‘Though it’s getting a bit precarious these days.’

Until now, Tevant’s journalists and artists had refrained from excessive satire out of respect for their protector.

Even so, Elroy somewhat hoped they would cross the line. To the journalists who persistently followed him and the artists who praised him with their mouths while busily satisfying their dirty desires behind his back……

‘An example is needed once in a while.’

An example to warn them to keep things moderate.

Though he wasn’t sure what his family would think, that was Elroy’s opinion. Even as he pulled his lips into a smile, people continued to cheer for him.

“Duke!”

“Waaah!”

It was while Elroy was mechanically maintaining his expression while suppressing a cynical smile that something brushed past the edge of his vision.

“……”

It was that woman. The one who had rushed at him, pulled down his clothes, and grabbed his hand. The woman who smelled of ink and pigments.

Elroy was internally surprised that he recognized her. Yet he found himself staring intently at her without realizing it. It was closer to his gaze automatically turning toward her.

The woman who appeared just as the impression had grown dim with the passing season had gained a little weight. Her appearance, having somewhat escaped her shabby state and now properly dressed, looked pure and neat enough to pass for a student somewhere. Her brunette hair, roughly braided and tossed back, sparkled like jewels as strands fluttered with the air’s ripples.

“Please look this way! Duke!”

“Duke, please greet me too……”

“Ack! Don’t push!”

Amidst the crowd’s heat, Elroy swallowed a laugh as he recalled when this woman had casually grabbed his hand. How she had firmly entwined her fingers with his while giving him a desperate look.

‘Now she’s pretending to be such a proper student.’

Who was she trying to fool with that clear face.

Even as he thought this, the woman gazed at him for quite a while. Not with purely admiring eyes like others, but with eyes tinged with curiosity and doubt.

As if she might have recognized him.

The moment that thought reached him, his nape tingled strangely. The ink stain that had stubbornly remained on his arm for so long flashed through his mind. That persistent stain that had been irritating, resembling the woman’s fingers.

It was while the two were exchanging brief glances…

“Duke! Duke!”

“You’re so wonderful!”

As the crowd cheered fervently, someone grabbed the woman. It was a man wearing glasses with crimson hair.

The woman was surprised to see the man, then soon smiled brightly. Then she firmly grabbed his hand just as she had held Elroy’s and headed somewhere. Seeing this, Elroy once again held back a laugh.

‘As expected.’

She seemed to be a woman used to touching men. Seeing how she grabbed and pulled without hesitation.

The stubbornly remaining stain cleanly fell away. The reason his gaze had been drawn to that woman……

‘……Must be guilt.’

Perhaps he had unconsciously been concerned whether the woman had ended up wandering the streets because of him. The feeling of wondering what if she hadn’t gone to the welfare facilities operated by House Tevant after being evicted like that must have been lying somewhere in his unconscious.

That must be why she caught his eye so much. Even though he wouldn’t have felt such sympathy at other times.

But that too must have been needless worry. No doubt she had found a place to stay by grabbing another man like that.

‘She’s grown soft meanwhile.’

Elroy put on the duke’s mask again and smiled at people while mocking himself. As the sense of debt he held toward the woman disappeared, she too began to fade from memory.

No, he thought she was fading.

“Duke!”

A few days later. His exclusive personal secretary burst into the duke’s office with a pale face. Elroy, who had been exchanging telegrams with investors of banks he planned to acquire, furrowed his brow.

“Has a problem arisen with the ongoing bond purchase?”

“No, that’s……”

“Then with the business? Is Viscount Derman now saying he’ll withdraw funds?”

“No. The bonds and business side… are all proceeding smoothly.”

“Then what.”

Irritation surged for a moment.

“What reason do you have for being so rude as to interrupt my work?”

The secretary hesitated without giving a proper answer. Just as Elroy was about to sharply tell him to get his act together, seeing him look more scattered than usual, someone entered behind the secretary.

“Grandmother.”

Elroy deliberately softened his expression upon seeing the other person’s face.

“Duke Tevant.”

His grandmother, who had always been strict with him, entered the office with a rigid posture. The moment he saw that stern face, dozens of thoughts flowed simultaneously through Elroy’s mind.

‘Is she trying to arrange another match with a noble lady?’

His grandmother was someone who knew well that, contrary to rumors, Elroy kept his distance from women. And she strongly disapproved of it. During their tea times, she would always lament. 

 “The succession of House Tevant rests entirely on you, Elroy.”

“Grandmother.”

“Heirs of other houses have already married and produced successors.”

“In today’s world, marrying so early has become rather rare……”

“As you say, it’s a time when many things are changing. Since we don’t know how the world might change again, the sooner we secure an heir, the better.”

“I’m still young. And isn’t the family business too busy to discuss marriage arrangements?”

“If your father had delayed marriage. By spouting such words, you wouldn’t have been born either.”

“……”

“Tevant’s legacy would not have been inherited.” 

 Indeed, his grandmother had a history of arranging his father’s early marriage, which led to Elroy’s birth.

Unfortunately for Elroy, that had proved to be his grandmother’s foresight. Shortly after his birth, his traveling parents were caught up in another kingdom’s unrest and lost their lives.

Should he call it bad luck? The era itself was chaotic. It was a period when the old and new ages actively clashed while coexisting.

Unlike other kingdoms, that kingdom eventually transformed into a republic through that unrest. It was a change paid for with the lives of countless people, including Elroy’s parents.

Perhaps because of that incident, his grandmother obsessed over Elroy’s succession. She seemed worried that the same tragedy from his father’s time might repeat. This intensified even more after she recently had a seizure, fell, and required a physician’s attention. 

 “I don’t have much time left.”

“Grandmother. How can you say such things while you’re in good health?”

“No, Elroy. I know my body best.” 

 After that incident, his grandmother finally went so far as to say such things. 

 “I must see Tevant’s successor established before I die. If you really hate marriage, I’ll even have you take a mistress to produce a child out of wedlock.”

“……Grandmother.” 

 Her tone carried surprisingly sincere determination. 

 “Is it because noble ladies are too proud? Then bring in a commoner. As you said, bringing a common woman into the family isn’t considered a major flaw these days.”

“……”

“Tevant has always been a house that moves quickly with the times and prepares for everything. Remember that.” 

 With his grandmother, who constantly spoke such words, suddenly coming into the conference room, it was probably to arrange a match. Thinking this, Elroy put on a mechanical smile.

“Welcome. Shall I have tea brought?”

“Your Grace……”

While the secretary fidgeted anxiously, his grandmother dropped something on the desk where Elroy sat.

“What’s this?”

“Look carefully, Elroy.”

Thinking it would surely be an introduction booklet filled with noble ladies and businessmen’s daughters, Elroy looked down at the paper and let out a hollow laugh.

“I wondered what you were trying to say.”

A sensational gossip magazine caught his eye. On the front was an illustration of Elroy riding an elephant with a bare upper body.

Though drawn with rough lines but considerable skill, the illustrated Elroy emphasized his sharp gaze rather than highlighting his gorgeous appearance like other artists did, but it was clear enough for anyone to recognize him as Duke Elroy Tevant. The elephant he was riding was positioned at a clever angle to make it appear symbolic of his lower body. 

 「Duke Tevant’s Scandal with the Lambert Kingdom’s Princess! Revealing the Truth!」 

 Along with the explicit and blatant illustration, there was the prominently featured headline.

“Typical yellow journalism.”

Elroy nodded without surprise. He was well aware that this level of talk circulated about him. Though this time it was somewhat more explicit.

‘If only they had crossed the line a bit more, I would have made an example of them.’

He rather regretted that part. As he nodded and was about to turn his attention back to the last telegram he had exchanged–

Thump.

His grandmother’s finger pointed somewhere with a firm sound. Elroy moved his eyes again following that finger.

And after checking below the collarbone in the illustration, he let out a deflated laugh.

“This is no time for laughter, Elroy.”

“……”

“You’ve always kept your body tightly covered even in private.”

“That’s true.”

“Only a select few among this mansion’s servants know your body.”

That was true.

No matter what was said about him, he had been consciously and thoroughly careful not to provide any material that could become prey, keeping himself hidden. Understanding how he was discussed among people didn’t mean he would simply tolerate it.

He didn’t particularly like being disheveled either, and even at the military academy, he would only watch his classmates who jumped into the water together n*ked, keeping his uniform buttons tightly fastened.

“Yet someone knows your body.”

“Grandmother. Such a body, any torso used by artists as a model could……”

“They know the location of marks that only close people would know, marks that can only be seen when undressed.”

“……”

“Have you ever undressed outside?”

“I–”

“Have you undressed in front of a woman?”

Looking at his grandmother’s solemn expression, Elroy again held back a laugh. His grandmother’s eyes, having caught onto something, flickered strangely and shone. It felt like falling into a trap.

“I’m asking if you have, Elroy.”