The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34
I told Lauren not to worry about work, yet the low table before the long settee was piled high with correspondence. More than half of it was utterly meaningless invitations, though.
It seemed the Lilywood Ducal Couple had become quite the spectacle that day. Judging by how the mountain of invitations had begun accumulating since the ball—as if people had been waiting for this very moment—it was clear.
The mere sight of them made my head throb. When had society become so interested in a “murderer”? Just because I’d managed to look human once, they seemed to have completely forgotten how I’d caused several disturbances at the Imperial Ball before. How ridiculous.
There was no need to respond to each of these invitations. If I were being honest, I’d love to sweep them all into the fireplace and set them ablaze. It was absurd—just because a “murderer” wore human clothes and behaved with courtesy didn’t mean his nature had changed. Yet they showed no fear whatsoever.
I, who had been sprawled across the long settee with my legs extended, let out a soft chuckle and straightened my posture. If I actually threw all these invitations into the fireplace, Lauren would be furious with me. A long, languid sigh escaped between my lips as I leaned deeply against the back of the settee.
Thinking of Lauren made me smile somehow. She was a woman whose emotions were transparent as glass. And she was equally capable. It wasn’t just her work as an administrator. She herself was dazzlingly competent. Unlike me, constantly deliberating and weighing options, struggling to maintain the status quo, she possessed a sharp ability to assess situations and think ahead. And her execution was flawless.
I was fortunate she chose Lilywood as her escape from the Marquis Estate. I flipped through the documents the Territory’s representative had sent.
It was exactly as Lauren had said. The report stated that the shop supposedly selling luxury goods was closed, and when forcibly opened, both the interior and warehouse were filled with all manner of drugs and jewels.
I let out a hollow laugh. Without Lauren, neither Letti nor I would have discovered any of this.
I’d learned much about managing the Territory from Lauren—tax ratios during abundant and lean harvests, how to manage merchants, and the welfare systems essential to a fiefdom. Naturally, the Military Academy had taught me none of this.
Had I been born to inherit the Territory, I would have learned from my father. But that wasn’t the case. After the Previous Duke’s death, I inherited the dukedom knowing nothing, and had to throw myself into the work. I was prepared in my own way, but it proved far more difficult and challenging than I’d imagined.
Some of that was due to my own nature. From childhood, I was taught never to grasp at anything, so I abandoned everything.
Of course, when I was very young, I did harbor desires. But it didn’t take long to realize they were meaningless.
Regardless, one thing was certain: I owed Lauren an enormous debt. I hoped that whatever I was planning would be of benefit to her.
I rose from my seat and picked up the calendar resting on the Duke’s desk. My gaze fell upon a date marked in small blue ink. The promised date was drawing near. How would the other party react if I presented the inconsistencies I’d found in Garnet’s report? That was impossible to know now. All I could do was prepare thoroughly to respond to whatever reaction came.
I turned my gaze toward the window. It had been quite some time since Lauren became my wife. Long enough for summer to transform into autumn. A faint smile colored my lips. Unlike usual, it was neither twisted nor bitter.
As I turned my gaze, my reflection suddenly appeared in the glass. I was startled. Why was I smiling like this? I’d thought there was nothing to smile about since that day. I hardened my expression and glared at the man staring back at me from the other side of the window.
It was a face I despised.
I approached the window. Closing my eyes tightly, I yanked the curtains shut.
* * *
In the dead of night, when even the sound of insects had ceased, I was reviewing Garnet’s report once more. The more I read, the more unsettling details emerged. The paper filled with suspicious points had become quite crowded. I set down my quill and stretched languidly.
Day and night held little meaning for me. Ancient memories, overlaid with nightmares, had already been carved into my life, and when I closed my eyes, they rose up like clouds from moments before. I forcibly turned my gaze away from the empty desk that kept drawing my attention. It felt as though the massive man sitting before it was glaring at me.
It was better to focus on the task at hand than to be consumed by futile thoughts. I picked up the paper filled with questions. Yet the thoughts that filled my mind refused to dissipate. The blue ink that had been used since the Previous Duke’s time seeped into my eyes and clouded my mind.
The Military Academy where I’d spent so long was a complete boarding school. The power structures of the outside world were meaningless to soldiers who dedicated their lives to the nation, so cadets existed simply as cadets, not as sons of any particular house. Naturally, the fact that I was the son of the Duke of Lilywood remained unknown. Training was agonizing, and classes were mentally exhausting.
Yet I was able to endure it because of the letters that came from home once a month and the fact that during the two vacations each year, I could return home for at least a few days.
This ink, which leaned more toward navy than blue, had become quite familiar to me as well—someone who could rarely return home. My father’s affectionate letters to me had been written in this very ink.
Perhaps I should have changed it. I let out an involuntary chuckle. I was barely managing to maintain the status quo, so what was there to change?
Since that day, which was like hell itself, I’d lived this way. I hadn’t hired a single new servant, maintained the same merchant houses the Previous Duke had dealt with, and left all Territory affairs to my representative. Perhaps that’s why Lauren stood out so much to me. She was the one who breathed new life into the stagnant Duke’s Residence. She was the one who saved me, who had taken on the Duke’s duties without knowing anything.
I clenched my fist. The paper in my hand crumpled. I didn’t understand why I’d been like this all evening. My chest felt suffocated. Perhaps I should drink. It seemed I wouldn’t fall asleep easily tonight anyway.
Twisting my lips, I opened the cabinet on one wall and retrieved a bottle and glass. With careful movements, I poured the amber liquid into the glass. Not that I could drink enough to become intoxicated anyway. Sparing no self-mockery, I raised the glass. The light in the room shattered against the finely crafted crystal.
But before I could even bring it to my lips, someone knocked on the office door. Only a few people knew I remained awake at this hour. It would be Letti, Calvin, or Garnet.
I set down the glass and answered. It was actually a relief. Drinking in this state would only worsen my mood.
“Your Grace.”
The person who appeared beyond the door was Calvin. Normally, I would have narrowed my eyes at the glass he held, but the stern-faced Calvin seemed too preoccupied for that. I tilted my head questioningly. Calvin, who rarely showed agitation, appeared quite flustered.
“What is it?”
Calvin didn’t answer immediately. He pressed his lips together, then approached me. He raised his hand and whispered into my ear.
“That person wishes to see you.”
My brow furrowed deeply. I was right not to drink. I drew a sharp breath, then slowly exhaled. As I repeated this several times, my chest rose and fell heavily.
“Very well.”
After a long moment, he answered. His voice was subdued. He emerged from the Office where he had been sequestered for hours and began walking. Calvin hadn’t specified a destination, but I knew exactly where ‘he’ would be.
I stopped only when I reached the entrance to the Forbidden Zone, consumed by darkness. Turning back to Calvin, who had followed silently behind me, I met his gaze. His gray eyes were rigid with tension. Mine likely mirrored the same hardness. Still, there were things that needed to be said. I looked directly at Calvin.
“That’s enough.”
“But Your Grace—”
“I’m fine.”
Yes, I was fine. But Calvin was not. Anything could happen. Anything could go wrong, and then it would be too late. I looked directly at Calvin. After a long moment of holding his gaze, Calvin sighed and lowered his head.
“Please be careful, Your Grace.”
I nodded lightly and stepped into the lightless Forbidden Zone. In the dead of night, darkness consumed everything—not a single ray of light penetrated. It would take time for my eyes to adjust to this blackness, but I moved forward without hesitation. It was likely just my imagination, but I could swear I smelled blood in the air, and I wanted to escape it quickly.
I took a deep breath before the firmly closed door. The same tension that had coursed through me on the battlefield now flooded my entire body. Closing my eyes, gritting my teeth, and steadying my mind, I straightened my posture and grasped the door handle, turning it. The door creaked open.
A piercing screech grated against my ears.
“Not even knocking anymore?”
And a voice far more terrible than that sound filled my mind. Clenching my fists, I turned my gaze toward the source of the voice. A man sprawled across a long sofa chuckled. His golden hair, left unbound, was identical to mine.
“Is there a need?”
“Still, this is my territory.”
The man looked up at me from where he lay. His movements as he brushed back his long hair were languid. Seeing my rigid expression, the man smirked.
“Sit. It’s been so long—you’re not going to stand the whole time, are you?”
Unlike my low voice, the man spoke with evident amusement, his tone soft and playful. I clenched my fists tightly.
“Sit, Aster. Having to look up at you like this is starting to irritate me.”
Though the amusement never left his voice, irritation now threaded through his words. I silently took a seat. As if he’d been waiting for exactly that, the man laughed—a soft, satisfied sound. Then he raised himself up, leaning against the back of the long sofa, and folded his legs beneath him as he sat.
“You’re still such a good boy.”
The man looked satisfied. A good boy. I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them. I wanted to hide my agitation, but it was futile. After observing him quietly for a moment, I finally spoke.
“Blaze Revel Lilywood. Why did you want to see me?”
“To have a conversation after so long. You haven’t visited your older brother even once—isn’t that too much? I had to learn about your marriage from the newspaper.”
The man called Blaze raised his hand, interlacing his fingers behind his head. The newspaper. No information should ever reach this place. My gaze swept across the floor. Newspapers lay scattered everywhere—folded, crumpled. Every single one bore articles and photographs of my marriage.
I lifted my eyes toward Blaze. Wind blew through an open window, causing the curtain to flutter. Beyond it, the faint glow of a streetlamp seeped into the room. As if facing a mirror, a man who looked identical to me smiled down at me. The only difference was his eyes—a shade of blue slightly deeper than my own.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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