My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 52: Unsightly

Chapter 52: Unsightly

The King and Duke were at an impasse. They stared at one another, not knowing what more could be said.

Desmond dreamed of when he could be Desmond and not what the orphanage called him. Unfortunately, it would have been hard for an orphan to have a foreign name. He was renamed for ease of adoption yet resisted it as much as he could.

Then he met Leonor all he wanted to be was the Valerio she knew and loved. He felt like he had lied to her when she was the one who made him, him.

If only he could have remembered it all before the King got rid of Valerio’s life. Since it had been his name for the past few months, he much preferred to be called Desmond. It was a name that struck his core rather than what was given as a placeholder.

He thought of presenting himself to Leonor with all the contradictions. Stealing her away from her father yet wanting her to remain the heiress. He wanted to rescue her from a bad place yet he didn’t want her to see him at all.

How could he have it all as King Stephano said when what he could have was nothing?

Each time he thought of standing in front of Leonor, who worshipped his looks whenever they were together, sickness welled up in his stomach. It made it hard to breathe.

Even his mind wasn’t the same. He was reactive and jumpy. The crackling of fire was enough to make him sweat. He tossed and turned and hurt himself from his nightmares.

What if she couldn’t stand him? What was too much for love? She was the only person who had ever loved him that way.

He had been listening to the way people responded to him for months. His irritable personality and how unbelievably ugly he looked. The worst was when people didn’t know if he was dead or alive and only hanging on by mana from the King.

None of what the people said mattered to him. Only what Leonor thought could harm him.

What if she held the same sentiments? She was the product of an environment where people worshipped those who were beautiful. She couldn’t help that she fell for him at the prime of his appearance.

At one point he hoped that meager scars weren’t too much for her. How could he expect her to accept him when he looked like something pieced together in hell? A monster, he was called. A disfigured duke, if they were kind enough to use his title.

King Stephano noticed a sheen of sweat covering the Duke’s skin as he stressed about something he didn’t vocalize.

"Whatever you need," Stephano assured him. "I’ll make you into whoever you need to be. You gave me the kingdom’s trust."

The half of Desmond’s face that remained expressive was so determined. His green eye pierced Stephano and the King became somewhat fearful.

"I want to be powerful," Desmond admitted, his gravelly voice quiet but determined. "Make it so the Count has no choice but to bow to my will. I want Leonor but I want her hard work to be for something."

"That I can do, my friend," Stephano said, standing up and offering the other man his hand to shake. "But you must go to the West and secure your spot as someone worthy of that power."

"Whatever it takes," Desmond responded.

Before Desmond could go to Montclair and establish himself, he needed more allies around him. The best way King Stephano knew to do that was by bringing in trusted help.

There was an aid he used while plotting against the late King who was from Montclair. He knew the ins and outs of the Montclair Estate and had already proven himself to be loyal.

A few days later, Gideon Fairfax appeared before Desmond and Stephano with a flourish as he bowed before them. His clothing was undoubtedly upper-class, though it wasn’t overly adorned. His greying hair was in a neat ponytail at the base of his neck and he had a straight, well-groomed moustache. Perch glasses were on his nose, though he often took them off and put them in his breast pocket.

He was the epitome of an old nobleman. If anyone could truly whip Desmond into shape, it was him.

Before Desmond could control it further, King Stephano took the liberty of telling the older man his situation from beginning to end. The man swore to protect the secrets of the Royal Family with his life and became the Duke’s butler on the spot.

At that point, the new duke had no choice but to keep going forward. His pain levels felt more stable and living was much easier than when he first woke up.

The path wasn’t always linear, but when Duke Desmond arrived in Montclair, he did his best to gain the trust of the people who resided there.

Months passed and many were used to seeing the duke wandering around without anything covering his scars. Even though he did most of his business at night to remain mostly hidden, he was kind to anyone who met him with curiosity.

There were many in the Montclair duchy affected by the war. He wasn’t the only one with permanent scarring - simply the only one who held such a public station. If ridicule could fall on him more than the people who didn’t have the comfortable life or healing that he had, he was perfectly okay with it.

However, the longer he went without covering his scarring and the more he was comfortable looking people in the eye despite his disfigurement, he became overconfident. Though it was his own measure of himself.

Feeling as if he were at the peak of his life, he sent a letter to Count Mikael von Burien requesting his eldest daughter’s hand in marriage.

He expected more of a fight to be put up since he was requesting the Count’s heiress. However, he hadn’t forgotten the way Count Mikael undervalued his daughter.

He was determined to make his home a place she found solace in.

Unfortunately, he needed to see first how she reacted to him. If he was met with fear or disgust, he didn’t know if he could ever be honest with her.

He assured himself that simply having her there and giving her everything she wanted would be enough.

Despite his certainty regarding Leonor, he couldn’t help trembling as they made it closer to Burien County.

The thought of facing her after so long made him unbelievably anxious. He wondered how much she had changed. Would her sapphire eyes still have the same shine? Would he ever be able to hug her again?

He knew he should be thrilled to marry the one woman he gave his heart to, but the rain falling over Burien County felt like a bad omen.