It was a long-awaited invitation. Niall hadn’t seen a trace of Duke all this week. After the incident, the military withdrew immediately, a week had passed, and now it had been a week since Niall met Duke. Passing through the door opened by the blonde knight, Niall swallowed saliva at the sight of the warm dishes spread out on the long table. They were truly sumptuous dishes, with a wonderful aroma of spices. And from experience, there was nothing of his own on this table.
The last time Niall had dined with Duke here, he had eaten a few pieces of clear soup with floating meat points and boiled vegetables. However, no matter how much he looked at the food on the table, he couldn’t see such dishes.
“Take a seat.”
For a moment, Niall wondered if this time Duke meant for them to sit on the floor instead of at the table. However, Duke gestured to the chair opposite him and spoke. Niall sat down with a resigned expression. Feeling delighted to have such a splendid feast laid out before him.
Normally, Niall ate pickled meat, soaked vegetables in water, and crispy bread. Since peasant food was the same in the central and northern regions, Niall had no complaints about the modest table. However, he couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed by the lack of spices compared to the central region.
Duke’s table was luxurious. There was a wide variety, but all in small portions, which Niall appreciated as it avoided waste. With a happy expression, Niall cut a piece of nicely baked pie in half and transferred it to his plate.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, very much.”
In response to Duke’s question, Niall smiled broadly. He had experienced dinner at noble tables in the past.
It was undoubtedly better than the meals of central nobility. Moreover, this table even had spices that Niall had never seen before.
“If you can cure my illness, you can have such meals anytime.”
“Even if I can’t have such meals, I will cure your illness, Duke.”
At Niall’s words, Duke’s lips formed a faint smile, which quickly disappeared.
It seemed like a fleeting moment, but Niall knew that Duke had smiled. It was the first time he had seen Duke smile.
Beauty is charming even when the expression is stern, but it becomes even more beautiful when he smiles. Niall wanted to see Duke’s bright smile.
Even now, he’s beautiful, but how much more beautiful would he be if he smiled brightly?
If those cold ice-like white cheeks rose up and revealed white teeth between the red lips as he smiled at me… Just imagining it made his heart race.
“How much debt are you in?” Duke asked Niall with a careless glance.
“It’s three thousand pounds,” Niall replied.
For a noble, the amount of money earned from the estate in a year was approximately three thousand pounds (about 150 billion won in current exchange rates/750K USD). It was too much money for an individual to handle.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“I see,” Duke said, pouring wine into his glass and swirling it around a few times. The red wine swirled gracefully in the transparent cup along his wrist.
“Po sbe megf ws liicfrr, cba bcis klii sbe gfqjs atf vfya, yea P’ii jirb ulnf sbe j gfkjgv fdeji ab atja vfya,” Gexf mbcalcefv.
“Efjiis?” Rljii jrxfv.
“Pc gfaegc, lo P vbc’a gfmbnfg, sbe mjc’a ifjnf fnfc ktfc rqglcu mbwfr,” Gexf gjlrfv tlr uijrr abkjgvr Rljii, jr lo jlwlcu ja tlw.
“You must stay in this castle until I recover. And this is not something you can choose.”
Niall bit his lip and pondered. Being tied to this castle indefinitely if he couldn’t cure Duke wasn’t what Niall had hoped for.
“If you don’t like it, then succeed. Heal me,” Duke’s voice lowered as if tempting. He discarded the wine that had lost its aroma from too much shaking and poured himself a new drink.
“In return, you’ll be free. The three thousand pounds I offer is just a bonus.”
“Understood,” Niall hesitated but soon made up his mind. Without Duke’s permission, he couldn’t leave this castle anyway.
So there was no reason to refuse what was being offered. He had come here to fulfill this task in the first place.
“In return, I have a condition too,” Niall said.
“What is it?”
“Please meet with me every day from now on. Show your face at least once a day. Don’t hide away like you did this week.”
“Hide away?” Duke chuckled lightly. The word Niall chose didn’t seem to sit well with him.
But Niall knew that Duke had indeed hidden. He remembered vividly how shocked Duke looked as he fled on the day of the incident.
“Very well. I’ll invite you to my dining table every evening from now on,” Duke agreed. Having seen Duke’s face for the first time in a week and receiving the bonus of three thousand pounds, Niall felt relieved and served himself some pie onto a plate. He brought some roasted vegetables and bean dishes as well.
Though his stomach was full, he didn’t know when he would be able to eat such precious foods again. Nobles were so unpredictable.
Although he heard that he would be invited to dine every day, it didn’t necessarily mean he would receive such lavish meals every time.
Niall ate and drank to his heart’s content, then lightly swirled his glass after the last sip of wine.
“You’re a man of irresistible charm,” Duke suddenly said, looking at Niall with a persistent gaze. Niall looked up, coughing. It was unfortunate that he heard such unexpected words just as he was passing the wine.
“Pardon? Uh, pardon me?”
“It’s okay to take pride. Your body is molded from the blue blood of ancient heroes and patience forged through rigorous training. There is no man in this world you cannot seduce.”
Duke declared with a low and powerful voice, as if stating an immutable truth.
“I’ve never seen a man as charming as you. You’re dangerously addictive, more lethal than any drink. Don’t underestimate your charm. You’re the man who brought me to my knees.”
Niall barely stopped coughing. His face gradually flushed.
Having such an irresistible charm. Being able to seduce every man in the world.
Duke continued to speak with an expressionless face, as if reciting a poem. Niall’s face turned even redder.
“Thank… you?”
Since he seemed to be praised anyway, Niall expressed his gratitude while Duke raised his glass with a nonchalant expression. Niall fanned himself with his hand due to the heat from his flushed face. Nevertheless, the warmth didn’t dissipate. It was the first time his face had flushed so much since he was a child. He had never lost his composure even when forgetting lines on the theater stage, but with a few words from Duke, Niall felt completely defeated.
“Niall Giles, how many lovers have you had until now?” Duke asked suddenly.
Niall stopped fanning himself and collected his thoughts. Even though he hesitated to say this during a conversation about fake relationships, he decided it was not something worth hiding and answered obediently.
“I wasn’t very popular because I had a lot of debt.”
“So, how many?” Duke’s wrist, which had been swirling the glass, stopped abruptly. He looked at Niall with eyes that seemed incredulous and asked again, “What did you say?”
Niall replied with a more firm voice, as if Duke misheard him. “It’s six. I’ve been with six people.”
Duke almost slammed the glass he was holding onto the table. The forceful action caused the wine to splatter in all directions. Niall closed his mouth and watched Duke’s reaction carefully. For some reason, the duke seemed angry, so Niall thought it best to just flatten himself out for now.
“Six people?”
“…Yes.”
“Six. You slept with six people,” Duke clarified.
“Duke, I think there’s a misunderstanding. I said six, not sixty…”
Determined to make it clear that it wasn’t sixty but six, Niall tried to explain further. However, Duke’s anger seemed to intensify with each explanation, so Niall eventually fell silent.
He felt that if he mentioned six people one more time, it might actually come true. Duke seemed so excited about it.
“Were they all Alphas?”
“…No.”
“Omegas then? Men?”
“…Yes.”
Niall lowered his head as if he were guilty. Yet, he couldn’t understand why he should feel so ashamed.
He was unmarried and had had a few relationships like any other man. Frankly, he thought six was on the lower side. He had never even gone to a brothel like other men. But Duke was furious as if he had led an army of sixty.
Niall sighed inwardly. He had been delighted to have a fine meal, but now it felt like everything he had eaten would be thrown back at him.
The sound of a chair being dragged was heard. Duke got up from his seat and paced around the table. As the master of the castle stood up, Niall also rose from his seat.
“Why weren’t there any Alphas?” Duke asked.
“Alphas…?”
“Why didn’t you meet any Alphas? Because you despise Alphas to the point of trembling?”
“No, of course not.”
Niall hurriedly waved his hands. Duke approached him and circled around him.
“Then why date Omegas without meeting Alphas? You do hate Alphas after all, don’t you?”
“No, that’s not it at all.”
“Then why are there no Alphas among your lovers?”
“It’s my personal choice…”
“Answer me!”
“I don’t want children.”
