Heavy Rain Chapter 20

The butler quickly bowed his head, adopting a posture of loyalty to the young master of the Vermouth family. Lyle’s eyes narrowed as he looked down at him in silence.

A strange sense of lingering unease was troubling him.

A few days passed.

His head still felt a bit heavy, but Lyle managed to get through quite a busy schedule. He was a man in a position where stock prices fluctuated according to his health status. He was accustomed to going about his life while hiding even slight discomfort.

However, today, a middle-aged man sat in the Chairman’s office. An Alpha, he had been glaring at Lyle, who was absorbed in his work, without hiding his uncomfortable expression for some time now.

“Whew…”

Regardless of the man’s presence, Lyle, having finished his urgent tasks, finally lifted his head from the desk. Then, without hiding the fact that he had forgotten the man was there, he moved to the sofa where he was sitting.

“Keep your business brief.”

“This fellow, keeping an elder waiting like this…”

“You should speak accurately. I didn’t keep you waiting; you barged in as you pleased. You even went as far as bribing one of my secretaries.”

“…”

Daniel Vermouth’s thick jaw twitched as he observed Lyle’s demeanor. He had tried to make it look like he had forced a visit simply by using their relationship as uncle and nephew, but how did Lyle know that he had bribed a secretary?

Watching Lyle gesture at him insolently with his chin, Daniel gnashed his teeth inwardly. To think that little brat would grow up like this.

After the sudden death of Lyle’s father—his own brother—Daniel had briefly dreamt a grand dream. He believed that he could become the master of this massive Vermouth family in place of the still-young Lyle.

However, Lyle, who grew up at an incredible speed, quickly pushed him aside and rose to his position. After a massive inheritance lawsuit, Daniel was defeated. Since that day, Lyle had consistently maintained such an arrogant attitude, making Daniel even more unable to swallow his rage.

“Your business?”

As if tired, Lyle rubbed the bridge of his nose. Daniel, sitting across from him, had a face so red it looked as if it might explode at any second. Why couldn’t he understand that treating him like this instead of kicking him out immediately was a courtesy toward a relative?

In any case, like a true member of the Vermouth family, Daniel quickly composed his expression. Then, adopting a devious look, he threw out a probing remark at Lyle.

“I hear there are rumors that you’ve been calling many Omegas to the mansion lately.”

Irritation surged in an instant. To come to a busy man’s office only to talk about such things.

He was well aware that the family council cared about Lyle’s status. It was inevitable that they would want a legitimate heir to serve as a focal point.

However, Lyle could not understand at all if that was something so important that he had to barge in without notice to discuss it.

“Has that aversion of yours improved at all?”

“Mind your own business. If that’s all you have to say, leave.”

“You fellow, you really…”

His uncle, filled with inferiority, sometimes harbored greed far beyond what he could handle. Having been defeated by Lyle’s father as well, he was still being swayed by greed even now.

Unable to endure it any longer, Lyle immediately summoned a guard. Realizing what Lyle had called, the uncle stood up abruptly and glared at him. Then, he vanished on his own feet before he could be dragged out.

Looking at that figure, an Alpha through and through with a prideful ego, Lyle did not hide his disgusted gaze.

“Chairman.”

“Come in.”

The secretary, who had briefly greeted the uncle on his way out, called to him. Lyle, who was about to return to his desk, slumped onto the sofa instead. Since he had finished his work for the moment, he intended to clear his head for a bit.

“Fire the bribed secretary. And in the future, make sure he cannot come visiting like this.”

“Shall I block all access completely?”

“No, tell him to make an appointment.”

“Understood. The bribed one was processed for resignation a short while ago.”

Nodding his head, he pushed down the boiling emotions. The faces of the relatives who had come to his parents’ funeral and looked at him as if he were a delicious piece of food flashed by. Disgust was one of the emotions he recalled best. Because his surroundings had driven him that way.

After that, the secretary reported on important agendas that could not be brought out while the uncle was present. Lyle gave appropriate instructions and contemplated his afternoon schedule.

Just then, the secretary’s phone rang. After checking something, the secretary left a note in his business folder.

“What is it?”

“Ah, it’s Mr. Bright’s discharge day, so I’m going to send a car.”

The moment he heard that name, a quiet ripple swept through Lyle. Today, as rain had been falling since morning, the sound of raindrops pattering against the large windows of the office was exceptionally loud. Haejin, whose condition had been poor, had to stay in the hospital during that time.

He had heard reports occasionally that he was staying quiet, but today was his discharge.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Pardon?”

Looking at the secretary who asked back as if surprised, Lyle’s eyebrows twitched. The words he had blurted out instinctively were once again full of impulse.

“I’ll take him with me as I head home. The hospital is nearby. There’s also the matter of finalizing the contract.”

But this time, there was a plausible reason. The hospital was on the way to the mansion. Besides, he needed to meet him face-to-face today anyway to finalize the contract with Haejin.

“Understood.”

The secretary, who had asked back once, quickly erased his doubt and answered faithfully. Casting his gaze at the heavy raindrops outside the window, Lyle tried his best to ignore this impulse.

“…”

“…”

A suffocating silence dominated the inside of the car. Sensing the atmosphere, the secretary frequently observed the back seat while operating the tablet in his hand. Just because Lyle’s work was over didn’t mean his work was over as well.

Meanwhile, Haejin, who had been waiting for the car after hearing it would arrive upon his discharge, was momentarily flustered to find Lyle inside. However, looking at the secretary in the passenger seat, he figured there must be a reason and quietly climbed in.

They were two people who never encountered each other except when it was time for pheromone relief. Even saying they met face-to-face for pheromone relief was a stretch. Consequently, a heavy silence naturally settled between the two.

Lyle’s pheromones were always well-managed. Thanks to that, Haejin could not tell what he was thinking. In the first place, he was unskilled at controlling pheromones or reading their sensations. Having manifested as a recessive only after becoming an adult in a household with only Betas, he had no opportunity to learn in many ways.

Fortunately, the car entered the mansion without any trouble. As he got out of the car, Haejin suddenly felt a sense of liberation. He remained unaware that Lyle was observing those pheromones intently from behind.

“Let’s go.”

The secretary led the way. The butler, who had come out to meet them, accompanied him to guide Haejin to the room. In the butler’s eyes, as he secretly observed Haejin who had arrived with Lyle, there was a faint trace of horror.

Since no one spoke, the path of long silence began again. Although he had received treatment, perhaps because he was walking for the first time in a while, his legs felt a bit heavy. The fact that they throbbed more on rainy days was an unavoidable aftereffect of the accident.

To avoid showing the unsightly appearance of dragging his leg, Haejin applied strength to his thighs. Then, suddenly feeling a gaze directed toward his legs, he turned his head to the side.

“…?”

However, Lyle, who was beside him, was merely looking straight ahead in silence.

Before the strangeness could even fade, Haejin felt a series of curiosities. It was because they were heading to a place that was neither his original room nor the reception room. It was toward the main building, where he had never gone before.

In front of a large guest room located there, Lyle spoke suddenly.

“Use this room from now on.”

Entering through the wide-open door, the interior of the room was revealed, looking quite well-prepared. The bright interior and the large window providing a clear view of the outside were impressive.

Looking at the rainwater pattering against the window, Haejin could not shake off a somewhat uneasy feeling. Ever since he boarded the car heading to this mansion from the hospital.

“…”

As he entered the room, Lyle inadvertently observed Haejin’s expression. Seeing that expression filled with wonder, his heart beat strangely.

However, soon Haejin’s face, after scanning even the view outside the window, settled calmly as usual. The brief interest that had surfaced scattered in vain.