The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
Chapter 21
I should have known when Vitor said he knew a suitable place.
Where else in all of Clareville would Vitor, who had only come down here for the first time this year, even think to go besides this tavern?!
“I came here once before, and they had simple fare that works well for a light meal, not to mention good drinks.”
“I see……”
“By the way, do you know the owner?”
“A-Ah, no. Why do you ask?”
Roy was caught off guard by Vitor’s sudden, probing question.
“Because he keeps glaring over here. And Roy-ssi has your head ducked low as if you’ve committed a crime.”
“Th-That’s just because the wig feels awkward and the clothes are unfamiliar to me. This is my first time here. I didn’t even know a place like this existed.”
“Is that so? It seems to be quite a well-known spot.”
Pretending she hadn’t heard, Roy shoved the food in front of her into her mouth. Vitor followed suit, biting into a cabbage roll.
The cabbage rolls were the most popular item at Marx’s tavern. Crisp on the outside and bursting with juicy flavor inside, they paired exceptionally well with dark beer.
A parade of humble dishes followed: smoked sausages, sautéed onions, grilled cheese, and a nutty salad. Nodding in satisfaction, Vitor thoroughly enjoyed the variety of food without being the least bit picky.
“It seems to suit your palate. You eat quite well.”
Roy looked at Vitor with a touch of curiosity. Then, without realizing it, she muttered under her breath,
“Many nobles wouldn’t touch food like this……”
Naturally, Marx’s cooking and dark beer were exquisite. But most nobles turned up their noses at food served in establishments frequented by commoners.
In fact, it wasn’t just the food; they actively avoided spaces where everyone mingled and ate together like this.
Perhaps for that very reason, even Vitor’s close friends had reserved a separate private room on the second floor, and the food and liquor served to them were on an entirely different level of quality from the regular menu.
“There’s actually something I’ve wanted to address for a while now.”
Just as Roy raised her fork to take another bite, Vitor spoke up in a somewhat stiff tone.
“I may be of noble birth, but I wasn’t raised in a fragile bubble.”
Roy went blank for a moment.
What did he mean by that? After quickly reflecting on what she had just said, Roy ducked her head in a panic.
“I-I apologize, Your Grace. I didn’t mean it that way. Truly.”
It had been rude of her. A remark steeped in prejudice against the nobility.
It was a mistake she never would have made under normal circumstances. Spending the entire day with Vitor had made her let her guard down.
Besides, considering he said he had wanted to mention this for a while, had Roy been speaking and acting in a way that gave off that impression all along?
Her mind reeled at the thought that she had offended him.
“I know. I didn’t bring it up to extract an apology from you. It’s just that I want to become closer with Roy-ssi, yet you always seem to keep your distance from me.”
“Pardon?”
Contrary to her expectations, Vitor looked distinctly crestfallen.
“I like Roy-ssi. Truly. I want us to be closer. Of course, I understand it might be uncomfortable because I’m your employer and a noble. Even so, wanting you to treat me comfortably must be greedy of me.”
A hint of bitterness flashed across his features. It seemed he had held these thoughts in his heart for quite some time.
“That’s not it! Your Grace is the very first person with whom I’ve ever felt comfortable so quickly.”
Roy hurriedly cleared up the misunderstanding.
“To the point where it’s troubled me at times, wondering if it’s really all right to be this way……”
That was why she kept making mistakes she would never normally make.
Even with the butler or the Head Maid of Elysia Mansion, Roy had never once slipped up with her words, no matter what happened.
Yet Vitor continually treated her with such ease. He constantly praised her, telling her he liked her and wanted to grow closer—words so sweet they softened her defenses before she even realized it.
At Roy’s words, the corners of Vitor’s lips curved slightly upward.
“I’m glad to hear that, but I’m not satisfied with leaving things just as they are.”
His playful demeanor returning, he rested his chin on his hand and said,
“If it’s truly so uncomfortable, just think of me as a close hyung.”
“Even so, that’s going too far. Considering our status alone, even sitting across from each other like this makes no sense.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
At Roy’s firm reply, Vitor nodded as if he had only just learned a new fact. Then, like a man who had cleanly forgotten the conversation they had shared mere seconds ago, he raised his glass and asked casually,
“Then shall we start by building some brotherly affection? Can you handle your liquor?”
“……”
* * *
After that, Vitor insisted that Roy needed to know a bit about him to close the distance between them, and began reciting the chronicles of his life.
“So traveling to other regions comes naturally to me, and my palate isn’t picky at all. Of course, it wasn’t like that from the start. There was a transition period. If I’d been fussy about this and that, I would have starved to death on the ship.”
He told the tale of a time when he had been caught in ocean currents and drifted across the vast, open sea for ages.
Unable to wash properly and running low on drinking water, he would run around with a cloth in hand whenever it rained.
Days when meals consisted of nothing more than tough dried meat and watery broth.
Roy finally began to understand why Vitor often showed such an unpretentious side despite being a duke from a prestigious family.
“This recent naval battle was quite long as well. After spending so much time on a ship, formal gatherings actually feel more uncomfortable to me now.”
“I imagine they would.”
Roy nodded quietly. Then, curiosity struck her.
“Why did you enlist in the Navy in the first place?”
It was not uncommon for nobles to attend the military academy in keeping with family tradition. But choosing it as a lifelong profession—and actively serving in the field for a prolonged period—was far from typical.
Vitor pretended to ponder for a moment before answering lightly,
“Because the uniform looks dashing?”
“……”
“Just a joke. Well, it’s a similar reason.”
Debating how best to explain, Vitor straightened his posture. Merely squaring his shoulders brought a serene calm to his expression, as if the very air surrounding him had shifted.
As she watched him with a slightly tense gaze, Vitor began neatly arranging the knife and fork that had been placed haphazardly on his plate.
“You see, a noble must maintain dignity even in the smallest of actions. Even when eating a meal in a tavern like this, one has to consider which side the fork should be placed on first.”
With that, he lifted a single knife with practiced elegance.
“When holding a knife, the back of your hand must never face downward, and if you make even the faintest scraping sound against the plate while cutting meat, you’re immediately branded vulgar. When smiling, only about this much. If the corners of your mouth stretch any wider, you’re frivolous; if any narrower, you’re arrogant.”
Vitor pulled the corners of his lips up in a brief smile. It was dashing, yet somehow rigid.
“I grew thoroughly sick of it all. As you know, my family is extraordinarily sensitive and strict about such things.”
Soon, as if entirely exhausted by the mere thought, he broke his rigid posture and took a gulp of beer.
“That’s why I chose the Navy—the path that would take me the farthest from my family. To others, it might sound like the complaint of someone who’s had it too easy, but……”
“No, not at all.”
Roy, who had been listening in silence, spoke up firmly.
“It must have been so difficult for you. I wouldn’t have lasted a single second in a household like that.”
To have to worry about the orientation of a fork, the scrape of a plate, and even the width of a smile while dining.
If etiquette came before appetite, wasn’t that closer to a theatrical performance than a life?
“Not that the poverty of a commoner is any picnic, of course…… but everyone has their own struggles.”
Both Vitor and Roy had to pull their own weight to survive in their respective worlds.
Nobles possessed privileges, but duties followed in equal measure. Commoners had freedom, but in return, they had to bear the heavy weight of instability.
Vitor had chosen the Navy because he disliked his world, and he had endured that role admirably, even achieving great success.
If there was one thing she envied about his life, it was precisely this.
The fact that he had a choice.
Of course, the name Hermont still loomed large in his background and exerted its influence, but the man named Vitor seemed to have chosen to remain a naval officer guarding the vast sea.
“And for what it’s worth, I like the Duke who cracks jokes and drinks beer like this far better than a picture-perfect, solemn Duke. You made a good choice.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Vitor raised his brows in surprise. He had never expected to hear such words from Roy, who rarely voiced her personal preferences.
Taking another sip of dark beer, Roy licked away the foam clinging to her upper lip. She lifted her empty mug toward the tavern owner, signaling for another round.
Though she looked fine on the surface, the sharp eyes she usually kept wide with caution had grown slightly unfocused at some point.
‘She’s drunk.’
Suppressing the laugh threatening to bubble up, Vitor asked,
“Do you know what you’re saying right now?”
“Yes. I said the beer is going down especially well today.”
Was she actually thinking that inside? This was driving him mad.
The Duke of Hermont’s male lover.
