The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
Chapter 4
Guardian of Rostria’s territorial waters, and head of the Ducal House of Hermont—the noblest bloodline among all the aristocracy of Rostria.
Duke Vitor Carl Hermont.
The young officer of high noble birth had emerged as the hero of the Battle of Puraren. In recognition of his victory, he had been granted Elysia Mansion as his new estate.
Furthermore, his striking appearance was often likened to a statue of the most flawless proportions.
With a soldier’s robust physique and a brilliant smile straight out of a fairy-tale prince, noble ladies were said to nurse broken hearts, lamenting that such a handsome man had been stolen away by the sea.
With such a celebrated figure arriving at Elysia Palace for the summer, the mansion’s servants were utterly abuzz.
‘Though his face looks plainer than I expected.’
Roy tilted her head. To her eyes, he wasn’t bad-looking, but he hardly seemed worth all that adoration.
Just then, someone grabbed her shoulder.
“Roy!”
Startled, she spun around. A maid with wheat-blonde hair stood there with a bright smile.
“Hailey.”
“What were you looking at?”
“Wondering if that gentleman over there is the Duke of Hermont.”
Roy pointed and murmured.
“Huh? That’s not the Duke.”
“Really?”
“That’s the eldest son, Master Raul Hermont. And beside him is his mother.”
Raul Hermont?
Come to think of it, she seemed to recall hearing that the previous Duke had an illegitimate son born to a concubine.
‘So that’s him.’
Roy watched the strangely alienated-looking red-haired mother and son before checking the safety on her gun once more.
“Duke Vitor is way, way more handsome than that! I caught a glimpse of him late last night when he arrived at the mansion, and those rumors about him being handsome enough to bewitch even men weren’t an exaggeration in the slightest!”
“So they say.”
“Aren’t you curious, Roy?”
“I am, a bit.”
“Come on. You don’t look curious in the least!”
Hailey nudged the still-indifferent Roy’s shoulder with a playful grin.
“Then again, you’re so handsome yourself that looking in a mirror must be cleansing enough for your eyes. I fell head over heels for you at first sight and chased after you, without even realizing you were a woman.”
“Shh. Hailey, I told you to watch what you say outside.”
Roy quickly pressed a finger to her lips, fixing her with a stern look.
“Hehe. It’s just the two of us here.”
Hailey was the only friend who knew Roy’s true gender.
Hailey had once confessed her feelings and pursued Roy, eventually uncovering her secret—an event that led the two to build deep trust in each other.
“By the way, did you quit Marx’s tavern?”
“Yeah. It just turned out that way. I’m sorry, especially after you went through the trouble of getting me the job.”
Roy said, sneaking a glance at Hailey’s reaction.
“Don’t be. Sales went up and the patrons loved you, so it’s fine. But…”
Hailey paused, asking cautiously.
“A customer came by asking for your address.”
“R-Really?”
“When they told him they didn’t know, he even asked where he could find you.”
Roy bit her lip anxiously. Hailey shot her a meaningful look.
“Could it be… you quit because of that customer?”
Roy hesitated. Telling the unvarnished truth seemed like a bad idea.
Yet keeping the reason for quitting from the very person who had introduced her to the job felt wrong, too…
“The thing is…”
After agonizing over it, Roy leaned in and whispered softly into Hailey’s ear. Hailey’s eyes instantly went wide.
“What?! You spent the night with a customer?!”
“Shh! Please!”
Roy hastily clamped a hand over Hailey’s mouth.
Only after extracting a promise to keep quiet did Roy pull her hand away. Though Hailey lowered her voice, her eyes still sparkled with curiosity as she asked,
“Good heavens, whose son was he? Must be a young master from a family with a villa in Clareville, right?”
“I’m not sure. It was my first time seeing him at the tavern. But he seemed to already know the other noble lords.”
“Tell me more. I might know him! I’ll find him for you!”
“Why bother finding him? It was just one night anyway.”
In Clareville, noblemen on vacation fooling around with local girls was as common as dirt.
Roy had never cared much for summer flings. Partly because she had always assumed it was something that would never concern her.
‘Just a short fling while you’re young.’
People said a woman’s marriage prospects were ruined if bad rumors got out, but wasn’t it something practically everyone experienced behind closed doors?
With such a mindset, she naturally harbored no expectations that the encounter would lead to romance or marriage.
Partly because she was practical by nature, and besides, one needed the leisure and means to indulge in romance.
For Roy, who was desperate to pay off debts, a night spent with a strange man was merely an inconvenient accident that had happened out of the blue.
And by the next day, it was the sort of fleeting occurrence that faded into a hazy memory.
“Still, you need to know who he is so you can avoid him. You don’t want to run into him again, do you?”
“That’s true…”
“Then tell me.”
Hailey’s eyes brimmed with novel anticipation.
She never could have imagined talking about men with Roy—let alone a man Roy had spent the night with.
Roy let out a heavy sigh and gradually dredged up her hazy memories.
“He had blue-green eyes, and a great build like someone who works out. But from his clothes and the way he carried himself, an aura of nobility just radiated off him, so he was definitely a noble.”
What was more, he seemed to belong to quite a prominent family. The young nobles around him treated him warmly, yet they subtly walked on eggshells around him and placed him at the center of attention.
Not to mention his impeccable posture, calm tone of voice, and the easygoing demeanor unique to high nobility.
“That’s unusual. Why would noble lords build muscle?”
“I found it strange too. When we arm-wrestled, he toyed with me like a child.”
“Really? What does he do?”
“And he had a dimple on the left side, so his whole impression completely changed when he smiled…”
Roy’s gaze scanned the surroundings for anyone with a similar vibe, then halted in one spot.
“Right. Just like that man…”
A man remarkably resembling him was walking in her direction. No, to be precise, he was heading toward the canopy where the noble ladies were resting.
The man smiled and kissed the back of Grand Duchess Leonora’s hand.
“It has been a long time, my lady. Have you been well?”
“What do you mean, ‘my lady’? A gentleman should arrive earlier than the agreed time. Is it proper for an old woman like me to wait on her grandson?”
“My apologies. I beg the forgiveness of the most elegant noblewoman in the Empire.”
“Honestly, I wonder who you take after to be so slick…”
As Leonora muttered with a soft sigh, the man chuckled playfully. At that moment, Hailey suddenly cried out.
“Huh? It’s the Duke of Hermont!”
“What?”
“That’s the Duke! Isn’t he gorgeous? My goodness, seeing him in broad daylight makes him look even more radiant!”
Not just Hailey, but the other servants paused what they were doing to gaze at the Duke. Sunlight bathed his face, deepening the distinct dimple on his cheek.
His dazzling platinum-blonde hair and blue-green eyes shone with noble brilliance in the light.
Crazy…
‘That’s not just someone who looks like him—it’s actually him?!’
Roy hastily ducked her head and concealed herself beneath the table.
Meanwhile, Vitor faced his older brother Raul with an unperturbed expression.
“Vitor. Congratulations on your victory.”
“Yes. Thank you, Brother.”
“However, war cannot be resolved by force alone. If you mindlessly push through with raw strength like that, diplomacy can get tangled.”
“Then next time, I’ll take care to lose a bit so you can settle it, Brother.”
“Th-that’s not what I meant…! What I mean is that a sense of political balance is crucial!”
“Yes, of course. I’ll put my full faith in you, Brother.”
Roy eavesdropped on their conversation, cold sweat dripping down her neck. That slick, supremely confident tone.
The more she listened, the more certain she was: it was without a doubt that man.
“Roy. What’s wrong? Why are you hiding all of a sudden?”
“Shh! Shh!”
Her heart thudded furiously. How on earth could this happen!
“Grandmother! Mother!”
A frivolous voice carrying from afar made Roy’s head spin even further.
That person, too, was someone she recognized.
“You look as beautiful as ever! What on earth do you eat to stay so hale and hearty?!”
“You’re not a child anymore. Address us properly with our titles!”
“So strict. Isn’t this friendlier and nicer?!”
The very regular customer who frequented the tavern where she worked.
Young Count Alan Quimiller…
The Duke of Hermont’s male lover.
