Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 81

The journey to the Crowning Inn was about eight hours by carriage, but on horseback, it took only four or five hours. Of course, in the latter case, the horses needed to be rested intermittently, and riding for too long took a toll on the human body as well, so the time saved was not drastically significant.

In any case, Yuan and Gillen were far ahead of the rest of the group, who were escorting the baggage carriage. Two knights followed behind them, but they maintained a slight distance, focusing solely on their duty as guards.

For about 30 minutes, all four of them galloped at full speed as if in a race, but as time passed, the horses of Gillen and the escorting knights began to tire.

“Hey, Yuan! Stop for a moment! We need to let the horses rest!”

Gillen shouted ahead, but Yuan did not listen and continued to ride on. His horse was a robot, so it did not get tired.

Left with no choice, Gillen slowed his horse down on his own.

“Whoa, whoa, Connie. Yes, let’s rest a bit. You’re tired, aren’t you? Shall we have some sugar cubes?”

As Gillen stopped, the knights behind him also reined in their horses.

“You two must be tired as well, so take a short break.”

Gillen said to the knights as he dismounted.

“We are not tired at all.”

“It’s alright, Your Grace the Duke. We will stand guard by your side while you rest.”

The knights who had accompanied Gillen were Vice-Captain Sweetum and Krautz, who was famous for his skill. Both had served the Blake family for over ten years and were on friendly terms with Gillen and Cecilia.

“Don’t be like that, have a seat. Why are you putting up a wall? That hurts my feelings.”

Gillen plopped down on the ground and patted the spot next to him with his palm. The tension in the knights’ shoulders eased a little. They sat down side-by-side next to him as he had instructed.

“After seeing the Marquis’s magic, I feel quite intimidated, you know. At that level, isn’t he practically the strongest person in the world? It was the first time I’ve ever seen torn flesh mend and bleeding stop with magic.”

Sweetum said, shaking his head. He seemed to have been quite deeply impressed. Krautz, who was usually the quiet type, also chimed in.

“You should have seen the process of the broken and shattered carriage restoring itself on its own, Your Grace the Duke. It felt like it surpassed the realm of human capability, it even gave me the chills. I think I understand why priests are wary of mages.”

Gillen had once summoned a mage who could use healing magic because of Cecilia, and he had seen all sorts of magic over the past twenty years. It was a perk of his position as a duke. Even in his eyes, Yuan’s magic was not just superior to that of ordinary mages, but on an entirely different plane. So, it went without saying that the knights would be surprised. However…

“But a mage is still just a human.”

Gillen said with a smile.

“Priests are the same, and mages, and us—we’re all the same humans. You mustn’t idolize or objectify them and expect or hope for too much. It’s true that Yuan is amazing, but he must get just as tired and exhausted when he uses magic. Try not to say things that put too much pressure on him.”

“We will absolutely not do that. Please do not worry, Your Grace.”

Sweetum waved his hands in denial.

“I was thoughtless. I will be careful with my words from now on, Your Grace the Duke.”

Krautz also bowed his head and apologized.

Gillen laughed heartily and slapped the back of Sweetum, who was sitting next to him. Thump, thump.

“What’s with the apology? I was just saying it out of an old man’s concern. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“Ouch, Your Grace the Duke… my back hurts…”

Sweetum twisted his body, pretending to be in pain. Ha ha ha! Gillen’s laughter echoed, loud enough to shake the trees.

It was at that moment. The sound of horse hooves rapidly approached from ahead, and Yuan’s white horse, the robot horse, came to a halt in front of Gillen’s group.

“Yuan?”

Did he come back? Gillen looked up in bewilderment as Yuan leaped nimbly off his horse. Then he sat down irritably next to Gillen and started glaring at the knights. The knights froze on the spot from his immense murderous intent and annoyance.

“Why did you come back? Is the road ahead blocked?”

“I came back because I thought something might have happened since no one was following. But I see you were busy chitchatting with the knights.”

Yuan’s voice was icy. At his insolent tone, Krautz straightened his posture.

“Marquis, excuse me, but that tone of voice towards His Grace the Duke is—”

“If you know it’s an excuse, then don’t say it.”

Yuan cut Krautz off.

“Pardon?”

“I am a marquis and your master’s lover. How dare a mere knight comment on my tone of voice?”

“…I apologize. However, even if you are close, I would appreciate it if you would be more careful. He is His Grace the Duke, after all.”

Krautz emphasized the words ‘His Grace the Duke.’ He was a truly loyal retainer. However, to Yuan, whose temper had flared at the sight of Gillen sitting cozily with two men from afar and laughing so hard the ground seemed to shake, he just looked like a piece of shit.

“Gillen, may I use attack magic on this man?”

Yuan asked, glaring murderously at Krautz. Gillen smiled benevolently.

“Of course not, Yuan.”

Yuan’s question had made the knights tense up, but Gillen patted Yuan as if he were listening to a child’s tantrum about buying candy.

“Doesn’t it reassure you as my lover that my knights are this loyal? Isn’t this a moment for praise, not a moment to use attack magic?”

“…Hmph.”

But the truly amazing thing was that as soon as Gillen uttered the word ‘lover,’ Yuan’s murderous aura vanished. The knights stared at Yuan and Gillen with dumbfounded expressions.

“You shouldn’t say such things to knights who work so hard. Especially since you hate establishing aristocratic authority. You should also refrain from using expressions like ‘mere’ knight from now on.”

“That was…! It was a slip of the tongue. I wasn’t that serious about it, either. If I had been serious, I would have turned them to dust before even asking Gillen.”

“Of course, of course, I know. You are the best combat mage, after all.”

“I am the best in all fields of magic, not just combat, you know.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Right, I misspoke. You’re simply the best among all mages.”

Without realizing it, Sweetum and Krautz glanced at each other. They couldn’t help but exchange looks while watching the couple in front of them being so nauseatingly lovey-dovey.

Were they always like this…?

I don’t think so.

The two men’s gazes said as much.

It was true that Gillen was a merciful, generous, and benevolent master. The Blake family was the only one that did not consider status or secondary gender among its conditions for joining the knight order. Gillen even knew each and every one of the knights by name and was friendly with all of them. It was already famous that he mingled freely not just with the knights but also with other employees, and even the maids in the laundry room.

When the article stating that Gillen had committed an act of violence against Yuan using pheromones was reported as fact, almost all the knights had scoffed. They had even given a good scolding to those who were swayed by such fake news. Gillen was not that kind of person. One could tell just by observing him up close for a short while.

If he was like that with his subordinates, how would he be with his beloved daughter? Everyone in the Blake duchy envied the special father-daughter relationship between Gillen and Cecilia. Gillen was a father who loved his daughter with his whole body and heart.

As the saying goes, even a hedgehog thinks its own young are beautiful, and doting fathers were not uncommon. But Gillen’s love wasn’t simply about doting and spoiling her. He genuinely cheered for Cecilia’s life.

He wanted Cecilia to live a wonderful, independent life even without him, so he often just watched over her quietly from behind or protected her discreetly. The Blake Knight Order was frequently mobilized for such tasks, so they knew well how prudent and careful Gillen was, even in conveying his affection.

But what was this now? This cringey and disagreeable feeling, as if watching an obnoxious couple… His Grace the Duke, who looked at the Marquis with eyes that said whatever he said was cute, and acted as if he were taming him with cooing praises, was a bit unfamiliar.

He had just heard what was essentially a murder threat—can I kill your subordinate?—yet Gillen was acting as if he were soothing a pouting, completely lovable, and harmless being.

And what about Yuan? The great mage who had saved Gillen from danger earlier and performed high-level magic with ease, receiving bows from everyone. A man of devastating beauty, with a superhuman appearance and physique that seemed capable of seducing anyone, regardless of age, gender, or alpha/beta/omega status. That person, whose whims and temper were so immense they could actually overturn a nation, looked like a baby bird in front of Gillen.

“If you’re going to ride on horseback, stick right behind me! I went all the way over there and came back because of you, Gillen.”

“I shouted, but you must not have heard me. My apologies. I thought you heard me but were angry and went on ahead.”

“I wasn’t angry! Do you think I’m that petty of a man?”

“Of course, you’re not. Your character is the best in the world, too.”

“You know me well.”

Listening to their conversation, Krautz finally realized. That Yuan’s rude remarks to Gillen earlier were not genuine disrespect, but jealousy. And that Gillen, whether consciously or unconsciously, had seen through it and was handling this beautiful god of war.

“…Vice-Captain, I think it would be better for us to follow from a much greater distance later.”

“I agree.”

The knights’ bitter voices were buried in Yuan and Gillen’s conversation and scattered away.