Chapter 10

The young man seemed not to have expected Ruan Tang to ask this question; after a pause, he shook his head.

It was as if he was answering Ruan Tang: his face had not always been like this.

“Your face… Could it be the Duke?” Ruan Tang looked at the wound on his face, feeling it was a fresh wound. Thinking of something, he blurted out the question, then stopped himself, realizing he had spoken out of turn.

About his own husband, this Bluebeard Duke whose ferocious reputation spread far across the Imperial Star, Ruan Tang had heard many terrifying rumors.

One of them said that after this Crown Prince was disfigured and disabled, his temperament changed drastically, becoming violent and perverse. Because of his own disability, he could no longer stand to see whole and unblemished people.

Thus, except for the old butler sent to him by the Queen, there were no longer any able-bodied people around him or in his ducal palace…

Only when people with physical disabilities as severe as his own served him could he feel pleasure.

Even his service robots were not fully functional. His mansion only hired and employed disabled people. If a healthy, intact person came to work in his mansion, they too would become disabled.

There were rumors that the Duke himself had done it…

Disfigurement was also a kind of disability…

Ruan Tang looked at Seth and felt that he seemed new, and the injury on his face appeared recent, so his mind inevitably made this deduction.

The young man seemed not to have expected him to ask this either. After slightly lowering his eyes, he shook his head and said, “…No, Your Grace.”

Ruan Tang, looking at his timid and clumsy demeanor, didn’t know if his “no” was the truth or if he dared not speak out of fear of the ferocious reputation of Ruan Tang’s husband.

He didn’t want to say more, so Ruan Tang didn’t press further. He just sighed softly and said, “…I can see that the wound on your face hasn’t healed well. It seems to be a bit infected, rather unsightly. If you go out to serve looking like this, the butler is likely to scold you…”

“I have a medical kit in my luggage with medicine. Bring it to me, and I’ll treat it for you.”

Life was hard, especially in today’s society after genetic modification and Abo gender differentiation; the gap between rich and poor was particularly vast.

Most of society’s wealth was held by nobles and Alphas and Omegas. Betas from the slums, with their short lifespans, were already inferior from birth, so to speak.

Although the Ducal Palace was gloomy and terrifying, the pay for working there was generous. Turning oneself from a normal person into a disabled one in exchange for a chance to work at the Ducal Palace was an inconceivable thing in the eyes of Alphas and Omegas.

But Ruan Tang, after understanding the situation, knew that this was a very normal thing for Betas from the slums.

Many of them couldn’t even afford to eat. To have enough food and clothing, they would make themselves no longer whole, trading one thing for another—it was far too normal for them.

Ruan Tang deeply sympathized with them, but “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” In such an environment, with such an identity, aside from being kinder and gentler to them…

Ruan Tang also knew he couldn’t do more for them, couldn’t change this world.

The young man named Seth seemed not to have expected Ruan Tang to say or do this, but after a moment of daze, he obediently found the medical kit Ruan Tang had brought from his luggage and handed it to Ruan Tang.

Ruan Tang directly told him to sit down and carefully examined Seth’s face—wounded by something unknown, covered with festering granulations and hideous scars, still oozing clear fluid.

The man’s back was ramrod straight. Under the direct gaze of the Omega before him, Seth noticed for the first time that not only did this Omega have excellent skin and a distinctive scent, but his eyes were also especially beautiful—jet-black orbs like the sky of a deep, starless night, calm and profound, like rare obsidian.

It made one unable to resist the desire to gouge out these beautiful eyes, claim them for oneself, and keep them as a gem collection.

But no, these eyes were so full of lively radiance and vivid brightness—feared that once plucked out, they would never have such luster again…

How could one pluck out these eyes while preserving their current beauty?

Seth fell into deep thought in his mind.

Ruan Tang, completely unaware of the thoughts in the man’s mind, had already soaked a cotton pad with disinfectant and began to clean and disinfect the festering areas on the young man’s face.

He was very careful, but the wounds on the young man’s face were truly too horrific; no matter how careful he was, his constant movements still tugged at the young man’s wounds…

It pulled the young man out of his thoughts, and he frowned, letting out a “Sss–” sound.

Seth almost immediately felt a surge of anger.

“Sorry, did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to. I’ll be more careful…” Ruan Tang, focused entirely on the wound on his face, completely unaware of the thoughts in his heart, apologized profusely when he saw him in pain, and made his movements even gentler. “Actually, I don’t have much experience cleaning wounds like this.”

Seth met his eyes—so tender they could not be more tender, calm eyes that had ignored his hideous scars from start to finish. For some reason, the violence in his heart vanished in an instant.

He gently shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt, Your Grace.”

Looking at the Omega before him, whose gaze toward his face had been consistently quiet and peaceful, without a trace of shock or fear, regarding it with a normal heart, his heart stirred slightly, and he couldn’t help but feel a hint of curiosity toward this Omega.

Even his own birth mother, when she first saw his face as it was now, had screamed out loud, unable to suppress the disgust and revulsion in her eyes.

Not to mention the Omegas he had met—even with their utmost pretenses, they couldn’t control the fear and horror that showed on their faces after seeing his.

But Ruan Tang, after seeing his face, aside from initial surprise, had from start to finish shown not a hint of fear, panic, or revulsion…

He had been calm throughout, as if he were a normal person.

And Seth could tell he was not pretending.

All of this made Seth intensely curious about Ruan Tang.

“…Your Grace, my face—aren’t you afraid of it?” The young man looked back at Ruan Tang and asked directly.

Ruan Tang hadn’t expected him to ask this. He paused, then said, “Afraid? Why would I be afraid?”

“…Because, this face of mine is very ugly, very disgusting.” When mentioning his face, Seth’s tone was very calm.

He still remembered that after waking up from his severe injuries, the first thing he saw was his mother. Weak and expectant, he looked at his mother, reached out his hand wanting to be close to her, wanting her to hold him.

But his mother, after seeing his face, let out a hysterical scream of terror and fear: “Ah! His face, how did his face become like this? How could it become like this… Quickly treat him, treat him! I don’t want to look at him…”

“What? It can’t be cured? It can’t be cured, then why is he still alive? Why is he still alive…”

Although the memory was very distant, he still had an indelible impression of how disgusting and ugly his own face was. Therefore, he was especially curious why Ruan Tang could look upon such a face with calmness.

“What’s so ugly or disgusting about it? You’re just injured, that’s all—it’s not a big deal…” Ruan Tang looked at the young man calmly.

Actually, he truly didn’t think there was anything wrong with the young man’s face. After seeing too much ugliness beneath beautiful skins, he had always valued inner qualities more.

Beauty or ugliness of appearance really meant nothing to him.

However, thinking that since the young man had asked, although his tone had revealed nothing, his heart must still be very concerned and self-conscious about how his face looked now.

Ruan Tang, though he hadn’t wanted to say much more, still added a few words in hopes of comforting the young man: “Appearance doesn’t matter. I’ve met many people with gorgeous exteriors but hearts as venomous as snakes and scorpions. Inner kindness is what truly matters… I believe that someday you will meet someone who truly likes you and find happiness…”

“Someone who truly likes me? Find happiness?” On hearing this, Seth let out a mocking, scornful laugh.

How could someone like him ever be liked?

Besides, he didn’t need anyone’s liking…

“Believe in yourself, you will definitely meet one.” Seeing him like this, Ruan Tang assumed he was so self-abased that he despaired of life, so he encouraged him: “Actually, being born with good looks isn’t necessarily a good thing, because good looks can attract many people with false feelings… making one lose sight of the truth, unable to see genuine hearts, and unable to seek true happiness.”

Just like himself—so-called love at first sight was nothing but lust at first sight, making it hard for him to find a sincere person.

Ruan Tang’s voice was soft and gentle: “On the contrary, when your appearance is flawed and you have nothing, that’s when you can glimpse true feelings. Because someone who loves you at that time must love your soul.”

Such feelings, rare to encounter, are the ones to be yearned for and envied.

Seth hadn’t expected Ruan Tang to say this to him. No one had ever said such things to him before. He stared fixedly at Ruan Tang for a good while, confirming that every word Ruan Tang spoke came from the heart—apparently he truly thought this way and wasn’t just humoring him. Suddenly, he said, “…Your Grace, you are very strange.”

And truly especially beautiful.

Suddenly, he felt that he didn’t dislike this Omega anymore.

“Thank you for the compliment.” Seth wasn’t the first person to call him strange, but Ruan Tang didn’t think “strange” was a derogatory term.

Because every person living in this world is a special, irreproducible individual, and he didn’t want to change himself to become like others just to gain something.

Nor did he want others to become like him.

Ruan Tang didn’t see Duke Auston, his nominal husband, for the entire day. Instead, after breakfast, he had Seth lead him around the mansion to familiarize himself with the environment.