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Saying Kim Dokja loves webnovels is a gross understatement.

The man literally spends over half of his waking time reading (and slaving away in a third-rate game developer company for the other half.) If reading was a crucial method to prolong a human’s life, Kim Dokja would have become an immortal demigod already. He loves to read anything and everything, though because of his bank account balance, sadly, all he could afford were just free trashy webnovels.

Really, Kim Dokja is content with just trashy webnovels, to be honest. He is a man full of gratitude and contentment.

Be that as it may, Kim Dokja still has a preference. Or a personal distaste, for this matter. Kim Dokja wants it on the record that he absolutely loathes those cringey royalty isekai stories and even more so the cliché archetype of cold and murderous but devastatingly handsome black-haired dukes with a troubled past.

He really should learn by now that the universe has a hobby to throw him into the lion’s den and make him swallow his own words.

After all, he and the God up there do not share the same taste of humor.

That morning, Kim Dokja wakes up to find himself staring at a fancy ceiling and a big chandelier. He’s still in the middle of figuring out if he was in an impressively realistic dream or in some sort of afterlife after dying due to severe exhaustion from being a corporate slave, when a set of polite knocks resounds along with a stranger’s voice.

“My Lord, are you awake?”

Huh. Whose lord?

“My lord, may I come in?” There is a series of knocks again. “It’s time for breakfast.”

What?

“Excuse me, my Lord,” they say, before the heavy double door cracks open.

Wait, wait, wait! Kim Dokja hasn’t finished freaking out yet! What the hell is happening? Where is this?!

A stranger dressed like typical European butlers comes in, politely bowing before standing before his bed.

“My Lord, your classes with His Grace start today, and because he has a very tight schedule, it is best to not make him wait.”

Kim Dokja squeaks eloquently, narrowing his eyes, “Who?”

The butler raises a brow, visibly confused. “Pardon?”

“His Grace, who?” Kim Dokja repeats, still squinting like an idiot.

Now the butler looks a bit offended. “His Grace, Yu Junghyeok, the Duke of Schweichen and the owner of this castle, of course.”

At that, Kim Dokja feels his plain and ordinary life metaphorically breaking to pieces as if shot by lightning.

Discreetly, he pinches his thigh.

It hurts.

Kim Dokja tries his best to stop stealing glances at the man who sits at the other end of the long table.

Which is proven hard to do, because said man is the most beautiful human being Kim Dokja has ever seen in the 28 years of his life, hands down.

Once upon a time, he had proudly stated that he loathed this dumb archetype, but faced by one Yu Junghyeok, Duke of Schweichen, Lord of the Northern territory of Kaizenix Empire, Destroyer of Stars, Iron Blood Supreme King, male lead of the cliché third-rate romance webnovel Ways of Survival, and now Kim Dokja’s apparent new student in noble etiquette, he feels the need to reevaluate his statement.

Because, duh, the man is so strikingly gorgeous to the point that Kim Dokja’s heart is clearly trying its best to not leap out of his ribcage and latch onto the man’s impressive chest.

He doesn’t know why he hated those archetypes. It is clearly peak literature.

Yu Junghyeok gives him a questioning glare.

Okay, okay. Slow down, Kim Dokja. It might be too hasty to call it peak literature. Kim Dokja has always known that he is a facecon, on top of a depraved virgin. He is certainly just biased by the man’s face, because merely reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of physical description is inherently different from seeing it with his own two eyes. So he is clearly just experiencing a cultural shock.

Turning his attention back to his own breakfast, Dokja exhales a breath and forces his heart to be quiet.

He needs to be calm.

Yu Junghyeok is just one perfect specimen of a man. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Calm down.

Besides, he knows there is a catch to this man’s perfect appearance. Kim Dokja prides in his reading skills and his sharp memory. Once he reads something, he would be able to recall it in astounding detail should the need arise, as though he just merely shelves said information in the vast library inside his head and takes it out to reread at any given time.

And so, he is able to immediately deduce that he had somehow gotten transmigrated into a webnovel when he was asleep and instantly identified which one it was just by hearing the name of this castle’s owner. Within a short time, he had already recalled most of the novel’s contents.

In short, he has read the Ways of Survival, which is why he knows that under the male lead Yu Junghyeok’s perfect face, there is a brutish and violent nature paired with a complete lack in proper etiquette. That is because he wasn’t the legal heir to the Duchy of Schweichen, as he and his followers were mercenaries before they had staged a coup and murdered the previous family who lorded over the territory. Yet despite his brutal actions, he is regarded as a hero of the empire because the former ducal family was a complete tyrant that even the imperial family couldn’t control.

That means the man has a very poor view of nobilities, despite recently being one. In his and his followers’ eyes, nobles are just pathetic creatures who know nothing but to exploit their subjects to sustain their lavish lifestyle and useless pride.

That to say, Yu Junghyeok is a man who is devoted to his land and those he holds dear. Just as he’s willing to taint his hands with blood to protect them, he is also willing to set aside his pride and prejudice to learn about high society’s etiquette in his way to strengthen his political stance and improve their territory.

And here Kim Dokja enters.

Youngest son of a count, who is only noble in name, but is regarded as one of the finest teachers in the kingdom nonetheless, despite his young age.

Dokja hoped the description ended there, but no.

Because the character Kim Dokja in the Ways of Survival is nothing but a mere canon fodder villain who is going to be beheaded by his very own student because he was actually a spy sent by his family to monitor the Duke’s movements, on top of his continuous mockery and underhanded insults to belittle the Duke throughout their lessons.

Typical isekai stories. Of course he would be transmigrated into a useless canon fodder villain.

The etiquette teacher didn’t even get a name in the novel, enough to tell how trivial his role is. But luckily, somehow, his name also turned out to be Kim Dokja. Small mercies. At least there aren’t going to be some awkward instances where he doesn’t know his own name.

But to get back to his current problem.

In transmigration stories, the transmigrated villain would charm the male lead and gradually turn him to their side, usually ending up in them falling in love. Kim Dokja has read enough fanfiction to know how enemies to lovers trope will end. No, he really isn’t being too full of himself, but that’s just how things are in this kind of trope, and sadly, Ways of Survival was categorized as a pretty cliché romance novel.

But the thing is, Kim Dokja is a man who is invested in being single for the rest of his life. As his name suggests, he is better off alone than getting involved with any kind of love. Trusting another person is something he had never done in so long. The last time he loved another person, they had abandoned him in the hands of unforgiving relatives and dissected their lives open for the cruel world to judge upon.

In short, he doesn’t have the desire to end up being anyone’s love interest, much less getting married.

Although the Duke is certainly flaming hot and Dokja kind of wonders how firm the muscles under his clothes would fee—okay, stop there, Kim Dokja.

Anyways, he is just a reader, not a character. He just wants to sit back and watch the story unfold with popcorn in his arms, thank you very much.

The obvious step to take is to be a mediocre teacher, useless enough for Yu Junghyeok to fire him but not irritating enough to be killed. It should be easy enough, right?

Wrong. Because Kim Dokja’s life is never easy.

He just doesn’t know how much is enough or how much is too much. Too close to the Duke would potentially trigger the romantic cliché storyline and too far would probably end up in him getting beheaded for his incompetency.

Other problems include Dokja’s own simping heart. Despite his earlier fuss about not wanting any relationship, he knows his degenerate mind enough to not trust himself around hot men with nice muscles and gorgeously wide backs. He’s barely holding himself together just by eating on the same table with the Duke, for god’s sake. He’ll have to meditate and cleanse his mind thrice a day to keep his thoughts pure.

Or maybe, he could bulshit his way out of the castle. He could make fake letters to claim he’s going home because he has to marry or just stealthily look for a secret passage or something so he could run away in the middle of the night.

Some would deem those choices to be stupid, but Kim Dokja doesn’t have a solid self preservation instinct in the first place, despite claiming otherwise.

Oh, well. He’ll cross the bridge when he gets there. Or maybe burn it. Who knows.

The first thing to do is to ensure nobody gets suspicious towards him.

Although he doesn’t have all the memories of the previous host of this body, somehow the brain still retains the knowledge of the noble etiquette and social behavior, as though the body had been programmed to be a proper noble since its birth. In addition, Kim Dokja has the ultimate skill of Fake It Until You Make It, something he had mastered in his years of corporate slavery by being a proper background character in his own life. So he has no issues about bulshitting through everything and ensuring no one knows that he is not the original Kim Dokja. He has the confidence to act just fine.

…Apart from this morning’s exchange with the butler, but who cares. They would probably just chalk it up as a sleepy daze or whatever. Human brains are practical like that.

“Is there a problem?”

Yu Junghyeok’s question plucks Dokja out of his wandering mind and shoves him back to his new reality. Elegantly, Dokja places his utensils back on his plate and smiles towards the frowning Duke.

“No, Your Grace. I was just wondering what herbs the chef used to season the meat. It is the most delicious dish I have ever tasted in my life.”

That might sound like an utter bulshit or an empty compliment, coming from a son of a prestigious noble family, but Kim Dokja did not completely lie. The dishes might look simple, but the taste does make him wonder if it was comparable to a Michelin star dish back in his old world.

Not that he had ever eaten one, but it’s for an illustrative purpose.

Weirdly, the Duke’s mouth twists in a strange expression, a peculiar mix of wariness, doubt, disgust, and intrigue.

“Finish it quickly. I’m busy.”

Even though he is called the etiquette teacher, Kim Dokja doesn’t only teach noble etiquette. It also includes all of the political structure of the empire and how to navigate high society.

Thus, one of the first subjects to teach Yu Junghyeok is obviously learning a new language.

Because the empire follows a nonsensical social hierarchy which separates the commoners and the nobility, they have an entire high language and writing system used exclusively in formal letters, academics, and official documents, as well as high literature, which differs greatly and is way more complicated than commoners’ speech and alphabets. The high language is viewed as sophisticated and cultured, while the common language is considered brutish and vulgar.

Not everybody can learn the high language. A commoner must have a noble sponsor or rich enough to afford formal education. Even in a noble household, only the high-ranked servants are allowed to learn.

In Kim Dokja’s opinion, this is completely ridiculous and unnecessary, because this means cutting off communication with subordinates and directly suppressing any academic talent from the lower class. But then again, maybe it is precisely why they implemented it in the first place. Stupid nobles and their useless pride. They’re probably enjoying mocking commoners because of their lack of education.

Yu Junghyeok certainly thinks the same way, judging from the utter disgust he radiates towards the pile of the grammar books.

“Have you perhaps memorized the first volume of the Basic High Language book, Your Grace?”

The Duke answers after a beat, hesitant, “…I have only gone through the first three chapters.”

Oh, great! That means Dokja doesn’t have to go through basic reading lessons like how one would teach a preschooler. It’s not like teaching the alphabet is hard, but it just feels marginally more awkward to do it with a grown ass man twice as big as he is.

“Wonderful!” Dokja nods, smiling kindly. “Then we can directly proceed to the basic grammar and memorize simple greetings!”

“You…” the Duke mumbles, his expression filled with something foreign.

“Yes?”

“You don’t think my lack of education… shameful?”

Dokja raises one eyebrow, genuinely confused. “Should I?”

He knows who Yu Junghyeok is. He knows all the details of his past and circumstances. How could he not understand?

Besides, the Kim Dokja of this world may be a noble who had been raised with the finest education since a very young age, but the Kim Dokja inside was a poor child growing up in a poor living condition, on top of having less than ideal parents. He barely got to finish high school without having any major accidents—keyword on barely—and he was fortunate enough to even get accepted into a third-rate university and graduated without a lifelong debt. Education is a privilege, and Kim Dokja will never make fun of someone who has never gotten the chance to get it. He doesn’t really care about it, honestly, but sadly, the world is kinder to those who could afford a better degree.

He flips the book in his hand fleetingly, staring at it instead of Yu Junghyeok’s face. “Everyone deserves to get education, Your Grace, not just nobles and the rich. And it is not important at which point in life they get it. In the first place, it should be a right, not a privilege.”

Yu Junghyeok stares at him with unreadable eyes, silent yet intense, searching for something, as if the words Dokja just said were intriguing and not just stating basic human rights. Even without looking directly, the side of his face feels warm, pricked by the weight of Yu Junghyeok’s gaze. They are separated by the large wooden desk of Yu Junghyeok’s study, but it feels no different from having the Duke breathing two inches from his face.

He has never done well with being the center of attention, really. Dokja has to cough to keep himself from sweating (in discomfort, he swears).

Trying to make the atmosphere less awkward, Dokja smiles again and playfully offers, “Maybe I can also teach the people in the castle?”

Eventually(finally!), Yu Junghyeok shifts his eyes away and commands, “Proceed with the lessons.”

Dokja exhales a breath he’s been holding. Why is being with this guy so nerve-wracking?

“Okay, so, let us begin with the basic grammar!”

Their lessons went smoothly after that. A month has passed and Yu Junghyeok is well on his way finishing the second volume of the grammar book.

Dokja has to say that the Duke is a genius. The high language is very complicated, yet Yu Junghyeok goes through it at an incredible pace despite his packed schedule as a newly appointed duke. As a comparison, the rest of the staff, whom Dokja also ends up teaching under the Duke’s permission, still haven’t gotten past the first chapter of the first book.

Yu Junghyeok listens to his lectures well, paying such a focused attention that Dokja has never repeated his lessons twice. He also does a stellar job on his assignments and homeworks, working hard on his speech and pronunciation. For some reason, he always requests for Dokja to read various literature books, claiming it to be easier if he listens to the correct pronunciation often.

For their other classes, such as dining etiquette or horseback riding (the noble way, of course, Yu Junghyeok is already a monster on horseback when it comes to fighting), the Duke learned particularly quickly it almost felt unnatural. Nowadays, it’s a bit hard for Dokja to believe that this person wasn’t noble by blood from the beginning.

Contrary to Dokja’s initial speculation that the Duke would be rude and contemptuous towards him, Yu Junghyeok actually acts pretty much neutral, no different than how he treats the rest of his staff. Well, someone who doesn’t know Yu Junghyeok would probably still consider his behavior to be crude, but that is just Yu Junghyeok’s nature. For a reader like Dokja, he could easily see that Yu Junghyeok actually respects him in his own weird way, clearly having no issues separating personal feelings from professional relationships.

As expected of the protagonist, he has to be blessed in all aspects. Dokja would be envious if he’s not used to being a background character.

“That is not accurate,” Dokja says to the report in Yu Junghyeok’s hands.

The Duke looks up from the pile of documents he has to approve. Their class is supposed to start in ten minutes, yet Yu Junghyeok still hasn’t been able to get away from his mountains of work.

“What is not accurate?”

Dokja bends down to point at one paragraph on the paper Yu Junghyeok is holding, missing the way the Duke stiffens almost instantly. “It’s written here that the tax to sell luxury goods from other territories is 5% from their initial price and the price to store them is also 5% per year, while the price to store normal goods is only 1%. They deliberately separated the reports and twisted the wording a bit so that the luxury goods would be stored under the normal goods tax. You’re losing the 4%, Your Grace.”

Yu Junghyeok’s jaw stiffens in anger. Dokja resolutely removes his eyes from the protruding vein on Yu Junghyeok’s neck.

“You can understand these reports,” Yu Junghyeok concludes with a sigh, closing his eyes.

“Are you doubting my intelligence, Your Grace?” Dokja raises an eyebrow.

His supposed noble education aside, Dokja is very used to all kinds of management tasks like this. Must be a blessing in disguise, because being a pushover in his previous life means that he had had a ridiculous amount of works dumped onto him by his coworkers and asshole managers, even those that should not be his department’s job, which in turn gave Dokja endless experience with this kind of documents.

Yu Junghyeok stares at him for a while, then pushes another pile of documents towards him.

“Look at them.”

What? “Is this free labor?”

“I’m paying you enough by not shutting your mouth now, Kim Dokja.”

Huffing, Dokja takes the first report. For some reason, this feels like the exact opposite of when his coworkers dumped their work on him.

Dokja wonders if it feels this nice to be trusted.

Three months has passed since Dokja first transmigrated here. His plan of not-befriending the Duke seems to go smoothly. So far, they act like professional acquaintances. He treats Yu Junghyeok as nothing but a student and Yu Junghyeok treats him as nothing but an etiquette teacher.

That should be good, yet Dokja feels so frustrated about it right now when Yu Junghyeok refuses to let anyone inside.

The duchy is particularly loud these nights. They’ve been fighting with a dangerous group of fallen nobles, who started to center their attacks on the northern territories. The leader is a former viscount who once stood on the summit of the empire’s entertainment industry, nicknamed as ‘Theater Master’. This man manipulated people so easily, using a currently unknown herb, Simulacre, to make strange potions that allow him to control people by throwing their mind into depression.

Which comes to this.

“Your Grace, I beg you—”

“Get lost!”

A loud crash startles the butlers and maids. One of them even starts to cry.

Yu Junghyeok is a violent man by his nature, but he’s never cruel to his subordinates. It must be a shock for them to see their usually kind master suddenly lash out like this.

“My Lord…” the butler whimpers when Dokja steps inside the room.

“Go out, all of you,” Dokja says, calm.

It really is a mess inside. Furniture trashed, glass shreds scattered everywhere. Yu Junghyeok is curling in front of the fireplace, holding his head, his body full of blood.

“But, My Lord… it’s dangerous for you to—”

“It’s okay. I’ll handle him. Put the first aid box and a change of clothes there. And brew some Ellain Flower into a nice cup of tea. Make it very, really strong.”

Not waiting for a reply, Dokja bravely trudges his way to the shivering Duke.

“Your Grace…”

No response.

“Your Grace? We must treat your wounds.”

The injuries in Yu Junghyeok’s abdomen are very concerning, but his mental state isn’t any less alarming.

The Duke just got back from what was essentially a disaster of a battle. The whole squad was almost wiped out, along with a village and a forest. Yu Junghyeok could barely come back to the castle with only his right hand knight Sir Hyeonseong after being poisoned with a great dose of Simulacre as a result of shielding the civilians from it by himself. The drug erodes his mind, throwing him into an endless pit of depression and leaves him with an insane amount of physical pain. The effect is made worse because Yu Junghyeok just witnessed so many of his people die before his own eyes while he was unable to save them.

“It’s useless… It’s all my fault…”

Dokja’s heart aches when he hears Yu Junghyeok’s muttering.

Ah, yes… This is one of the factors why Yu Junghyeok was attracted to the female lead.

Today’s battle left him with an unstable mind and a constant physical pain all over his body. No one knows the cure to Simulacre, so even after defeating the Theater Master, Yu Junghyeok was still cursed by its side effects. But that was only until Yu Junghyeok met the female lead and she ended up discovering the cure, the southern plant Ellain flower, which people only brew in small doses to help with insomnia.

“Your Grace…”

“It’s my fault… They all died because of me…”

Crouching down, Dokja tries to pry Yu Junghyeok’s fist away from his hair.

From up close, the injuries look far more severe than he thought.

“Yu Junghyeok… listen to me…”

It is so jarring to see the man who’s always overflowing with pride and confidence to be reduced into this mess. He didn’t even look like Yu Junghyeok at all.

“I don’t have anyone… I’m alone…”

Gritting his teeth, Dokja slaps both of Yu Junghyeok’s cheeks and forces him to look straight into his eyes. “FUCKING LISTEN TO ME, YOU BASTARD!!”

He knows this is a necessary event for the plot, but must it be this cruel?

Merely reading about Yu Junghyeok’s backstory and witnessing first-hand how the tragedy happens are very different things. It’s the first time Dokja realizes that the person in front of him is a real, living, breathing human. Not some character from a novel.

“Why are you saying you’re alone?! What about all the people who live in this place?! What about your disciple Jihye who’s crying outside?! What about your sister?! What about Sir Hyeonseong who almost died for you?!” He heaves a shaky breath, continuing with a more significantly trembling voice, “What about me?”

A faint spark flickers in Yu Junghyeok’s eyes.

“What about me, Yu Junghyeok? All this time I’ve been hating on you, despising you, and rooting for you! If you’re alone, then what about me?!”

To be honest, Dokja doesn’t know what prompted him to lose control. He’s always best at keeping in his emotions. He’s an expert in detaching himself from his problems, from the world. Yet seeing Yu Junghyeok curling in on himself like a lost child had filled him with an unexplainable rage that burns through his bones.

Maybe because he knows that Yu Junghyeok’s character is supposed to be unbeatable. Unreachable. Always winning.

Maybe because it reminded him too much of another figure curling in despair he often saw in the mirror back in another life.

He hates it.

“Don’t you dare give up, Yu Junghyeok,” Dokja spits from between his gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare forget that I’m here with you.”

Yu Junghyeok blinks back at him, silent.

It is way later that Dokja realizes how docile Yu Junghyeok became when he treats his wounds and forces him to drink the cure.

Dokja wakes up and feels the piercing stare on the back of his neck. He opens his eyes to see Yu Junghyeok staring deeply at him from his spot on the bed.

“You look like shit,” the Duke greets.

Dokja feels his eyebrow tick in irritation. “Well, good morning to you too, Sleeping Beauty. It sure must be nice to sleep for a week and insult people as soon as you wake up.”

The Duke doesn’t even look surprised at the information. Contrary to his usual response, Yu Junghyeok keeps staring at Dokja in silence. Dokja tries his best to hide his discomfort by stretching exaggeratedly. What’s this guy’s deal now?

“What did you do?”

“What did I do?”

“I don’t feel the effects of the drug anymore.”

Oh. Good, then. “Oh, I just told the maids to make strong Ellain flower tea. You know, maybe your nightmare or depression or whatever it was could lessen if you fell asleep, so… it turned out way more effective than I thought, so we keep giving you that. Maybe you should tell people to study about the flower and make a proper antidote—and why are you looking at me like that?”

Yu Junghyeok eyes him strangely. “You speak informally to me.”

Oh. Whoops. Seems like Dokja’s brain is still full of cotton. Yu Junghyeok can’t blame him, though. He hasn’t gotten any proper sleep since Yu Junghyeok came home a week ago. Sleep deprivation really could hinder humans’ ability to think, apparently. It could also unleash unsavory sides of people they usually kept hidden.

Like now, Dokja really doesn’t give a shit.

“Problem?”

The Duke contemplates it for a bit before answering resolutely, “No.”

“Then I’ll keep doing it,” Dokja decides. And really, sleep deprivation is frightening, because after that, Dokja hears himself saying, “Hurry and get better, Duke. Quickly get rid of those pests so we can start a new class.”

A light huff comes from the Duke’s direction. “What’s the class about?”

Dokja sends him a sleepy smile. “Ballroom dancing.”

“My Lord, there is a letter for you.”

Dokja raises his head to see the butler bowing politely and handing him a nicely sealed envelope.

“Thank you.” He accepts it with a smile, which is returned at least twice as wide.

For some reason, the people in Yu Junghyeok’s castle seem to like him very much. Especially after the Simulacre incident.

Dokja doesn’t understand why. He hasn’t done anything particularly outstanding to earn such respect. He is just Yu Junghyeok’s etiquette teacher. The most he socializes with the staff is when he’s teaching some of them writing and reading, or when he blurts out some tips he learned from his previous life here and there.

Not that he’s protesting. At least he would get some sympathy if the original plot suddenly emerges and Yu Junghyeok really does end up killing him.

After the butler leaves, Dokja examines the letter with a frown. It has the seal of the Kim county, stamped on a red wax, indicating that it is a personal order from the head of the family.

For the last ten months, Dokja has been routinely sending his report to the Count to keep a façade, disguised as personal letters to his family members. Of course, he doesn’t put anything noteworthy in them, saying that Yu Junghyeok is an extremely guarded man who trusts no nobles and never shows a crack of weakness to anyone. Which is essentially true. Perhaps, the Count has grown impatient with his lackluster progress in spying. If the previous Kim Dokja’s memories are to be believed, Count Kim Jintae is an impatient and greedy man.

But what he finds inside the letter makes him almost drop the thing in bewilderment and shock.

On the paper is a list of suitors, along with the Count’s order for him to get married.

Did he jinx himself when he playfully thought he’d fake a marriage letter to leave the duchy?

Dokja holds his temple and groans.

The plot must have deviated since Dokja decided to ignore the Count’s orders and build a genuine acquaintanceship with Yu Junghyeok instead of spying on him. With no notable reports coming from Dokja, the Count couldn’t take any advantages on the wealthy northern duchy. The little help and tweaks Dokja gave in managing Yu Junghyeok’s territory must have strengthened it. In turn, the Kim county’s business must have shriveled and the Count had to scramble for other means to survive. This would include selling his own children to potential wealthy business partners.

And of course, the first one to be sold is Kim Dokja.

From outsiders’ perspective, Kim Dokja is a cherished son of the noble Kim Family, brought up in riches and provided with the best education. But few know of the truth. Not many people know that Kim Dokja is an illegitimate child, no more than an asset, a mere pawn, ready to be used and discarded any time the Count wants. The original Kim Dokja was given good education to mask the neglect he’d suffered in the hands of his own family. Yet he was foolish enough to keep craving for his father’s approval, doing anything his father said to gain a bit of acknowledgement, something that he knew, deep down, to be nonexistent.

Kim Dokja was a fool.

Dokja reads the names on the letter again and hisses in disgust.

They are all greasy old men.

“Kim Dokja, why haven’t you come to my study?” A voice startles Dokja out and nearly knocks him off the chair.

Yu Junghyeok barges into Kim Dokja’s room without knocking, striding over like he owns the place. Which… is true. Still, Dokja didn’t teach him to be an impolite bonehead who disregards other people’s privacy.

“Yu Junghyeok, what did I say about respecting other people’s privacy? Knock first. You’re a duke, not a boar.”

Yu Junghyeok ignores him and looms before his desk, casting an unimpressed stare at him. “I told you I have a tight schedule. You’re delaying our class.”

Dokja sighs, standing up and fixing his shirt, missing the way Yu Junghyeok zeroes in on the back of his neck, which is bare and exposed before Dokja fixes his tie and wears his blazer. When Dokja turns around, Yu Junghyeok is glaring at his desk.

“Let’s go—” Dokja says, only to choke up when he sees the letter in Yu Junghyeok’s hand. Like a lightning, he scrambles to snatch it away, putting it inside a drawer and locking it for good measure.

“What’s that?”

Dokja doesn’t meet the Duke’s eyes, walking towards the door without looking back. “It is a letter from my family.”

“What is it about?” Yu Junghyeok demands, his tone oddly pushy. Dokja turns around to see the Duke still standing in his previous place, not following Dokja immediately like how he usually does.

“I should teach you more about respecting other people’s privacy, it seems. It’s just a letter from my father. Now stop wasting time and let’s go!”

Yu Junghyeok glares grumpily at the innocent drawer before huffing and strides past Dokja, brooding his way towards his own study.

Dokja raises an eyebrow. What’s with him?

Finally, the first chance to test Yu Junghyeok’s etiquette lessons comes in the form of a grand invitation for Princess Uriel’s birthday ball.

So far, Yu Junghyeok has done outstanding in almost all of his lessons. Almost.

It seems that the Duke struggles with anything that involves physical contact with other people, as seen whenever he stiffens during lessons such as escorting or dancing. It is kind of adorable to see a tall, big, muscular man awkwardly trying his best to not flinch away and moving rigidly whenever Dokja comes into his personal space. Well, the novel did describe him as awkward and very uncomfortable around people, preferring to keep others at arm’s length.

At least, he can dance just fine, even though he looks more like a newborn penguin learning to walk than a noble duke trying to waltz.

But alas, there is still one crucial thing the stupid duke hasn’t managed to get right.

“How many times must I tell you, Yu Junghyeok?” Kim Dokja nags, irritated, “You have to put your hand just below the armpit! Not on the middle of my back!”

The Duke just grumbles, still stubbornly keeping his hand on the small of Dokja’s back.

The grand ball is an important narrative point in the original webnovel. Yu Junghyeok supposedly meets his future lover there, beginning the blossoming romance between them. It’s important to get this right, as what initially caught the female lead Lee Seolhwa’s attention to Yu Junghyeok was his gentlemanly and respectful behavior despite all the rumors about his crude nature as a former mercenary.

“Your Grace,” Dokja sighs, his speech bleeding to formal as it tends to do whenever he’s annoyed. “Allow me to remind you that the middle of a lady’s back is an intimate area. You know that high society’s etiquette is very strict about gestures and body language to convey one’s position. You would imply that she is your lover if you keep dancing like this! I believe you don’t want to be the hot topic in the next high society gathering just because of a wrong hand placement.”

Yu Junghyeok stubbornly avoids his nagging by glaring at the nearest painting like it had offended him and his ancestors. Seeing that his nag seems ineffective, Dokja purses his lips and drops the hand on the Duke’s shoulder, changing his tactics.

“Are there any shortcomings in my teaching, Your Grace?” he asks in a soft voice, a bit meek and guilty. “I apologize if I cannot be a decent teacher to you.”

Dokja isn’t sure when it started, but he had found out that apparently Yu Junghyeok is weak when he deliberately blames himself like this. Dokja doesn’t really like to use this trump card (who the hell enjoys lowering themselves in front of a man like Yu Junghyeok, seriously?), but they have been dancing for hours and his feet are killing him.

Yu Junghyeok makes a sharp noise. “It’s not your fault.”

Pitifully, Dokja shifts his eyes to meet the Duke’s, carefully arranging his expression to be pensive and lamenting.

“If the student makes a mistake, then it is the teacher’s fault. If some unsavory gossip about you emerges after the grand ball then it is definitely on me.”

Dokja watches in amusement how Yu Junghyeok’s expression changes from petulant to flabbergasted to panicked guilt before eventually settling on a grimace.

“Again,” he grunts.

Dokja tilts his head.

“Once more,” he repeats in a firmer voice, a slight determination can be heard underneath.

Nodding, Dokja chuckles inwardly. Who knows that it would be this easy to manipulate the so-called bloodthirsty Duke of Schweichen.

This time, Yu Junghyeok slips his hand properly below Dokja’s armpit, rigidly keeping it there as they sway along with the music. Somehow, his steps also flow more easily, even though it’s still a bit too rigid. But the difference is noticeable, as though he suddenly got a skill level-up.

See? He can do it just fine when he really tries!

But that begs the question, if Yu Junghyeok can be this much better in an instant, does that mean he deliberately did worse just to be a brat? If that was true, Dokja swears he will put salt on Yu Junghyeok’s food when he isn’t looking.

Anyways, now that Yu Junghyeok seems to take the dance more seriously, Dokja can’t help but to be absorbed into the atmosphere. They float around the room in a practiced motion, circling and swirling around each other. Dokja thinks Yu Junghyeok’s little frown of concentration is very cute.

Eventually, the music comes to a stop and they bow to each other.

“Oh! You finally got it right! Good job, Your Grace!” Dokja exclaims in delight, clapping his hands and almost shedding a tear like a proud mother witnessing her son walking towards a podium to give the valedictorian speech—wait, let’s not get excessively sentimental, Kim Dokja. You have a canon fodder villain reputation to uphold. He is merely relieved because his hours and hours of tedious tutoring didn’t end up in vain.

But then he catches a sight of red on the tip of the Duke’s ear as he whips his head away.

Kim Dokja’s brain halts.

What was that??

Did Yu Junghyeok just… blush? Because of his praise?

“Yu Junghyeok?” Dokja tries, still not entirely sure if what he saw was his imagination or not.

Instead of answering, however, Yu Junghyeok pointedly avoids eye contact and continues to glare at the same painting from earlier, his ear twitching slightly.

What the fuck.

Why had nobody ever told him that the Duke of the North can be this cute?! This is illegal.

Yu Junghyeok coughs and grumbles as he turns away from his frozen teacher. “It’s late. Let’s eat.”

Kim Dokja slaps his face in shock.

“Nervous?”

Dokja blinks to see Yu Junghyeok looking down at him from his own seat in the carriage. Feeling his heart thumping a bit too loudly from their close proximity, Dokja coughs and leans away, plasting a smile onto his face.

“Shouldn’t I be the one who says that?” His eyes crinkle in practiced smugness. “Are you nervous, Your Grace?”

Yu Junghyeok ignores his taunt. For some reason, the Duke is quieter tonight. Calmer. Gentler.

Although as a teacher, he should be proud of the impeccable etiquette his student is showing, Dokja dearly misses Yu Junghyeok’s usual crudeness. His gentlemanly behavior, paired with the jaw-dropping black and gold outfit Yu Junghyeok wears tonight, is very bad for Dokja’s heart’s survival. He already has the Count to worry about. Almost the whole trip to the palace had been spent on thinking about how to avoid the Count and the arranged marriage, which comes fruitless still. He really doesn’t need more distractions.

A startled gasp leaves Dokja’s mouth when he feels Yu Junghyeok’s gloved hand reaching his waist, tugging him closer to the Duke.

“Stop thinking unnecessary things.” Yu Junghyeok’s voice feels alarmingly closer than it should be.

Maybe some distraction isn’t that bad.

“All my thoughts are revolutionary, you know.”

“That’s news for me.”

“Hey.”

“Nothing good ever comes from you thinking.”

“Oh, I wonder who proposed the latest idea for the Duchy’s western village plantation, then.”

“It was me.”

“Oh, stealing other’s credit, are we, Your Grace? Not very noble of you.”

“The one who brought up the plantation project to the meeting was me.”

“You must be pretty nervous yourself if you’re speaking this much, Yu Junghyeok. It’s weird.”

“My speaking is fine.”

Dokja rolls his eyes. “Ah yes, you certainly will steal all the attention at the ball with your stellar conversational skills.”

“I seem to recall you nagging about how I must improve my conversational skills to seduce the ladies. Is it working?”

Snorting, Dokja throws his head away to muffle his laugh. “Did you just make a joke?”

Yu Junghyeok’s innocently neutral face sends Dokja to another bout of laughter. “Oh my god, you can actually joke. I’m bursting with pride! My student finally develops a sense of humor! You really do take after me, don’t you? Oh, all those lessons weren’t spent in vain after all!”

“Your sense of humor is horrendous.”

“My sense of humor is impeccable.”

The rest of the ride goes with banters and jabs exchanged in a light atmosphere. Dokja has to admit that the heavy ball of anxiousness inside his chest has been reduced into a mere prick.

He’s really glad that he’s coming with Yu Junghyeok.

He’s genuinely regretting that he’s coming with Yu Junghyeok.

The selfish Duke adamantly demands for the both of them to go through the main entrance, which means that they will have their names and titles announced to the whole ballroom.

As Dokja often says, he’s merely a reader. He works best as a background character, not a protagonist with the limelight following each step he takes. Dokja had planned to go through the back entrance to avoid any attention. While announcing Yu Junghyeok’s name would certainly grab all the attention of the ladies inside, announcing Kim Dokja’s name would only be equivalent to putting him at the center of a shooting target. He knows Count Kim is already inside.

Unfortunately, Kim Dokja’s spaghetti-like body can’t compete with Yu Junghyeok’s pure muscles. In the end, Yu Junghyeok drags him to the main entrance with little to no fanfare.

Dokja’s fuming goes unnoticed by the stupid Duke, who only offers him an arm in silence.

Now what is this about again?

“Your Grace, what are you doing?” Dokja asks, pushing the arm away. “You should only offer your arm to a person you’re escorting.”

Yu Junghyeok looks at him like he is mentally ill. “I’m going in with you, Kim Dokja.”

“Huh?”

The completely unimpressed look the Duke throws at him makes Dokja burn in embarrassment. This is the first time Yu Junghyeok’s stare really makes him feel like he’s such an unsalvageable idiot.

“Kim Dokja, what did you think when I said that you’re going to the ball with me?”

Dumbly, Dokja answers, “Obviously just for efficiency, since we set out from the same place…”

“Kim Dokja, we’re wearing matching outfits.”

Dokja freezes, then looks down on his own clothes. Oh… How come he hasn’t realized that his white and silver outfit actually mirrors Yu Junghyeok’s black and gold one? That sneaky brat!

“Enough of this nonsense and grab my arm.”

Dokja is still doing his impression of a gaping fish when Yu Junghyeok swiftly pulls his hand and places it on his arm, gesturing for the herald to announce their arrival. Never had he imagined that his name would be announced right after the Duke of Schweichen.

He immediately stiffens when all the attention is pinned on him. Without his knowledge, Dokja sticks close to Yu Junghyeok as they descend to the ballroom. In turn, Yu Junghyeok tightens his hold with a pleased face, reminiscent of a cat that just caught a canary. Dokja wants to slap the back of his head. Of course this prick enjoys Dokja’s misery.

Right as they step into the ballroom, Count Kim Jintae immediately appears in front of them out of nowhere like an accidentally summoned devil in a third-rate horror film.

“It is an honor to meet you today, Your Grace,” he greets them as if he and Yu Junghyeok are old acquaintances, though he isn’t very subtle as he steals glances at Dokja’s hand on Yu Junghyeok’s arm. Dokja slips his hand away, earning a frown from Yu Junghyeok.

“I hope my son hasn’t brought you any problems during his stay.”

Yu Junghyeok’s face is smooth when he stares back at the old Count, not any trace of his previous grumpiness. “He’s nothing but troubles.”

Against his will, Dokja’s nostrils flares. “Pardon? Have I ever unknowingly offended the Duke during my stay? I apologize for failing to realize that His Grace is fairly sensitive.”

With satisfaction, Dokja sees Yu Junghyeok’s eye twitch.

“Your impudence knows no bounds.”

Before Dokja can utter another insult, Count Kim interjects, “Sincerest apologies for my son’s behavior, Your Grace. He was brought up spoiled in affection, so his manners must fall short.”

Dokja wants to throw up.

The Duke narrows his eyes to the laughing Count, seemingly considering something before glaring at Dokja as if he had just insulted his whole family. Dokja raises a brow, confused. What did he do?

“Ah, yes, Dokja, come. I will introduce you to Marquis Jeon. I have mentioned him in my letters to you,” the Count starts, destroying Dokja’s train of thoughts. “Oh, here he comes!”

Goosebumps break all over Dokja’s skin. He had forgotten the biggest problem. His spine turns ramrod straight as a middle aged man with a slimy smile makes his way towards them, his eyes crinkling in a way that spells nothing but malice.

Jeon Ildo, the Marquis of the central faction. Known for his neutral political view and his calm and subtle strategies in war. Due to his neutrality, many people follow and trust him, which in turn elevates his territory’s economy.

Unfortunately, Dokja has read the original webnovel enough to know that Jeon Ildo is nothing but a scheming bastard. In the latter half of the story, it was revealed that this bastard had sold his country out to the enemy kingdom, resulting in one of the worst wars Yu Junghyeok had to fight.

“So you are Kim Dokja,” the Marquis says after greeting the Count and a frigid Yu Junghyeok.

Dokja thinks his mouth would crack from how stiff his smile is.

“You are prettier than what your father told me.”

Ugh, even his way of talking sounds like a pervert.

“If it’s not too bold of me, may I have some of your time?” He offers an arm in a similar manner Yu Junghyeok did ten minutes earlier, but Kim Dokja thinks it’s funny how different they feel. Jeon Ildo’s arm looks so repulsive.

Unfortunately, not answering an invitation right away is considered very rude, and Dokja’s brain is already overwhelmed just by this turn of event, let alone formulating any words to refuse it. With a shaking hand, he reaches back, gulping down his saliva and prepares to slip away from the slimy Marquis once they’re away from prying eyes instead.

A firm and wide gloved hand catches his wrist just as he’s about to touch the Marquis. Dokja blinks up to see a heavily scowling Yu Junghyeok, looking like he’s contemplating murder with his bare fist alone.

“…Your Grace?”

Instead of answering him, Yu Junghyeok turns to Jeon Ildo and says, “Marquis Jeon, the imperial family will soon arrive. We need to go now.” The calm of his voice is a terrifying contrast to the dark look inside his eyes.

Yet, Jeon Ildo just looks fairly amused. “Of course. We must not let the Emperor wait.” He then steps back, gesturing for Yu Junghyeok to take the lead.

Yu Junghyeok exhales a bit too gruffly.

Dokja, who could only stare at the development in a stunned silence, finally lets out a shaky breath. He’s okay, of course. He’s just a bit ruffled that a slimy ahjussi suddenly flirted with him like he’s an innocent maiden.

Ah yes, the high nobles, such as dukes and marquises, are required to greet the Emperor first before escorting the imperial family into the ballroom. Dokja has never been so thankful to the empire’s ridiculous customs.

His concentration scatters again when Yu Junghyeok grabs his chin without warning, turning his face up to meet his eyes. Distantly, Dokja hears himself squeak like a startled rabbit when he unknowingly locks himself inside Yu Junghyeok’s eyes, seeing something flash in the dark irises. The light from the chandelier above makes them appear gold.

Yu Junghyeok tucks a bit of hair behind Dokja’s ear, setting the alarm inside Dokja’s brain off. Isn’t this pose far too horribly intimate? What the fuck, Yu Junghyeok?!

“I’ll go for a bit. Wait for me here.”

Stupidly, he nods.

Although he is quite excited to see the grand palace and witness the first meeting between the male and female leads, Kim Dokja isn’t as thrilled to do the nobles’ duty, namely socializing.

He pointedly avoids his supposed noble family as well, keeping his presence low as he floats to the opposite side of Count Kim Jintae and the rest of his family. The Count has been glaring at him the moment he slipped away, clearly wanting to throttle his neck, but Dokja isn’t particularly interested in engaging with the Count’s whining. For once, Dokja is glad that the Count cares about his image so much that it prevents him from chewing Dokja out in the open.

It is a good thing too that the previous Kim Dokja was also as introverted as him, so no one bothers to even attempt making conversation.

Back in Seoul, the most socializing Kim Dokja had ever done was to get roped into the office’s drinking party, which was unfairly mandatory for newbies and lowlives like himself. At times like that, Kim Dokja would try his best to make himself invisible and slip out of the party unnoticed. He is proud of that skill.

So that is what he’s currently doing. Unfortunately, however, no one is permitted to leave the ballroom when the imperial family still hasn’t even entered yet, so Dokja has to be content with just avoiding the crowd, slipping into an empty balcony with a full plate of food and a glass of fancy champagne in hand.

Although many nobles are already dancing around the ballroom, the actual ball hasn't started until the imperial family arrives together with the marquises and the dukes. It will be officially opened by Princess Uriel and the emperor, followed by the other imperial family members, then the dukes and their partners, the marquises and their partners, then the counts, and so on.

According to the original novel, Yu Junghyeok will meet the female lead Lee Seolhwa and ask her to be his first dance partner tonight. Their blossoming romance will start after the ball is over.

For some reason, although he claims to be excited by the first meeting of the fated lovers, Dokja isn’t as eager to get the front seat for the historical moment. He is content to oversee the whole event from his spot in the balcony, which is nicely placed on a mezzanine, hidden in a way that allows him to see the center of the dance floor while being essentially invisible to other people’s eyes.

At least, that was his plan until he could not spot his Duke among the high nobles that stand to the right of the imperial family.

The noble’s first dance is almost starting, where is Yu Junghyeok?

His eyes frantically searches the crowd, finding the beautiful white-haired lady who should be Lee Seolhwa standing without any Yu Junghyeok on her side. Too focused in his search, Dokja almost gets a heart attack when someone steps into his balcony.

“Yu Junghyeok?? What are you doing here?”

Yu Junghyeok stalks towards him, seemingly unconcerned that he definitely shouldn’t be in a secluded balcony two floors higher than where he should be. The piece for the imperial dance is almost over and other dukes have already begun to take their partner’s hands. Even from where they are, Dokja could hear the people murmuring about the absence of the Duke of Schweichen.

“Kim Dokja, may I have this dance?”

Dokja whips his head as he gawks at the stupid Duke, the champagne glass he’s holding nearly slips off his hand in his surprise.

“Your Grace, you are supposed to dance your first dance with a lady you choose to court!”

The duke frowns deeply at his words. “I don’t like those giggly women.”

“Then you should check the other young lords.”

Yu Junghyeok scrunches his nose like a petulant child. Dokja hates himself for thinking that he looks cute.

“I don’t like anyone.”

Sighing, Dokja holds his temple and closes his eyes, feeling the headache building because of the stubborn toddler in front of him. Wasn’t Yu Junghyeok’s character supposed to be cold but calculating? He is sure he has read that Yu Junghyeok could set aside his disgust and prejudice if it means he could strengthen his political power? Where would the flowery romance between him and the female lead Lee Seolhwa go if he refuses to even look at the other nobles to meet her in the first place?

“Your Grace, the first dance is a very important way to show your stance in politics, as well as a way to establish a great bond with other supporting families, and—”

“You said I should not let anyone dictate who I should dance with.”

Kim Dokja gapes.

“I know, Your Grace, but—”

“Is it not a teacher’s responsibility to guide and make sure their students are doing well?”

“This is not our class, Your Grace.” Dokja’s voice comes out as a pathetic little squeak, rigid from nervousness.

Yu Junghyeok steps closer, setting Kim Dokja’s champagne down beside the half-empty plate of food on the balustrade without the owner’s awareness, crowding in with an amused smirk. Said owner is busy leaning away from the Duke’s sudden advances, his eyes darting behind the other man in search of nonexistent help.

“Just take my hand,” Yu Junghyeok prompts, offering his gloved hand. “If you don’t want to, then don’t.”

Dokja’s gulp is audible in the chilly evening air, which suddenly doesn’t feel that chilly anymore due to their close proximity. His brain is too busy repeating the word ‘what what what what what—’ to notice that he had dumbly placed his hand onto Yu Junghyeok’s. A fleeting triumphant smirk on Yu Junghyeok’s face goes unnoticed by Dokja’s frantic mind. The poor teacher doesn’t know what happened until he is led to the center of the ballroom, having been betrayed by his own body.

His fragile mind is slammed back to the ground when he hears the first note of the piece, collecting himself in time to bow down to his smug-looking dancing partner.

Why does Yu Junghyeok look so satisfied anyway?

The Duke doesn’t give him a chance to back off from this predicament, as he steps forward quickly and imprisons Kim Dokja in an elegant waltzing hold.

But…

“Your Grace, your hand…” Dokja squirms, trying to get Yu Junghyeok to shift his hand higher from its perch on the small of his back. Why is he doing this again? What was the use of the hours and hours of their dancing lessons? “Your Grace, people are staring…”

The insensitive Duke just tightens his hold instead, pulling him close, almost chest to chest. There are so many hushed whispers around them. He can see how indecent they are being in the eyes of other nobles. Even married couples don’t usually display this much physical closeness. They are in an imperial ball, for god’s sake. Distantly, Dokja hears a shriek that suspiciously sounds very similar to Princess Uriel.

“Your Grace—”

“Kim Dokja,” the Duke cuts him off in time as the melodic cue to dance flows from the orchestra. Dokja gasps when he feels his body being swayed lightly. “Shut up and just look at me.”

Miraculously, Kim Dokja does.

The music picks up and their waltz really begins. The light and airy melody makes Kim Dokja feel like he’s between clouds, swept by the graceful steps of the Duke, who suddenly seems like a dancing prodigy compared to when he danced in their lessons. Suddenly, the previously airy music drops into a grand cadence. Dokja’s mouth falls open when Yu Junghyeok effortlessly grabs his waist and swings him in the air in a wide and elegant arch, as if Dokja only weighs no more than a couple of grapes. Yu Junghyeok lets out an amused huff at Dokja’s expression, smiling so carefreely as he continues to spin Dokja around.

What the fuck?

Where is his clumsy student who was always so awkward and stiff whenever the music was playing? Where is the rigid Duke who struggles with physical contacts? Where is the constipated look the Duke always wore whenever he tries to follow the waltzing steps?

Who is this?

When Yu Junghyeok sets him down, their faces are merely an inch apart. He could feel Yu Junghyeok’s warm breath tickling his cheeks, and Kim Dokja finds his eyes lowering to stare at the Duke’s lips.

It is as if the entire ballroom has faded away, leaving only the two of them in the whole world. Dokja can’t get his eyes away from the smile and the softness in Yu Junghyeok’s eyes. Like this, it feels almost like Yu Junghyeok is only seeing him, like nothing in the world matters except him, like he is the center of Yu Junghyeok’s universe.

There is an unexplainable warmth curling inside his chest the longer they sway along with the music. Dokja is horribly aware of the weight of Yu Junghyeok’s hand on the small of his back. It burns, terrifyingly hot and concerningly addicting.

Too soon, the piece comes to an end.

Dokja blinks to feel Yu Junghyeok dropping him back to the floor. Oh, he doesn’t realize that he is out of breath.

Following the etiquette, Yu Junghyeok dips his body in an elegant bow, kissing Dokja’s knuckles with a gentle smile.

Dokja’s heart stutters.

Oh, he is really fucked.