Without any warning, four male guards surrounded an unexpected visitor.

Although each of them had courteous and refined faces, their eyes were full of vitality. They each had a glinting sword strapped to their waist. All of them were the Duke of Montaner’s hounds.

The visitor lowered their hood. Despite this, the guards did not step back but rather revealed their swords even more.

It was a characteristic blindly obedient hound trait to consider anyone other than their employer as an enemy.

Just as the tension was about to explode at the entrance, the Duke appeared with hearty laughter from the lobby.

“Oh my, oh my. I’ve committed a rudeness, it seems. I should have told you to bow when facing a superior.”

Only after that did the tension ease, and the guards made way for him. The Duke spoke to them.

“Go back.”

“No need for that, Uncle.”

The Duke’s guest, Hershis, interjected with a relaxed expression.

“I might have to see them again, and it wouldn’t hurt to get acquainted this time. Just leave them by my side.”

“Is that so?”

The Duke responded with a sly smile.

‘As if you wouldn’t say that.’

…It seemed like he was saying that.

As they entered the audience room, the Duke offered a seat to Hershis and took a diagonal seat across from him, ordering his guards.

“Stand against the wall.”

Upon his command, the guards split into two groups and stood against the walls on either side, adopting a waiting posture. As Hershis looked at them with approving eyes, resembling a well-behaved dog, the Duke spoke.

“If you like any of them, feel free to say. I’ll give you one.”

“Is that so?”

Hershis looked at the guards with a glint of curiosity, seeing them from a new perspective.

They all seemed agile and swift, as if it would take no time at all to snatch an opponent’s neck.

Unable to find any trace of humanity in the eyes of these young men, it was clear they had been trained as killing machines since their boyhood, following orders without any hint of guilt, regardless of age or gender.

‘Nephew must like these kinds of people.’

Hershis, who had quickly grasped the situation, smiled slightly and tilted his head.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll decline. I prefer people who are more human.”

“It’s not always good to prefer completely human-like individuals. These guys are better to keep under you.”

The Duke added proudly while looking at his guards with a satisfied expression.

“They don’t have thoughts, so they only obey. They don’t know betrayal.”

“The more reason to develop a discerning eye for people, isn’t it?”

Hershis replied with a smile.

“You should strive to recognize trustworthy individuals and make an effort to keep them by your side, rather than keeping beasts that only worry about betrayal.”

“That’s true. Your words are right a hundred times over.”

The Duke admitted without any sign of displeasure.
“I hope that the person chosen by Your Majesty with those cold eyes will never betray Your Majesty. Of course, that’s only natural.”

After a brief moment, the courtier brought a trolley with a glass teapot, tea cups, and snacks. On the spot, they dropped dandelion petals and poured hot water from the glass teapot onto them, causing the withered petals to quickly bloom.

Amidst the subtle fragrance of the flower tea spreading, the Duke spoke.

“Well, what brings you here without any notice? Quite an unexpected visit.”

“There’s no specific reason. I just thought it would be nice to enjoy a cup of tea with Uncle while taking a breath of fresh air.”

After finishing his response, Hershis took a sip of the flower tea in front of him, closing his eyes as if savoring the scent of dandelions. The Duke, without any disturbance, enjoyed watching him and chuckled.

‘I didn’t come for that reason; I won’t hang myself for it.’

The Duke gestured to his guards. It meant they should move immediately if there was even a slight hint of trouble.

Though he had a dagger at his waist, he preferred not to stain his hands with blood. Additionally, it was more convenient not to have to clean up afterwards. He could easily attribute any mistakes to his inexperienced guards.

“Oh!”

Hershis opened his eyes and said, “Uncle, are you still taking care of my mother-in-law?”

“Oh, you mean Claire. No, not anymore. She returned to the main estate yesterday.”

When the conversation turned to Claire, the Duke felt a dryness in his mouth. His suggestion for her to erase the child in her womb was based on the assumption that she wouldn’t actually do it. It was a statement that came out in a fit of anger, trying to remove the thorn that kept reminding him of his mistake.

However, when he heard that she had actually gone out to try to carry out that suggestion, the Duke felt not only disgust but also fear. He thought she might ruin everything for him.

Fortunately, she returned without doing anything, and the Duke immediately comforted her.

He showed unwavering affection, had a meal together, shared a glass of wine after dinner, and tried his best to treat her as he had done before.