The Duke of Hermont’s Male Mistress
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
‘I really need to start looking for an evening part-time job soon, though…’
Now that the rush was over, she needed to earn money at night as well. But with none other than the Duke following her around all day, it was hard to find the time.
If he caught her slipping out at night, he might insist on coming along again. If he weren’t her employer, she would have told him to piss off at least a dozen times by now.
Today, he had followed her all the way to the orchard, claiming he would help harvest peaches. A sigh escaped her lips on its own.
“Roy-ssi. I think I hurt my hand.”
“Really? Let me see.”
Roy immediately pulled out the disinfectant and gauze she always carried in her bag.
A crimson bead of blood welled at the tip of his thumb. She grimaced, feeling the sting just looking at it.
“Ugh, this is why I told you to stop already…”
Whenever she tried to bring it up since he got hurt so frequently like this—
“I have to get hurt just to see your face. Why keep turning your back to me? Am I that uncomfortable to be around?”
Well, would anyone feel comfortable around their employer?
“It’s not that, but…”
Roy forced down the words rising to the tip of her tongue. Keeping her temper in check while responding to him was sheer agony.
He had claimed he wouldn’t punish her for the hunting grounds incident, but she was beginning to suspect this was his way of doing it.
With an unenthusiastic expression, Roy released his bandaged hand.
“All done.”
“Thank you. Your touch is surprisingly gentle.”
“…….”
Vitor smiled happily, tossing out words that sounded somewhere between praise and mockery. Roy stared at his face for a moment.
She had to admit it. He was breathtakingly handsome.
Even in a dusty, earthy worksite, the sweat on Vitor looked refreshingly attractive.
‘Right. As long as you’re happy, fine…’
Resigning herself, Roy stood up. Just then, the servant in charge of the orchard gestured to her from a distance, calling her over.
“What is it?”
“You can head out now. Uncle Carl says you don’t need to help anymore.”
“We’re not even halfway done yet.”
“If you stay here, the Duke will linger too, won’t he? It’s not like we’re slacking off, but it’s hard not to walk on eggshells with him around.”
The laborers cast furtive glances in their direction, hastily looking away whenever their eyes met.
“By the way, are you leaving this place?”
Roy’s brow furrowed slightly at the sudden question.
“What are you talking about?”
“Word is you’re moving out. That’s why Uncle Harper’s been going around borrowing money from everyone to get you a rented place.”
“What?”
“He even asked the Butler for an advance of several months’ wages. And since Uncle Harper barely does his gamekeeper duties properly these days while still drawing a regular salary, bad rumors have been spreading among the servants. I don’t care much myself, but I thought you should know.”
“…….”
Roy’s face hardened stiffly.
The servants of Elysia Mansion had been very lenient with them all this time. Knowing Harper’s unfortunate circumstances after his long years of service at the estate, no one had treated him harshly.
If so, this talk likely originated from the new servants who had arrived with the change of master.
‘Then could it be… was the barbed wire their doing too?’
If something went wrong in the hunting grounds due to a damaged wire fence, Roy and Harper would take the hardest hit. Goosebumps prickled her skin as heat rushed to her head.
“So are you really not leaving?”
“Never.”
Roy stated firmly.
“Tell Uncle Carl not to lend Uncle Harper any money either. I have no intention of going out on my own.”
With a rigid expression, Roy walked out of the orchard. Vitor fell into step behind her without fail.
‘I’m losing my mind.’
Why did things only keep getting worse? A sense of urgency gripped her.
* * *
“Your Grace, I apologize.”
On the way back to the cabin, Roy abruptly halted in her tracks. Vitor turned his head to look at her.
“I have committed a grave offense. All of this is my fault. In any case, if a problem occurs in the hunting grounds, it is naturally my responsibility. I will gladly accept my punishment now.”
“Why are you suddenly acting like this, Roy-ssi?”
“Flog me instead. Just don’t torment me like this.”
“Flogging? Where on you is there even room to strike, Roy-ssi?”
“If you won’t punish me, I’ll strike myself.”
Before he could intervene, Roy slapped her own cheek. A violent thwack resounded.
Just as she was about to throw a second strike, her wrist was caught.
“Good grief, you certainly have a vicious temper.”
Vitor gripped her wrist tightly, speaking with a rather chilly expression. His hand trembled faintly.
His grasp was so tight that her wrist throbbed with pain.
When Roy, enduring the pain, let out a groan through gritted teeth, he finally released his grip.
“I apologize. I lost control of my strength for a moment.”
“It’s fine.”
Roy rubbed her reddened wrist. Looking troubled and slightly subdued, Vitor spoke.
“Still, I truly didn’t mean to torment you. If it distressed you, I apologize.”
“Then will you stop following me around?”
“No?”
Roy’s complexion darkened visibly.
“Would you like to sit down for a moment?”
Sensing something was off with her, Vitor tapped the log bench by the roadside. Roy read his mood before carefully taking a seat.
“Did something happen?”
“……No.”
“Then did you really hate having me follow you that much?”
“It’s not that I hate it, but it makes me uncomfortable…”
“Uncomfortable?”
“I’m conscious of what others think, too. As it is, I feel like an eyesore to everyone lately…”
“Is someone saying something to you?”
“…….”
Vitor seemed ready to listen to anything, but Roy couldn’t bring herself to speak any further and lowered her head.
It wasn’t that the other servants had done anything wrong or explicitly confronted her, and she feared blowing things out of proportion by tattling on mere assumptions.
When no answer came no matter how long he waited, Vitor ventured a guess.
“Is it because of the new servants?”
“How do you…”
Roy’s eyes widened. He replied leisurely.
“I am the master of Elysia Mansion now. I have a rough grasp of how things run around the estate.”
“…….”
“I also heard that Harper-ssi suffers from a rare illness. That debts have piled up because of the medicine costs. And that he’s trying to get an advance on several months’ wages to set you up on your own, Roy-ssi.”
“Please don’t grant him the advance. I’m not leaving. I can pay off all the debts myself.”
“How? Even combining both your salaries, isn’t it beyond what you can handle?”
Vitor truly knew their circumstances inside and out. Roy bit down hard on her dry lips.
Looking down at Roy quietly, Vitor suddenly made a proposition.
“Would you like to take on an odd job with me? The pay is substantial enough to clear all your debts.”
“Really? What kind of work?”
Roy immediately grasped his hand.
To be able to pay off all the debts. She was ready to do anything.
Suddenly, he seemed like a savior.
“Something like this.”
Vitor’s hand slowly approached Roy’s face. Roy squeezed her eyes shut on reflex.
His hand lightly brushed against her bangs. It was a gentle touch, like a fluttering breeze.
When nothing followed, she cautiously opened her eyes.
In Vitor’s hand was a single green leaf. A soft smile spread across his lips.
Beneath golden hair catching the sunlight, his blue-green eyes, tinted with verdant depths, sparkled with clarity. The dimple indenting his smooth cheek added a touch of alluring charm.
Her cheeks flushed red for no good reason.
‘How can a man’s smile be so pretty? But what was that? What does this even mean?’
While she was still bewildered, Vitor added:
“The truth is, I’m in quite a bind lately. The elders have been pestering me to get married. So I need someone to ruin my matchmaking meetings.”
“Ruin them…? How?”
“Well. How should I put this…”
Vitor chose his words uncharacteristically carefully. Soon, as if unable to find a suitable term, he stopped fretting and spoke.
“I’ll be blunt. Will you be my lover?”
“I-I’m a man?!”
Roy jerked back in utter shock.
“I know. That’s why I’m asking. Because I need a male lover.”
He wore his characteristic mischievous grin—a captivating smile with sparkling eyes and a pretty dimple indented in his left cheek.
“That way, it’ll be far more scandalous.”
The Duke of Hermont’s male paramour.
