Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 103
“That’s a secret. I haven’t even confessed to the person yet.”
“Are you going to confess? Wow, how romantic! Is it someone from Obelit?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Benedict dismissed further questions ambiguously, as if he couldn’t share more. It would be impolite to press on, so Isabella, though disappointed, refrained from asking further.
Rubens silently lifted his teacup from the table and took a sip. The water might have stung his wound, as he slightly grimaced.
* * *
‘Ugh, this is unbearable.‘
Yannick felt pain coursing through his entire body.
A few days ago, while returning home drunk, he was brutally beaten by an assailant. He had received a diagnosis of four weeks of recovery. Now, with the added treatment costs, he was already low on money and had spent all of this month’s living expenses.
When he had come home injured after drinking late at night, Catherine scolded him, asking what he had to say for himself.
With ongoing financial struggles, they both became increasingly irritable, leading to constant arguments at home.
‘I need to bring Macy back as soon as possible.’
Nothing had gone right since she left. Yannick longed for the luxurious and peaceful life he once had. So, with his leg in a cast, he followed the route he had learned to Macy’s carriage, sneaking into a secluded spot.
This was a quiet forest, right in front of a shabby cabin.
He hid in the nearby bushes, planning to either kidnap her when she was alone or threaten her name master. But something felt off. After days of camping out, he hadn’t spotted anyone who resembled Macy’s name master.
‘Are they really the only two here?’
The only people present were Macy and a middle-aged man with a bushy beard, along with a similarly aged woman. The man seemed to manage the horses and would take Macy to the town whenever she wanted to go out. The woman appeared to handle the household chores of the cabin.
Rather than being her name master, it looked more like the two were a couple and Macy was living with them. Perhaps she was just relying on people she happened to meet.
After all, the rumor that Macy was living with her name master was something Yannick had spread himself, so it wouldn’t be too surprising.
However, another rumor about Macy had come up. There were whispers that her name master was an incredibly wealthy individual or even a noble.
However, the two of them were dressed too modestly to be nobles, and they had been living in that shabby cabin the entire time.
Meanwhile, they had dressed Macy in luxurious clothing that no commoner could afford. Yannick felt confused. The man hardly did anything other than manage the horses. It was unclear where the money for their living arrangements was coming from.
‘Spending every day here leaves me with no chance to kidnap her. I’ve been wasting my time for days.’
He should have taken Macy from Baron Shearton at that time. But then Duke Krygen unexpectedly intervened and messed everything up.
He was fortunate to have escaped and evaded the soldiers, but if he had been caught, it would have led to the disgrace of the renowned artist Yannick Horton attempting to kidnap his sister. Then, the rumors that Macy had been painting in his stead would have gained traction.
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
‘But why did Duke Krygen help Macy?’
He still couldn’t understand. Considering he was close to Baron Shearton, it might make sense for him to help a painter attending the Baron’s event.
‘Is Duke Krygen really that meddlesome?’
He didn’t appear to be the type to help out a mere rookie artist. No matter how much Macy had been commissioned for the Duke’s engagement portrait. The Hortons had been warned not to show their faces around.
‘And the atmosphere was strange…’
There was something off about the way he had held Macy’s wrist, the look in his eyes as he gazed down at her, and the contempt he had shown towards Yannick. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but the dynamic between the two didn’t seem normal.
Macy had looked terrified and flustered, but at least the Duke did.
‘Was it not like a man looking at his woman? Could it be that they have something going on…?’
The hypothesis that formed felt surprisingly plausible. Even if Macy was a commoner, she was exceptionally beautiful. But he had heard that the Duke’s fiance, Lady Werfel, was renowned for her beauty, often called the flower of high society.
Yannick, who had been pondering this, suddenly burst into laughter.
“The Duke is just another man who can’t help himself.”
valentina
This is a tough read fr. Watching Macy being so lenient towards someone so awful makes my tummy churn. I am actually just waiting for her to be happy or I would’ve already dropped this shyt
valentina
sorry if my comment was disrespectful to the translators, I do am intrigued by this novel and I am grateful that you guys picked it up, its like hearing tea lol