Chapter 68

“When we last saw each other, you said you were starting a new business, didn’t you? Is it going well?”

Richard asked in a serious tone, though he didn’t expect much.

Lionel had only been a Duke for three months. It was too short a time to dig up a money-making idea from nothing and put it into practice.

But Lionel looked at Richard with a meaningful smile. When Richard squinted as if to ask what was going on, Lionel took out a well-organized file from his drawer and handed it over.

Inside were all recently made contracts. As Richard flipped through the papers, Lionel spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Read them. And tell me what you think.”

“My opinion? Weren’t you planning to run the Duchy’s business your own way?”

Richard had intended to apologize, but he found himself sneering instead. While he regretted it a bit, Lionel just smiled lightly, unconcerned.

“I did manage the existing businesses my way. But for the new one, I planned to hear your thoughts from the start, Richard. Don’t you remember? I said I’d let you review it.”

Of course, Richard remembered Lionel’s words clearly. His sulky mood softened a bit, but he put on a more analytical face as he looked through the papers.

Tin, pigment, shipping. And copper and timber. Richard wondered if Lionel was planning to start a trading company.

But as he read the contract details more closely, he realized Lionel was planning a completely different kind of business.

A fresh idea he’d never seen or heard of before.

“How is it?”

When Richard looked up, Lionel asked leisurely. Richard was irritated again by that relaxed attitude.

He wanted to point out flaws, to bring some reality to Lionel’s confident face, to show him where things could go wrong.

But Lionel’s plan was surprisingly solid. If possible, Richard would have liked to take it and try it out in the Crowley’s domain himself.

Richard quietly put down the file.

“…It’s better than I thought. No, it could work. If you follow this plan, it’ll work.”

“Really? You think it’s good too?”

Lionel grinned, pleased. Richard forced his lips into a smile and asked his cousin,

“Making paint portable is a unique idea. Whose idea was it, anyway? Did someone at the last auction party suggest it?”

“No. Clarette first made me aware of the problem. My inventor friend at the tin mine helped too. Of course, Bouvier Gallery was useful… ah.”

Lionel paused, counting people on his fingers, then realized something.

“Come to think of it, it’s basically my idea, isn’t it?”

Lionel mumbled jokingly, but Richard couldn’t even scoff. It was obviously true.

Bringing scattered elements together and creating a real product was all Lionel. And he hadn’t just invented something—he’d also set up the supply chain for raw materials, the distribution method for the finished product, and even the sales strategy—all at once. In barely a month.

‘So fast…’

Richard was impressed, then annoyed at himself for it.

To be impressed by Lionel de Valentin? Unthinkable.

‘He’s just lucky. He always talked like a gambler. Yes, it’s beginner’s luck.’

Besides, Lionel’s idea was still just a plan. No matter how plausible the paperwork, the success of the business would only be proven once it was tried.

‘He might fail.’

Thinking that made Richard feel better. Calmed down, he thought maybe he’d overestimated Lionel’s plan. Maybe he was only surprised because he’d underestimated him to begin with.

Just then, Lionel smiled at Richard and said,

“Thanks, Richard. Hearing you say it’s good is reassuring. I tend to jump in first, so I always need a careful opinion too.”

“It’s nothing.”

Richard replied calmly, but he felt increasingly uneasy.

He was older, and had more experience managing domains and businesses. He’d always thought he understood the Valentin family’s situation better than Lionel did.

But now, with the old businesses gone and a fresh start, he felt as if he’d become Lionel’s subordinate.

Lionel seemed more… like a Duke.

How did it come to this? Richard frowned quietly, glancing sidelong at Lionel’s handsome face.

The Lionel he used to know was just a captain who wasted time on drink and women.

And now, three months after getting his title, he was acting like a proper Duke? Was he really about to pay off a million-gold debt, so seriously devoted to his family’s affairs?

‘Impossible. Did I misjudge his true nature? Or…’

While Richard wondered, watching Lionel, Lionel moved to the window, squinting against the sunlight to draw the curtain. For a brief moment as he stood with the curtain in hand, Richard saw it clearly.

Lionel looked out the window and smiled softly. It was a warm, affectionate smile, different from the one he’d just shown Richard while talking business.

As if he were looking at a lover.

“Lionel, shall we go down to the dining room and talk? I need to eat lunch here and then go elsewhere.”

Richard deliberately made noise as he stood up. Lionel, as if remembering, finished with the curtain and looked back.

“Ah, let’s do that. I’ll tidy up and follow you.”

Richard left Lionel in the study and went down to the first floor. But instead of heading to the dining room, he entered the corridor overlooking the garden.

Entering a downstairs room below the study, Richard went straight to the window and drew the curtain slightly. Now he could see it clearly.

What Lionel had been looking at. The person who made that light man smile so sincerely.

A black-haired woman sketching on a garden bench, dressed simply but exuding an elegant atmosphere. Her neatly pinned hair, composed posture, and calm eyes were worthy of a Duchess.

But Richard already knew exactly who she was.

Clarette Sollier. The resident painter who had captured the Duke of Valentin’s heart.

‘Is it because of her that he’s changed? That Captain Lionel became Duke Valentin?’

The signs had been there. But today, Lionel’s words made everything clear.

<Clarette made me aware of the problem.>

So, she deserved credit too. She supported Lionel in living like a Duke, and even helped start his business.

That insignificant commoner woman.

Watching Clarette absorbed in her sketch, Richard considered one possibility.

What if Clarette and the Duke’s relationship fell apart?

If Lionel ended up alone, he might go back to chasing women and lose interest in the business that started with Clarette. Or he might become emotional and make poor decisions.

Either way, it was good for Richard.

‘She’s a commoner anyway. It’ll end in ruin.’

Richard could see Clarette’s future clearly. Her end would be much like Lionel’s mother’s.

Living as the Duke’s mistress, looked down upon, then abandoned when she had a child or grew older.

Maybe it would be better to ruin it quickly, while she was still young and beautiful.

* * *

One late afternoon, Clarette had locked the studio door and was immersed in a secret project.

‘Alright, I think I’ve removed all the damaged parts.’

She was busy restoring a portrait of Lionel’s mother. After scrubbing away the grime and old mold, the painting was left incomplete, with patches of faded color.

‘Now I just need to repaint the peeled sections…’

As Clarette pondered over the painting,

“Clarette, may I come in?”

With his signature heavy knock, Lionel’s voice came from outside the studio door.