Yunho swirled the tea in the white porcelain teacup. It had a slight floral scent and an auburn color. He raised the cup to his lips and took a sip. Sweet.
Yunho could feel the sharp gaze of the man sitting in front of him.
"What do you mean by what you just said?" Dorian said. His dark eyebrows were furrowed, and his ruby eyes narrowed.
Yunho set the cup down and smiled.
"What I meant is exactly what I said. Your Grace is leaving for the border soon, right? Take me with you."
—
A few hours ago-
Yunho looked over the letter in his hands again.
Just as he had promised himself, he had written and sent a letter to the Grand Duke as soon as he got back to the lodge that day a few days ago.
He still remembered what he wrote. It was a rather short letter, and Yunho didn't reveal too much in it, just asking to meet concerning "important and relevant matters."
What he was now holding was the reply from the Grand Duke, which had arrived yesterday, sooner than Yunho had expected a reply.
Yunho gazed at the words again. The Duke's reply was clearly quickly written and even shorter than the letter Yunho had sent.
It simply read:
"Alright. Let's meet tomorrow then. I'll send someone to get you in the mid-afternoon."
Yunho hummed and refolded the letter, placing it back on his desk.
Thinking about it, the Grand Duke was probably overwhelmed with work, so the fact that he even got a reply was appreciated.
Yunho was scared he'd have to show up to the Grand Duke's manor unannounced and demand to see him right then and there. He couldn't afford to get on Dorian's bad side when the high priestess was literally written to call for his banishment.
Yunho had enough on his plate.
"Ah, the sun is a little past its peak. It should be about mid-afternoon right now.," Yunho remarked.
Since this world didn't have digital clocks he was used to, Yunho had begun to tell the time by using the sun.
There were, of course, still watches, but Rizer was the only one in the lodge who he knew had a reliable one. And Yunho didn't want to bother the old man whenever he wanted to know the time.
So, Yunho developed a rough idea of what time it was, depending on the sun's position and the color of the sky.
"He really could've been more specific with the time though," Yunho mumbled to himself.
He ran over the plan in his head again. He would ask straight up and not back down, but he also couldn't reveal too much about how he knew so much in the first place.
It's not like it would be believable if he told the truth anyway.
Yunho was mumbling this to himself when two knocks came at the door.
"Young master, there's somebody outside for you. Mr. Rider told me to call you down."
The voice belonged to Marella.
Yunho opened the door and thanked the older maid.
"Ah, yes. I knew that someone would be coming. Thank you for notifying me."
He made his way down the stairs to the front door. The butler was waiting by the front door, talking to the man sent to get Yunho.
When Yunho approached the two, the butler turned to him and gave him a slight bow.
"Young master, this man was sent by the Northern Grand Duke. Do you want me to accompany you, or will it be best to attend to this matter by yourself?"
The older man said.
Looking at the loyal servant, Yunho smiled and sighed.
"I believe I should go by myself. Take the time to relax."
The butler nodded and sent him off.
After Yunho had finished speaking to the butler, the man at the door faced him and introduced himself.
"Greetings, I am an attendant from His Grace's estate. The Grand Duke has told me to be quick in bringing you back, so may we depart now?"
The man showed the Duke's seal, and Yunho followed him to the carriage.
The carriage ride was silent as the man didn't talk. It didn't feel like it was out of malice but rather that the man just wanted to get the task he was assigned to done.
"Maybe he was doing something before he had to go get me." Yunho thought.
Yunho thought about the possibility that the man had been ready to enjoy a relaxing day and was suddenly told to retrieve a random noble from a remote lodge in the middle of the day, and he suddenly felt a little guilty.
After some time had passed, the carriage came to a stop, and the coachman announced that they'd reached the estate of the Northern Grand Duke.
The coachman stopped the carriage at the courtyard, letting Yunho and the attendant get off before he drove the carriage to the stables.
When Yunho found his footing on the evenly paved courtyard of the estate, he took a look around.
The sight alone was enough to make him suck in a breath. Despite having met the Grand Duke a few times, Yunho had never seen his estate, so the large manor that even put the Evastine estate to shame was new to him.
The courtyard had lots of greenery with shrubs and a few flowering plants and trees in fenced-off corners. The manor itself also had black accents that created a sense of regal mystery aesthetically.
"I'll guide you to His Grace's office. He should be waiting for you there."
The attendant's voice cut through Yunho's thoughts.
"Thank you. Lead the way."
Yunho followed the attendant through the halls of the Grand Duke's manor, which were equally beautiful as the outside but not very decorated.
Then, the attendant stopped at a black double door at the end of a hallway. He raised one hand and knocked on the door three times.
"Your Grace, the guest is here!"
There was no response from inside the door, but the attendant seemed to have expected this. He turned to Yunho.
"I shall take my leave now. His Grace should be inside."
"..."
And how do you know that? He didn't even answer.
But before Yunho could ask, the attendant was already halfway down the hallway.
Yunho sighed and placed his hand on the cold, silver handle. He suddenly felt nervous and paused.
Thinking about this, isn't this really suspicious? A random young master knows Bahitan war strategies and wants to go to the frontlines despite having no previous military experience. What if he were accused of being a spy?
"Maybe it's not too late to just go back…"
"What are you still doing out here?"
Yunho looked up to see a familiar face, looking down at him.
He couldn't help but jump and let out a small yelp.
While he was spiraling, apparently the Grand Duke had opened the door and was now standing in the corridor, which also (unintentionally?) gave him a jumpscare.
"Oh, nothing… I was going to come in just now." Yunho replied.
Dorian nodded but he covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes were curved up, so Yunho knew he was laughing behind that hand.
But Yunho also realized that Dorian wasn't wearing gloves. The Duke's hands were bare. And his hair wasn't as neatly styled.
In his "natural habitat", Dorian lacked his austere atmosphere and looked way more youthful and relaxed than usual.
Seeing the duke this way, Yunho felt less stressed about the conversation they were about to have.
Yunho followed the grand duke into the office and sat across from him at his office desk.
"Do you want some tea? It's gone cold already, but the teapot still has some." Dorian offered.
"Oh, yes, that would be nice," Yunho said.
A drink could help calm his nerves. Plus, he did feel a bit thirsty.
Dorian grabbed a cup from the porcelain tea set on his desk. He poured tea into it and handed the teacup to Yunho.
Yunho thanked him for the drink and set it near him.
"So, you said there were "important and relevant matters" you had to tell me about?" Dorian asked.
Remember, just say it straight. Confidence is the best convincer.
"The war breaking out on the border… I want to join you. I think I would be of help."
The room fell silent, and Dorian's face morphed into one of shock but also a more complicated emotion.
Yunho took a sip of tea while Dorian continued to study him.
"What do you mean by what you just said?"
"What I meant is exactly what I said. Your Grace is leaving for the border soon, right? Take me with you."
Yunho said this with more conviction.
"Another set of hands couldn't hurt. I'm quite educated. I'd be good at strategy."
Dorian stayed silent before letting out a breath.
The duke paused for a moment.
"Sure. But war isn't as simple as you're imagining it to be. There isn't a set time for the expedition out to the border. So whenever it's time to go, we're going."
Yunho nodded.
"Trust me. I can do it."
—
Dorian considered himself good at reading people.
He could recognize eyes of contempt, greed, fear…
Yet, consistently, he couldn't figure out Iris de Evastine.
Dorian saw no selfishness in the young noble. He was nothing like the royals or nobles who saw Dorian as nothing more than a dog for the crown prince. Iris was horrible at hiding his expression and was always in his thoughts getting worked up.
He was obviously acting out of some motivation, but Dorian really couldn't figure out what.
It seemed out of his grasp, like something he couldn't understand.
Dorian knew that when Iris said that he wanted to be a part of the war, he should've said no. Iris had no previous battle or strategic planning experience and had lived as a pampered young master all his life.
But when Dorian looked into those eyes, he just felt like his answer had to be "yes."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Dorian felt some regret, but that died when he saw the sparkle in the other man's eyes.
He almost looked otherworldly, like a portrait of the goddess, Baihye.
Gently beautiful but also unquestionable.
Perhaps he was weaker to beauty than he thought,
Or perhaps Iris was different from anything he'd ever seen before…
—
End of Chapter 30