It was just a nod, but Nemed, who understood the meaning immediately, declined with a shake of his head, and he didn’t insist any further. In the Barak class, striving to catch up with upperclass culture, cigars were a big trend.
Nemed, who had no desire to conform to such a superficial culture, didn’t touch the cigar, but…
The man’s gesture as he cut the end of his cigar with a grim expression was quite different from the pretension of other men Nemed had seen.
“You’re Skaha’s brother.”
Without a hint of emotion in his voice, even while lighting his cigar with a torch lighter, he was the perfect image of a graceful, enviable upperclass nobleman.
Perhaps what they wanted to imitate was not the cigar, but that style of behavior.
“Yes. I’ve come to pick up Skaha.”
The Duke looked at Nemed with his indifferent eyes. Nemed felt nothing from his gaze but had a bad premonition that the Duke would not easily release Skaha.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Nemed opened the door to meet Skaha’s eyes and they stared at each other as if frozen for a while. Skaha’s face held a stunned question, ‘Why are you here?!’
“Skaha.”
“Yes……?”
Skaha, seeming as if caught in some weakness, went to the Duke, flustered.
When the Duke tapped the long couch beside him with his long fingers, Skaha sat without objection next to him, whether Nemed looked displeased or not.
With one leg elegantly crossed, the Duke exhaled cigar smoke.
“You said he’s your brother.”
Skaha glanced at Nemed, raising her eyebrows as if to say ‘You said that?’, and Nemed nodded. The Duke’s expression turned grim, noticing the exchange of glances between them.
“Don’t think of twisting your words.”
“Oh, he’s not really my brother, but he’s like a brother to me!”
“He’s not your brother? I should imprison him for fraud.”
“It’s not exactly fraud… we’re really close, like real siblings…”
“Even though your blood is not mixed, like real siblings.”
“You may not believe it, but it’s true.”
Was it just his imagination that Skaha seemed oddly toyed with by the Duke? Moreover, he couldn’t bear the Duke’s attitude, deriding her.
“My lord, a few days ago, you personally visited our father to hear the evidence that would prove Skaha’s innocence. Why are you still detaining her? Has the suspicion not been cleared?”
The Duke and Skaha’s eyes both turned to him at the same time.
Even if he was angry, even if the Duke was wrong, he knew he shouldn’t be rude in front of a nobleman from the 10 noble families.
But he couldn’t contain his anger when the Duke mocked his relationship with Skaha.
The Duke smirked and put his cigar in the ashtray, leaning back on the couch. However, he seemed more interested in playing with Skaha than dealing with Nemed.
“I’ll give you a choice. If you really want to go, you can follow your brotherlike friend and go now.”
He was sneering at them, twisting one side of his handsome face. Surprisingly, he seemed to be letting Scáthach go easily, but it was a bit strange that Scáthach, the person concerned, was having a hard time and watching the Duke’s and my eyes.
“Scáthach, let’s go! He said we can go.”
“Ah, not yet…”
“What do you mean not yet?! You want to stay here and be treated like this? Do you really want to become a maid? Do you?”
Nemed jumped up and yelled at Scáthach, who looked at a loss and sad.
“No, Nemed. That… with the Duke, that thing…”
Scáthach’s face turned sad, a little while ago almost kissed, couldn’t deny it outright.
Holding the cigar again, the Duke elegantly exhaled smoke once more and issued a dismissal order to Nemed.
“Apparently, Scáthach doesn’t seem to want to go with you.”
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Cassard knew very well why the woman didn’t follow the man who came to pick her up, or rather, couldn’t. Because he was showing off the woman’s necklace around his neck.
Cassard stroked the woman’s head with slow, affectionate touches even after Nemed had been driven away, and while he was quietly smoking half his cigar.
The woman had a sullen face but said nothing. It would have been more fun if she had talked back or resisted a bit.
What fun would it be to play with a woman who doesn’t even remember me, but when night came, she pleased me quite well, including plunging into my arms with her soft, quiet body. Of course, that’s over now.
“I’ll give the necklace back.”
Cassard smiled mischievously, looking at the wideeyed pumpkincolored eyes.
“Instead, you’ll have to take it yourself.”
The woman sat up and looked straight at him when she heard Cassard’s words. It was funny how she clenched and unclenched her fists several times, possibly in tension, and Cassard involuntarily laughed.
“So, then…”
Although she seemed to say she couldn’t do it, and asked to untie it right away, reaching out to me was quite bold. Even though her fingertips were shaking so much.
“Can you do it? Your hands are shaking terribly.”
Cassard asked teasingly, and the woman’s hands paused in midair for a moment. She seemed to ponder what he meant by his words. Such a transparent face. Easy to read what she’s thinking.
“…I’d prefer you to do it yourself, but I don’t think you will.”
“Right. I won’t.”
Her lips tightly closed, the woman reached out to me, coming closer. The joke was clearly on this side, but the feeling became increasingly strange.
No, maybe I’ve known all along. Even in such a situation, I would never just leave the woman alone.
“So, then… I’ll be rude.”
Scáthach cautiously reached behind the Duke’s neck, who was leaning lazily on the drawingroom couch.
Even though she had been of royal lineage in her childhood, dealing with the only Duke family of the ten great houses in such a giant empire as Parsard, the Blahnath family, and the lord of Lindkeum here, was a series of nerves.
Especially after creating a strange atmosphere.
Her fingertips trembled at the fact that a goodlooking man was staring intently at her face from such a close distance.
Moreover, the red eyes full of mischief seemed to deepen into a dangerous light as they got closer.
But she decided to muster a little more courage, thinking that if not now, she might not be able to get the necklace back. If she left the necklace in the Duke’s hands, her heart would tremble and she couldn’t live on her own.
She tried to untie the necklace’s hook, hidden behind the Duke’s neck, with her arms outstretched as far back as possible, but her hands kept slipping. Was it because of the sweat on her hand?
“Ju, just a moment… Sorry. Or should I go behind…”
When Scáthach was about to get up, unable to undo it without looking, the corner of the Duke’s mouth curled up.
“I’m confused…”
The Duke’s hand, moving with an elegant grace, encircled Scathach’s waist. Pulled by the man’s strong force, Scathach’s eyes widened as she was drawn close to the Duke’s nose.
He never rushed but slowly tilted his head. The Duke’s lips, hovering over the breathless Scathach’s lips, held a hot heat.
When Scathach blinked, her long eyelashes seemed to touch her cheeks, and the Duke laughed softly.
“Close your eyes.”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
