The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
Chapter 20
Although she wore a sleeveless undershirt over the bandages, the fabric was thin, leaving her on edge at the thought of being exposed.
Putting on men's clothes was hardly difficult in the first place, so she could not fathom why he insisted on following her inside to help.
Had Roy been a real nobleman, she would have accepted such attendance as second nature, but she was nothing of the sort.
To her, the whole ordeal felt excessive, burdensome, and thoroughly awkward.
After quietly checking her surroundings once more, Roy changed into the clothes at a brisk pace. The vest, however, had far too many buttons.
Worse still, she had no idea how to tie the matching cravat that came with the set.
A grown man unable to tie his own cravat was bound to become a laughingstock.
‘Can I just knot it roughly?’
She tried this and that in front of the full-length mirror, but every attempt turned out looking wrong. She really shouldn't have agreed to come in here.
She should have dug her heels in and refused by any means necessary. Ill at ease, as though wearing borrowed clothes that didn't belong to her, she felt humiliated and thoroughly embarrassed.
Swish.
Just then, the soft rustle of the curtain parting sounded behind her back. In the mirror, she saw Vitor stepping into the fitting room.
“Y-Your Grace. W-why did you…….”
Vitor looked down at Roy's cravat and let out a soft chuckle. The crumpled, tangled knot clearly showed how much she had agonized over it, coaxing an involuntary smile to his lips.
“Uh, that is…… what I mean is…….”
“Until I entered the naval academy, the servants tied mine every single day, so I didn't know how to do it alone either. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”
As he quietly untied the cravat from around Roy's flustered, stammering throat and smoothed the collar upright, Vitor offered casually,
“Shall I teach you how to tie it?”
“…….”
Roy gave a slow nod. The smile lingering at the corners of Vitor's mouth deepened.
“Here, wrap it around like this. Lift this end up, wind it to the left, and then tuck it lightly through the inside.”
His voice was exceptionally gentle. Vitor moved his hands slowly so Roy could follow every step.
With wide eyes, Roy stared intently at his moving fingertips, looking for all the world like a model student seated in the front row of a classroom.
Stifling a laugh at the sheer earnestness of her expression, Vitor spoke.
“And finish it like this. Would you like to try it yourself now?”
“Yes.”
With a slightly nervous expression, Roy took both ends of the cravat in her hands. Keeping her lips firmly pressed together, she carefully retraced the movements Vitor had just demonstrated.
Her fingers tangled for a moment as she pulled the knot, but she refocused and wound it around slowly.
“Wrap it around that side once more. That's right, just like that.”
As the knot took on a decent shape, a tentative flicker of confidence rose on Roy's face.
When the mirror reflected her image wearing the properly tied cravat, a proud smile spread across her features.
“Well done for a first try. Whose lover could be so clever, I wonder?”
“P-please do not tease me…….”
Belatedly composing her face, Roy replied stiffly.
How adorable. Roy likely had no idea how endearing that clear, candid face and those awkward gestures appeared at times.
She must have kept a longtime girlfriend precisely because of that charm. Was that what her lover adored about her too?
Besides, dressed up like this, Roy made quite a striking sight. An aura of nobility radiated from her, like the youngest scion of a distinguished family.
With delicate lines still remaining from youth…….
Stirred by an oddly strange sensation, Vitor suddenly noticed something amiss with Roy's clothes.
“You misaligned the shirt buttons, didn't you?”
“I-I will redo them myself! That is quite enough!”
When Vitor reached out, Roy started violently and took a step back. Caught off guard by her exaggerated reaction, Vitor's hand paused awkwardly in midair.
Feeling a sudden, petty urge to tease, Vitor caught Roy by the waistband of her trousers and pulled her forward.
“Enough of what? Come to think of it, Roy-ssi, you certainly keep your distance around men, don't you? What is there to be so shy about between people of the same sex?”
“…….”
At those words, Roy froze on the spot. Unable to pull away, she stood rigidly in place, doing nothing but biting her poor lip.
“Now that I look closer, the waist is far too large as well. Aren't you eating properly?”
When Vitor pulled the shirt free of the trousers, he saw how loosely the fabric hung around her waist despite the belt being cinched to the very last hole.
Hidden beneath the usual baggy attire, Roy's frame was far leaner than he had imagined. Her waist was so slender that his fingers felt as if they would touch if he wrapped both hands around it.
“No, I eat well…… I simply have a constitution that doesn't gain weight easily…….”
“Even so, you need to put on some weight. Doing such heavy labor with a body this thin won't do. You're fine now because you're young, but if you abuse your body without taking care of it, you'll be riddled with ailments when you grow old.”
“……You are young yourself, Your Grace, yet you sound just like an old grandfather.”
Roy muttered grumpily under her breath.
“That's because I saw countless sailors like that in the military.”
Speaking with amusement laced in his voice, Vitor naturally slipped the vest off Roy's shoulders.
“Men who pushed themselves recklessly, relying solely on their youthful vigor, only to have every single joint in their bodies ruined with age. The boatswain on my first warship was just such a man.”
As his hands brushed against the shirt buttons, he could feel Roy tensing up instantly. Unbothered, however, Vitor unfastened the buttons one by one from the bottom up.
“In his youth, he had enough strength to haul cannonballs alone and pull the sail lines by himself even during a raging storm. He wore every overexertion like a badge of honor, but in the end, his joints and back gave out completely, leaving him unable to stand properly on deck.”
“…….”
“Later on, even aboard the ship, he was relegated to handling paperwork or doing light chores. Eventually, the damp sea air aggravated his arthritis so severely that he couldn't even walk right…….”
Apart from his ceaselessly chatting lips, Vitor's entire focus was centered on Roy's body. With every button undone, the fresh, verdant scent drifting from Roy's skin grew all the more distinct.
The collarbone he caught a fleeting glimpse of, along with the curvature of the waistline sweeping beneath it, was far too soft and smooth to belong to a man.
Moreover, beneath the outer shirt lay another sleeveless undershirt, with something else bound underneath that.
A strange, indefinable dissonance caused his movements to gradually slow. Naturally, Vitor's eyes narrowed as his gaze drifted toward the padded section.
“Don't you get hot wearing so many layers? Just what on earth are you wearing under—?”
The moment Vitor tugged at the hem of the sleeveless shirt to inspect it—
“Actually, I have a massive scar on my body!”
Roy's hand shot forward like lightning, blocking Vitor's grip. She clutched the front of her shirt in desperation.
“A scar?”
“Y-yes! It wasn't treated in time, so it looks hideous. It's not something fit to show another person, so…….”
Roy bit her lower lip so hard the color drained from it entirely. The hand clutching her clothes trembled faintly.
“So please, step outside now!”
“…….”
Roy pushed against Vitor's chest. Driven backward, Vitor was practically driven out of the fitting room.
* * *
Vitor and Roy stepped back out onto the street.
Since they had arranged for all the purchases aside from the ready-to-wear set they wore to be delivered to Elysia Mansion, both their hands were empty.
Their load was the same as when they had entered, yet somehow their hearts felt uneasy and heavy.
‘Why is it this awkward……?’
As if Roy were the only one sensing the strange tension, Vitor looked around before asking casually,
“Since we're dressed in fine clothes, shall we have a meal outside before heading back?”
At the sudden proposal dropped without warning, Roy's shoulders flinched.
“No, I will eat at home. Uncle Harper has trouble moving around, so I need to look after him.”
“Is his condition so severe that he cannot manage a meal without you, Roy-ssi?”
Vitor asked with genuine curiosity. Roy felt a sudden pang of guilt. It wasn't actually that bad.
She had merely used it as an excuse because she wanted to go back.
“It's not quite that, but I feel it's better if I am there with him…….”
“I won't take up much of your time. Keep me company for a bit. It's rare for me to come into town like this, so it feels like a waste to return right away.”
“…….”
Roy stiffened at Vitor's tone, which sounded almost coaxing, like a child wheedling for a favor.
Phrased like that, she could hardly refuse any longer…….
“Then it's settled. Where around here serves good food?”
“W-wait a moment……!”
“If you're not sure, I'll guide you to a decent place I know.”
Draping an arm over Roy's shoulder, Vitor began walking at a brisk, cheerful pace.
* * *
In an alley slightly off the main thoroughfare of Clareville.
The boisterous chatter of patrons spilled out from an old tavern.
The place Vitor had brought her to was none other than Marx's tavern.
The very establishment where, until recently, Roy had worked part-time every night under the identity of Natalie…….
Thud!
“Enjoy your meal!”
With a loud clatter, a beer mug slammed onto the table.
“Hmm…….”
Marx shot Roy a glare before vanishing toward the kitchen without another word.
‘He definitely suspects something. What if he recognized me?’
The male paramour of the Duke of Hermont.
