(BL) Rejected by daughter's second male lead-Chapter 38

Is His Grace the Duke all right? Just once—’

’Old man, have you ever entered the Duke’s room during his rut? Does this usually happen?’

’No, sir. But this time, it’s a sudden rut and his partner is... it’s the first time he’s had someone, so I was very worried—’

’Don’t cross the line. If you don’t want to get hurt by an alpha in rut, don’t you dare come near this room. From now on, just leave water and meals in front of here. I’ll get them myself.’

That was the entirety of the conversation Brian had shared with Yuan. Usually, when one spoke of ’getting hurt by an alpha in rut,’ it meant being forcibly raped by an alpha who had lost his reason during his heat.

But Brian thought that the alpha Yuan was referring to was himself. The look in Yuan’s eyes as he said it had been terrifying. A blatant look of vigilance and desire, one that said he wouldn’t leave alone anyone who touched what was his.

’Marquis Hampton definitely likes our Duke. But feelings of affection and sexual relations are different.’

The world called those with secondary genders in heat animals. It meant they were not human. Brian was a beta, and the secondary-gendered people in this house had never caused any problems, but he had lived long enough to have seen and heard things firsthand.

Alphas and omegas having a sudden rut and heat simultaneously and having an orgy, several alphas raping a single omega, an alpha forcing himself on a beta, omegas resolving each other’s heats....

Among the jumble of all sorts of promiscuous scandals and actual incidents, there was, of course, also the story of an alpha raping another alpha. While thinking such dismal thoughts, Brian deliberately put on a calm expression as he climbed the stairs.

No matter how worried he was, he couldn’t let it show to his master, Gillen. He put on the face of a veteran butler and asked once more.

"Is there anywhere you are feeling discomfort? You don’t have to overexert yourself, Your Grace the Duke."

Brian examined Gillen’s face very closely. He was afraid of what he would do if he saw even the slightest hint of gloom. Fortunately, though Gillen seemed a bit weak, he was smiling as brightly as ever.

"I’m really fine. In fact, because I didn’t spend my rut the... um, well, the usual way, my body itself feels more refreshed."

As he said this, Gillen patted Brian’s hand.

"You’ve been worried for five days, haven’t you? You must have been under a lot of emotional stress. I’m sorry. But now there’s nothing to worry about. So let’s have a party when the cleaning is done. I’ll even open a bottle of that Collimum wine you like, okay?"

Gillen grinned.

It was only then that Brian realized Gillen had been closely observing his face as well. It wasn’t just Brian who had been worried about his master. His master had also been concerned and thinking about him. A warm wave of emotion spread through Brian’s chest. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"...Yes, Your Grace the Duke."

Brian lowered his tear-filled eyes, bowed politely, and went downstairs. His thin shoulders squared with strength.

’That’s right, our Duke is not that kind of person.’

No matter how much he lost his reason to be called an ’animal,’ no matter how he lost his sense of self while being dominated by pheromones, Gillen was not a person who would carelessly take someone, or conversely, let someone do that to him. Gillen was strong, both physically and mentally. He always tried to find the best solution even in difficult situations and strove not to hurt anyone.

As Brian saw it, his master was a very lonely man. In the days when he had lost his wife early on and wouldn’t even look at Lady Cecilia, who was just a newborn, Gillen would hole himself up in his room and do nothing but drink. He refused to speak to anyone and isolated himself, unable to handle his grief.

But one day, Gillen changed. Brian remembered that time clearly. The time his master, who had been living soaked in alcohol and drugs, opened his door with a slightly dazed and surprised face, as if he had been reborn. As soon as he came out, he went to see Cecilia.

That day, Brian saw a man become a father. His eyes looked as if he had fallen in love with the small, soft child, his mouth opened in an irrepressible smile, his body trembled, and joy was written all over his face. That day, Gillen acted as if he were seeing his daughter for the first time.

Perhaps he needed love, Brian thought. That he had finally come out to ask for help because he couldn’t process all his grief even by harming himself. In Gillen, Brian saw the firm resolve of a person who had decided he couldn’t live like that anymore and had truly committed to not living that way.

After that, Gillen truly did a 180-degree turn. He laughed more loudly than before and spent time with Cecilia every day. He also spoke a lot to the servants and would habitually say, ’I’m going to make Cecil happy.’

I’m going to make Cecil happy.

To Brian’s ears, it sounded like Gillen was saying he would love Cecilia exactly as much as he himself had wanted to be loved. That he would make his daughter as happy as he had wanted to be.

It was around that time that Brian inwardly swore his eternal loyalty. Because Gillen’s loneliness was so great that it made even Brian feel desolate. Brian came to hope that this big, strong man would find love and happiness in anything. He wanted to contribute to that, however little it might be.

"Head Butler, are you crying...?"

The head maid asked in surprise, seeing Brian enter the kitchen. Brian dabbed his tears with a handkerchief and gave a gentle smile.

"His Grace the Duke says he wants to have a party this evening with just the people of the ducal estate. I’ll tell the chef, so you go and hurry up with the cleaning."

"Oh my. Is His Grace the Duke a little... all right?"

Genuine concern was also etched on the face of the head maid as she asked cautiously. Brian let out a deflating laugh without realizing it.

"What, why are you laughing! Do you think he’s really okay?"

"...Of course, who do you think His Grace the Duke is? Of course he’s fine."

"Phew, you scared me. That’s a relief. I’ll take the girls and go up to His Grace’s room. Please tell the men to fetch some clean water."

The head maid gave Brian’s shoulder a gentle push and bustled out of the kitchen.

Everyone in this house genuinely cares for Gillen. They respect him and want to serve him more comfortably. Is that not love? Brian believed that this, too, was love.

"I’d better get a move on if I want to drink that Collimum wine."

Brian sniffled once, adjusted his glasses and mustache, and then went deeper into the kitchen to find the chef.

At that same time, while a warm breeze was blowing through the Blake ducal estate, Yuan was lying spread-eagled on his bed. A parrot fluttered over and perched on the post of the headboard.

"Marquis! Marquis! What are you doing? Why aren’t you moving? Are you hungry?"

The parrot chirped cutely, but Yuan didn’t answer for a long time. The parrot tilted its head, then hopped down and hovered around Yuan’s face.

"Marquis! Is your power off?"

"...No. Be quiet for a bit."

"Then why didn’t you answer?"

"I have something to think about."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Something, about a certain annoying Mister."

Yuan said irritably and turned over to the side opposite the parrot. The parrot hopped over again to Yuan’s face.

"Are you thinking about the Duke?"

"...Go away."

Yuan shooed the parrot away with his hand. The parrot fluttered up once, then landed again in front of Yuan’s face.

"Why are you thinking about the Duke? Did the Duke annoy you again?"

"He did. But I don’t really feel like talking about it. Be quiet."

"But Marquis, I was made to talk with you. Why are you telling me to be quiet? You’ve never done that before."

The parrot was right. The parrot was a robot Yuan had made to talk to when he was bored, and until now, Yuan had always been the one to start, rattling on about this and that complaint, trivial daily stories, and self-praise. Even when the other robots were turned off, the parrot, at least, was always awake. That was why the parrot also took pride in being the magical creature closest to Yuan.

"...There are days like this."

"It’s been 884 days since I was born, but there’s never been a day like this. You’re strange, Marquis! You’re strange, Marquis!"

In the end, Yuan raised the white flag to his own creation’s tantrum. He sat up in bed and said.

"Hah... Fine, I get it. I was thinking about when the Duke would contact me. Happy?"

"Contact? What contact? Did the Duke say he would contact you?"

"He didn’t say so directly... but he will soon. How could he possibly stay quiet after doing something like sex... that sort of thing with me? Hmph."

"Sexthat? What is sexthat?"

"...It’s a way of saying two people slept together. Don’t ask any more. Parrots don’t need to know."

"The Marquis did sexthat with the Duke! The two of them did sexthat!"

"That’s right. So, what, a day? Two days? At most, he’ll be quiet for about three days before he can’t stand it and contacts me. He might inform me that he’s coming to my house again, or he might ask to meet in the city. That Mister has no shame."

"The Marquis must be so annoyed!"

"That’s right, very annoyed."

"The Duke is annoying! Annoying! He did sexthat with the Marquis! Annoying!"

"Hmph, well said."

Yuan and the parrot, perfectly in sync, continued to bad-mouth Gillen. Talking with someone certainly made him feel more refreshed and at ease than before.

Feeling quite cheerful, Yuan even made a bet with the parrot. It was a bet to predict when Gillen would make contact.