Translator: Nox

The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress

Chapter 28

Franz examined every change in Roy, one by one, before letting out a deep sigh. Roy felt as though she had been caught doing something illicit.

In the end, she had no choice but to admit her identity.

“……There were circumstances.”

“What circumstances?”

“I cannot tell you that.”

“…….”

How pathetic must she look in his eyes now, gossiped about by everyone while shouldering the rumor of being a nobleman’s male lover?

Standing there like a puppet, she felt endlessly wretched.

Roy possessed neither Franz’s commanding presence that overwhelmed the entire room with his mere entrance, nor the nobility that naturally seeped into every word and gesture.

She was merely forcing herself into the role of a high nobleman’s lover, barely holding on by clumsily imitating them.

Standing before someone who knew her true circumstances, the mask she had built so solidly to conceal her inner feelings shattered in an instant.

“Please pretend you didn’t see me. It was wonderful to see you again, even like this, Your Highness. If you’ll excuse me…….”

“Roy.”

Franz caught Roy’s wrist as she turned to leave.

“Did something happen?”

“…….”

Roy bit her lower lip hard in silence.

“How can you just leave like this? When I’ve only just met you again.”

“…….”

“Right. You must have had your reasons. A lot must have happened while I was away. I understand. No matter why you’re posing as the Duke’s male lover, I understand completely.”

Even without a single word explaining this absurd situation, Franz tried to understand Roy. His voice grew thick with emotion, sounding almost desperate.

“So please don’t leave as if you’re running away. If you leave like that, I’ll…….”

Roy lifted her head. When she did, she saw his eyes welling with red. He looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Flustered, Roy blocked him with her body.

“Your Highness, why let yourself be troubled over something like this? We are in a noble banquet hall—what if you’re teased for being a crybaby Crown Prince? You really mustn’t. Stop crying right this instant.”

“It’s because you’re treating me so coldly, like a stranger……. Did you forget about me?”

“How could I ever forget Your Highness? Where else in the world could there be a Crown Prince who cries this much…….”

Franz had only grown in height; he was the same as ever. He was still soft-hearted and full of affection.

And Roy was still weak against that side of Franz.

During Roy’s childhood, Franz had been her closest peer.

Yet in their relationship, Roy’s role had been closer to a caretaker than a friend.

Even though they stayed together under the guise of being playmates, whenever Franz got hurt while they were together, it was always Roy who received the punishment.

Because of that, from an early age, she came to harbor a sense of responsibility to protect Franz.

Not a friend she could casually sling an arm around, but someone she had to protect.

Still, she had never once resented or disliked Franz.

Franz had always been warm, genuinely relying on and liking Roy without the haughty arrogance typical of the Imperial Family.

That pure heart was always displayed openly in his words and actions. How could she truly hate someone like that?

Though him following her around and discovering Roy’s secret hadn’t been part of the plan…….

In any case, thinking of Franz always left her conflicted. She could neither easily like nor hate him.

Right now, she simply wanted to hold and comfort him. But since the place was unsuitable, Roy merely stroked Franz’s hand with gentle care.

“Are you all right now?”

“……Yes. I’m sorry for showing you such an unsightly side when we’ve met after so long.”

Franz, having barely swallowed his tears, gave an embarrassed laugh.

“No. I was momentarily flustered myself, so…….”

No matter how flustered she was, she shouldn’t have turned her back on Franz like that.

It seemed Roy had also lost her composure from the anxiety that her identity might be discovered in an unfamiliar place.

“How have you been all this time? You’re still working at Elysia Mansion, right?”

“Yes, well…… It’s always the same for me.”

Replying somewhat hesitantly, Roy quickly changed the subject.

“I heard through the maids that Your Highness has been doing well, too. I heard that not long ago, the passing of the imperial budget reform bill was plastered across the front page of the newspapers.”

“Yeah, it was.”

Franz smiled bashfully.

“Still, I have a long way to go. Before His Majesty passes away, I want to quickly become someone worthy of that seat, but…….”

Franz murmured worriedly.

There was a chronic illness in the Imperial Family. Franz had inherited that hereditary disease and fallen ill during his childhood, and the Emperor had recently suffered a flare-up of that same illness, suddenly collapsing in the middle of handling state affairs.

Currently, he had recovered to some extent and was tending to state affairs once more, but rumors that it wouldn’t be surprising if he collapsed again at any moment were quietly spreading inside and outside the palace.

The only one born of the Empress who held legitimacy was Franz.

Under normal circumstances, the throne would have naturally passed to him, but because Franz had been frail since childhood, his qualifications as an heir had constantly been called into question.

So during the time they had fallen out of touch, he seemed to have been striving to prove himself to the Emperor and to the world.

‘Your Highness must have had a truly difficult time as well.’

Roy looked at him with sympathy.

“And…… the matter regarding Elysia Mansion wasn’t my intention.”

“Pardon?”

Roy blinked.

“In case you misunderstand and think I handed it over to the Duke.”

Franz, who had been hesitating whether to speak or not, spoke as though pouring out a deep-seated worry.

“I heard the Duke of Hermont specifically chose that place as his victory reward this time. His Majesty couldn’t properly refuse and granted it because his achievements in the Battle of Puraren were so great…….”

“The Duke of Hermont did? Why……?”

She had naturally assumed it was Franz’s or the Emperor’s doing.

In fact, if one thought about it, Elysia Mansion was rather modest for a victory reward.

For a hero who saved the nation, it wasn’t a newly built estate, but merely handing over an old villa previously used in the south.

Moreover, the ducal house possessed far more magnificent villas all over, and Clareville was far from Vitor’s primary post, not a place he would visit often.

Why on earth did he specifically want this place?

“I don’t know the reason either. I heard he demanded nothing else, wanting only that one thing.”

“……I see.”

“Anyway, I wanted to clear up any misunderstanding in case you thought I had handed it over willingly, or that I didn’t cherish that mansion and the memories with you.”

Roy nodded at Franz’s explanation and answered calmly.

“It’s all right. No matter who it was given to, it belonged to Your Highness anyway, so it’s not my place to say anything.”

Did he find that tone a bit rigid, perhaps?

“Why are you speaking with such distance? Didn’t you miss me?”

Franz let the corners of his eyebrows droop again, as if feeling hurt.

“I did miss you. But seeing you after such a long time feels a bit awkward…….”

Franz, who used to be a snot-nosed prince, had now grown tall and become a dignified Crown Prince.

His height easily surpassed Roy’s, and the boy’s once merely beautiful face now held nobility and mature masculinity.

‘Masculinity on Franz……’

She had thought it was a word she would never associate with him in her entire life, but standing before her eyes right now, it suited him quite well.

If she had met him here for the first time, even Roy would have bowed her head and stolen glances just like the other nobles.

Franz had grown into that much of a splendid man. So it was only natural for it to feel awkward.

“By the way, Roy. Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?”

“My face? Me?”

Franz asked innocently, staring intently at her. Roy quickly stroked her face with her hand.

It really was hot. Why was it heating up at a moment like this? She felt needlessly embarrassed.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this here, but…… you’ve gotten truly pretty.”

“……Please don’t tease me.”

“It’s true. You’ve become far prettier than I ever imagined. Though I didn’t expect you to still be disguised as a man…….”

He had imagined what I would look like grown up……?

It sounded a bit strange, but Roy quietly nodded.

Whenever she heard news of Franz through the maids, she, too, had vaguely imagined that he must have grown quite a bit by now.

Then Franz asked carefully.

“By the way, this is a wig, right? Did you choose it? Why did you pick silver hair?”

“There’s no particular reason.”

“It wasn’t because of me? You always used to say my hair color was pretty.”

Franz gave a gentle grin. It was a clear, transparent smile no different from his childhood.

Seeing that smile brought back a faint memory of having said such words.

“Perhaps that was it. I did dote on Your Highness, after all.”

To Roy, silver had long been etched in her mind since childhood as the noblest and most beautiful color. Perhaps because of that, when choosing a wig and looking for a color she found pretty, she had unconsciously selected this hair color.

When Roy answered with a soft smile, Franz suddenly stopped speaking. In an instant, Roy realized her words might have sounded insolent and hurriedly added:

“That is, I wasn’t looking down on Your Highness. I mean…….”

“Shall I take Elysia Mansion back?”

“Pardon?”

Franz’s out-of-the-blue remark made Roy’s eyes go wide.

“It’s a petty thing to take back what was given, but once I become Emperor, I can do it. Not just Elysia Mansion, but anything.”

Even from being the Duke of Hermont’s male lover.