“This time, don’t just hole up in a corner by yourself.”

The Duke, sitting across from him, said.

“You’re old enough to understand by now. Though it may seem like everyone is looking in different directions, that’s not really the case.”

“I intend to fulfill the role of the next head of the family diligently, so don’t worry.”

“I somewhat understand what you’ve been thinking lately, but you are ultimately of the Klaus bloodline. I believe you understand what I’m trying to say.”

“I’ve never failed to understand your words, Father.”

Still not meeting the Duke’s eyes and only looking out the window, Jürgen added at some point.

“After the festival, I’m thinking of leaving the mansion for a while.”

“……What are you thinking?”

“I feel I’m past the age to be tied to Father’s side.”

His voice was extremely dry and parched as he said this.

“I’m sick of everything. Utterly sick.”

The Duke, who silently looked at Jürgen, didn’t seem particularly shaken. As if he had anticipated this to some extent, he answered in a composed voice.

“I won’t stop you. If that’s what you want.”

Jürgen closed his eyes with a tired expression. No further words were exchanged between father and son afterward.

Though he said he would leave for a while, in truth, he intended never to set foot in the family home again until he inherited the title of Duke. He was now approaching the age of his coming-of-age ceremony and could go wherever he wanted.

It also meant there was no reason to forcibly remain in a space where he had to suppress his disgust.

He was literally sick of it. The Duke’s womanizing hadn’t improved with age; rather, it was evolving into an even more disgusting form. There was no one who could stop him. Rather, they would only encourage him more.

Jürgen had no intention of restoring his father to normalcy either.

Simply wishing for his father to die and disappear quickly had somehow become the best Jürgen could hope for.

It didn’t take long to reach their destination. After sending the Duke ahead, Jürgen leaned against the car and composed himself.

Though he thought he should have forgotten by now, the compulsions and traumas that had continued since childhood seemed unwilling to let him go.

How many more years would he need to wait to become composed.

Would smoking a cigarette make it better? Putting aside the useless thought that briefly crossed his mind, Jürgen entered the ballroom unhurriedly.

A scene he had never loved unfolded ostentatiously before his eyes. It seemed the King’s congratulatory speech had already ended in his absence.

To soothe his already burning throat, he picked up a champagne glass when the conversation of nearby nobles reached his ears.

“By the way, I heard that young lady will make her first appearance today……”

“Is this doubling as her debutante?”

“She’s not a noble, so I suppose there’s no need to adhere strictly to formalities. What would they be bound by? The world must seem entirely theirs.”

It appeared a new young lady was making her debut at this ball. Of course, Jürgen still had not a grain of interest. Just as he was searching for a more secluded spot—

“Look, isn’t that the young lady?”

Suddenly, everyone’s gaze shifted in one direction. Most attendees were unanimously focused on the same spot. Jürgen’s eyes unconsciously followed theirs.

“Miss Diez Schleicher.”

“The rumors about the young lady were true after all.”

At the focal point of everyone’s attention, where the lights shone most brilliantly, stood a woman with magnificent golden hair. From the accessories adorning her body to her dress, she was a young lady who shone more preciously and beautifully than anyone else.

“She’s like a princess.”

Princess—indeed, Diez was beautiful enough that such a nickname didn’t seem out of place at all. With movements as elegant as a porcelain doll, she gave a simplified curtsy and at some point smiled brightly toward her father.

Noble young ladies never smiled showing their teeth. While ladies with fans exchanged glances at Diez’s uninhibited appearance, Jürgen, who clearly had not the slightest interest in debutantes, remained frozen in place as if petrified.

Though she looked like a lady dressed more splendidly than noble young ladies, amazingly, she was still the same as the girl who had played by the river.

The landscape that was about to become blurry like an oil painting now stood before his eyes in an incredibly vivid form.

Women in dresses always triggered his aversion.

Despite the young lady before him wearing an elaborate dress, he could look at her without any discomfort.

What she wore didn’t matter.

Diez possessed a special energy that couldn’t be found in other young ladies. Now he could see it clearly.

Like happiness wrapped in warm embrace and sunlight shining at midday, as if made by gathering all such things together…… A girl who resembled her own laughter.

A wild squirrel-like girl who had run away barefoot after playing in the water in thin clothes.

Suddenly, the question of what it would feel like to talk with her crossed Jürgen’s mind.

What followed was an impulse he had never felt before in his life. What if he approached where the young lady was and acted as if he knew her? What if he revealed that it was he who had inadvertently encountered her while she was playing in the water?

How could he feel such intimacy with someone he had never even spoken to?

Admiration. The possessiveness that came with it.

Jürgen hurriedly turned his gaze away from this desire he had never experienced before.

That woman would never become entangled with him. It would forever remain that way.

To soothe his suddenly sinking mood, he downed several glasses of champagne that he didn’t even enjoy.

* * *

In the end, Jürgen didn’t sleep at all.

He had sobered up from the alcohol long ago. Though his physical state and condition were terrible, Jürgen had other concerns.

He clearly remembered the mistake he had committed the previous night. After emptying an entire bottle of brandy and losing his senses, Jürgen had tried to embrace Diez who had come to his bedroom.

Was it because he was drunk and couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality? Mistaking Diez who appeared before him as a figure from his dreams, he even rubbed his lips against her neckline.

Only when the shocked Diez burst into tears did he realize something had gone terribly wrong. This was not a dream. Everything felt too unfamiliar to be a dream. Above all, Diez’s sobbing sound rang like an alarm that shattered his hazy consciousness.

Until morning broke, he couldn’t move from his spot. Leaning back on the very sofa where he had sprawled while intoxicated, Jürgen stared into empty space with eyes in which all sorts of emotions had settled like impurities.

Soon his eyes closed in resignation.

There was no way to take back what had already happened. After last night’s incident, Diez would have more than realized.

The fact that he had secretly desired her.

The sight of her running away in tears was still vivid before his eyes. It must have been utterly horrible. Diez had once told Jürgen that she had relied on him. The reason was that despite his harsh words, he had treated her as an equal person.

How must Diez have felt when he pressed her down on the sofa and tried to touch her chest? He didn’t even dare imagine how miserable and desperate she must have felt.

Unlike the late Duke, he hadn’t seen Diez as a woman. At least, he had done his best to act that way in front of Diez.

That must have been the biggest factor in gaining Diez’s trust. But now everything had been completely shattered.

Having learned that even the son of the late Duke who had whipped himself to satisfy his s*xual desires had gotten an er*ction for her, it was clear that she would no longer look at him with the same eyes as before.

He had become no different from the late Duke.

At least, Diez would certainly have come to think so. That troubled him more than the fact that he had lost her trust.

He should apologize.

But would Diez even accept it?

Caught up in various thoughts, he soon made up his mind.

Perhaps such an ending would be beneficial for both of them.

It was an undeniable fact that Jürgen was sexually aroused by her. What happened last night wasn’t just a stupid mistake made under the influence of alcohol.

The image of the dignified Duke he had shown in front of her was nothing but a thin disguise. The man who had pinned down the trembling, sobbing her and rubbed his painfully er*ect c*ck against her thigh was his true self.

It was better if Diez distanced herself from him. He had planned to send her away from the mansion as soon as her position was reestablished anyway.

Rather than continuing to put on a pointless act of hypocrisy in front of Diez, it might be better to earn her hatred.

He had no intention of trying to regain her heart by cleaning up the mess now. From now on, Jürgen needed to be honest.

After entering the bathroom and washing himself briefly, he put on a perfectly ironed dress shirt with a pitch-black suit over it. Standing before the mirror, adjusting his hair and tying his necktie, he had taken on the appearance of Duke Klaus that everyone knew.

More than ten minutes had passed since dawn broke.

He had no reason to delay any further.