#12. Because It’s Not Acting

Chloe carefully watched the Duke’s expression as she prepared the tea.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Come and drink with me.” 

The Duke said as he moved to the sofa in front of the table.

“No, I couldn’t possibly with Your Grace.”

“It’s an order.”

“…Yes.”

Chloe clenched her molars and carefully perched herself on the edge of the sofa opposite the Duke.

“Since when?”

“Pardon?”

Just as she was about to lift the teacup to her lips, the Duke’s question made her set it back down.

“I asked since when?”

“Well…”

He seemed not to believe it earlier, but apparently he was concerned about it. He probably wants to drive me away even more now.

The question wasn’t difficult to answer.

Because it was somewhat true.

“I fell for you the moment I first saw you.”

“……”

“The moment I first saw Your Grace when I became your personal attendant, I fell for you at first sight.”

“…Ha!”

The Duke let out a delayed, misplaced snort and set his teacup down with a clatter.

“I meant the woman I slept with. I was asking since when you’ve been meeting her. Why don’t you stop with these ridiculous lies?”

If you’d stop with that ridiculous imagination about me meeting that woman, I could stop these embarrassing lies too.

“It’s not a lie. I’ve been captivated by Your Grace since the moment I first saw you.”

“You’re so confident it sounds even more like a lie. What woman would be this brazen while confessing love?”

Woman? What is the Duke saying now?

“But I’m not a woman?”

“Ah!”

The Duke suddenly gulped down his tea.

Watching the Duke’s uncharacteristically flustered behavior, Chloe pondered his words.

Confident and brazen? Should she speak more shyly next time?

But the part about falling for him wasn’t completely a lie. That’s unfair.

Not just Chloe, but anyone would fall for the Duke’s appearance.

Of course, when Chloe first saw him, she too thought, ‘I can’t believe such a handsome man exists.’ The rumors about the Duke’s looks weren’t exaggerated at all.

But even amid that visual shock, Chloe was very aware that she was a personal attendant who had to cross-dress to earn money, and that this perfect man before her was her master.

She wasn’t leisurely enough to indulge in inappropriate admiration for the Duke.

Moreover, thankfully, due to her upbringing, she had developed some immunity to handsome men.

Even her now-deceased twin brother Clyne, though small and frail, was objectively quite handsome.

Clyne, who was born a few minutes before Chloe and thus becoming her older brother, was smaller than his twin sister throughout childhood, as is often the case with firstborn twins.

Though after growing up his final height and frame were larger than Chloe’s, being female, he was still smaller than average for a man.

<Honestly, don’t you think I’m prettier than you, a girl?>

Despite potentially having a complex about being delicate for a man, Clyne would cheerfully boast about his looks with such comments on the daily. Whether it was boasting or self-deprecation wasn’t quite clear.

But since he was just her brother, rather than agreeing with the objective assessment of his handsomeness, Chloe just thought he was an annoying narcissist.

In any case, her deepest immunity probably came from growing up seeing her delicate and pretty brother’s appearance.

But the strongest immunity came not from her brother, but from Kalkus.

When she first met Kalkus and their eyes met, she thought he looked like a puppy doll. With his fluffy golden hair like puppy fur and rare golden eyes, he was so pretty she wanted to pat his face.

Plus he was kind, friendly, cheerful, and thoughtful. He truly was a man as beautiful inside as out.

Compared to him, the Duke…

You can’t call him pretty.

Yes, that expression isn’t right. ‘Pretty’ doesn’t suit the Duke at all.

That sharp jawline like it was carved. Those austere, neat lips and straight nose, those stern hazel eyes…

She was utterly taken aback the moment she first encountered those captivating hazel eyes.

It was like looking into a deep blue lake where you couldn’t gauge the bottom. Though his actual gaze was cold enough to be chilling, strangely the color felt warm.

Though hidden beneath his shirt, always buttoned up to the neck, the contours of his body were unmistakably evident…

In truth, his body was really to her taste too.

Despite his intimidating height of over 190cm, his silhouette appeared sleek rather than massive, perhaps due to his slim, streamlined muscles that seemed to be meticulously pieced together.

It’s different from being pretty. He’s captivatingly beautiful.

And what about his hair? His dark brown hair, usually neatly styled to give a mature and somehow sensual image, would naturally fall,  covering his forehead after sleeping, giving him a boyish charm.

Of course, this boyish charm was a hidden appeal that only Chloe, as his personal attendant, could see.

It took almost a month to adapt to not having her heart race at the Duke’s surprisingly beautiful appearance.

It was a shame that, after finally adapting, she now had to unearth those long-buried feelings of admiration just to pretend she liked the Duke once more. Well, looking at that face, it probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you staring at me so lustfully?”

Seems she had been staring too obviously.

“It’s because I like Your Grace, I can’t help but want to look at you.”

Like releasing a tightly held rein on her heart, Chloe spoke embarrassing words without hesitation. At this point, even she was getting confused whether it was acting or for real.

At least that face, no, his body too is quite nice.

“When you leave my house, why don’t you become an actor instead of a personal attendant? You seem really good at being shameless.”

“But I’m not acting…”

Why do you keep seeing it as acting? I’m sincere about Your Grace’s face and body at least.

Though saying I like you is an act, I could fall for the Duke’s looks again anytime.

“Clyne Liden, no matter what you do, I won’t be easily fooled. Even if you keep hiding and enduring like this, I’ll find that woman soon enough.”

“……”

Not being fooled? That woman is sitting right in front of you right now.

As a man.

“Stop acting and drink your tea.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll drink.”

Chloe hurriedly lifted her teacup.

“Ouch!”

Her tongue stung from the hot tea.

Though it seemed like some time had passed since the hot water was poured, why was the tea still so hot? The Duke’s teacups must be too high quality, the water just wouldn’t cool down.

“Are you alright?”

The Duke looked at Chloe with a frown.

“You should be careful.”

“Ah! Yes.”

Chloe felt anxious that she might have annoyed the Duke by making a fuss over nothing.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? Should I get some ice…”

The Duke stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth. Chloe looked at him with round eyes.

Isn’t he annoyed?

“Get out.”

The Duke suddenly stood up.

“Yes!”

Chloe immediately stood up too.

She hadn’t even managed a sip of tea.

I guess he wasn’t really concerned after all. He must have been disgusted by my overreaction.

Chloe rushed out, afraid of offending the Duke’s mood.

* * *

After Clyne left, Hughgray went to the window and spent a while in the cold breeze before returning to his desk and taking out Clyne’s documents again.

– Name: Clyne Liden

– Age: 21 years old

Twenty-one years old.

Hmm…

He was younger than expected, barely an adult.

Well.

With those thick glasses covering half his face and that stuffy bangs coming down to his forehead, it was hard to gauge his age or even make out his exact features.

What kind of face would he have if those glasses were removed and those bangs pushed back?

Hah! What kind of face indeed. Probably a weak-looking one. Looking at that small, frail body and small white face, he hardly seems like a grown man.

– Address: 5 Beikin Road, Bergen

– Family Relations: Mother (Charlotte Liden), Sister (Chloe Liden)

Chloe Liden, Chloe…

Is it true that his sister died?

It doesn’t seem likely he’d lie about a family member’s death of all things, but there was something suspicious about that guy.

– Special Notes: Fluent in Tigrium Kingdom’s language

– Physical Stats: 172cm, 63kg

Come to think of it, how does a commoner from Bergen know how to speak the Tigrium Kingdom language?

I should look into that.

And 172cm? 63kg? That’s not right.

172. This is also a lie. He said 168, didn’t he? And he looks about that height too.

And 63? With that frail body? He probably doesn’t even weigh 60.

When I first saw him, I vaguely thought he was very small for a man, but I hadn’t thought about it in more detail.

I just thought it was good that he wouldn’t stand out much due to his small build.

But 172, 63?

Even these numbers would be considered quite small, but looking at that guy, he couldn’t possibly reach even these figures.

Even the physical information is a lie.

Why?

Did he inflate his physical stats to get hired?

But even so, who would lie with such specific numbers when the truth would be obvious upon seeing them in person?

To think I’ve had such a suspicious person as my personal attendant. And I’m still keeping him as one.

While it’s true that that guy underestimated the Wulfaz duchy, our personnel management was indeed quite sloppy.

Hughgray clicked his tongue at the state of the Wulfaz duchy.

After his parents’ early death, as the head of the family, he had delegated staff management to the butler and Wilson.

They had been working since his father’s time after all.

There hadn’t been any major issues or problems.

But still, a house without a mistress was bound to have weak points.

Even his mother had no interest in household matters and only wanted to leave this house from her time.

With this newfound reflection, his eyes moved to the next item.

– Guarantor: Kalkus Tarkan

– Joint Guarantor: Thais Borge (Lord of Bergen)

The Lord of Bergen provided a joint guarantee.

But this name.

Kalkus Tarkan. Kalkus… Somehow this name seemed familiar.

Kalkus, Kalkus, Kalkus.

Ah! That name!