Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 111

However, it was Gillen who had first said they should end the relationship, and no matter what impulse he felt, he had no intention of acting on it. It was just that his heart… felt that way.

The entire time, Gillen was conscious of the pheromones, scent, and presence of Yuan, who was sitting next to him. Yuan did not look in Gillen’s direction even once. The only reason Gillen knew this was because he was constantly watching Yuan, who was caught in his peripheral vision.

It seemed Yuan was completely disappointed in Gillen and had turned his back on him. And rightfully so. Gillen had spent a lot of time with Yuan, building affection and trust. He had even had sex with him several times and shared a connection to the point where they responded to each other’s pheromones. Yet, to cut off the relationship so coldly using the end of the contract as an excuse.

The usual Gillen would not have done that. He might have apologized to the furiously angry Yuan and persuaded him that it was better to remain on friendly terms, like friends. But the reason he did not do so this time was… because he knew that Yuan genuinely liked him.

So, it was better to pretend he did not know his own feelings and let them pass by. Even if it was difficult and he felt sorry for now, this was the right thing to do. Gillen thought this as he gulped down his tea. Seeing him, Cecilia wore a worried expression.

“Father, isn’t that hot tea? Aren’t you drinking it too fast? Please drink slowly.”

“Hahaha, it’s alright. Shall I have another cup?”

As soon as Gillen said that, Cecilia’s new imperial palace lady-in-waiting, who was standing behind her, poured tea into Gillen’s cup. After pouring the tea with a shy expression, she bowed and spoke softly.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace, Duke Blake. I am Vanessa Cheston, the new lady-in-waiting to Her Highness, the Crown Princess-to-be.”

At the unexpectedly abrupt self-introduction, Gillen turned his head and looked up at Vanessa. Looking even younger than Cecilia, she was a young lady Gillen already knew.

“You must be Count Cheston’s second daughter. You were chosen as Cecil’s lady-in-waiting? You’ve become such a lady I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Gillen acknowledged her kindly. Vanessa’s cheeks turned red. However, instead of fidgeting or leaning toward Gillen like a novice, she curtsied gracefully.

“Thank you for remembering me. I used to see you over my father’s shoulder whenever you occasionally visited our estate in the past. I wanted to be sure to congratulate Lady Cecilia on this happy occasion separately. From now on, I will serve Her Highness, the Crown Princess-to-be, with all my heart and soul, Your Grace.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Thank you. Count Cheston is also providing a great deal of help with the establishment of the Marian Orphanage. He is a dear friend with whom I share a good friendship. By the way, seeing you like this, you look a lot like Count Cheston. Don’t you think so, Cecil?”

“That’s right. In fact, I snatched Vanessa up quickly because she is the daughter of the Cheston family. Vanessa is a very clever, kind, and elegant young lady.”

Cecilia also praised Vanessa sweetly. Hexion, regardless of what Cecilia and Gillen were saying, was just looking at Cecilia and letting out a silly laugh. And Yuan was….

Clang.

He suddenly dropped his teacup on the floor, shattering it into pieces. Everyone’s gaze fell on Yuan.

“Oops. My mistake.”

Yuan said curtly, then snapped his fingers. At that, the broken teacup was restored to its original state and rose back onto the table.

“Goodness gracious!”

“Oh, my!”

“Huh, that’s truly amazing, Marquis!”

The ladies-in-waiting, the attendants, and even Hexion were amazed to see Yuan’s magic. The only ones who watched the scene calmly were Yuan, Gillen, and Cecilia. Moreover, Gillen and Cecilia knew why Yuan had broken the cup.

‘He didn’t like Vanessa getting the attention…’

It was something anyone who properly knew Yuan’s temperament would naturally realize, but the rest of the people, amazed by the mysterious magic, could not stop marveling.

Furthermore, a few people whose hearts had sunk when the expensive imperial teacup broke were so shocked to see it return to its intact state that they looked as if they might faint.

What Yuan had just done would probably be passed from person to person, further enhancing his prestige. All without them knowing that the reason he had gone to such lengths was jealousy.

Gillen smiled bitterly.

‘Still, he does feel the emotion of jealousy because of me…’

Of course, he did not think Yuan had completely forgotten him in two weeks. Even Gillen was still fumbling with feelings of guilt and lingering affection for Yuan; it must be much more difficult for Yuan, who had unleashed far more intense emotions, to calm the turmoil in his heart. Whatever the exact source of that jealousy, Gillen was just pleased with the emotion he was showing.

‘But… now that I know Yuan is still caught up in his emotions, I have to act more indifferently.’

Acting indifferently did not mean ignoring him. It meant treating him the same as before. As if they had forgotten everything that happened between them, as if it had meant nothing to him. When it came to hurting a person’s pride, nothing was better than indifference, and indifference came from forgetting.

“Hahaha! Yuan, you must be careful. The imperial porcelain cups break easily with even a small impact. That’s how very delicate and exquisitely they are made. If that teacup had truly broken just now, there would have been a whole slew of servants whose wages would be docked today because of your mistake.”

When Gillen, who had been ignoring Yuan until now, suddenly launched into a combination of valid points and patronizing behavior, Yuan flinched. He slowly turned to look at Gillen. The two men’s eyes finally met. In front of Yuan’s eyes that he had so longed to see, Gillen gently curved his own.

“I think you could show off your talents at another time. For example, the garden maintenance His Highness the Crown Prince asked for before you came here.”

“…Ha.”

Yuan let out a scoff as if in disbelief.

Only Cecilia and Hexion, who did not know they had broken up, wore bewildered expressions. Cecilia immediately saw through Gillen’s words and actions as being uncharacteristically malicious, and Hexion…

“That’s what I’m saying, Duke! You’ve said it well. The imperial magicians told me there’s a limit to changing the color of the roses. I demanded they arrange the colors to be more diverse, more varied, and to make the whole garden look fuller, but they all tucked their tails and ran away. They left saying that if I wanted such a task done quickly, I should ask Marquis Hampton.”

“Haha, so that’s what happened.”

“Yes. So I told him that since Duke Blake was also coming today, he should come, see the Duke’s face while he was at it, and also change the rose colors, but don’t you think he just kept spouting absurdities? Yes, I thought he would cast a spell on the garden after seeing the Duke, but when he got here, he didn’t even make eye contact with the Duke once…. Magicians are truly hard to understand. How do you manage to date someone like this, Duke? It’s amazing, truly.”

The clueless man was also incredibly talkative. Gillen squeezed his eyes shut and barely resisted the urge to kick Hexion’s leg under the table. Fortunately, it seemed Cecilia had pinched Hexion’s thigh.

“Huh? Cecil, no, Crown Princess-to-be. Why are you pinching my thigh? Did I, by any chance, misspeak again?”

“Your Highness? Shh…”

Cecilia gently covered Hexion’s lips with her index finger.

Meanwhile, Gillen studied Yuan’s face. Yuan’s face was flushed red. Judging from the Crown Prince’s words—“So I told him that since Duke Blake was also coming today, he should come, see the Duke’s face while he was at it, and also change the rose colors”—it was clear that Yuan had come to the imperial palace today to see Gillen.

Gillen was about to open his mouth to say something, but Yuan shot up from his seat. Now, not only his face but his neck too was red.

“Absolutely not! I did not come to see you, Duke! Do not misunderstand!”

“Huh? But you did, Marquis. You even asked me twice just a moment ago if it was certain Duke Blake was coming—”

“I said no, sir. I said no, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Yuan cut off Hexion with an exceedingly insolent tone, his eyes glaring. Then he turned around and chanted a spell toward the garden.

“[Mutare].”

Soon, waves of various colors began to surge from the vast rose garden that stretched all the way to the far end. The people who saw it in person were even more surprised and amazed than before, making a great fuss. From a distance, red, deep pink, light pink, lavender, and white roses fluttered, and from a certain section, yellow, gold, silver, sky blue, and blue spread out like a gradient.

“Ah…!”

One lady-in-waiting was so moved that she even fainted. She had lost her senses at such a shockingly beautiful scene.

Gillen also watched the colors of the garden change. But his gaze quickly fixed on Yuan again. Yuan was breaking out in a cold sweat. Magic of this scale should have been nothing to him, but for some reason, he did not look well.

“Hey, Yuan. Is your body by any chance—”

However, before Gillen could finish his question, Yuan faced forward and bowed to Hexion and Cecilia.

“I have finished my task, so I will take my leave now. I hope you are both satisfied with the new rose garden. No payment is necessary. Please accept it as my wedding gift.”

Leaving those words behind, Yuan vanished with teleportation before anyone could stop him.