However, Yuan could never easily forget the events of the day.
Yuan Hampton. The most beautiful man in the world. Yet, his dazzling appearance was matched by his intellect, genius, and character. He was a superhumanly perfect being. So, it was hardly surprising that an older man had fallen in love with Yuan.
"Goodness… Even so, that man is Cecil's father!"
Upon returning home, Yuan shook his head in exasperation as he loosened his bothersome cravat. A white parrot, hovering above his head, fluttered down to perch on his shoulder.
"Did you meet Cecil, Marquis?"
The parrot, created by Yuan's magic, asked smoothly. Yuan lay down on a long sofa, his face contorted in a grimace.
"I couldn't meet her today either. It's been a whole month already."
"Oh, how unfortunate!"
"I actually noticed from the first day. The servants in that household seemed like my followers. They were making a fuss just to say one more word to me or catch my eye even once."
Yuan let out a tired sigh.
"Now I see it was Duke Blake who was interfering. He must have been scared that if Cecil met me again, she would immediately accept my proposal."
Lowering his silver-threaded eyelashes, he muttered gloomily.
"Why am I so beautiful and perfect…?"
Let me reiterate here: Yuan Hampton was, truly, genuinely, an extraordinarily strange guy.
A pathological narcissist intoxicated by his own brilliance. That's how Gillen described Yuan, and it was true. However, from Yuan's perspective, the circumstances that led to Gillen's "0 confessions, 1 rejection" today were entirely natural and inevitable, unrelated to his narcissism.
Let's go back to the first meeting between Yuan and Gillen.
As a reward for his great achievements in the war, the genius wizard Yuan was personally granted a marquis title and a fief by the emperor. It was merely a single-generation title, but even so, he had instantly joined the ranks of high nobility.
Yuan, who had considered his social status the only flaw in his perfect life, immediately bought a grand mansion in the capital. He promptly created assistants and other servants, and even acquired a splendid carriage. Although he used to wear sack-like clothes and a wizard's robe every day because he shone brightly no matter what he wore, he now felt that wouldn't do. So, he had clothes tailored for various occasions at a dressmaker's.
After spending a month preparing to fit the part of a noble, Yuan headed to the Blake ducal residence with a bouquet of flowers. It was a hundred roses, preserved with magic to never wilt.
Cecilia Blake. The time he spent with her was brief, but Yuan was certain that if there was anyone in the world worthy of being his match, it was her alone. In his memories, Cecilia was prettier than any other girl he had ever seen and as bold as he was. Moreover, they had made a promise in their childhood: that when the time came, they would definitely marry.
In truth, if he set his mind to it, he could have gone to propose to Cecilia at any time. The only thing holding him back was that she was the most noble girl in the empire, second only to the imperial women.
When he asked the old master of the magic tower, he was told that nobles only married among themselves. Apparently, a duke wouldn't even glance at a lower noble. When Yuan asked how to become a noble worthy of a duke, the old man jokingly said, "Perhaps by achieving a feat grand enough to annex another empire into the Moore Empire."
So, Yuan did exactly that. In the prolonged war against the Sasara Empire, he brought Sasara to its knees and turned it into a vassal state of the Moore Empire. It was an immense achievement, tantamount to conquering an entire continent.
Yuan planned to say this the moment he saw Cecilia:
"Cecil, do you remember me? It's Yuan. I brought you a continent. Now I'll marry you."
In his imagination, Cecilia shed tears of emotion and kissed his feet. She even fainted in awe at the sight of the hundred unwilting roses.
The fantasy was perfect. It could have come true if he hadn't run into a burly older man the moment he stepped into the ducal residence.
"Yuan Hampton…?"
It was Duke Gillen Blake. The father Cecilia had boasted about endlessly in the past. Yuan also remembered seeing this dignified man standing near the imperial family when he received his title from the emperor. So, Yuan tried to show respect to the man who would become his father-in-law.
"Yes, but why are you here…?! Has the time already come? This is a problem. Cecil isn't ready yet—no, this isn't the time."
But Gillen, pale as a ghost, started muttering to himself like a madman before suddenly asking Yuan if he'd like to take a walk.
That's when it began. The strange dates with Gillen.
Yes, dates. There was no other way to describe those moments.
Every time Yuan visited, Gillen pestered him to stroll through the garden together. Not only that, they drank tea and dined together. They even rode horses into the forest once. Gillen dragged out the time with boring stories Yuan had no interest in.
He was constantly anxious that Yuan might leave, endlessly gauging Yuan's expressions and trying to please him. Releasing pheromones aggressively was a given, and he even tested Yuan by saying, "You're a handsome, charming alpha who must be popular, so why do you keep coming to our house?"
Even the densest person would realize someone was interested in them at that point, but unfortunately, Yuan was far from dense. With his exceptional insight and judgment, there was no way he could miss it.
If he had followed his temper, he would have politely rejected Gillen on the first day ("Mister, I'm not interested, so please stop talking to me"). But because Gillen was Cecilia's father, Yuan endured it, albeit reluctantly. That had been going on for a month.
But today was just too blatant! It was beyond what he could tolerate.
Yuan could overlook being dragged to the garden under some pretext, but following him to the bathroom was definitely crossing a line.
The moment Yuan said enough was enough:
"Actually, I didn't want to go either. I just lied because I didn't want to be apart from you."
"Ha!"
Yuan scoffed at the memory of Gillen.
"Didn't want to be apart? Why not just ask me to marry you?"
At Yuan's biting mutter, the parrot chirped gleefully.
"Why not just ask me to marry you? Why not just ask me to marry you?"
"You think it's ridiculous too, don't you?"
"Yeah, totally ridiculous. Cheer up, Marquis! You're going to be Cecil's groom!"
"You're right. That mister got rejected anyway, so he probably won't pester me anymore."
Yuan spoke in a slightly softened tone, stroking the parrot's head with his finger. But a few days later, it became clear that this was a delusion of Yuan, who lived by propriety and common sense.
*
The next time he visited the ducal residence, he was determined to meet Cecil no matter what. With that resolve, Yuan headed to the city's shopping district to buy a gift for her.
In his memories, Cecil had said she liked green grapes. But bringing actual green grapes would be the epitome of tackiness.
"Me, the stylish Marquis Yuan Hampton, will show what kind of choice I make."
With that thought, Yuan entered the largest jewelry store in the city. A month ago, he had placed a custom order there. He had requested dozens of diamonds to be cut into round shapes and strung together to resemble grapes. He, the genius wizard, planned to add the final touch by infusing the diamonds with the color of green grapes.
"Capturing a woman's heart like this. I, who naturally stirs envy in other men just by existing, have done it again."
Yuan praised himself as he asked the staff to call the manager.
"Would you mind waiting here for a moment?"
A cute male employee guided Yuan to a waiting room sofa with a friendly smile, subtly exuding omega pheromones that clearly showed his intent to flirt.
Yuan gave a magnanimous smile and sat down. But inwardly, he was slightly irritated.
Since yesterday, it feels like everyone and their dog is hitting on me. They don't know their place.
Still, this employee was somewhat better. He seemed around Yuan's age. The truly shameless one was Duke Blake, that mister. His appearance was decent enough, but his hair was starting to gray. How could he think to woo someone as vibrant as Yuan?
Yuan's eyes narrowed into triangles. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it was. Just then, he noticed the back of a head on the sofa across from him—black hair mixed with white strands, which reminded him even more of Duke Blake.
At that moment, another employee emerged from the back, bowed politely to the middle-aged man seated there, and presented a stack of papers as if offering a tribute.
"Here's the new jewelry catalog. Madame Fleur instructed us to show it to Your Grace first."
"Ah, I appreciate the consideration. Cecil will choose, but I'll take a look until my daughter arrives."
"Yes, please take your time."
The employee bowed once more and withdrew.
Yuan overheard their conversation and furrowed his brow. It really was Duke Blake? Did he know I'd be here? But hearing that Cecilia was coming soon suggested otherwise.
Yuan hesitated for a moment before standing up. Then he walked over to the sofa in front.
"Good day, Duke."