RHFTY chapter 26

“Take your hands off.”

The gaze directed at me was fierce. To be precise, the fierce stare wasn’t aimed at Chaeyi, but rather at Ferdinand.

‘What’s going on?’

As the tension of a fight began to brew, the people inside the shop panicked, either hiding or already fleeing outside. However, despite Leonard’s sudden and hostile glare, Ferdinand appeared unperturbed. On the contrary, he met Leonard’s glare head-on with equal intensity.

What on earth is happening here…?

Chaeyi, clueless about the situation, glanced back and forth between Leonard and Ferdinand, who were in a standoff.

Suddenly, Ferdinand looked over at Chaeyi, and their eyes met. In the next moment, Ferdinand smiled mischievously, as if he’d just realized something.

Then, he draped an arm around Chaeyi’s shoulder and leaned in close.

“…?”

The two were of similar height, so with just a slight tilt of his head, Ferdinand’s face was almost touching Chaeyi’s.

Chaeyi, not understanding his intent, tried to step back to create some distance, but only for a moment.

“Ugh…!”

Ferdinand let out a short groan as he was pushed away. Chaeyi’s eyes widened in surprise. In an instant, a hand had reached out to separate Chaeyi and Ferdinand.

By the time Chaeyi realized it was Leonard, Ferdinand was already being grabbed by the collar, and before anyone could make a move, the two were releasing pheromones, threatening each other.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, Ferdinand smirked savagely and taunted Leonard.

“What? Thinking about hitting me?”

“…”

“Go ahead if you want.”

It was a clear provocation.

Leonard didn’t respond, but from the look in his eyes, it seemed like he would have beaten him to a pulp if given the chance.

Despite the ferocity, Ferdinand maintained his brazen expression, seemingly unafraid.

But seriously…

‘Why are they suddenly fighting?’

Chaeyi, caught between the two as they began to fight out of nowhere, could only be baffled by the unexpected situation.

‘Do they know each other?’

Putting that aside… why is Leonard, who should be at the mansion, here?

It was one incomprehensible situation after another.

“Get lost.”

Leonard shoved Ferdinand back, shielding Chaeyi behind his back as he let go of Ferdinand’s collar.

Ferdinand, ignoring the warning, adjusted his clothes with a sneer. With a lifted chin, he looked quite arrogant.

“So, that’s what this is about. Now I understand, the identity of that beta… How did I not think of that before?”

“Don’t get involved.”

“Ha! I don’t want to. Whether I take an interest in him or not is my business; what’s it to you?”

Even Chaeyi, who didn’t know why they were acting this way, found Ferdinand’s attitude annoying.

It was clear he was deliberately provoking Leonard.

“…..”

Leonard’s expression grew fiercer, struggling to control his emotions. His glare at Ferdinand was icy cold.

The more intense his aura became, the paler the faces of the people in the shop grew.

While Chaeyi could maintain composure due to a strong mental fortitude and unwavering trust in Leonard, others were not so lucky.

Chaeyi gently patted Leonard’s back, signaling him to calm down. This softened his harsh demeanor noticeably.

Ferdinand gave Chaeyi a last lingering glance before smirking.

“See you next time, Chaeyi.”

After that brief commotion, Ferdinand left…

A cold silence settled over the shop. Leonard still seemed displeased, glaring darkly at the entrance, causing people to be too cautious to move.

They thought, if that man’s threatening pheromones turned on them, they might actually faint.

They wished someone would break the tension. As everyone in the shop shared this thought…

“Oh. This looks good on you.”

An energetic voice, out of place in the tense atmosphere, broke the silence.

It was Chaeyi’s voice.

“Or how about this one? You look handsome no matter what you wear.”

Chaeyi was standing next to Leonard, who stood there blankly, adorning his hair with pretty hairpins. To the people watching, it seemed like Chaeyi was trying to lighten Leonard’s mood.

But in reality, Chaeyi had no such intention.

In any case, the situation had been resolved, and since the person Chaeyi wanted to give a gift to had shown up, Chaeyi was simply continuing what he had been doing earlier.

If the outcome was good, all was well. As if winter had passed and spring had arrived, Leonard softened, fiddling with the hairpins and looking at Chaeyi.

“…Why all of a sudden?”

“Oh, I was planning to buy you a gift. Don’t you think hairpins are nice? You can use them when your bangs get in the way. Or do you want to choose for yourself?”

“No, I’m fine with anything. Just pick whatever you want to give me.”

“Really? Then let’s see what I can pick.”

As Leonard stuck close to Chaeyi, chatting, the heavy atmosphere quickly became peaceful. It was as if they were in a world of their own.

Seeing the change, those who had been watching began to move quietly. Enoch, who had also been observing quietly, backed away to avoid disturbing the two.

Thanks to Chaeyi’s unintentional actions, the tense situation was defused without anyone noticing.

“By the way… Leo.”

Just then, a question popped into Chaeyi’s mind. Picking up a pretty brooch from the display, he asked.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you still be working? I thought you were busy since you didn’t ask me to come with you.”

“…I finished earlier than expected, so I came to see you.”

“Really? Is that so?”

Although the brief pause seemed suspicious, Chaeyi didn’t dwell on it and fastened the brooch to Leonard’s collar. Indeed, gold accessories go well with a black uniform.

As Chaeyi was admiring his handiwork, Leonard reached out, gently cupping Chaeyi’s cheek. When Chaeyi looked up, their eyes met.

“Chaeyi. Did that guy do anything weird earlier? Was he rude or tried to hit you…?”

“Oh, you mean Ferdinand?”

Chaeyi pondered for a moment, rolling his eyes.

Given his status, he had been the one being rude and even twisted Ferdinand’s wrist; nothing had happened to him, really.

Though he was threatened with pheromones and nearly got hit, it wasn’t something Chaeyi would be particularly concerned about.

“It’s okay. Nothing like that happened.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’m not the type to let myself get pushed around. But why are you and Ferdinand on such bad terms?”

Recalling the earlier incident, Chaeyi asked casually. Leonard, after a moment of silence, let out a small sigh.

“There was an incident.”

“What kind of incident?”

“At one point, the Duke of Combest proposed me a potential fiancée for me.”

Chaeyi pursed his lips and watched Leonard’s reaction. The Duke of Combest was Leonard’s father.

Yet, Leonard referred to him not as “father,” but as the Duke of Combest.

The way he addressed him as a stranger subtly conveyed how deep Leonard’s feelings of estrangement towards his family ran.

While Chaeyi was lost in thought, Leonard continued.

“He’s a year older than me, so we’re about the same age, and our social statuses match. The Duke probably thought it would benefit the family.”

“I see.”

“But I have no intention of getting engaged to anyone else… And, above all, I couldn’t stand his attitude. We ended up having a huge fight. Since then, things have been tense between us.”

“So, that’s what happened.”

In short, it meant that Ferdinand and Leonard had become distant because of a quarrel they had.

When Leonard mentioned an incident, I thought it might have been something serious, but it turned out to be a rather cute reason.

Then, suddenly struck by a passing thought, Chaeyi mulled over Leonard’s words.

‘He said he has no intention of getting engaged with anyone else…? Does that mean there is someone specific he wants to be engaged to?’

Honestly, it might just have been an overreaction due to a subtle difference in nuance.

However, for some reason, Chaeyi couldn’t shake off those words from his mind.

‘If he really has someone in his heart, who could it be? It’s still too early for Leo’s omega mate to appear…’

Leonard and his future omega mate were supposed to meet for the first time at a banquet hosted by the Lancaster family.

While the exact date of the banquet was unknown, what was certain was that it had ‘not yet’ been held.

If the banquet had taken place, many nobles would have been invited to the mansion, making it impossible to miss, but there hadn’t been any such event.

Therefore, it was unlikely that the two had already met.

‘That’s strange.’

But it wasn’t Chaeyi’s personal affair, and thinking too deeply about it wouldn’t change anything.

Besides, it was probably just needless interference that Leonard wouldn’t appreciate. And Leonard was grown enough to handle things on his own.

‘If it’s not a misunderstanding, Leo will tell me who it is when he feels like it.’

Chaeyi decided not to get too involved in Leonard’s romantic affairs anymore.