44.
Yu Jin knew that nothing would change even if he thought about it now.
“Even so, wouldn’t we be closer than strangers?”
“I suppose. Being half-related by blood would make it better.”
“Then the problem is how to separate them.”
“That’s right. But it won’t be easy to separate them. Count Lumine is greedier than you might think. He’d do anything to regain his marquis title.”
“That’s troublesome.”
Yu Jin had considerable wealth, but Count Lumine had a higher reputation and more power in social circles. If he decided to make a move, there wasn’t much Yu Jin could do, having lived as a delinquent. In the novel, he only stood a chance because his opponent was Roena.
Roena had a living mother to support her and enjoyed everything Lucid had to offer. She was incomparable to Yu Jin. Thinking about this naturally brought worry.
“What should I do?”
He sighed involuntarily.
Even in this situation, he couldn’t just keep thinking. To work on his reputation, Yu Jin consistently visited various gambling houses.
‘And then.’
This body seemed to have higher luck stats than expected. While the first gambling house could be chalked up to beginner’s luck, he didn’t expect it to happen elsewhere too.
“Jackpot, it’s a jackpot!”
He won every game he touched. Naturally, a lot of money rolled in, and people started following him. They called him this:
[God of Luck.]
When Yu Jin gambled, they would cling behind him to cheer, and sometimes people would even kneel and pray. This seemed a bit much, but they wouldn’t leave no matter what he said. He was even tired of shrugging his shoulders now.
That wasn’t the only problem.
When he came to his senses, he found Count Lumine had attached himself to him as well.
“Aren’t you busy?”
Count Lumine smiled and replied to Yu Jin’s pointed question.
“I have time today.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Jin tried to escape to other games to avoid Count Lumine, but he had no intention of leaving.
“Why are you following me?”
“Following you? I just moved to try something different too.”
Saying this, he naturally joined the game Yu Jin was playing. For games like roulette where there was no opponent, it didn’t matter, but in card games, they naturally became opponents, and Count Lumine often lost. Still, he didn’t know when to give up.
“May I hold your hand once?”
“What?”
“If I hold Yu Jin’s hand, I feel like I’ll have luck for the whole day.”
“No.”
What nonsense. Even though Yu Jin refused in shock, Count Lumine persistently asked.
“Then how about your fingernail? I’ll just touch the tip slightly.”
“I said no.”
It’s disgustingly persistent. Yu Jin glanced at Count Lumine from the corner of his eye and sighed softly. The smiling face looking at him was creepy. Although others might call him handsome, Yu Jin’s standards had already been raised by Jinhyeon and Keith, so it had no effect on him.
As Yu Jin continued to refuse, Count Lumine showed a dejected expression.
“Do you dislike me, Yu Jin?”
“Yes.”
You’re asking because you don’t know? After the firm answer, Count Lumine sighed.
“Why? Aren’t I fairly handsome? It’s embarrassing to say this, but I have a good personality and considerable wealth.”
If it’s embarrassing, I wish you wouldn’t say such things. Although he had given his body to Jinhyeon, Yu Jin had a dream. A dream of spending a peaceful retirement with a beautiful person who had a good personality and looks. And Count Lumine didn’t fall within that range.
“You’re not my type.”
Yu Jin answered while staring at the cards in his hand.
“Then what is Yu Jin’s type?”
For a moment, a person came to mind. Someone with unparalleled beauty, an excellent body, and outstanding abilities. Though his words were somewhat unpleasant at times, he could also be caring.
When his thoughts reached this point, Yu Jin shuddered.
‘Wait, who am I thinking of right now?’
Why was Jinhyeon’s face coming to mind here? Yu Jin covered his eyes with his hand. No, this isn’t right! It seemed his thoughts had strayed in an odd direction while focusing on the cards. Jinhyeon was just someone passing by, unsuitable for spending retirement together. Above all, think about the women who stayed by his side.
Starting with Roena, they were all pretty with good figures. Not like Yu Jin, a lowly man with a meager chest. Thinking this far, he had another moment of clarity.
‘Why did I think of a man as a potential romantic partner?’
This won’t do. Even in this situation, he felt it was dangerous to keep living like this.
‘I think I need to meet some people.’
Preferably women.
Yu Jin made up his mind firmly.
Count Lumine, Rockwell, tapped the table with his finger.
‘He’s not falling for it easily.’
Although he had changed from before, it seemed he hadn’t stopped pretending to be a delinquent, so Rockwell thought he would fall for it if he pushed a bit. It seemed he had stopped sleeping with others now.
Well, lately all the delinquent of the Lucid family did was gamble and buy things.
‘Is that enough?’
It seemed Yu Jin had become more lax compared to before. At this rate, getting him in hand seemed a distant prospect. So what should he do?
Rockwell casually put down his card on his turn and fell back into thought. There was a way to gain Yu Jin’s favor by being kind and becoming lovers. But that would take too long, and it wasn’t his preference to begin with. He liked seeing those who had built a hard shell to protect themselves crumble under hardship.
When you reach out to someone who has crumbled, they tend to shed their protective shell and reveal their inner self. Rockwell was willing to do anything for that moment.
‘There’s no delicacy quite like it.’
The glimpse he had of Yu Jin’s inner self last time was quite captivating. To unravel that, he needed to make some moves. Using Blando would be difficult to see quick results, so it seemed better to use the Lucid family itself.
Wasn’t Yu Jin the one who even played the role of a delinquent to blind Lucid’s eyes? It was a vile method, but he could do anything to get what he wanted. He had just started interacting with Ahmed, the second son of Lucid.
‘A snake-like human.’
He wanted to appear rational to others, but in reality, he was just a gloomy snake. A snake pondering how to devour his eldest brother and get his hands on Lucid. What if such a man had the opportunity to use his half-brother from a different mother?
Rockwell smiled as he watched Yu Jin glaring at his cards. Yu Jin won this round too. He swept up the chips, and the man sitting across frowned while pretending not to. The noble lady had long since hidden her face behind a fan.
“This is impossible.”
“Are you cheating or something?”
As complaints poured out, Yu Jin seemed to have no intention of playing cards anymore. He cleaned his hands neatly and stood up.
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
Yu Jin answered briefly and turned around.
‘How cold.’
Rockwell clicked his tongue lightly. He treated people so coldly that even his original confidence was melting away.
‘Well, that’s enough for today.’
He was going to fall into his hands anyway. So Rockwell decided to be more generous and waved at the departing Yu Jin.
Ahmed, the second son of Lucid. With his sensitive nature, he had been meeting people more frequently these days. With his father’s health gradually worsening, he coveted the position of family head. People often say that the eldest son inherits the family, but that guy of all people?
Ahmed believed it would be bad for the family if the violent and dim-witted eldest son Grain became the head. The relationship between their mothers wasn’t bad, but so what? Becoming the family head was a different story.
“Ahmed, you should become the head of Lucid. I’ll support you in whatever you do, so move freely.”
Ahmed nodded as if it was natural at his mother’s words full of desire. First, he disciplined his full-blooded younger brother and drew in the family retainers. Among the people he got to know in the process was Count Lumine.
The playboy of high society. The unfortunate count. Despite various nicknames making him wary, when he actually met him, he was quite a decent person.
“If asked who is most suitable for the Lucid family, I can answer proudly. It’s you, Ahmed.”
True to his reputation as a smooth talker, his tongue rolled smoothly. But it wasn’t unpleasant to hear, so Ahmed quickly grew close to Count Lumine. Through this, Count Lumine also learned more details about the Lucid family’s situation.
“I hear there’s a delinquent in the family?”
“Ah, that guy?”
Ahmed frowned.
