Keeping the Yandere Duke in check chapter 51

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“If you bring that up again, next time it won’t end with just a single foot.”

Hernan smirked, his lips curling as he watched my attempt to threaten him, clearly unfazed.

“I’m looking forward to it. You always manage to surprise me at the most unexpected times, Mr. Everdeen.”

I scoffed, turning my head away.

Surprising him wasn’t my concern.

What was I trying to say again?

Hernan had thrown me off by taking the conversation in such an odd direction that my mind went completely blank.

After pressing my lips together and thinking for a moment, I finally remembered what I wanted to say.

“So, are you going to keep that portrait as it is?”

When I bluntly asked again, Hernan curved his lips and answered, “If you think it’s better to take it down, feel free to break it and use it for firewood.”

I wasn’t asking him to make such an extreme statement.

I replied with a slight frown.

“Then I’ll bring in an artist.”

Who’s even available for this right now?

I couldn’t just ask anyone to paint the Grand Duke’s portrait.

I needed someone reputable, with standing in either the art or political world, and someone who could work quickly.

As I pondered my options, Hernan tilted his head in confusion.

“What does hiring an artist have to do with taking down the previous Grand Duke’s portrait?”

What do you mean?

We can’t leave that space blank, can we?

It’s not like I can get a life-sized portrait painted in under three weeks, so it wouldn’t be ready by this visit.

Still, I intended to make sure it was done in time for the opening of the Velon branch.

“We can’t just leave the lobby empty, can we?”

It’s common practice to hang a portrait of the family’s patriarch or their favored relatives in the center of the staircase that leads from the second floor to the main hall on the first floor.

Families that want to show off their unity often have group portraits hung there.

‘The Everdeen family has a portrait of the current Viscount and Viscountess of Everdeen up there.’

The Viscount had been fantasizing about replacing it with a portrait of me and my future spouse once I got married, but since I had no intention of getting married for at least the next five years, that wasn’t happening anytime soon.

With a suitable model like Hernan, there would be plenty of volunteers to paint the portrait.

As I thought about who to contact first, Hernan asked an absurd question.

“Does there really need to be something hanging there?”

Was he serious? I raised an eyebrow and answered, “Yes.”

“Hmmm…”

What’s with that ‘hmmm’? I answered firmly, “I’ll find someone appropriate.”

Hernan hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly cleared his throat and asked with an embarrassed expression, “Then, how about leaving the former Grand Duke’s portrait there for now?”

“For how long, exactly?”

When I pressed him for a timeframe, Hernan stumbled over his words, clearly flustered.

“About three years…”

Three years?

Absolutely not. I shot him down immediately.

“Let’s change it within half a year. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”

I still had to discuss the dinner course with the chef and a mountain of other tasks.

I was already busy enough without wasting more time on this.

As I neatly concluded the conversation and turned to leave, Hernan quickly stepped in front of me.

“No, wait, just a moment!”

“What now?”

I looked up at him with an expression that seemed to say, “You have 10 seconds, so make it quick.” Hernan mumbled as he avoided my gaze.

“Do we really have to change it?”

Why was he being so stubborn about this?

He had even said I could use the portrait for firewood, so it didn’t seem like he had any particular reverence for his father.

Running out of time and patience, I stared him straight in the eye and asked,

“Is there a reason we shouldn’t? Frankly, even from an aesthetic standpoint, hanging the Grand Duke’s portrait would be far more fitting.”

As much as I disliked Hernan, I had to admit that his face was objectively handsome.

That was a fact, no matter how much I wanted to deny it.

“So… it’s just that, well…”

“If you’re just going to keep going in circles, I’ll be leaving now.”

I cut him off with a curt tone, ready to turn around again, when he finally mumbled,

“I just thought… it might make me look too young.”

“What?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

What’s wrong with looking young?

This guy had the strangest insecurities.

But whatever his reasons, it didn’t seem like there was any more serious issue.

I grabbed his face with both hands and growled.

“Looking young or not, your face will be up there, and that’s final. So stop whining. Don’t you trust my judgment?”

As a professional, I knew what would look best.

I couldn’t understand why he was wasting time worrying about such trivial things.

Only after I firmly scolded him did Hernan shake his head with a still slightly dissatisfied expression.

“Then just do as you usually do and say yes. I’ll make sure your face looks as good as it possibly can.”

Humph.

I tousled his hair, which was annoyingly perfect, and left the office before he could delay me any longer.

I had to make up for the time I’d lost.

With the opening of the Velon branch just a week away and preparations for the banquet, I had no time to waste.

---

After Jurgen stormed out, Hernan also set aside the mountain of paperwork on his desk and rubbed his aching temples.

“…Sigh.”

‘Why did I have to say something so ridiculous?’

Having always been an outsider within the family, he’d never imagined he’d be someone worthy of having his portrait hung in such a prominent place.

Worried that his lack of aristocratic refinement would be exposed, he had blurted out whatever came to mind.

Although, to be fair, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

He did worry about looking too young in front of Jurgen, who had turned down countless marriage offers from younger suitors.

‘Still, I could’ve come up with a better excuse.’

Regret hit him, but it was too late. With a gloomy expression, Hernan sighed as an all-too-familiar voice echoed in his head.

[If you have time to brood, get back to work, you fool.]

Hernan imagined the old dragon waving a staff in his head and obediently pulled his chair closer to his desk.

[You brought this on yourself.]

The dragon’s mocking tone suggested it was all his fault. But despite the grumbling, Hernan grabbed his quill and continued signing the documents.

“You could’ve done a better job when you were the regent.”

The former Grand Duke of Velon had been in a coma for seven years, during which the regency had been under the command of Yudenet, a powerful yet ill-tempered sorcerer.

Taking advantage of the weakening of the former tyrant, the provinces had descended into chaos.

Even though it hadn’t been peaceful before, the Grand Duke’s authority had at least kept the local lords in check.

[How could I do more when I was confined to this wretched castle?]

At the very least, those who knew of his existence wouldn’t dare think they could deceive a dragon and get away with it.

He could simply freeze them solid.

But for those sending messages from afar, even if they lied, he couldn’t go after them, leaving him with no real answer.

Hernan had hoped that things might improve when he rose to the position of Grand Duke as the young king, but he was soon given another order to go to war.

‘I will return to Velon alive no matter what.’

He had clenched his teeth and endured the freezing battlefield, wiping out monsters and barely returning to his estate about three months ago.

The castle he inherited, vast and unnecessarily filthy, felt like a place no one would accept even if given for free.

And yet, that was the crown Hernan now bore.

“There is no grave without a story.”

[How rude.]

While Iudainet sneered, Hernan let out a brief sigh, picking up his quill again to sign off on the budget allocations for the regions that needed support.

[Shall I check on what he’s doing right now for you?]

Iudainet, apparently bored with Hernan’s silent writing, suddenly asked.

Hernan’s ears perked up instinctively but he quickly responded as if unaffected.

“It’s fine. He’s probably working. With a very high likelihood.”

[Hmph. That man will die working.]

Considering the dragon’s sharp tone, it was probably true.

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