Chloe looked at the duke in shock, wondering if she had actually called him out loud.

“What?”

“I’m talking about your mother’s blanket. Actually, I don’t like that blanket. But I liked that you covered me with it.”

“…!”

It’s true. That duke really likes me. Now it was difficult to doubt or resent him.

“I also liked that you pounced on me.”

He’s really crazy! The madman who likes her added more crazy talk.

“When did I! When did I ever pounce on you!”

You pulled me, Your Grace!

“This morning, in the living room, on the sofa.”

The duke said that and then left with a whoosh.

Before she could retort, the door closed with a click.

Crazy duke. He must be crazy.

However, Chloe already knew all too well that her face had turned as red as a ripe apple. Because that moment from the morning that the duke mentioned before leaving was vividly replaying in her mind.

She had felt the duke’s hot, sweet breath on her forehead, and her body had heated up under the duke’s gaze that seemed to want her.

She knew precisely that in that moment, both the duke and she had wanted each other. Even the fleeting emotion of not really wanting to come to her senses, though she barely did.

Ah, I’m crazy too. An enormous sense of mental shock came over her.

Do I… do I… like the duke too? Could I, perhaps… could I, dare I… Or is this just an emotion infected by the duke’s confession?

Crazy Chloe Riden. To like Duke Ulfaz. No, that’s impossible. This must just be a temporary state of confusion and delusion caused by shock.

In fact, she could fall into confusion or delusion upon hearing absurd words. Like how she was briefly swept up in that impulse in that moment this morning.

That person is the great Duke Ulfaz after all. A man beautiful enough to make any woman think she’s ‘fallen in love’ just by looking at his face.

So she too could be confused about her own feelings.

Yes, that’s it. It doesn’t make sense that she would dare to like him, that person.

But the duke’s situation was different from hers. She wasn’t a woman beautiful enough to entice any man, and right now she was just a personal attendant in men’s clothing. And the duke was none other than ‘that’ Hugurei Ulfaz.

For someone like him to like her.

“He’s crazy. He’s gone mad.”

Ah!

Chloe, who had been actually crying out loud while clutching her head, suddenly looked up at the entrance. She suddenly recalled the words the duke had thrown with a smile that had made her mind hazy.

‘See you the day after tomorrow.’

See you the day after tomorrow? See you again? How can I face the duke again?

It was actually an obvious thing to say. She was the duke’s personal attendant after all. When her vacation ends and she returns, she’s naturally the attendant who has to serve the duke closest to him.

But how to act as the duke’s attendant in this state, the not-so-distant future became bleak.

As if the wig she had been wearing stuffily even while on vacation was the cause of this headache, Chloe sat down right there, taking off the wig.

Hiiiiiiiii.

When Hugurei approached the horse he had tied to a tree, the horse was already stomping its front hooves and causing a commotion.

“Haah…”

To think he had to ride this beast again. He was already sighing.

It was an unusually stubborn creature. Since yesterday when climbing the mountain, it had been so full of discontent that if not for the joy of seeing Chloe’s cute back of the head as she rode ahead, he would have abandoned it long ago.

But the reason it was acting up like this even before he mounted was surely because of that guy.

Hugurei’s eyes turned towards Kalkers Traskan. As expected, the horse was backing away in the opposite direction from where Traskan stood, throwing a fit.

At least Hugurei had given the horse a message that he wasn’t trying to eat it, but that lion wasn’t even trying to soothe it, instead showing all its anger.

“Noisy.”

Moreover, Traskan was openly displaying his anger towards the horse. Flashing his golden eyes, the symbol any beast-person would recognize as a lion’s.

“You, don’t say anything to my horse. Your mere presence is already making it sensitive.”

Hugurei said as he stroked the horse’s neck. Of course, the horse twisted its body even more at his touch.

A wolf comforting a horse frightened by a lion. He suddenly felt sorry for this stubborn horse.

“I have no intention of going down the mountain with you. I only came along to tell you to stop talking nonsense. Chloe doesn’t like you. She only couldn’t respond honestly to your crazy words because you’re the master she serves, whether you say you like men or not.”

Traskan glared at Hugurei as he spoke. He had expected him to act like this from the moment he agreed to leave Chloe’s house so easily. He had also prepared for how to break him.

Like this.

“Shall we fight here?”

Hugurei asked after glancing once towards Chloe’s house.

“What?”

“I don’t mind here either. Since I’ve already confessed to liking my attendant, even if I transform into a wolf, it would only increase the shock she’s already received a little more. I’m fine with it. Whether Chloe sees my wolf form or not.”

“You crazy wolf bastard!”

Traskan trembled and growled as if he might transform into a lion right then. Though in reality, he couldn’t even attempt it.

Hugurei had clearly foreseen that Traskan would react like this. Of course he would be terrified if told to fight in animal form. Because he would no longer be able to hide his true identity.

In fact, all the words Hugurei had thrown at Traskan were lies. That his wolf transformation would only increase Chloe’s shock a little more. There was no greater nonsense than this. She would receive an unthinkable shock. She didn’t even know that beast-people still existed in the world.

But right now, getting rid of that lion bastard was what mattered. Even if it meant taking a bit of a gamble.

“Why, don’t like it? If you don’t like that, then leave this mountain now.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Watch your language. I’m not a dog, I’m a wolf. More precisely, a werewolf.”

Traskan’s fists trembled.

This lion would absolutely never show his animal transformation to Chloe. Hugurei had already noticed this from the moment this guy boasted about abandoning the blood of Elaion. This guy does not welcome the lion’s blood flowing in his body.

Traskan hadn’t given up on being a lion beast-person, he just wanted to hide it from Chloe.

Of course, it was common for beast-people to not want to reveal their nature to pure humans. But this lion guy seemed to be trying to hide his lineage for different reasons.

The exact reason was unclear, but it was certain that being a lion beast-person or a prince was not advantageous in possessing Chloe Riden. Of course, for the same reason, being a wolf beast-person could also be a minus factor for him in possessing Chloe Riden.

But right now, he didn’t know that reason, and ignorance is brave, they say. Whether his blood would be a disadvantage in the future or not, right now Traskan was the biggest threat to him. So he had no choice but to use the tactic of pressuring him to reveal his beast-person lineage. Because this was the only card he held right now.

“I have no intention of going down the mountain alongside you.”

As Hugurei had guessed, he was right. Though Traskan tried to save face by saying he couldn’t go down ‘alongside’, in the end it meant he would go down. Traskan chose to submit to Hugurei’s threat rather than reveal that he was a beast-person.

Who wants to go down ‘alongside’ anyway. He too didn’t want to go down the mountain amicably with that promiscuous lion.

Just dealing with that rampaging horse was enough.

Hugurei let out a short sigh as he looked at the horse still snorting.

“The moment you come up to this forest again, I’ll tell Chloe about your true identity. I don’t care if my lineage is revealed or not. So it would be better if you don’t show your face in front of Chloe until she returns to Roizen with me.”

Hugurei drove in the final nail.

In fact, though he said he didn’t care, Hugurei had no intention of revealing to Chloe that he was a wolf beast-person. Chloe wasn’t even a woman, so there was no need to reveal it. Though she might not be a man either. Anyway, for now.

However, if he could drag Traskan out of Chloe’s house, he had considered animal transformation as a last resort, so it wasn’t entirely a false threat just for intimidation.

At his final threat, seeing Traskan’s eyes emit a light of hatred, it seemed he wouldn’t appear in front of Chloe at least during this vacation.

Why on earth is he trying so hard to hide his lion blood? It’s clear there’s another reason, not the general reason for hiding being a beast-person.

But perhaps that reason, which might apply to himself as well, can only be figured out on his own. Even if he asked that lion bastard, he would never tell him.

However, seeing him so afraid, it was clear that he too should hide being a wolf beast-person as much as possible until he knew the reason.

“Duke Ulfaz, you’re crazy. An alpha being homosexual.”

Traskan spoke up with what seemed like a final struggle.

I know.

“A lion’s homosexuality is just as crazy. Ah! But you can’t even do that homosexuality anyway.”

Because Chloe is already mine.