POV: Brandon Lancester (Dylan’s Father)

That day, Brandon Lancester was traveling by the train to visit Coil, a seaside town a short distance from the duchy.

“This town is nice. It hasn’t been poisoned by that guy.”

Looking at the view of the town, he laughed sardonically. Meanwhile, the steward of the annex, who accompanied him, smiled amiably.

“Are you talking about Lord Dylan? Certainly, the atmosphere of the duchy has changed since Lord Dylan took over. I think Myrtle Town has become livelier ever since he returned.”

“Don’t mention his name. Don’t praise him, either. It’s unpleasant.”

Brandon threw his cigar away and started walking. The steward hurriedly picked it up and tried to chase after him. The former duke didn’t care and increased his pace.

I was advised by His Majesty the king to give up my title to Dylan. I was expecting him to make a mess of things and return the title to me, but everything is going well! It’s as if… as if my way of doing things was wrong…

Like his son, Dylan, Brandon had been praised for his excellent abilities when he was young. He was blessed with a good family background and good looks, and women flocked to him.

However, while Dylan and Brandon had similar abilities, their personalities were polar opposite of each other. Personally, giving women who flocked to him the cold shoulder seemed like a waste.

So, Brandon choose women of esteemed family backgrounds to fool around with. After a while, the families of the women he dawdled with started complaining.

Certainly, I shouldn’t have played with women of good upbringings…

Thus, Brandon learned his lesson. From then on, he played around with low-ranking noble ladies. Not only did they know their place, he had nothing to complain about their company either.

—Or so he thought, but another problem arose.

Precisely because those women knew their position, some ladies set their sights on the future duke. More than one of them did, in fact.

Thus, those women cut ties with him. By that time, Brandon could no longer live without women.

In the end, he chose only quiet, obedient, and pure women to play with. They never rebelled, nor did they expect to become his legal wife. He made sure to play with more women than he could count on both hands. After all, if he got too attached to one woman, he’d start catching feelings, which wouldn’t be good.

To make them understand he’d never marry them, he made them live in the annex. Sometimes, he’d get letters from women who had left the separate building on good terms, or there’d be issues about bastard children. In either case, he’d just solve everything by paying a hefty sum of cash.

For decades after he set up the annex, Brandon’s days were fun and peaceful, save for the friction between his former wife and the only son she gave birth to, which he tried to ignore.

“—To be infatuated with a woman who orders him around like that. What’s wrong with him?”

As Brandon walked down the cobblestone road, muttering to himself, the face of his former wife came to mind.

She had beautiful, silken blonde hair and gentle violet eyes. He had never had a chance to have a proper conversation with her, but she was the only woman who never did what he wanted.

She always glared at him with scornful eyes, and her beautiful face never once smiled. She was such a dull woman.

When he was young, Brandon was proud of his resourcefulness. He managed his estates just enough to keep the dukedom from going under, and lived happily surrounded by women he liked. It was the carefree life of a laidback man.

At last, that was how it was supposed to be.

“As for that woman, Avril… She acts all high and mighty, mocking the Duke of Lancester! But for some reason, she does a lot of nonsensical things, and I can’t hate her. It’s not that I desire her, but… watching her makes me feel like I wasted my life.”

He had heard that Dylan’s fiancée was a terrible woman. Besides, all the mistresses who’d met her said, “She’s a terrible woman.”

However, the way she was flabbergasted when Dylan put her on his lap, feeding her sweets, was akin to a rabbit or a hamster… basically, a critter…

No matter how he looked at her, she was such a strange woman.

Watching the two of them, Brandon realized such a future could’ve been for him. A life spent happily as the master of a duke’s household, never falling into debauchery.

Upon having that thought, he suddenly found himself reaching for the documents in his study. They had once seemed like a nuisance, but now he was overcome with a feeling similar to nostalgia and derision, which confused him.

Once he started on the documents, there was no putting them back. He even told the maid who worked in the main residence to collect the rest of them.

Once he stepped in, there was no turning back. That was probably why he had created a harem with his mistresses, living in the annex.

As he started playing duke to make up for lost time, he also wanted to find a secretary. The man who used to be his aide had retired and hadn’t been heard from in a while.

Now that he thought about it, that man bore great loyalty to the duke family. The whole time Brandon was fooling around in his annex, that man didn’t say anything. Perhaps, he had lost interest in the former duke since long ago.

So, while he was in Coil, Brandon made inquiries here and there to see if there was anyone suitable to be a secretary.

“I can’t find someone in Myrtle or among the sons of the nobles I’m acquainted with. Dylan’s monitoring my movements in that area.”

“It seems that Dylan also knows that you’re looking for a secretary.”

“Shut up. You must’ve blabbered to him.”

Brandon and his steward were talking in a suit at a hotel. Then, the maid, Sienna, who was preparing the bedroom, came out and greeted them.

“Master, the bedroom is ready.”

“…Leave.”

This time, in addition to the butler of the annex, he was accompanied by Sienna, a maid from the main house. He just wanted a maid to assist him.

Normally, he’d take someone like Lucy along to spice up the trip. But for some reason, he didn’t feel like doing that now.

I didn’t choose Sienna because that woman, Avril, praised her, definitely not.

Late at night, Brandon received a telegram.

Since his arrival at this city, he’d been sending messages left and right, saying, “We’re hiring. Looking for a secretary. If you know a suitable candidate, please introduce me to them.” However, the message he received was information about “a perfect candidate for your new mistress.”

Even though it was his own undoing, it was still frustrating.

Still, he was somewhat interested. His son was trying to demolish the annex. He himself thought it was time to move on, especially after Teresa had run away. Old habits die hard.

Curious to see what kind of woman was being sold, Brandon looked at the telegram and saw some familiar words.

“She’s on board The Victoria and will be delivered as soon as she arrives in port tomorrow morning…?”

As a matter of course, he recognized the name of the ship, and had even been on board several times. He was also acquainted with the captain.

Back then, he was still the duke. It was a nostalgic past that could’ve led into a lost future. Thinking about this, he felt he had to meet her.

“Tell her I’ll be at the port in the morning.”

Brandon was so engrossed in his memories of his time as head of the duke family that he didn’t notice the last phrase in the telegram.

It read: “The Most Wicked Woman for Sale.”

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