Your Majesty, I’m Not that Man - Chapter 1: Preparing to Escape (3)

As Lavinia concluded her discussion with Robert, a knock came at the sitting room door. A footman announced that the duke’s carriage had arrived. Lavinia turned to Robert.

“Make sure the instructions I gave you are carried out discreetly,” she said firmly.

“You needn’t worry, my lady,” Robert replied with a bow.

Lavinia had ordered Robert to select a capable and stealthy member of the estate’s private guard to monitor Hans. Though Hans was cunning, he lacked martial skills, unlike the skilled soldiers of the Wendell household.

Lavinia was certain Hans would secretly try to track down Albert and persuade him to return. To do so, Hans would likely require a highly skilled mercenary to follow Albert, a swordmaster capable of eluding detection. Hiring such talent required a significant sum, and Lavinia was betting that Hans wouldn’t dare draw from the visible funds in his quarters. He’d likely turn to the wealth he had hidden elsewhere—stolen funds from the duchy.

Lavinia intended to intercept that money.

“Let him in,” she said, signaling the footman to open the door.

“The duke has returned, my lady,” the footman announced with a respectful bow.

Lavinia felt a twinge of unease. Despite being thoroughly manipulated by Hans, Maxim Wendell was still the head of the household and a towering figure in both stature and authority. A man weak only for Hans.

Fittingly, as a BL novel’s backdrop, this world seemed disproportionately populated by male-male relationships.

Suppressing her apprehension, Lavinia hurried to the entrance hall.

There stood Maxim Wendell, an imposing man with a thick mustache and a stern countenance, stepping through the mansion’s grand doors.

“…I’ve been informed,” he began in a low, gravelly voice. “Is it true Albert left only a letter before disappearing?”

“It is,” Lavinia replied. “Belle.”

“Y-yes, my lady…”

Belle, visibly nervous, stepped forward and handed Albert’s letter—the very one Hans had tried to destroy—to the duke. Maxim took it with an unreadable expression, scanning its contents before promptly tearing it to shreds.

“What…?”

Both Belle and the surrounding servants gasped in shock. Lavinia, however, had anticipated this reaction and remained unfazed.

“This pathetic scrap of paper is no proof,” Maxim said coldly. “Where is Albert?”

“Are you seriously asking me to account for a boy who left behind a letter and fled?” Lavinia shot back.

Maxim’s tall frame loomed over her, his sharp gaze pressing down with palpable authority.

“What did you say to him?” he demanded. “What cruelty did you inflict to drive him to write such nonsense and run away?”

“Albert is a swordmaster,” Lavinia said evenly, meeting his gaze. “Unless I had three or four of the most skilled guards in the duchy with me, how could I possibly harm him?”

“Don’t be insolent!” Maxim bellowed. “You know perfectly well how much that boy cares for you! Were you so desperate for the duchy’s heirship that you resorted to this?”

The accusation hung in the air, heavy with implication. Though Lavinia had never openly declared her desire to inherit the title, it was an unspoken truth within the household. Before and after Albert’s arrival, she had never given up hope.

“Do you think I’m doing all this over a single letter, Father?” Lavinia said, her tone cutting. “I have my sources, too. I see and hear everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Maxim asked, his confident demeanor wavering for a moment.

“Hans seems particularly protective of Albert,” Lavinia said, her voice dripping with ice. “You’ve always been quick to anger whenever Hans showed even a hint of closeness with anyone. So why, when it comes to Albert, are you so… lenient?”

Maxim’s face darkened, his mustache twitching as his jaw clenched.

“Are you accusing me of something vile, Lavinia? Do you dare to brand me with the shame of such a relationship?”

“I’ve made no such accusation, Father,” Lavinia replied calmly, her eyes piercing into his. “Hans is nothing but a servant who could be executed for shielding Albert’s lies. And yet, out of respect for his service to you, I refrained from suggesting such a course. It’s only natural that you, mindful of his record, would want to prevent any scandal tied to his name…”

Her words were measured, but their barbs struck deep. Maxim’s face twisted briefly in anger before he turned away. Lavinia’s restraint and the careful construction of her words left him no avenue to retort without incriminating himself.

Lavinia knew she had scored a blow. But she wasn’t done yet.

Hans had once been the consort of another noble before becoming the lover of Duke Maxim Wendell. Most high-ranking nobles were aware of his position in the Wendell household but chose to feign ignorance for the sake of decorum.

After all, even the emperor, Cassion, openly kept dozens of male concubines.

“If only my father had divorced Mother and freed her instead of continuing this farce…”

But Maxim, bound by noble propriety, refused to divorce his wife, Zelenka, the daughter of a viscount. She had been chosen as his wife to shield him from criticism about his preferences. Now, she withered day by day, trapped in an empty marriage.

Lavinia sympathized with Zelenka but held no deep affection for her. Zelenka blamed Lavinia for everything, attributing her unhappiness to Lavinia’s inability to be born a son or to prove herself worthy as an heir. Lavinia had grown weary of her mother’s constant accusations and bitterness.

Had it not been for Maggie, her nanny, Lavinia might have turned out bitter and resentful herself. It was Maggie’s care and support that shaped her resolve to protect the Wendell household’s retainers and staff.

“…Indeed, yes, you are right,” Maxim muttered, his expression dark as he gauged Lavinia’s reaction.

Lavinia could see he was assessing just how much she knew. What Maxim had done—attempting to marry his daughter to a commoner while hiding the truth of his lineage—was a betrayal that even the tyrant emperor Cassion might find despicable.

“If nothing else, Father, Albert must be disowned,” Lavinia said coolly. “Even the mere rumor of his origins is grounds enough to remove him from the family. The sooner we address this, the better for the family’s reputation.”

“Hrm… But disowning him could fan the flames of gossip,” Maxim countered, his tone defensive. “Where is Hans? He must be devastated by this news.”

Maxim’s evasiveness was transparent, and his concern for Hans was obvious.

“Even now, all you care about is your lover,” Lavinia thought bitterly, though her face remained composed.

“Then how about this, Father?” she said, her voice as sharp as a blade. “Why not simply send someone to kill Albert? That would keep the rumors contained.”

“What?!” Maxim exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror.

“Albert may be a swordmaster, but we have five swordmasters among our household’s guards. Sending just three of them would be sufficient to eliminate him before word spreads.”

“Leni… my dear Leni, think this through. There’s no solid evidence. Are we really going to kill him based on a single letter?”

“Leave Hans out of it, then,” Lavinia continued, ignoring Maxim’s protests. “He may care for Albert, but at the end of the day, Albert is nothing to him. It’s better to deal with this quietly than to let a scandal erupt.”

Maxim’s hesitation was palpable. While he understood the logic in Lavinia’s suggestion, his attachment to Hans—and by extension, Albert—held him back. If Albert were killed, Maxim feared Hans might leave him.

“Leni… Have you forgotten the bond you and Albert share? You grew up together—surely that counts for something?”

At those words, the anger Lavinia had been suppressing surged dangerously close to the surface. A bond? You barely paid attention to Albert—let alone to me!

“I tolerated him,” Lavinia replied, her voice laced with cold fury. “Despite his being less capable than me, solely because he was a man. And now, not only is he a fraud, but rumors of his commoner origins and deceit are spreading. Yet you still expect me to accept him as my fiancé?”

Maxim opened his mouth to respond but faltered.

“If we end our engagement, Albert will no longer be eligible to inherit the Wendell title. I assume that disinheritance will follow naturally. For the sake of the duchy’s honor, I’ll take responsibility for ending the engagement. I’ll ensure the rumors place the blame squarely on me, and I’ll leave the disinheritance process to you, Father.”

Maxim’s thoughts turned to Hans, his face tightening with unease. He feared Hans’s reaction, knowing the man would be furious. Still, Maxim couldn’t entirely oppose Lavinia.

After all, Albert’s letter had made the truth undeniable. The duchy had every right to put a bounty on Albert or dispatch soldiers to kill him if necessary.

“Perhaps this isn’t such a bad outcome,” Maxim mused privately. “If I protect Albert too openly, Hans will feel secure enough to leave me. This way, I can ensure Hans stays by my side.”

Maxim’s reluctance to proceed with Albert and Lavinia’s marriage had always been rooted in this fear. Once Albert and Lavinia had their first child, Hans could use the scandal of Albert’s origins to blackmail the family and sever his ties with Maxim.

Lavinia’s proposal offered an escape from that looming threat.

Maxim loved Hans, but he was painfully aware that his feelings were unrequited. The clarity of Hans’s indifference was sharpened by the depth of Maxim’s affection. Hans’s priorities were clear—himself and Albert, and no one else.

“This is the only way to keep Hans by my side,” Maxim thought bitterly.

Lavinia, observing Maxim’s brooding expression, narrowed her eyes. He appeared to be swayed by her words for now, but the moment Hans spoke, he might change his stance again.

Lavinia decided to make her next move.

“…Hans seemed quite shaken, so I had him confined to his quarters to rest,” Lavinia said smoothly. “Knowing how much you care for him, I instructed the servants to handle him gently. There’s no need to worry.”

“Was he truly so upset?” Maxim asked, his tone laced with concern.

“He’s resting for now. But since Hans cherishes Albert so deeply, he might resist the decision to disinherit him. It would be better to resolve the matter of Albert’s status before you see Hans again. You can decide then whether Albert should… live or not.”

Lavinia’s words about Albert’s survival hung in the air like a blade.

Albert was not yet in custody, but the duchy could easily circulate his face and name at key checkpoints throughout the empire, issuing a bounty for his capture or death. Even though Maxim had torn Albert’s letter to pieces, witnesses had already heard its contents when Belle read it aloud.

Maxim began weighing his options. Perhaps it would be better to use Albert’s case as leverage to keep Hans permanently by his side. Albert’s own confession was proof enough for the duchy to justify its actions, whether it chose to exile or kill him.

For a moment, Maxim regretted tearing up the letter.

Lavinia noticed his gaze lingering on the shredded pieces of the letter, tinged with a hint of regret. She realized he had reached a decision.

“…For now,” she said carefully, testing the waters, “we can tell the staff and others that you are occupied with urgent matters elsewhere, Father. It will explain your delay in addressing this.”

Maxim nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll leave this matter in your hands. The disinheritance should only take a day or two to finalize.”

With Maxim retreating to his quarters, resolved to let Lavinia handle things, she called for a servant to gather the scattered pieces of Albert’s letter.

Though Maxim had dismissed it as useless, Lavinia wasn’t so sure.

“It may not seem important now, but one day, this might serve as critical evidence,” she thought, her expression unreadable.

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