(BL) Rejected by daughter's second male lead-Chapter 41

I’d heard that there were designated places where nobles met to talk.

First, the social club where only alpha nobles gathered. Originally, it was a place where male alpha nobles got together to smoke cigars, drink, and play games while casually discussing business, but due to protests from female alpha nobles, it had been about five years since it became the "Alpha Club."

However, Yuan already knew that Gillon didn’t go to this musty, pretentious club very often. It was a fact he had come across when gathering various pieces of information in order to propose to Cecilia.

Besides, Viscountess Iple was an omega, so she couldn’t enter that club. So, this one was out.

Second, the salons that nobles held at their own homes or villas. Attending the salons that were held periodically with various themes held more meaning than simply strengthening friendships. Political relationships, business partnerships, and marriage connections for their children were almost all established in these salons.

But it was difficult to have a private conversation at a salon. Since Cecilia used the expression that he had gone on a "date," Gillon and Viscountess Iple had likely gone to meet one-on-one. So, this was also out.

Third, the teahouses where noblewomen had social gatherings. They were places for close friends to go for a light change of pace, a place to rest for a moment while shopping downtown, or a place that unmarried ladies sought out for dates with their lovers.

A good place for a one-on-one conversation, moderately private, moderately formal, and a place one often went on a date...

Yuan’s expression soured. He didn’t like the fact that he would have to search around teahouses to find Gillon quickly.

But since there were about six teahouses in the city alone, he had to move diligently. Using teleportation magic in a crowded place would draw too much attention—Yuan was already a hot topic due to his beauty and unprecedented rise in status—so it was better to avoid doing anything conspicuous.

In a secluded alley in the city, Yuan used summoning magic to bring forth a long robe and pulled it over his head. Then he emerged from the alley and went into each of the nearby teahouses one by one.

Luckily, Yuan found Gillon before he even entered the third teahouse. Gillon and Viscountess Iple were sitting by the window on the outer wall of the teahouse, which had a refreshing floor-to-ceiling window.

Through the window, Gillon was smiling as if trying to look cool, pouring tea for Viscountess Iple.

"It’s a world of difference from when he’s crying underneath me. Who would have ever guessed? That that Mister would make such an expression."

Yuan sneered, snorting. Passersby gave him strange looks as he muttered to himself with the hood of his robe pulled down low, but Yuan paid them no mind. His eyes were fixed only on Gillon, dressed respectably and smiling like a gentleman.

Gulp. Yuan swallowed his saliva without realizing it. Strangely, he felt a heat rising in his stomach.

Two weeks. It had been over two weeks since that day he’d had sex with Gillon, caught up in a rut. But now, he was not too far away. Yuan’s body temperature rose slightly, and his heartbeat quickened. His pheromone glands began to pump out pheromones vigorously.

Yuan cleared his throat and pulled the robe’s hood down to completely cover his face. Then he took a deep breath and reined in his pheromones. He was probably just a little physically excited from finally seeing him after waiting for so long. Thinking no more of it, he entered the teahouse where Gillon was.

"Welcome."

A middle-aged woman with her hair tied back neatly, dressed in the kind of suit butlers often wore, greeted Yuan. He could feel the customers sitting at the tables glance at him as a new guest entered. Gillon and Viscountess Iple were no exception.

He didn’t know why, but from the moment he stepped into the teahouse, the scent of Gillon’s pheromones hit his nostrils. Startled by the immediate reaction from his lower body, Yuan quickly bowed his head.

"Sir...? Are you alone?"

"Yes."

Yuan answered, lowering his voice. The middle-aged woman, who appeared to be the owner, didn’t find it strange or suspicious and kindly pointed to an empty table.

"Would you like to sit here? Or shall I guide you to a private room in the back?"

As it happened, the table the owner pointed to was the one directly behind Gillon. Instead of answering, Yuan quickly sat down behind Gillon.

"Hmm...?"

Yuan could feel Gillon, who was sitting behind him with the backs of their two chairs between them, turning to look at him. Yuan held his breath for a moment.

"Is something the matter, Your Grace the Duke?"

Viscountess Iple asked, quietly setting down her teacup. Gillon turned his body back toward Viscountess Iple.

"It’s nothing. I thought I smelled a familiar scent... I must have been mistaken."

Damn it! Gillon must have also caught the scent of Yuan’s pheromones. But Yuan was certain he had entered with his pheromones perfectly concealed. So what on earth could he have smelled?

Come to think of it, Gillon wouldn’t have been blatantly emitting his own pheromones either, while with a noblewoman in such a public place. And yet, Yuan had smelled Gillon’s pheromones.

’This is strange, I need to do some research.’

Just as Yuan was thinking that, something black was suddenly thrust before his eyes.

"Agh, you scared me...!"

Forgetting to deepen his voice, Yuan cried out sharply. The owner, startled, apologized.

"I apologize if I startled you. I was trying to give you the menu. Please accept my apologies once more."

"Ahem, it’s, it’s all right. I’ll have a black coffee."

Yuan once again produced a cavernously deep voice. The owner apologized again and disappeared with the menu. Fortunately, Gillon seemed uninterested in the small disturbance. He was in conversation with Viscountess Iple.

"Couldn’t you please reconsider just once, Viscountess? After all, we... we got along quite well, didn’t we?"

Gillon said pleadingly. Yuan’s body flinched. This Mister, don’t tell me... while he likes me, he confessed to that Omega lady, that Apple or whatever? What an irredeemable piece of trash...

"Your Grace the Duke, my position remains the same. It’s difficult for my family to go against the Imperial Family. Public opinion hasn’t improved much either. And you know very well that image is important in charity work, Your Grace."

"But thanks to the clarification at the press conference, construction has resumed, and many of those who said they would withdraw their support have reversed their decisions. The construction of the orphanage..."

Gillon spent a long time trying to persuade Viscountess Iple. He was saying that since she was once the flower of high society, she still held a strong position in noble society, so he absolutely needed her. Yuan was relieved to realize their conversation was about business, not a love confession.

No, wait. Why am I relieved? The most perfect Marquis Yuan Hampton in the world?

Just then, the coffee he had ordered arrived. It was piping hot, steam rising from it. Yuan immediately used cooling magic to chill the coffee and gulped it down. After that, his stomach seemed to calm down a little. Thinking again with a cooler head, he thought he knew why he had felt relieved.

Well, wasn’t I just worried that the woman, Apple or Waffle or whatever, would ruin her life over a Mister like the Duke? How can I be this good-hearted? Worrying about the future of a stranger, no less.

Yuan was once again surprised by himself. To be fair, he had felt the sense of fulfillment that ordinary people supposedly feel after a good deed ever since he started sponsoring the little kid named Ivy. But now, to be concerned about Viscountess Waffle’s future married life and the resulting unhappiness...

’I think I’ve now become perfect in character as well.’

To be honest, Yuan had sometimes thought that there was a slight flaw in his personality, but as of today, that thought also disappeared. He had now become a good person with a self-certified "complete" personality.

"Still, Your Grace the Duke. I’ve heard that there are still many nobles who have withdrawn their support. And some gossip magazines are still attacking Your Grace for fun. The news that you’re suing the Nogarius family again was also widely publicized, wasn’t it?"

"That is—"

Viscountess Iple cut Gillon off in a cold voice. It seemed she had now completely removed Gillon from her list of prospective grooms.

"Of course, I know that Viscount Nogarius did something wrong. And I don’t believe that you, Your Grace... really did... that... to Marquis Hampton. I’m not backing out because I believe it’s true. It’s that the image of the charity has been tarnished, and I am reluctant to get involved."

"Viscountess Iple. As you know, I am not clinging to you because I lack business funds or need political connections. It’s the fact that this is an orphanage opened with the support of more nobles behind it, that itself is what’s needed."

"..."

"Especially since you are an icon for noblewomen, Viscountess. If the name of Iple is added, many wives and ladies will be inspired. And the more people involved, the less likely it is that one family can high-handedly interfere or commit fraud. You can just lend your family name. The rest—"

"That name, I’ll fill it."

It wasn’t Viscountess Iple who cut Gillon off. It was the man in the black robe sitting right behind Gillon.

"Oh my, what a shock!"

Startled by the tall, dark man who had shot up like the Grim Reaper, Viscountess Iple clutched her chest and cried out. Gillon sighed and looked behind him. It was an attitude that suggested he already knew who it was.

"Listening to this is just making me so irritated. If you need a name, I’ll give you mine, so stop sounding so desperate."

Yuan’s irritated words made Viscountess Iple frown.

"Who in the world are you? Proprietor! That suspicious man is—"

"Ah."

Yuan finally took off the hood of his robe. With that, a dazzling beauty was revealed, accompanied by the illusion that the teahouse had suddenly brightened. He opened his perfectly drawn, captivating lips.

"I am saying I will give you the name of Hampton, Your Grace."