Chapter 23: The Duke’s Suspicion!

Rin stared at Lucien in shock, words frozen on his tongue.

An omega? In that family?

The Vortellion household, is by the cold, calculating Duke Evans Vortellion, the same man who created the bloody ’Game’ that treated people... no, Omegas, like disposable chess pieces? That place is like hell for omegas...

And his son was an omega?

Rin could barely imagine it. The Duke wouldn’t care even if it were his blood. He’d throw anyone... if it was his son, brother, grandfather... into that cruel Game of his. Rin almost pitied Lucien’s brother, but he knew sympathy did nothing in this world. Especially not for people like them.

Omegas.

"So... that’s why you keep pushing," Rin murmured, leaning back against the wall. "You think I can help him."

Lucien nodded slowly, fidgeting.

"We started showing signs around fourteen. I became an Alpha, but my brother turned out to be an Omega. We’ve been hiding it,"

"Hiding it? Is it that easy to hide?"

"Well... The estate is big enough, and we kept him isolated. I killed anyone who found out his secret because everyone in that estate is loyal to my father. Tutors, doctors... They were all carefully filtered. But it’s getting harder to contain that secret. My father is suspicious of him and very soon... He’ll know everything,"

Rin crossed his arms.

"And you? You don’t want the title of Duke? If you become the duke, you can kill your father and make life better for your brother,"

Lucien snorted.

"I don’t want to be my father and I don’t want anything to do with that title. That monster... the Game is just one of his experiments. If he finds out about my brother, it’s over. He’ll ruin him. Break him."

There was a short pause.

"He might already suspect something," Lucien concluded.

Rin’s chest tightened. He swallowed hard and turned away, pretending to fuss with his bandage. He was getting pulled deeper into this story than he ever wanted. Though he had no idea about Lucien’s family drama in the book, he was aware of the game. The female lead suffered frequently because of that game, and the reason was that she refused to accept the duke’s love.

He would do anything to help Lucien’s brother if he could.

’It’s not possible to help a character in the book?’

The System pinged softly in his mind, reading his mind.

DING!

[System Reminder: You cannot transfer your system privileges to other characters]

Rin mentally sighed.

"I’m sorry, Lucien. But I can’t help him. I mean... I was born like this. Being able to hide my scent. It’s just luck."

Lucien studied his face as if he were expecting something else.

"That’s all?"

"That’s all," Rin replied with a calm voice, one he practiced after spending his time with these horny characters. "It has nothing to do with suppressants or drugs or anything weird."

Lucien nodded. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Rin. It was tight and warm. For the first time, it was like Rin was hugging a normal person. Not a pervert that’s always after his ass. Not a character in a book. It felt a little too much.

Rin stood stiff as a board, blinking.

"What... what are you doing?"

"Thank you. For listening to me,"

"Yeah... okay. Enough hugging now. I’m tired... Like really tired." Rin said, slowly breaking the hug.

Lucien chuckled softly but finally let go.

"I’ll leave you to rest... goodnight."

Rin waved at him as he walked out and shut the door gently.

Rin stood there, exhaling.

"What a fucking day," he whispered, collapsing onto his bed.

He stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what Lucien just told him about his brother. Even if it wasn’t mentioned in the book, it was something he could find out himself and maybe, from the runaway female lead.

He closed his eyes, trying to sleep and that’s when it hit him.

The Duke and his deal.

That man had told him to keep Lucien in the Academy for three more months. Why?

Lucien was free to return to the estate anytime he wanted. Even the academy won’t stop him.. So why did the Duke stop him from heading back to the estate?

Rin sat up slowly, mind spinning.

"Don’t tell me... he already knows? About his other son?"

That man was dangerous. If he knew Lucien’s twin was an omega, he might already be setting up his next game. And he doesn’t want Lucien to find out because he was going to make Lucien his next heir.

"It better not be true!" Rin sprang up from the bed, looking out the window. It was late but not that late.

.

Thirty minutes later, Rin stood outside the Duke’s temporary mansion at the Academy, staring at the large, dark doors. He stood there for a few seconds, considering turning back.

"Do I have to meet him? How would I ask him about..." He grumbled to himself, but the door opened, snapping his attention to the door, and there he was.

Duke Evans Vortellion standing half-naked. His chest scarred like a soldier, hair messy, eyes dark and sharp. Rin turned his face away quickly.

"What do you want?" the Duke asked. "I could smell you from my room,"

’Of course, you could you bloodhound!’

Rin wished he could say that out loud, but he just put his serious face on.

"I need to talk to you,"

The duke rolled his eyes.

"If it’s not important, wait till tomorrow," he was about to close the door when Rin added.

"It’s about our deal."

He left the door open.

"What deal? You wish to break it?" He asked and before Rin could answer, he continued speaking. "You can’t break it. Even if you tried, I’d still win."

Rin bit his lower lip.

"It’s not a competition that you can win, Duke. Just let me talk."

The Duke scanned him from head to toe. Then, with a jerk of his chin, he stepped aside.

"Come in,"

Inside, the guest room was as cold as the man himself. He offered no snacks or tea. Just red wine.

"Drink?"

"No thank you," he said. There’s no way he could drink alcohol. He has no idea if Rin was a lightweight or a heavy drinker. If he ends up drunk, he could do something... bad and stupid.

"Smart."

Rin sat comfortably on one of the black couches. No point in wasting time.

"So... What do you want to talk about?"

"Why did you want Lucien to stay at the Academy?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

"Well, yes," Rin replied and the Duke smirked.

"To finish his studies."

Rin turned to the pink box.

’System?’

The System pinged.

[Lie Detected.]

Of course, he would lie about it.

Rin smiled coldly.

"And what if he doesn’t stay? What if he wishes to return home?"

The Duke’s jaw tightened. The wine glass cracked in his hand.

"Then I’ll make sure your life here becomes hell for failing our deal, Rin Elric,"

Rin stayed silent for a moment. Then, with a cool smile, he asked one last thing.

"What about your other son?"

There it was. Rin saw it. That flicker... the faintest crack in the Duke’s mask.

But he recovered fast, hiding everything with a smile.

"You’re not very smart. Asking questions that don’t concern you."

Rin shrugged as he folded his legs, adjusting his sitting position. The shirt exposed a bit of his chest as he lifted his hand.

"I like knowing who I’m making deals with. There’s nothing wrong with that,"

"That doesn’t mean you should concern yourself with my second son,"

"Am I being nosy? That’s so not smart of me," he sprang up from the couch. "You see, Lucien only told me he missed his twin brother, and that’s how I knew about his existence." Rin walked towards the paintings, staring at the doodle like he knew what it was about.

"You’re closer to my son than I thought. How surprising,"

The duke said and remained silent as Rin stepped forward, grabbed the broken wine glass from the Duke’s hand, and without flinching, downed a gulp of the wine. He ignored the sharp metallic taste, maintaining his serious look. He held the Duke’s gaze as he swallowed the wine.

The air thickened because the Duke didn’t expect that. Rin’s lips left the glass with a short kiss sound as he gently set the cracked glass down.

"Thanks for the drink," he said with a sly smile. "And for the kindest hospitality."

Then he turned and walked toward the exit.

The Duke watched him go, a grin slowly forming on his face.

"What an interesting little rat," he whispered. "Maybe I should add him to the ’Game’ after all."

He rubbed his chin, still staring at the door.

"I’m a noble. I can do whatever I want. And if he won’t come willingly... then I’ll just take him through other means."

The night grew colder.

And Rin had no idea the line he had just crossed.

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