(BL) Rejected by daughter's second male lead-Chapter 56

Oops. Lora immediately regretted her mistake.

Recently, House Blake had been embroiled in a scandal, making it the subject of endless gossip. Lora knew that Gillon was absolutely not that kind of person, but other foolish nobles were recklessly chattering and jumping at the chance to bring down House Blake.

The stronger the light, the darker the shadow. Lora was well aware that the scandal had grown larger because so many families were jealous and disliked House Blake.

"I am sorry, Your Grace the Duke. I, Lora, do not pay heed to such shameless scandals, so I didn’t think. You must have been through so much hardship, haven’t you?"

Lora slightly opened her fan, covering her mouth and casting her eyes downward. This way, her mournful voice, muffled by the fan, would sound even more delicate. The long eyelashes and sorrowful shadows they cast were a bonus.

"Thank you for your concern. But I am fine. There is no need for me to suffer over something that is not true."

"Oh my! Such spirit, truly befitting a descendant of our nation’s founding hero, Your Grace the Duke!"

Lora cried out, genuinely moved. Her true inner thought, however, was, ’He’s just as manly as the man I chose!’

But then, Yuan suddenly stretched his arm out between Gillon and Lora and took a champagne glass from the table. He extended his arm so fiercely and roughly that Lora was startled and took several steps back.

"Oh my! Marquis Hampton, maintaining a proper distance is the etiquette of high society!"

Lora advised him, elegant yet sharp. It was what any lady of class ought to do. However, Yuan paid her no mind at all. He simply drank the champagne in style, one corner of his mouth lifted in a crooked smirk.

"Oh my..."

To be ignored was an insult. As Lora began to fan herself in anger, Gillon smiled and held out a hand.

"Lady Lora, I hope you are not too offended. Yuan is just a bit informal. Would you give me the chance to apologize on his behalf?"

Lora’s fluttering fan slowly came to a stop. She shyly held out the back of her hand that wasn’t holding the fan. Gillon’s hand lightly touched hers below her long, silk-gloved fingers. And just as he bent down to place a kiss of apology...

Whoosh!

"Kyaaah!"

As if from a hawk, a sharp talon flew through the air and snatched Lora’s hand.

"G-good heavens...!"

Looking again, it was not a talon but Yuan’s hand. Unlike his pretty-boy face, his hand was larger and stronger than she expected. Before Lora could say a word, Yuan bowed his head and lightly touched the tip of his lips to the back of Lora’s gloved hand.

"My apologies, Lady Lora. Please forgive my rudeness. Upon smelling Lady Lora’s deep and sweet fragrance, I grew thirsty and... my hand simply reached for a glass."

"Wh-what... yes?"

Gillon thought he saw Lora’s pupils turn into heart shapes. Of course, it was a trick of the eye, but it was an undeniable fact that Lora’s expression had melted into a puddle.

"Will you forgive me?"

Yuan asked with a faint smile. Lora stared blankly at his face, then nodded her head.

"Yeees... of course, I sure will...."

It was a dialect-tinged reply that came from who knows where. Yuan smiled in satisfaction and gently let go of Lora’s hand. Even so, Lora kept her hand suspended in the air. It seemed she still thought she was holding hands with Yuan.

"Now that I’m forgiven, let’s go. Let’s move towards a wall if we can. Let’s not stay where it’s crowded."

Yuan spoke coolly to Gillon again. Gillon laughed, said his goodbyes to Lora, and walked toward the wall.

Only after they had disappeared did Lora’s friends flock to her side.

"Lora! What was that just now?"

"Goodness, it was like a scene from a romance novel!"

"Lora, you’re so brave!"

Lora, with a dazed expression, let the girls’ squeals wash over her before belatedly coming to her senses.

"Did, did you all see it? Just now, when Marquis Hampton kissed the back of my hand?"

"You silly girl! Haven’t you snapped out of it yet? It’s already been five minutes!"

Five minutes had passed? Lora thought it had only been 0.5 seconds. No, it felt as though time hadn’t passed at all. She felt trapped in the moment Yuan kissed her hand.

"Could, could it be... that Marquis Hampton... has feelings for me?"

Lora cupped her cheeks with both hands and let out a lovely sigh. But she had Duke Blake... how did she get caught up in such a love triangle?

However, her closest friend, Poppy, frowned and asked back.

"What are you talking about, Lora? That was clearly jealousy!"

"Yes, jealousy. The Marquis was—between Duke Blake and me—"

"No, no! The Marquis did it first because he was afraid Duke Blake would kiss your hand! Anyone could see he was jealous because of Duke Blake!"

"...Huh?"

Lora couldn’t believe her ears, but her friends started squealing and chattering excitedly again.

"I knew it, there’s no way Duke Blake would do something so shameless and alpha-like. It wasn’t a one-sided courtship, they really are dating!"

"That’s right. Anyone with eyes can see how deep their affection is."

"I never imagined Marquis Hampton could get that jealous, you know? It was like magic beams were shooting out of his eyes."

"Lora, you’re so brave! To even think of getting between those two!"

The young ladies’ faces were flushed pink from the romantic scene they had just witnessed. Their thin silk and lace fans, incapable of bringing any sort of cool breeze, fluttered about frantically. The fanning mirrored the intense emotions of their young mistresses.

"Are you all blind? What do you know? Honestly!"

Lora stormed away from the spot, flapping her fan. Her friends watched her huffing back, then fell silent and exchanged glances. It was clear to anyone that Lora had gotten the wrong idea, but Lora was the center of their group and the daughter of the most noble family among them.

"Lora, let’s go together!"

"Lora, we were wrong! Wait!"

While the noble young ladies were causing such a commotion, Gillon, who had been all but pushed to a corner of the banquet hall, was having another small conflict with Yuan.

"Hey, Yuan, wait! We should be in the middle of the hall to be seen better, so why are you pushing us into a corner?"

"There are too many people. Let’s rest for a moment and then go back."

At least until that pink-haired girl with the eyes of a wildcat is out of sight, Yuan thought, holding back what he wanted to say.

The moment he saw the pink-haired girl spot Gillon and charge toward him like a predator that had found its prey, Yuan felt something twist inside him.

What’s more, even though Gillon was (pretending to be) dating him, he still spoke kindly to that girl and even smiled at her. When he was about to kiss her hand to apologize on his behalf, Yuan was so shocked and angry that he almost let an attack spell fly out.

"Are you perhaps angry because of what happened with Lady Pores? But she is just a young lady. It’s an age to be sensitive about distance and manners. Furthermore, one must be even more careful with an unmarried lady. The people who come to places like this all love to create gossip."

Gillon said, sounding fed up.

Yuan, who was about to snap, ’Am I not a young enough partner for you,’ realized that Gillon truly thought of Lora as a child. So he immediately changed his strategy.

"Angry? Do you think I’m some kind of psychopath who gets angry at the drop of a hat?"

"...Hmm, well, no, that’s not it...."

Though Gillon’s slow reply was irritating, Yuan continued.

"I just said it’s because there are too many people. The perfume smell is strong, so it’s stuffy and—"

"Could it be that you..."

Suddenly, Gillon cut Yuan off and approached him with a serious expression. Yuan unknowingly held his breath with a gasp.

"Is it because you feel like you’re about to have another panic attack? Are you having trouble breathing?"

"Pardon?"

"You said it’s stuffy. Are you dizzy too?"

"Uh... hmm, maybe... a little?"

Yuan quickly cast his eyes down, touched his forehead, and replied weakly. It wasn’t a lie. To be precise, from the moment Lora had approached, he’d felt a fire raging in his chest, and he’d been hot, stuffy, and dizzy with anger.

Fortunately, his beautiful and pure features automatically created plausibility with just a slightly sad expression, making Gillon believe wholeheartedly that Yuan was showing the preliminary signs of a panic attack.

"Oh dear. Excuse me for a moment. Keep breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly."

Gillon said this and hurriedly began to unbutton Yuan’s shirt. The sounds of gasps and shock could be heard from the people who were pretending not to watch them.

"Wh-what are you—"

"It’s okay. We’ll just undo two or three buttons and step outside for some air. Don’t look anywhere else, just look at me and breathe."

"..."

After Gillon unbuttoned Yuan’s shirt down to his collarbone, he met his eyes. Deep affection was there.

"Yuan. Yuan?"

"..."

"Can’t you breathe?"

Gillon leaned his face close to Yuan’s neck and asked in a low voice. It seemed he was trying to prevent others from noticing Yuan’s condition.

Did I think... I was envious of Cecil?

Yuan thought as he turned his gaze to Gillon. Envious that this person was by his side. But right now, the one by Gillon’s side was him. He was the one unsparingly receiving Gillon’s affection. And Yuan found that he really, purely, liked that so much.