The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Roy’s heart dropped into her stomach. Vitor offered a lazy smile as she stared at him, eyes wide.
“I wondered if you had a younger sister. Violet eyes aren’t particularly common, after all.”
Come to think of it, he had mentioned her eyes the very first time they met face-to-face. When she was Natalie, she had worn a wig, so her hair color had been different, but her eye color had remained the same.
Though flustered, Roy did her best to feign composure as she replied.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s all that rare in Clareville. Even I’ve seen quite a few people in this town with similar eyes.”
“Still, it wasn’t just the eyes. Her features looked remarkably like yours as well.”
“……”
Rendered speechless by his immediate retort, Roy barely managed to force a smile.
“To be honest, people tell me all the time that I have a common face. Faces like mine are a dime a dozen around here.”
“Is that so? You keep pulling your cap down so low that I haven’t gotten a proper look.”
“Take a proper look and you’ll see just how plain I really am.”
“May I have a proper look, then?”
“Excuse me?”
Vitor took a long stride toward Roy.
“Let’s see for ourselves whether it’s truly so common.”
Roy backed away from his closing distance until her back hit the hard trunk of a tree.
As if finding it in the way, he slipped off her hunting cap and tilted his head. A cool breeze brushed through her bangs.
“Um, Your Grace. Just a moment—”
“Don’t move.”
Vitor’s voice turned imperious in a split second. A firm hand took hold of Roy’s chin.
His gaze was piercingly sharp. The moment the smile vanished from Vitor’s face, an oppressive aura radiated from him—one she could not easily resist.
“The height and build are similar too. Even the aura is identical. How can two people be so alike?”
He turned Roy’s face this way and that, murmuring in mild fascination. With every similarity he listed, Roy felt as though years were being shaved off her lifespan in real time.
“And yet, only the gender is different.”
“……”
“Curious, isn’t it? How can a man look so delicate?”
“E-Even if you interrogate me like this, I really wouldn’t know…”
In a situation like this, there was only one thing Roy could do: play dumb and feign total ignorance.
“I suppose it’s just how my parents made me. Though I’ve never seen their faces, so I can’t say for sure. Still, it really is fascinating that someone out there looks like me. But is it wrong to look alike? We’re entirely different people anyway. Did she… happen to do something terrible to Your Grace…?”
In her sheer panic, Roy’s thoughts scrambled into a chaotic mess. She blurted out whatever came to mind without even realizing what she was babbling.
“Did she do something terrible to me, you ask?”
The corners of Vitor’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Yes. She committed a grave offense indeed. She abandoned me and ran away.”
“Pardon?”
“She vanished the moment she woke up, before I could even do anything. As if having any connection to me was utterly repulsive. Ha. It’s beyond absurd.”
Roy blinked blankly.
Vitor was right. She had run away because she didn’t want to be entangled with him.
But was that really such an awful crime?
Though Vitor still wore a smile, his pride seemed thoroughly wounded.
Did he think she fled because she was unsatisfied with the night they shared? That wasn’t the case at all. She honestly just didn’t remember a single thing…
Unable to confess the truth, Roy found herself in a tight spot. After hesitating, she racked her brain and fumbled for an excuse.
“M-Maybe that woman had circumstances of her own?”
“What kind of circumstances?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know that…”
“Since you brought it up, why don’t you think about it, Roy? What could possibly be so dire that she fled as if repulsed to her very core?”
“How could I possibly know when I’m not her?”
“Since you look alike, shouldn’t you think alike as well?”
“What kind of nonsense is—ah… Seriously, why are you doing this to me?”
At Vitor’s absurd sophistry, Roy let out a groan of sheer misery.
The culprit had fled, so he seemed eager to hear a plausible explanation from anyone at all. But Roy was terrified that one slip of the tongue might blow her cover.
Flustered and anxious, Roy habitually reached to touch the back of her neck. Yet she felt none of the familiar weight that should have been there.
‘Come to think of it, when was the last time I checked for my pendant…?’
Her mind went blank in an instant. As she looked around frantically, Vitor, who had been watching her with an intense gaze, narrowed his eyes and murmured softly.
“Hmm, right… She doesn’t necessarily have to be a woman.”
What on earth was he suddenly talking about? The corners of his lips curved up in an ominous smirk.
“No, this might actually be better.”
Vitor’s hand cupped Roy’s ear and cheek all at once.
His slow caress beneath her ear tickled her skin. Roy shrank back at the faint, unfamiliar scent of the sea drifting from him.
“Why are you suddenly touching my face—”
“Aaagh!”
At that exact moment, a scream erupted from the distance. Alan and the servants came sprinting toward them, their faces pale with terror.
Close behind them, a brown bear gave chase with savage fury.
“Vitor! A b-bear! Run!”
Heaving ragged breaths, the massive beast plowed forward, snapping tree branches beneath its bulk.
Bang!
Before Roy could even lower her stance and reload, gunfire rang out. Vitor’s bullet pierced clean through the bear’s shoulder.
Yet the bear merely faltered, refusing to stop. With its shoulder bent awkwardly, it continued to limp forward.
Worse, its eyes gleamed with a reddish hue, radiating pure madness. It was a terrifying sight.
Vitor fired in rapid succession, and Roy quickly unslung the rifle from her left shoulder. The heavy weight of the firearm settled into her hands.
Bang! Bang!
The first bullet slammed into the bear’s flank, and the second found its leg. The beast staggered.
Seizing the opening, Roy pulled the trigger once more. The final bullet struck the bear dead center in the forehead. Spilling dark crimson blood, the massive beast finally collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
A chilling silence fell over the woods.
“I-Is it really dead?”
Alan, who had taken cover behind a tree, asked cautiously. Roy approached the bear.
Keeping a firm grip on her rifle, she checked the bear’s condition.
“Yes. It looks like it’s down for good.”
“Phew…”
Only then did everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I truly thought I was a dead man.”
The servants supported one another while inspecting their clothes, which had been torn by tree branches. Roy also stroked her chest, trying to steady her racing heart.
“What kind of firearm is this? It sounded different from an ordinary rifle.”
Vitor stepped closer and asked.
“Ah, it’s a rifle designed for large game. I carry it around just in case of an unexpected emergency.”
“Thanks to you, we survived. I was quite taken aback when it kept charging even after getting shot.”
He said with a chuckle.
‘He lies so effortlessly…’
Though it had only been for a fleeting moment, Roy had clearly witnessed it: the way Vitor had drawn a dagger from inside his coat when the bear refused to fall.
His face had been painted not with terror, but with raw exhilaration.
‘Trying to fight a bear in close combat… This man is definitely out of his mind.’
Goosebumps rose on Roy’s skin, and she rubbed her arms. Vitor smiled brightly and spoke.
“Then I suppose we can consider this wager won by you, Roy.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re the one who brought down the bear, after all.”
Ah, right. There was a bet.
Roy scratched her forehead with a reluctant expression.
“Should I address you as Master from now on, then?”
“……”
Becoming the slave of a gamekeeper… Surely he was joking, right?
Not knowing how to react, Roy simply stood there, flashing an awkward, hesitant smile.
“Master, my foot! What do you mean ‘brought down’?!”
Alan, who had been watching them, suddenly shouted.
“We were almost killed because of him! How on earth have you been managing this hunting ground?!”
“…I am sorry. I will take full responsibility for what happened.”
“Damn right! You deserve a proper punishment!”
“There were marks on the wire fence where someone deliberately cut it.”
As Roy lowered her head and bit her lip, Vitor intervened in a calm, measured voice.
“And Roy mentioned that the fence was perfectly intact just this morning. It seems someone orchestrated this on purpose. So it isn’t Roy’s fault.”
“R-Really? Who on earth would do such a thing?”
“Who knows? Perhaps someone among the hunting party holds a grudge?”
The corner of Vitor’s mouth twisted into a lopsided curve. Even with a smile still on his face, there was something undeniably chilling about him.
“A grudge? Then…!”
“I’ve made so many enemies that I can’t even begin to guess who it might be. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Alan started to say something, but clamped his mouth shut. An unmistakable, subtle pressure laced Vitor’s voice.
“Well then, let’s take this as a welcoming greeting and head back.”
Everyone nodded in silence and turned back.
The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
