90.
[You are cordially invited to celebrate Duke Roeng’s birthday.
Please honor us with your presence and grace the occasion.]
When circumstances change, even things like this arrive. Duke Roeng’s birthday came every year, but this was the first time Yu Jin had been invited. There might be some scheme of Lyunne’s hidden behind this, but he couldn’t avoid it.
‘I suppose I have to go.’
The situation was different from when he was invited to Marilyn’s party. The host was a Duke, someone with power rivaling that of Lucid. From the clothes to wear on the day to the gift for the Duke – everything had to be prepared more meticulously than ever before.
As long as he hadn’t completely rejected the successor position, he would have to make an effort. As he was thinking this, suddenly there was a commotion outside. Wondering if it was another barrage of gifts, he went out to check and found that this time, the items had been sent from Lucid.
“Haha.”
He had been worrying about how to prepare a gift in the little time left, but Ruhan had solved Yu Jin’s problem in one go. He had prepared and sent everything directly – from the attire to the gift, and even the carriage and horses to ride on the day.
‘I really don’t understand that person.’
Yu Jin let out a small sigh.
On the day of the birthday party, Yu Jin dressed as he usually did. However, someone with a keen eye would notice that while the appearance was similar, everything was actually different. First, the fabric used for the clothes was something difficult to obtain even with money, and the quality of the jewels had changed as well. If someone were to knock Yu Jin unconscious, strip him of everything, and run away, they would become incredibly wealthy.
The same was true for Jinhyeon.
In such gatherings, Jinhyeon’s original status as a slave would usually be problematic, but Ruhan had sent his attire along as well. Whether it was consideration or a test, Yu Jin had no intention of leaving Jinhyeon behind. If someone were to try something, they would target the weakest person, which would clearly be himself. For this reason, he decided to bring Keith along as well.
“Be careful and come back safely,” Haruna said, seeing the three off with a worried expression. The six-horse carriage sped off, and before long, they arrived at Duke Roeng’s residence.
“Welcome.”
Lyunne greeted Yu Jin as he stepped out of the carriage. Although Jinhyeon was the one she had met more often, she didn’t even glance at him.
“Was the journey tiring?”
As she spoke, she naturally extended her hand, and Yu Jin couldn’t refuse Lyunne in a place with so many watching eyes. Yu Jin took Lyunne’s hand and naturally escorted her.
“I’ve been wanting to meet with you, Yu Jin, and today finally presented the opportunity.”
Lyunne whispered, leaning close to Yu Jin.
“Do you have something to discuss?”
“I do. And if my guess is correct, I think you might know what it is.”
It couldn’t be about asking for Jinhyeon at this point, so there was only one thing left.
“You want to join hands with me, don’t you?”
At Yu Jin’s words, Lyunne smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
“That’s right.”
“What do you plan to do if we join hands?”
“To consume the Roeng Duchy, of course.”
“I believe there’s already an heir.”
“That’s right. Currently, my brother is the heir. But don’t you think it’s unfair? Just because I was born later, I never even got a chance to challenge for the heir position. My parents naturally assume I’ll marry into another family.”
“Wouldn’t joining hands with me be disadvantageous in that situation?”
If her parents thought that way, they would surely try to make Lyunne Yu Jin’s wife. Wouldn’t that prevent her from achieving what she wants? Yu Jin thought this, but Lyunne seemed to have different ideas.
“That’s only if the heir exists in full capacity.”
Lyunne’s words seemed to imply that she would make the heir incapacitated.
“If my brother is gone, they’ll try to determine a new heir. I have little power within the family. With bad luck, I might even lose to a branch family member. You just need to help me with that. Don’t worry about succession. We can have two children and send one to each family for education. What do you think?”
“Don’t you know that I’ve only been with men until now?”
“I know. But it’s not like you enjoyed it, right? Until you met Jinhyeon, it was just a facade. Or is it that you don’t find me attractive?”
No, that wasn’t it. Lyunne was one of the most attractive women Yu Jin had ever met. She was beautiful, ambitious, and intelligent. That must be why Jinhyeon had fallen for her too. Yu Jin briefly turned his head to look at Jinhyeon while conversing. He was following behind them with an indifferent expression. At this distance, he should have been able to overhear their conversation.
‘Did he not hear?’
Yu Jin felt puzzled but understood when he saw the lavishly dressed people bustling about noisily. Jinhyeon was from the modern world, and this was his first party of this scale, so he might have been distracted by it. If it weren’t for Lyunne, Yu Jin might have been looking around distractedly too. Even with the memories of his previous life, he had never been to a place like this.
Yu Jin turned his head back to its original position.
Is she crazy? Jinhyeon, having overheard Lyunne’s words, struggled to suppress the emotions boiling up inside him. Despite knowing that with Jinhyeon’s skills, he could overhear everything at this distance, Lyunne’s actions were bold. She linked arms with Yu Jin and whispered in his ear conspicuously. Her smiling appearance made the two look like a couple. As much as he wanted to pull them apart, there were too many watching eyes.
“So you’re refusing after all.”
Above all, the reason Jinhyeon didn’t intervene directly was that Yu Jin had given the answer he wanted. He had rejected Lyunne’s proposal.
“I’m sorry.”
As Yu Jin apologized, Lyunne responded with a bright face.
“Why are you apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong? I just made a suggestion. I knew the chances of you accepting were low. You have a lover now, don’t you?”
Saying this, Lyunne turned to look at Jinhyeon and then started chattering again. As she talked about Jinhyeon, Yu Jin’s expression softened, and he began to chime in. Despite knowing she was a dangerous person, he seemed pleased to be talking about his lover. Naturally, the emotions knotted in Jinhyeon’s chest began to unravel.
“Don’t let your guard down,” Keith warned Jinhyeon. Jinhyeon glanced at Keith and composed his emotions.
“Do you know something?”
He asked Keith, but no answer came. He just furrowed his brow, but that was enough for Jinhyeon to roughly understand the situation. Something is going to happen. And the person behind it would most likely be Lyunne.
‘She feels a bit different from when we first met.’
It was difficult to pinpoint exactly where that difference lay. For now, he would have to be on guard since he didn’t know what was going to happen.
Grey muttered while looking down at the hall from a corner on the second floor.
“All the main characters have gathered.”
All the invited nobles had arrived, and finally, the Duke and his family entered, marking the start of the party. Lyunne’s only brother was recognized as a fairly diligent heir. Though not a genius, he was evaluated as someone capable of maintaining the family’s power. And to them, Lyunne was their lovable and young youngest daughter.
In reality, Lyunne harbored enormous ambition, but no one acknowledged it. In this situation, Grey approached Lyunne. At first, Lyunne hesitated, but after a long period of persuasion, Grey secured a position by her side. Although an enormous amount of resources was spent in the process, he didn’t regret it. Thanks to this, he had gained an opportunity to get his hands on the Duchy.
Grey, by Lyunne’s side, continued to inflate her ambitions even further. Sometimes with eloquence, and when that wasn’t enough, even using Leviathan’s special drugs.
‘Actually, if she purely intended to become the heir of the Duchy, there would be no need to involve Lucid.’
If they made a mistake, they might even end up being devoured by that side. Involving Lucid was Grey’s decision. Grey’s goal was to have Lyunne marry Yu Jin and bear his child. No, in fact, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t have a child. They could bring a child from elsewhere and make her believe it was hers. And then, they would kill Yu Jin.
Keith would vehemently oppose, but for Leviathan, this was preferable. It would create an opportunity to manipulate Lucid through Lyunne and her child.
Although Roeng was a Duchy and Lucid was a Marquessate, infiltrating Lucid was far more difficult. Even if someone succeeded in approaching Ruhan’s foolish son, they would soon disappear. A monster who would do anything for the family soon recognized Leviathan and killed the intruders one after another as they approached.
Leviathan was an organization of people who wanted to shake the world. They already had some in their grasp, but to manipulate the empire to their liking, they needed more power. For this, they needed to possess Lucid.
‘I didn’t think such an opportunity would arise.’
To think they would put the son they had abandoned all this time in the position of heir. Grey’s lips stretched into a wide grin as he looked at Yu Jin.
