Vianut closed his eyes and tried to shut out all thoughts of those radiant, red eyes. Instead, an unpleasant voice suddenly echoed in his ear.
“I will happily devote the rest of my life to this beautiful woman.”
The Grand Duke had only meant to pay a short visit to Dirk and Adele as a way of formally welcoming them to the mansion. Then, after completing the minimum formalities required of a polite host, he planned to return to his office.
Yet when he had heard Dirk’s confession, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his blood was in an uproar. He felt a twisted sense of foreboding and dread—that his fascination with this fake Yuliana would not cease so easily.
Vianut could not fathom why he was so fixated on her. Was he only fantasizing about stealing away his fraudulent younger sister? Or did he truly think he would go mad if he had to hand over the woman he so earnestly desired to another man?
The duke tried to focus his attention on his work and scanned over a letter atop the pile of documents on his desk. He bit his lower lip and tightened his grip on the envelope.
In a month’s time, the Princess of Britin would be returning from her studies abroad, which meant he couldn’t allow his heart to be swayed any longer. The reality of the situation was he would soon be wed, and by that time, Yuliana’s impersonator would also have joined hands with Dirk.
His reply letter to the princess was sealed. Vianut tried his best to concentrate when Mr. Bram knocked on the door.
“Your Highness,” the footman bowed, “Lady Yuliana and Lord Dirk are taking a stroll about the mansion.”
Vianut had instructed Mr. Bram to report Dirk’s every movement to him. Though the duke did not know the details of his uncle’s plan, Stephan’s conniving intentions stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t hard to imagine his schemes. If Vianut had been an ambitious but powerless uncle, then he would have also tried to negotiate with someone like Dirk on the pretext of marriage.
Every time Stephan got on his nerves, Vianut intentionally caused trouble in the Talsbarg territory to give the older man a headache. The marquis’ recent departure was again due to Vianut’s doings; however, this time the duke ordered his men to tail Stephan and intercept any of his attempts to surreptitiously send a message to Dirk.
Vianut intended to find out exactly what Stephan wanted and then ruin his plans.
His efforts to foil Stephan’s plots weren’t because he feared rebellion. Rather, Vianut’s actions stemmed from the fact that, despite his power and his riches, he could not obtain the one thing he desired most. So, if he wanted to comfort himself, Vianut had no choice but to deny his deceitful uncle’s ambitions and make him suffer in the same way as he.
However, Mr. Bram’s reports never included anything noteworthy. Instead, hearing about Dirk and Yuliana’s daily interactions only served to increase Vianut’s spite. The duke instructed the butler to return to his post after delivering his most recent round of wearisome news. Of course, Mr. Bram would return soon enough and continue to communicate their activities to him until the next day.
“Lord Dirk and Lady Yuliana are having dinner. Lord Dirk cut his steak into fine pieces, while the young lady found the meat too tough to cut and finished her meal without it.”
“They are currently enjoying tea time together. The awkwardness between them has disappeared since a while ago, and they are often seen laughing while in each other’s company.”
“They are out walking the puppy you gifted Lady Yuliana again. It seems to be fond of Lord Dirk. Of course, I think it’s also because Lady Yuliana acts quite comfortable around him.”
His fraudulent sister’s smiling face flitted across his vision several times. Vianut’s heart felt strangely sore and seemed to crumble every time Mr. Bram gave his reports.
The evening seemed to drag on forever. It had been many years since Vianut felt like this. Every time he received another report from the butler, the duke would grow listless and lose his appetite. As he mulled on the situation, he noticed something peculiar about the interactions Mr. Bram described.
That timid girl who had trembled every time he bumped into her was enjoying herself that much around a man like Dirk?
Duke Vianut let out a low sigh as he touched his nape. The temperature in the room wasn’t hot by any means, yet his neck was damp with sweat.
He took out a handkerchief. It was the same one that Yuliana’s impersonator had made, with the butterfly embroidery.
The duke imagined the hand that worked hard to craft it. He had never really felt the body temperature of another person before, but he could guess that it was hot. Like when his fingers had grazed her skin during their last meeting in his study…
As he reminisced on the events of that night, Vianut felt a dull heat growing between his legs. His eyes narrowed and his breath quickly became heavy.
“Ah…”
He had been experiencing more and more of these heady sensations lately. Whenever he suddenly thought of her, his blood would rise and the front of his pants would feel terribly cumbersome.
Before long, the first rays of dawn began filtering through the window. Vianut still lay troubled in his bed. Only the chirping of the grasshoppers outside interrupted the silence. He noticed that for some time now, he hadn’t seen a certain pup leave her hiding spot under the bed.
“Maria,” he called, but to no avail.
These days the pup only appeared if she was approached by that small hand warmer of a dog raised by his fake sister. Whenever it was around, she would stay outside her hiding spot for a while, indicating that she wanted the other dog to stay longer, too.
Unfortunately, the Grand Duke could not help her wish come true. The dog belonging to Yuliana’s impersonator would eventually be called away from the room, and Vianut’s pup would run back to her place under the bed. He was thinking of giving her anything she wanted if she would just come out, wag her tail, and hug him.
He let out a nonchalant laugh.
“Fine, you don’t have to come out now.”
Sooner or later, he would make sure to give her the affection she deserved.
Vianut’s blue irises dulled as he stared at the empty space beside him. Lately, he had been thinking that the bed felt strangely wide.
He closed his eyes and began faintly dreaming of his late fiancée. Even now, he could still clearly hear her singing that lullaby, laying in that warm garden like a little doll.
But as he relaxed and allowed his mind to wander, the false Yuliana’s voice began to ring in his ears instead. His muscles tensed.
The girl in his imagination was slowly being replaced by the pitiful prostitute, Maria. No matter how hard he tried to focus, she would eventually overtake his thoughts, like the dawn eclipsing the night sky.