The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 35

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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 35
Aster Veil Lilywood did not avoid Blaze’s gaze. Two men who looked identical, as if seeing themselves in a mirror, held each other’s eyes for a long moment. Unable to overcome the pressure, it was Aster who finally broke the silence.
“Who brought that to you?”
“Come now, Aster. Is this really the time to be curious about such things?”
At the laughter-tinged voice, Aster pressed his lips shut. Blaze’s confinement in the Forbidden Zone was a form of punishment. He was not to meet others, nor was he to concern himself with news from the outside world. Yet a newspaper, of all things. Blaze chuckled as if to flaunt it, but Aster could not bring himself to laugh.
“One must always keep an ear to the surroundings. I am, after all, the legitimate heir to House of Lilywood.”
Blaze shrugged his shoulders in response. His eyes, tinged with a bluish hue, reflected the light of the streetlamp. At first glance, he appeared to smile affectionately, but there was no warmth in Blaze’s eyes. He could not afford to show agitation or weakness.
Aster reminded himself once more and clenched his fists tightly.
“You threw away that position yourself, Blaze Lilywood.”
“So now you won’t even call me brother?”
Blaze’s eyes curved beautifully. It was a deliberate jab meant to shake Aster. It was best to ignore such provocations. Even though Aster gave no sign of acknowledging his words, the smile lingering at Blaze’s lips did not fade.
Blaze Lilywood had always been this way. Until Aster, born on the same day, left for the Military Academy at a young age, he remained constant. What lay beneath that smiling facade, what feelings dwelt there—Aster could not fathom. Was it because they were cursed twins? Or perhaps something else.
Blaze rose from his seat and made his way toward a cabinet standing idly in one corner of the room. Without hesitation, he retrieved a bottle of liquor and asked Aster, “Care for some?” Aster stared blankly at the bottle in Blaze’s hand before turning his gaze away. Blaze murmured something about it being a shame and returned to his seat with only his own glass.
He then collapsed into his chair and casually filled the glass, bringing it to his lips. It seemed Aster’s twin brother was managing far better than he had imagined. Judging by how easily he had obtained a forbidden newspaper and even alcohol.
Just who had placed such things in Blaze’s hands? Aster recalled the faces of the few who could enter the Forbidden Zone. The two maids responsible for cleaning and laundry moved carefully to avoid encountering Blaze. It was the Estate’s Butler, Calvin Stewart, who personally left meals at the door—the only one who might briefly cross paths with him.
Who else could there be? No other face came to mind. Whether from tension and pressure, his thoughts would not come clearly.
“So, how have you been lately?”
Blaze set the glass he had held to his lips down upon the table. The way he unfastened the buttons at his sleeve cuffs and rolled them up appeared remarkably at ease. The black chain etched upon his right forearm was revealed. Aster felt a burning sensation and gripped his own forearm tightly. For he bore the same chain upon that very spot, etched into his skin. His jaw clenched with force.
“Hmm? Aster. Say something. You’re a newlywed, after all. Are you happy?”
Blaze’s voice remained consistently bright. In contrast, Aster’s expression was faintly furrowed. Why would he ask such a thing? For what purpose.
Aster looked directly into Blaze’s eyes. Muted green eyes met pupils tinged with blue.
“The Duke of Lilywood has fallen in love and married. Everyone finds it quite fascinating, don’t they?”
“What story are you hoping to hear?”
Blaze gazed at his twin brother’s face and smiled with satisfaction. Those green eyes, brimming with disdain and contempt, and a fear he struggled to conceal, were wavering.
Yes, that expression suits you well. That face of someone drowning in anxiety while desperately trying not to show it.
Aster’s lips trembled in a spasm. His brother lowered his head and averted his gaze, seemingly trying not to reveal his agitation. Though perhaps not.
“Lauren is quite beautiful.”
Aster started in surprise and lifted his eyes. Those once-bright, emerald eyes had widened. The radiance that had once sparkled in them had been completely extinguished since that day. And it was Blaze himself who had snuffed out that unpleasant light. The sight of his parents’ beloved younger brother wavering brought him joy.
Ah, how sweet the liquor tastes. Blaze looked directly at his brother and chuckled softly.
“Hair as black as lacquer shines more brilliantly than the finest silk, and eyes as lovely as lavender blossoms.”
“How could you possibly…”
Know that?
He tried to convince himself that Blaze had learned it from the photograph in the newspaper. But such details could never be discerned from such crude black-and-white images. Aster stared blankly at Blaze, who reclined against the back of the long chair with his legs crossed.
“Of course I would know. She’s the Duchess of Lilywood, after all. I went to see her.”
His mind went white. It felt as though all the blood drained from his body to his fingertips. Aster could not speak and merely moved his lips soundlessly. Blaze took a sip of his drink and, from the corner of his eye, swept over him before letting out a soft laugh.
“She might have become my wife instead, under different circumstances. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Yes. Those words were true. Under different circumstances, Blaze should have inherited the ducal seat as the legitimate heir. Even the arrogant gesture of casually brushing back his loosened golden hair came naturally to him.
Though Aster had imitated Blaze to erase the rigid movements ingrained during his time at the Military Academy, he could not match even half of his brother’s grace. Especially not that face—the way he smiled while concealing his heart.
Aster smiled at his twin brother across from him with all the strength he could muster. One corner of his mouth twisted upward.
“You saw the newspaper. Then you should understand. Lauren is the one who saved me.”
So even if he had fallen in love, it couldn’t possibly be with Blaze. That’s what Aster Veil Lilywood wanted to say. But he knew better than anyone that this wasn’t the truth.
The truth was, Lauren had never actually saved him. She had come seeking the Duke of Lilywood, not Aster Veil Lilywood. So on that day, if things had unfolded differently, it would have been Blaze standing beside her, not him. If the House of Lilywood hadn’t crumbled that day.
Somehow, the stench of blood seemed to linger in the air of the room. Aster tightened his already clenched fist. Once he’d caught that phantom scent, it seized him by the ankles and dragged him into those cruel memories. And familiar self-recrimination wrapped around his entire body.
How much better it would have been if he hadn’t come home during that break. How much better if he hadn’t taken Blaze’s place in society, if he hadn’t envied Blaze for remaining at their parents’ side. Or better yet, if he had never been born at all.
Blaze and Aster were twins. He’d heard that in other continents, twins were regarded as blessed beings. And in some places, they said twins understood each other’s hearts better than anyone else. But in the Empire where Aster lived—or rather, on this continent—that was not the case.
Twins cursed by the gods.
Twins were an ill omen. Mythology, legend, folklore—call it what you will. Twins should not exist in this world. From the moment of conception, they competed with each other, cursed one another, and eventually one would turn a blade upon the other and destroy the world, or so the stories went.
Twins were rare, but not unheard of. By rights, Aster should have been put to death at birth. But his parents had not done so. They claimed the heir to the Ducal House was sickly and kept him hidden from the outside world.
And under that pretense, Aster had grown up in secret, receiving the love of the household staff and his parents. It had been like a dream—until he was sent to the Military Academy at a young age.
But Blaze was not suited to the role of heir to the Ducal House. His parents had educated him as the successor, thinking he would improve with age, but they didn’t want him seen outside the family.
When Aster returned home during breaks, he sometimes had to appear in society on Blaze’s behalf. He didn’t realize how much Blaze despised it. Perhaps that’s how such feelings had taken root in him.
The pain of his nails digging into his palm suddenly brought him back to himself. He couldn’t lose himself in thought while facing Blaze. He had to regain control.
Aster bit the inside of his lip hard, trying to erase the phantom scent of blood that lingered at the tip of his nose.
“Aster, you like Lauren, don’t you? Right?”
“…What?”
Aster’s face contorted as he watched Blaze, who continued to smile that spinning smile. Like her? Me, like Lauren? His lips trembled as he barely managed to force out a sound.
“…No.”
Across the rim of the glass, their eyes met. The dim light of the streetlamp seeping through the window cast a pale lavender glow on the liquid in Blaze’s glass—the same pale lavender as Lauren’s eyes.
“Ahahaha! Aster, you know what? I find it so amusing whenever you make that face!”
Lauren, me. Aster found himself dazed, replaying Blaze’s words, when he suddenly froze in alarm. If that were true, Blaze would never leave Lauren alone. Aster had no desire to witness another bloodstorm sweep through the Estate.
His own feelings didn’t matter. Aster squeezed his eyes shut. And so he repeated it to himself, as if to convince his own heart. No, I don’t like Lauren.
“She simply teaches me how to do my work. I keep her nearby because she’s capable. I don’t know much about what a Duke should do.”
So he opened his mouth. Was he rushing? Aster took a small breath and continued, maintaining an air of indifference.
“There are no other feelings involved.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Was he disappointed? Blaze tilted his head and fixed his gaze on Aster. Aster lowered his eyes and sat up straight. Though he had wavered moments before, now there was no tremor to be seen. As Blaze stared at him intently, his grip on the glass tightened. The glass he held couldn’t withstand the force and cracked with a sharp sound.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you make that face.”
Was I mistaken?
Blaze looked at Aster with a smile on his face. But there was no laughter in his green eyes, tinged with blue. He kicked at the newspaper with the photograph of the two of them with the tip of his shoe. Liquor dripped from the cracked glass, wetting the photograph printed on the paper. Aster simply stared down at the dampening newspaper in silence.
Pleased with his attitude, Blaze let out a hollow laugh. Then he set the glass down on the table and opened the side table next to the long chair, retrieving a handkerchief. The alcohol seeping from the cracked glass had wet his hand, and it felt unpleasant. Aster felt a wave of relief wash over him. And he was, in turn, slightly startled by his own relief.
“Well, whether things become interesting or not, we’ll have to wait and see as time goes on.”
Blaze, having carelessly tossed the handkerchief to the floor, sprawled out on the long chair. It was the same posture as when Aster had first stepped into this room. It felt almost serene compared to moments before, when Blaze had tried to shake him and wring him out.
In an instant, Aster’s mind blazed with fury. He wanted to drive a blade straight through that chest. But Aster took a small breath and suppressed the anger that threatened to consume him.
I am different from Blaze. That single truth was what allowed Aster to remain himself.

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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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