Chapter 15

Ruan Tang shot him a surprised glance, not expecting that he wouldn't have a fit.

Throughout the entire breakfast, whatever Ruan Tang ate, Auston followed suit and ate the same, and the atmosphere grew remarkably harmonious.

So harmonious that Ruan Tang nearly felt that this legendary Bluebeard Duke wasn't all that mad after all—there were even many moments when he seemed perfectly normal.

And clearly, Ruan Tang wasn't the only one who felt that way; Butler Andre thought the same...

Seeing the harmonious atmosphere and that Ruan Tang and Auston were getting along fairly well, the butler, who happened to be standing at Ruan Tang's side, promptly shot him several glances, attempting to hint with his eyes that Ruan Tang should try to flatter Auston.

Over the years, as Duke Auston's illness worsened, his temper had also grown fiercer...

It was rare to see him in such a good mood, and in the butler's eyes, this was the perfect opportunity for Ruan Tang to curry favor with Auston.

Ruan Tang immediately picked up on Butler Andre's hint and understood his intention.

In truth, from the bottom of his heart, Ruan Tang didn't want to ruin what was, for him, a near-perfect breakfast experience. But he happened to know that Butler Andre was the Queen's man...

Although Andre was merely a butler and he himself was the Duchess, a butler who served as the Queen's spy had far more power in this mansion than a duchess who was nothing but a tool with no one to protect her.

Ruan Tang had to heed the butler's intentions, which represented the Queen's orders; at the very least, he had to outwardly show some goodwill toward Duke Auston.

But just how was he supposed to flatter this mad duke? Ruan Tang racked his brains but simply couldn't come up with a way.

At this thought, Ruan Tang instantly lost his appetite and had no desire to continue eating, no matter how delicious the breakfast was...

The butler saw that Ruan Tang wasn't moving, so he shot him several more glances, urging him on with his eyes.

"Your Grace..." Ruan Tang put down his chopsticks, forced into action, and was just about to say something to strike up a conversation with Duke Auston.

"What are you looking at? Who told you to look?" Just then, Auston, who had seemed perfectly normal a moment ago, suddenly erupted. He grabbed the tableware and hurled it toward the spot where the butler stood at attention beside Ruan Tang, his tone turning abruptly cold and terrifying: "Look again, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

"Bang—" The sound of shattering tableware rang out sharply.

Ruan Tang was instantly stunned on the spot: "..."

The butler's face changed color in sheer terror. He knew he had violated Auston's taboo; because of Auston's recent mild temper, he had forgotten what the man was usually like. Fear flooded his features, and even his body couldn't help trembling slightly: "Your Grace, I..."

The other male servants standing nearby also showed fear on their faces upon seeing the butler like this. They unconsciously held their breath, trembling in fright, yet still tried to force themselves to appear calm.

Having been at the Ducal Palace for several days, Ruan Tang finally witnessed this duke's volatile moods and capriciousness firsthand, and he finally understood the terror the duke's people felt for him and the lingering gloom and oppressive atmosphere that pervaded the entire mansion.

Watching Auston like this, Ruan Tang decided to retract the sympathy he had felt for him a few days earlier. Although they were both poor souls swept along by fate against their will, Auston at least had the right to vent his anger freely on others. Butler Andre was the Queen's man, but even he could only submit to this madman's will.

Meanwhile, he himself could only be constrained by others, constantly adjusting his mindset and forcing himself to adapt to this world.

"Your Grace, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I beg your forgiveness..." Butler Andre's face was pallid, but he did not defend himself; instead, he chose to admit fault outright and plead for mercy.

Having risen to the position of butler, he knew Auston's temper well. He knew that when a mistake was made, admitting it directly was more likely to earn Auston's forgiveness than making excuses.

But this time, Auston was clearly furious. He glared at the butler with such ferocity it seemed he wanted to devour him alive: "Once might be unintentional, but twice and thrice—are you still going to tell me it's an accident?"

He had clearly seen the butler glance at Ruan Tang several times, enough to ruin his appetite.

Ever since this morning, he had sensed Ruan Tang's nervousness, and he knew that someone must have been pressuring Ruan Tang...

"Your Grace, I..." The butler's face lost all color. He had never expected Auston to be so attentive to details today that he couldn't even find words to defend himself.

But Auston didn't even look at him, his tone icy: "Take your pick. Are you going to gouge out your own eyes, or shall I do it for you?"

The butler could no longer control his composure; his whole body trembled, unsure how to choose: "I..."

The others were also pale with terror. For a moment, not even the sound of breathing could be heard in the vast dining room.

Ruan Tang had never imagined that just a few days after arriving at the Auston Ducal Palace, he would witness the legendary Bluebeard Duke gouging out a person's eyes—such a bloody and horrifying scene.

"Your Grace, you cannot do this." Ruan Tang, watching the butler tremble, finally couldn't bear it any longer and spoke up before the butler's hand could reach his eyes.

Although the butler, as the Queen's spy, had been monitoring him and applying pressure, Ruan Tang could not stand by and watch such a bloody, violent scene unfold before his eyes.

The moment he spoke, everyone in the dining room, including the butler, looked at him in surprise—completely unprepared for him to actually interrupt Auston.

The way they looked at Ruan Tang was as though they were gazing at a martyr marching bravely to his death.

The same serpentine gaze that had made his hair stand on end during their first meeting—a look like a snake flicking its tongue—now turned to him, boring straight into him: "Oh? And why can't I do that?"

"Because the Empire has its laws." Under the pressure of Auston's potential eruption at any moment, Ruan Tang spoke word by word: "The Empire's laws protect human rights. Although they are your servants, they are still independent individuals... Your relationship is one of employment. The butler is not your possession, and you have no right to dispose of them arbitrarily."

Recalling Seth's gruesome face, Ruan Tang, though he held no particular fondness for the butler, truly could not bear to watch him have his eyes gouged out alive right in front of him.

Even as he said this, he had the mindset of 'what will be, will be' — even if Auston's wrath turned toward him, the Queen had given him a watch for protection, and Auston couldn't kill him. That was still better than watching the butler have his eyes gouged out. It was practically a martyr's resolve.

"They are not my possessions, and I have no right to dispose of them arbitrarily?" Auston repeated his words, as if he had just heard a joke.

He let out a faint scoff, then turned his cold gaze to the butler: "Fine, Andre, I won't punish you. But you get out of the Ducal Palace this instant!"

"Now—answer me: do you want to keep your eyes, or do you want to stay?"

The butler's face was ashen. Remembering the pressure the Queen had put on him, he answered without hesitation: "I... I willingly gouge out my own eyes and offer them to Your Grace."

As the Queen's spy, he had to remain in the Ducal Palace. Once he left, he would be useless to the Queen.

To achieve his goal, what was sacrificing a pair of eyes to him?

Auston was not surprised by this answer. Upon hearing it, he let out a bored snicker: "Heh~"

As if to mock Ruan Tang.

"Then you still can't do it!" Ruan Tang had no other words, so he could only insist: "No one has the right to turn a normal person into a cripple. That is a deeply perverse act."

Since everyone was indulging this madman and no one was telling him that his behavior was wrong—

Then he would be the one to say it.

If such things hadn't happened before his eyes, he might have let it go. But since it was happening in front of him, his conscience told him he couldn't stand by.

"I don't want him to become disabled." Auston didn't seem to have the slightest intention of taking his anger out on Ruan Tang; instead, he stated with absolute matter-of-factness: "Later, however he gouges his eyes out, I'll have them put back exactly the same way, use the best medical technology to heal him, and guarantee they'll be exactly as they were before they were gouged out."

Since these eyesores were so determined to stay by his side and send intelligence to others, then he would let them stay.

But, equally, they had to be punished and pay the price.

The butler, hearing that Auston would have his eyes put back and he wouldn't go blind, heaved a sigh of relief. His fingers began to gather strength, ready to gouge out his own eyes before Auston to satisfy the duke's innate bloodlust.

But Ruan Tang still frowned deeply in disagreement. He wanted to speak, yet seeing that both parties were willing, he didn't know how to advise them: "But..."

He finally understood: Duke Auston didn't enjoy making people around him disabled; he reveled in the bloody, violent process itself.

He averted his eyes, no longer looking at the butler and Auston, feeling a wave of nausea rising in his stomach.

Auston, through his mask, looked at Ruan Tang's troubled face, lost in thought for a long moment, then suddenly asked: "Do you not want to see such a scene? Are you afraid?"

He suddenly remembered that Ruan Tang had once told him he disliked bloody scenes.

And he also recalled how kind-hearted this Omega was.

"Yes, I don't want to see such a scene." Bearing immense pressure, Ruan Tang paused for a moment, then finally chose to let it all out: "I find it extremely disgusting. It makes me sick to my stomach..."

If Auston hadn't asked, he wouldn't have said anything, but since Auston did ask, he decided to tell the truth...

Even if Auston got angry, he had no other choice.

Although he had already known what kind of man Auston was before the marriage and had prepared himself to stay alone in the bedroom, turning a blind eye to it, if such things were to happen frequently before his eyes, Ruan Tang still felt he couldn't bear it, and he wasn't willing to force himself to adapt and get used to it.

Anyway, since he was in a newlywed state, Auston couldn't kill him. So be it.

"In that case, your eyes won't be gouged out. Get lost." Auston, seeing Ruan Tang's deeply furrowed brows and deeply pained expression, waved his hand impatiently at the butler and ordered.

Punishing someone was trivial; he didn't want Ruan Tang to lose his appetite over it.