the dining room for the time being.”

The duke added to Chloe, who was looking at the leftover food.

“Yes! I’ll……”

The duke walked away quickly towards the building without even listening to Chloe’s response.

Prepare it, Your Grace. Chloe muttered to herself, watching his retreating figure.

Even from a distance, the duke’s ears were visibly red.

Was the duke actually cold too? But his hand was warm.

Geez, why was his hand so warm! Why is my heart pounding like this!

Chloe pressed her hand against her chest, as if trying to calm the fluttering of the bird that had flown into her heart.

[This is the timeline separator]

Crazy bastard.

Crazy wolf beast bastard.

Back in his room, Hugrey cursed himself incessantly under his breath.

Why on earth did he grab Clyne Liden’s hand?

Although his little feet tapping nervously looked cute, and his small hands that turned pale white from gripping too tightly, showing blue veins, seemed pitiful, still. Unless one has gone mad!

Why did it even look cute in the first place? Pitiful, a man feeling pity for another man? Why? For what!

Hah! Have I become a mutant?

Male love, male love!

If he was a wolf, he should just imprint like a proper wolf, not engage in male love unprecedented in wolf history, which is what Hugrey himself was doing.

He was aware of the rumors surrounding him about being impotent or preferring men.

Of course, since it wasn’t true, he didn’t care how such rumors spread.

No, it was rather convenient. Until he could safely imprint on a woman with wolf blood, other women didn’t cling to him.

But if he couldn’t find a woman to imprint on, he would truly be no different from an ‘impotent’ man.

And now, not just impotent, but preferring men too.

At that moment, if the bird hadn’t flown by, he might have even interlocked fingers with that Clyne fellow.

That’s how dangerous and harmful that Clyne guy is.

Too dangerous to keep as a personal attendant. Enough to chase away immediately. Perhaps even more urgent than finding an imprinting partner.

So he must be fired right away.

“Ah!”

Hugrey, who was about to pull the bell rope to call the butler, barely stopped his hand.

If he pulled the bell rope, that Clyne fellow would come running, wearing those ill-fitting, layered loose clothes, emanating a sweet fragrance like flowers or honey.

Instead of pulling the bell rope, he decided to go to the butler’s office directly.

“You’re saying to fire Clyne Liden again?”

The butler’s eyes widened.

“Rather than firing, it’s a recommendation to resign.”

“That, that… I mean, why are you doing this? He’s an employee who just recently left and came back…”

“Do I need to explain my reasons?”

At Hugrey’s cold words, the butler waved his hands vigorously.

Of course, as the butler said, there needed to be a reason. A valid reason to suddenly fire an employee who was working just fine.

But there was no reason he could actually say. He couldn’t say it was because he might be developing feelings for that employee.

Wanting to touch that employee, wanting to be intoxicated by that employee, wanting to possess that employee…

What are you saying, you crazy bastard!

“No! If there was any mistake, I was going to take care of it.”

Click.

As the butler answered, Wilson, who managed the mansion, entered the butler’s office.

“Ah! I didn’t know the Duke was here.”

Wilson bowed his head and was about to leave again.

“No, Wilson. Wait a moment. You should know about this too.”

The butler stopped Wilson, who was about to leave.

“The Duke was just saying to send Clyne Liden away. I believe he received his salary in advance, you should know about this.”

“Ah! He’s leaving again? Even though recently…”

Wilson was about to say something more but closed his mouth.

“Since I’m forcing him out, tell him he doesn’t need to pay back the advanced salary.”

“What? It’s not just a few months, but a whole year’s worth, how…”

“…”

Hugrey just stared at Wilson without saying a word. With a look that said to carry out the instructions without any objections.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Fortunately, Wilson wasn’t completely oblivious.

“Then, inform Clyne Liden of this and send him away as soon as possible.”

“Yes, understood.”

As he heard the butler and Wilson answer simultaneously, Hugrey left the butler’s room. However, as soon as he closed the door, he heard Wilson’s disgruntled voice.

“I don’t understand why he’s doing this to someone who has a guarantor and even a joint guarantor.”

Hugrey, who was about to walk away at Wilson’s complaints, suddenly stopped.

The voice wasn’t particularly loud. It seemed he was being somewhat cautious while still voicing his objections to the master’s decision.

However, unfortunately for the servants, this level of sound could only be heard clearly by the ears of the wolf-human master.

Especially words that stuck out were even louder.

‘Guarantor’

He had forgotten.

That Clyne, that guy has a guarantor.