🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 26
Licht slipped into an alley to avoid people and hid himself as best he could.
“…….”
Ever since he had acknowledged that his condition was far from normal after mistaking Marquis Leslie for Luciana, he had been stuck in a low mood.
He remembered that moment when, the instant he saw pink hair, all distracting thoughts were washed away and a sense of fullness surged through him.
‘Pathetic! My judgment has grown this clouded.’
This wouldn’t do. His research was only at the starting point—what was he supposed to do if he was already like this?
‘Is the only option to distance myself from everything related to that woman as much as possible?’
Even when the imprint tried to dominate his body, the duke stubbornly refused to acknowledge Luciana.
‘If I could, I’d like nothing more than to shove her somewhere completely out of sight.’
Licht maintained his usual defensive stance—but only for a moment.
Soon, hearing voices nearby gradually drawing closer, he had no choice but to turn back into a fool once again.
“Hey, guess what? I got invited to Lady Leslie’s birthday banquet for the first time.”
“What? Really?!”
“!”
Luciana’s birthday?
The moment new information about his partner surfaced, a sharp glint flickered through his sunken crimson eyes.
“I’m jealous. When’s the party?”
Gulp.
Luciana’s birthday—something he didn’t know.
When talk of such an important date came up, all his senses focused on his ears.
Holding his breath, Licht waited for what would come next.
“So, the date is…….”
Whisper, whisper.
“Ha?”
Damn it. Whispering like cowards!
Bang!
Unable to overhear Luciana’s birthday, Licht lashed out, his emotions surging as he smashed his fist into the wall.
“Kyaa!”
“Your Grace……?!”
Logan, who had just returned after sending a boy on an errand, came running over in shock at the sight of two young ladies fleeing with screams and Licht punching someone else’s building.
“T-there’s a crack in the wall?!”
Good grief, my head hurts.
Why is His Grace like this today of all days?
“N-no! Wh-what in the world is going on here?!”
Logan pressed a throbbing hand to his forehead as he looked at the shop owner who had rushed out and the clearly visible crack.
“N-no! My sweet baby, which I finally bought with savings from twenty years of hard work!”
The shop owner, half-bald, raised his voice in panic upon seeing damage to the building he cherished like a child.
“Hey! How can you do this to someone else’s shop…… h-heeek!”
Seeing Licht silently dusting off his fist, the owner instinctively felt fear and clamped his mouth shut.
“J-judging by his attire, he must be a noble… but to think he did this barehanded……!”
Seeing debris like crumbs falling from the joints of the wall sent a chill down his spine.
“Looks like I’ve crossed paths with a mad noble!”
What was it about that accursed status? Among the so-called noble upper class, there were always some who looked down on powerless commoners like dirt beneath their feet.
“Tch. It’s infuriating, but if I want this to pass quietly, do I have no choice but to bow my head?”
Watching Licht casually destroy someone else’s property, the owner assumed he was just another ill-tempered noble.
The shop owner bowed deeply, and the duke looked as though something was seriously off.
“Haah, this is a mess.”
Once again, it was Logan—who carried a resignation letter in his heart every day—who stepped in to clean things up.
“I’m terribly sorry about this.”
“And you are……?”
“This was our fault. Please send the repair bill here, and we will pay the full amount.”
Logan put on a genial smile and took out a business card.
“Th-the House of Duke Cassio……?”
“Haha. We’d appreciate it if you kept this incident to yourself. His Grace has been rather unsettled lately. He’s not usually like this…….”
“Y-yes…….”
Logan skillfully soothed the owner and mediated the situation.
Fortunately, as long as he was properly compensated, the owner seemed willing to let it go, and there was no major conflict.
“I apologize. As a gesture of apology, we will pay double the estimated cost. We will also compensate for all business losses incurred during the repair period.”
“Th-th-thank y-you… h-hic! Y-Your Grace, Duke.”
When Licht finally approached and promised generous compensation, the injured party bowed his head as if honored—a ridiculous scene unfolded.
“Every time I look into those eyes, I feel like my lifespan is being shaved off.”
That thought was partly because of the compensation that melted away his resentment like snow, but also because the duke’s utterly unreadable, expressionless face was frightening enough that he wanted to flee as quickly as possible.
“Then, I’ll be waiting for your 연락.”
“Ah, y-yes! P-please take care on your way!”
As if he’d been waiting for the moment, the owner hurried into his shop like a rabbit diving into its burrow to escape a natural enemy. Once things were settled, Logan led Licht back to the main street and spoke with frustration.
“Your Grace, why on earth did you smash a perfectly fine wall? It was the same at the imperial palace—today you’re really strange.”
“…….”
Despite Logan pounding his chest as he spoke, Licht merely averted his gaze and remained silent.
He felt bad for his aide, but this was the best Licht could do.
How could he possibly say that the reason he’d punched a wall like someone with issues was simply because he couldn’t find out a woman’s birthday?
“……Where is the carriage?”
“I had it wait in the square. It should be arriving about now.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Seeing the duke so obviously avoiding conversation, Logan sighed and followed behind him.
“Right. It’s been nearly a month since His Grace began tracking the badge, and there’s been no progress at all. No wonder he’s on edge.”
Smashing an innocent wall was probably just the result of emotions he couldn’t rein in.
“Is he overly stressed? I should ask his physician to check on His Grace’s mental state soon.”
Since the mood of the entire estate shifted depending on the master’s disposition, Licht needed stability—not just for Logan, but for all the servants’ peace as well.
“There aren’t any urgent documents today, so it would be best for you to get some proper rest once we return.”
Logan rubbed his tired eyes, fervently hoping that the ones provoking Licht’s nerves would be caught as soon as possible.
Halt.
“Your Grace? Why did you suddenly stop?”
“…….”
The duke, who had been walking silently, abruptly came to a halt.
“Don’t tell me he’s about to smash another shop……?”
Feeling an unprovoked sense of unease, Logan stepped closer to Licht.
“Hm?”
Soon, following the direction of the duke’s gaze, Logan blinked in surprise.
Where Licht had stopped was a jewelry shop decorated to suit refined noble tastes—a high-end store that had been gaining popularity in the capital.
“Oh? Pink diamonds.”
The crimson eyes lingered on a jewelry set displayed elegantly in the showcase.
“…….”
Forgetting that he was standing before a pane of glass, Licht stared at the necklace as though bewitched.
Luciana’s birthday.
That word, encountered by chance, refused to leave his mind, as though it had taken over his entire being.
“Has His Grace taken an interest in jewelry now?”
Watching Licht unable to tear his eyes away, Logan casually added,
“Diamonds make for a fine collection by color. Many people collect not only the raw stones but also finished jewelry sets.”
Naturally, it never occurred to him that Licht—who had never shown the slightest interest in the opposite sex—might be agonizing over a woman.
“He’s never paid any attention to this sort of thing before. I thought he had absolutely no interest.”
Logan simply assumed that his lord, like other nobles, had developed an interest in collecting as a new hobby.
“True. His Grace has been far too focused on work and training all this time. Maybe picking up a constructive hobby like this wouldn’t be such a bad thing for him.”
Already worried about Licht’s unstable condition, Logan decided to play the role of gentle encourager.
“At this level of quality, it’s certainly worth purchasing. And this shop—I knew I’d heard of it before. Isn’t this the one run by Jean Ferd?”
“Jean Ferd? Is he a renowned craftsman?”
