Derek didn't bother knocking at the large wooden door, painted amber, leading to the study of the Duke, his half-brother. As he walked into the cold room, his steps displayed no less confidence than when he walked into a battlefield.
In front of him was a man with hair and eyes similar to his own but not as tall as him. His skin was paler from being cooped up inside the study everyday till the sun went down. To Derek's surprise, they were not alone. Apart from the Duke, whom he was supposed to meet, in a corner sat the commander of Wintern knights, Fredrick Langris, silently sipping his tea. Even though he knew Derek was there, he didn't turn his head around to acknowledge his presence, as if he was trying to hide something. It was a foreboding omen.
"What did you call me for?" Derek asked, turning his gaze to the Duke, who had stood up from his chair as soon as he saw Derek. The way Derek questioned his intentions was a discourtesy, no matter how you view it, but Derek was being thoughtful enough by speaking six whole words in place of a single, cold "What?"
Black hair and blue eyes were the traits of the Wintern family. Though there were some people who had black hair and others who had blue eyes, no person in the empire possessed the combination of the two, the only tether which tied Derek and Leonard together.
"Shouldn't you greet me first? It's been time since we last saw each other." Leonard Wintern, the current Duke, said. He did not hope for Derek to behave like siblings after all these years but exchanging greetings upon coming face to face was a common courtesy between nobles, even if you hated each other to gut.
Even though both of them lived in the same estate, they rarely saw each other. Derek would simply avoid Leonard until it was absolute necessity to meet him and Leonard would comply with his wishes, silently.
"Why, thank you! I would have died of loneliness had you not wished to see me, my lord." Derek replied with a chuckle. The laugh did not express happiness but was meant to humiliate the Duke instead.
Anger flared in Leonard's eyes. Compared to Derek, who always had icy and stoic facial expressions plastered on his face no matter how he felt, Leonard's feelings were quick to show.
"I heard you were frolicking around with an apprentice. Do you have something to say about it?" Leonard seethed, losing all his patience. He had decided not to get angry at Derek before but all his resolution vanished in thin air as soon as Derek opened his mouth.
"I have nothing to say to you." Derek replied, totally uninterested in whatever Leonard wanted to hear from him. His eyes, however, remained trained at the person in the corner of the room, sipping a tea, who didn't even have the courage to meet his eyes.
"I saw everything that unfolded in the training grounds from this window, right here!" Leonard was pointing at the glass window behind him from which the sunlight poured in drowning his desk. "Are you even in your right mind? Playing around, kissing and touching someone who has same body parts as you…don't you find it disgusting?"
"No, I don't." Derek said, without a second's thought. He was smirking. Though he was being absolutely truthful with his answer, he liked how infuriated the Duke became after every word which came out of his mouth. It seemed to him that Leonard still didn't know that he knew everything about what was going on between him and the commander. If he himself was like that, why was he rebuking Derek right now?
"I saw you both making out in the open from this small window in this small room. God knows how many windows like this are in the countless rooms of this mansions and how many eyes were watching you both do…that! Something so…perverted and disgusting! Have you ever thought of what would become of this family's name if the rumors start spreading?"
"Then just don't watch if it disgusts you so much!" Derek scoffed, and continued, "And another thing, concern for the honor of this family? Believe me, that's the last thing I have on my mind whenever I do something. I'm not concerned about it. It's your family, so you protect its name from any blemishes. I don't have to."
"Yes, you're right. You're absolutely right! It's my family and my responsibility. That is why I have prepared for that apprentice to join the southern excursion. While he's away, you'll get time think about your priorities and he could think about his."
"What? You actually plotted it?" Derek remembered how stressed Hansel had been in the morning because of the excursion. To think it was schemed for some petty reasons!
He walked past the table to reach Leonard and grabbed him by his collar. He was furious. Hansel going on an excursion was not that much of an issue but he didn't like Leonard interfering in his love once again. Why was he so determined to ruin his happiness whenever Derek would start getting hopeful that things were going to get better?
He raised a clenched fist and threw it at Leonard, but it didn't get to land on its target. Fredrick had caught it just in time.
"Derek Wintern! Please be aware of who you are and who you are standing before." the commander said in a stern tone. Derek was reluctant to back down but he complied nevertheless. Somehow, he could never disobey the commander. His hand, which was still closed in a tight fist, was lowered. He also unhanded the duke's collar, though it was all crumpled.
"Yes. I won't allow you to be in a relationship of that sort while you still write Wintern next to your name. that sort of illicit relationship between men is something that truly disgusts me. If you're so pent up that you don't care if it is with a man anymore, then just go buy a whore! I don't care. But if you don't listen to me, that apprentice will be the one to suffer." Even though Leonard was acting tough, he trembled while speaking the last line.
It was not because he had been alarmed when Derek raised his fist at him, but because similar words had been spoken to him as well, in the past, when his father was the one sitting on the Duke's chair. But of course, it was a secret known only to himself and his late father.
However, his shivering figure was noticed by both the men standing near him. Derek thought it was because Leonard was flustered due to his ferocious behavior and his gaze softened a little, but it was not the case for Fredrick. A frown formed on his face and he knew the Duke was obviously bothered by something. He didn't point that out in front of Derek though and firmly gripped Leonard's arm, making him aware of his surroundings once more.
"This is something I'm absolutely serious about. And if you won't allow it, I don't need your name anymore." Derek said. Although he was still angry, he was calmer than before. "This time, I absolutely won't lose to the Duke." He declared.
What he said, wasn't meant to indicate his hatred for Leonard but towards the authority of the Duke. Julia, the girl he had loved with all his heart, was snatched away by his father, the former Duke, and given to Leonard. Now Leonard was doing the same thing to him, pulling the strings from background.
The Duke didn't rebuke his statement and Derek too, had nothing left to say to him. He turned around on his heels and promptly left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Leonard and Fredrick were now alone in the room amidst the atmosphere that was tense.
"Why did you lie?" Fredrick asked, releasing Leonard's arm which he was gripping all this time.
"About what?" Leonard asked, rubbing his arm with his other hand because the commander had clenched it too tight.
"You know what." he stated, obviously irritated at the Duke feigning innocence. "It was I who chose the apprentices who would go on excursion and it never had anything to do with you."
Fredrick anticipated the answer but received nothing but silence for Leonard.
"Thank you for giving your time, even though I didn't ask you to. You can go now to attend your other duties." Leonard finally broke the uncomfortable silence but only to irritate Fredrick further. He moved away from him, walking to his desk and arranging the files that he had to work on.
Fredrick knew that he was obviously trying to escape from the conversation. Taking three long strides, he stood behind the Duke.
Leonard obviously noticed the presence behind him but decided to ignore it. However, his heart was beating like crazy inside his chest and there was nothing he could do to control it.
Fredrick, who noticed Leonard's ears redden, held him by his arms and flung him around. The Duke now stood facing him, sandwiched between the commander and his wooden desk.
"Why are you so accomplished at pissing me off?" he asked, caressing Leonard's cheeks with his left thumb. "Huh, Leon?"
The Duke shuddered hearing the nickname. Meanwhile, Fredrick's hands had trailed down all the way to his chest, fiddling with his fingers, his tender flesh from over his shirt, knowing exactly where he would like to get touched. He chuckled watching Leonard's face getting heated up.
"Just stop…?!" Leonard tried to push him away but his hands were captured by the commander in the midair and directed to the small of his neck, holding them in place with his own hands.
"for someone who hates illicit relationship between men, your reactions are quite intriguing. So, I wonder, did you lie when you said that you hated it?" he smirked, taking delight in watching the Duke get flustered as he closed the distance between their faces. "It's fine if you don't want to answer now but I'll drop by again tonight and ask you again. Be prepared to answer all my questions."
He placed a soft kiss on his lips and walked away, leaving the Duke feeling bitter and heavy.
"Just hate me already…" Leonard crouched on the ground, feeling weak. The words had escaped the Duke's lips in an inaudible whisper.