Chapter 12. Because It Isn’t Acting

After preparing the tea, Chloe cautiously watched the duke’s reaction.

“Th-then I’ll take my leave.”

“Sit and drink with me.”

The duke moved to the sofa by the table as he spoke.

“No, I couldn’t possibly—how could I dare sit with you, Your Grace—”

“It’s an order.”

“…Yes.”

Clenching her teeth, Chloe walked over and perched herself at the very edge of the sofa across from him.

“Since when?”

“…Pardon?”

Just as she was about to lift the teacup to her lips, the duke’s question made her set it back down.

“I asked, since when?”

“Ah…”

He didn’t seem to believe her earlier, but he’d actually been thinking about it.
He must want to kick her out even more now.

Answering wasn’t difficult.

At least part of it was true.

“I fell for you the moment I first saw you.”

“….”

“The first moment I saw you as your attendant—I fell in love with you at first sight.”

“…Ha!”

The duke let out a delayed scoff, as if his timing were off, and set his teacup down with a sharp clack.

“I meant the woman you slept with. Since when have you been seeing her? Stop telling such ridiculous lies.”

If you’d just stop imagining that ridiculous story about me meeting some woman, I wouldn’t have to keep saying these embarrassing lies.

“It’s not a lie. I’ve been captivated by you since the moment I first saw you.”

“The more shamelessly confident you are, the more it sounds like a lie. What kind of woman confesses her love like this without a shred of embarrassment?”

A woman? What is he even saying?

“I’m not a woman, though.”

“Ah!”

The duke suddenly took a sip of tea.

Watching him fluster in a way that didn’t suit him, Chloe mulled over his words.

Shameless and confident? Should she act more shy next time?

Still, saying she fell for him wasn’t entirely a lie. That felt a bit unfair.

It wasn’t just Chloe—anyone would be struck by the duke’s appearance.

Of course, when she first saw him, she had thought, There really exists a man who looks like this?
The rumors about his looks hadn’t been exaggerated in the slightest.

But even in that visual shock, Chloe had been fully aware of her situation: a servant forced to disguise herself as a man to earn money, and the perfect man before her was her master.

She didn’t have the luxury to indulge in feelings like admiration that didn’t suit her station.

Fortunately, thanks to her upbringing, she had some resistance to handsome men.

Her late twin brother, Klein, had been quite handsome himself—though small and frail.

Born just minutes before her, Klein had always been smaller than Chloe growing up, as was often the case with twins.

Even after reaching adulthood, though taller than Chloe, he was still smaller than the average man.

<“Honestly, don’t you think I’m prettier than you, even though you’re the girl?”>

Despite his delicate appearance, which could have been a source of insecurity, Klein would say things like that daily, cheerfully boasting about his looks—whether it was pride or self-deprecation was hard to tell.

To Chloe, he was just her annoying narcissistic older brother rather than a “handsome man.”

Still, growing up seeing his soft, pretty face gave her a natural resistance.

But an even stronger resistance came from Kalkus.

The first time she met him and their eyes met, she had thought he looked like a puppy doll. With soft, fluffy blond hair and rare golden eyes, he was so beautiful she wanted to run her hand across his face.

On top of that, he was kind, gentle, cheerful, and thoughtful—a man whose heart was as beautiful as his face.

Compared to him, the duke…

He couldn’t exactly be called pretty.

Yes, that wasn’t the right word at all.

“Pretty” didn’t suit the duke in the slightest.

His sharply carved jawline, his restrained lips, his straight, elegant nose, and his stern green-brown eyes.

She still remembered how shocked she’d been when she first met those eyes.

They were like looking into a deep blue lake so profound she couldn’t see the bottom. Though his gaze itself was cold, the color felt strangely warm.

Beneath his always fully buttoned shirt, unseen but clearly outlined, was his body—

In truth, his physique was very much her type as well.

Though he stood over 190 cm tall, his frame wasn’t bulky but sleek and refined, as if made of finely layered muscles, giving him a sharp rather than massive silhouette.

Not pretty—no.

He was beautiful in a mesmerizing way.

And his hair—

Usually neat and composed, his dark brown hair gave him a mature, subtly sensual impression. But right after waking, when it fell naturally over his forehead, it gave him a boyish charm.

Of course, that boyish side was something only Chloe, as his attendant, ever saw.

It had taken her nearly a month to get used to his overwhelming beauty enough that her heart wouldn’t race.

And now, ironically, she had to dig those buried feelings back up again to pretend she liked him.

Though, looking at that face, it probably wouldn’t be too hard.

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

She must have been looking at him too intently.

“It’s because I like you, Your Grace. I can’t help wanting to look at you.”

Letting go of the restraint she’d been holding, Chloe poured out the embarrassing words freely. At this point, even she was starting to get confused about whether it was acting or real.

Well, at least that face—and honestly, that body too—

“You should consider becoming an actor instead of an attendant once you leave my house. You’re incredibly shamelessly good at it.”

“It’s not acting…”

Why does he keep thinking it’s all an act? At least when it comes to his face and body, I’m completely sincere.

Even if the confession itself was fake, she could fall for his appearance again anytime.

“Klein Riden, no matter what you say, I won’t be fooled. No matter how much you hide it, I’ll find that woman soon enough.”

“….”

Not fooled, he says.
That “woman” is sitting right in front of you.

As a man.

“Stop the act and drink your tea.”

“Ah—yes, I will.”

Chloe quickly picked up her teacup.

“Hot—!”

The tea burned her tongue.

It had been a while since the water was poured—why was it still so hot? The duke’s teacups must be too high quality for the tea to cool.

“Are you alright?”

The duke frowned as he looked at her.

“You should be careful.”

“Ah! Yes!”

Chloe grew anxious, worried she had annoyed him with her fussing.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? Should I get some ice—”

He suddenly cut himself off.

Chloe blinked at him.

Wasn’t he annoyed?

“Leave.”

The duke abruptly stood up.

“Yes!”

Chloe jumped to her feet immediately.

She hadn’t even taken a proper sip of tea.

So he wasn’t worried after all—he must’ve just found her reaction irritating.

Afraid of upsetting him further, Chloe hurried out.

As soon as Klein left, Hugh Gray went to the window and stood there for a while, letting the cold air hit him. Then he returned to his desk and pulled out Klein’s file again.

• Name – Klein Riden
• Age – 21

Twenty-one.

…Hm.

Just barely an adult—much younger than he’d expected.

Well, with those thick glasses covering half his face and that suffocating fringe hiding his forehead, it had been hard to judge his age or even his features properly.

What would he look like without the glasses, with his hair pushed back?

Hah! What would he look like? Probably weak and unimpressive. With that small frame and pale face, he hardly even looked like a grown man.

• Address – 5 Boerghen, Baikinro
• Family – Mother (Charlotte Riden), younger sister (Chloe Riden)

Chloe Riden… Chloe…

Was it true that his younger sister had died?

It didn’t seem like something someone would lie about—not the death of a family member—but there was something suspicious about him.

• Notes – Fluent in Tigris Kingdom language
• Physical – 172 cm, 63 kg

Come to think of it, how does a commoner from Boerghen speak the language of the Tigris Kingdom?

I’ll need to verify that.

And 172 cm? 63 kg? That’s not right.

172—that’s a lie. He said 168 before. And he looks about that height too.

And 63? With that frail body? He doesn’t even look like he weighs 60.

When Hugh Gray first saw him, he had vaguely thought he was unusually small for a man, but hadn’t given it much thought.

He had only thought that being small would make him less noticeable—convenient.

But 172 and 63?

Those numbers were already on the smaller side, yet even they seemed impossible for that body.

Even his physical stats were lies.

Why?

Did he exaggerate them to get hired?

Even so, who lies with such precise numbers when the truth would be obvious upon seeing him in person?

And yet, he had kept someone this suspicious as his attendant. Even now, he still was.

The boy might have underestimated the House of Ulpaz, but in truth, their hiring practices were equally sloppy.

Hugh Gray clicked his tongue at the state of his household.

After his parents’ early deaths, he had become head of the family and left servant management to the butler and Wilson.

They had served since his father’s time, after all.

There hadn’t been any major issues.

But without a lady of the house, there were bound to be gaps.

Even his mother, before her death, had shown no interest in household matters—only in leaving it behind.

With a quiet sigh of reflection, his eyes moved to the next line.

• Guarantor – Kalkus Takan
• Joint guarantor – Thais Borges (Lord of Boerghen)

The lord of Boerghen stood as joint guarantor.

But that name…

Kalkus Takan. Kalkus…

It sounded familiar.

Kalkus… Kalkus…

Ah. That name.