Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 84

Before the rest of the party caught up, Yuan and Gillen did not exchange a single word. They even sat with some distance between them. However, they made sure not to leave each other’s sight, and it pained Gillen’s heart to think that Yuan was pouring all his attention onto him, even in his mentally unstable state.

‘What am I to do…’

Of course, Gillen liked Yuan too. As he had said time and again, he found Yuan to be cute. He had grown fond of him. Since they had shared an inexplicable connection while being intimate, he wondered if they had started to react anew to each other’s pheromones as well.

But that was merely a friendly affection felt toward a young man he saw as a son. He had looked at Yuan the way he looked at Cecilia—though they had unavoidably had sex—so how could he possibly respond to Yuan’s feelings?

Besides, Gillen knew just how thick Yuan’s emotional walls were. This was the same Yuan who, even when proposing to Cecilia, had given the reason ‘she is a suitable match for me, at least,’ rather than because he liked her.

In Gillen’s opinion, there was no man who could not like Cecilia. That was why, as a father, he had suffered many a headache. Everywhere she went, there was a cartload of men who would fall for Cecilia and offer her armfuls of bouquets and jewels.

The reason he gave for proposing to such a Cecilia was so bizarre it could only have come from a man with a heart made of tin… and now that same guy likes me, a forty-something father, an alpha male. It was absurd.

‘No. Maybe it does make sense. It’s a path that no one but a freak like Yuan could easily take.’

Gillen could understand trying to win the favor of a young omega woman or man. Humans were, more than one might think, a species easily swayed by instinct and emotion, unable to properly control their own hearts or sexual desires.

But alphas, and especially alpha males, were different. When they saw an alpha superior to themselves, they would naturally become guarded. They saw the other as a threat, a rival, and tried to crush them one way or another. Or they would tuck their tails between their legs and run away from the start.

The number of alpha males who had challenged Gillen over the past twenty years was countless. They approached him with youthful bravado and returned with humiliation. They suffered from the pheromones of Gillen, a dominant alpha, and feared that he might release them.

That was the typical alpha-versus-alpha relationship. Much like his initial relationship with Yuan. Trying to drive each other out of their territory, feeling unpleasantly stimulated by each other’s pheromones, and trying to establish dominance.

But since when, exactly? Where exactly did we go wrong?

A good amount of time passed while Gillen agonized over that problem. Finally, the rest of the party caught up to Gillen and Yuan.

“Your Grace, the Duke! Are you alright!”

The knight commander was the first to ride up, nearly tumbling off his horse to kneel before Gillen.

“We should have prepared for an ambush. Please punish this disloyal servant who neglected his escort duties because Marquis Hampton was present.”

“No. It’s fine. Rise.”

In truth, there was no reason to blame the knight commander. He had heard rumors that even in wars where thousands of soldiers clashed, everyone would not even properly don their armor if Yuan appeared. The idea was that since Yuan alone was strong enough to annihilate the continent, it was natural for others to let their guard down. The knight commander and the other knights had probably been the same. Moreover, having just witnessed the miraculous sight of Yuan casting spells one after another right before their eyes, they must have felt even more at ease.

“But—”

“Just punish them.”

Yuan, who had been watching the guilt-ridden commander who could not lift his head, spoke as sharply as frost.

Gillen slowly turned to look at Yuan. His pale complexion had improved a lot since before, and his breathing had calmed.

“Your master was hit by an arrow.”

Yuan continued, his voice laced with anger.

“Mages who can use healing magic are extremely rare. If not for me, Gillen would have had to lie in a sickbed for a long time. People would have learned that Duke Blake was easily struck by an attack, and enemies would have then considered the Blake family to have a vulnerability and accelerated their attacks. And you still call yourselves the knights of the great Blake family? Do you take pride in that armor and that crest?”

Gillen was inwardly surprised. It was almost the first time he had seen Yuan speak so properly. He had only ever seen him grumbling or finding fault to raise hell—Gillen could find no other word for it. Forgetting what he had been worrying about just a moment ago, Gillen felt proud of him.

“I am deeply sorry, Your Grace, the Duke, and you, Marquis. Please, do not forgive me. The entire knight order will accept punishment. Furthermore, I swear that from this moment on, we will not leave Your Grace’s side for even a single moment.”

The knight commander, who had bowed his head at Yuan’s command, said sorrowfully. Gillen originally had no intention of scolding the commander, but now that Yuan had spoken to this extent, he couldn’t take the commander’s side. Both were precious people to Gillen, but for some reason, he felt he had to side with Yuan.

“Right. It is as Yuan said. It is true you had let your guard down. All members of the Blake Knight Order will have to enter harsh group training as soon as we return from this journey. Furthermore, the knight commander, as the one responsible, will have his salary reduced for two months. Any objections?”

“Your punishment is merciful.”

The knight commander bowed respectfully before rising.

“From now on, we will escort you by carriage. It may be stuffy, but we would be grateful if you would endure it for your safety.”

“Ahem… b-by carriage?”

Gillen flinched. That meant he would have to be in an enclosed space alone with Yuan. I just found out about Yuan’s feelings…? This is going to be painfully awkward, isn’t it? What if this makes him like me more?

He had never dreamed that he, Gillen, would be having worries similar to the ones Yuan had a few months ago. What’s more, back then, Yuan had been mistaken, but this time, hadn’t Yuan practically confessed with his own lips?

Gillen glanced furtively at Yuan, but Yuan, with a composed expression, was preparing to board the carriage first. Gillen secretly went to the knight commander and whispered.

“By any chance… would it be impossible for just me to ride a horse?”

“Absolutely not, Your Grace. All of this is for the sake of protecting Your Grace, the Duke!”

“Hey, hey, I get it, so lower your voice. I’ll get in, I’ll get in.”

Gillen took a deep breath for a moment and entered the carriage. Yuan had gone inside, leaned his arm on the window frame, and was looking at the scenery outside. He was clearly avoiding looking at Gillen on purpose.

It was better this way. Instead of sitting on the same seat as Yuan, Gillen pressed himself against the opposite wall. A distance of two handspans, measured by an adult man’s hand, formed between them.

Before long, the procession departed. An awkward silence filled the carriage. Yuan continued to look only outside, and Gillen’s eyeballs were starting to ache from stealing sidelong glances without Yuan noticing.

“Gillen.”

Just then, Yuan, who had been looking only out the window, turned his head and called to Gillen.

“Yes, y-yes? M-me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Uh, uh, what, what is it?”

“Promise me you won’t do something like that again.”

Does he mean me peeking at him secretly? Did he catch me? Even for a genius mage, he shouldn’t have eyes in the back of his head. As Gillen hesitated to answer in his confusion, Yuan added irritably.

“Why aren’t you answering? Surely you don’t want to be hit by another arrow, or a sword, or a curse, do you?”

“Ah, that. No, why did you go from an arrow to a sword and a curse?”

Instead of replying, Yuan glared. Gillen quickly put on a broad smile.

“Of course, absolutely. I’m also someone who very much dislikes getting hurt or being in pain. Earlier too, it wasn’t that I took the hit meant for you. If you think about it, I thought it was all over and was just standing in front of you when an arrow just flew in from behind. It wasn’t my fault.”

Yuan was acting as if Gillen had selflessly sacrificed himself to protect him. That overprotective side of him was unexpected, but he was mistaken right now. If an arrow had been flying toward Yuan… Hm? Gillen paused. If an arrow had been flying toward Yuan, would he have been able to just stand by and watch?

Huh. I think… I really might have taken the arrow for Yuan…?

While Gillen was lost in his inner shock, Yuan began to nag.

“How is that not your fault? You were standing in front, blocking me to protect me, even before you were hit by the arrow. In effect, weren’t you volunteering to be a pincushion? A man with a daughter, not even thinking about quietly protecting his own body among the knights. My goodness, it’s not like you have anything to rely on… You’ve just aged without learning a thing. Your ego as a dominant alpha and a duke has just become so bloated that you believe you can do anything—”

“W-wait a moment. Yuan.”

Gillen raised a hand to stop Yuan’s words. His mind was too noisy right now. His heart was also pounding in an unusual way.

“Hah… Answer me, Gillen. Am I exaggerating right now?”

Gillen’s lips were sealed shut. Because… Yuan wasn’t wrong. He really wasn’t exaggerating. For once, it wasn’t his insufferable narcissism and far-fetched assumptions… he was speaking the truth.

“I, I…”

Gillen looked back at Yuan with a vacant and dazed expression.

“You’re right. I… probably would have taken the arrow for you in any situation, just the same.”