The Duke's Passion

Chapter 613  The Earl's Secret -- Prologue

Year 1842

A group of beautiful courtesans entered a large guest room. There, a man wearing a mask, clad in a loose red robe, revealing his inked chest and sleeves sat leisurely on the armchair. His eyes behind the mask glossed over the beautiful ladies.

"Young Master, these are the best courtesans this house offers! They were all virgins and qualify to your preferences!" the Madam of this whorehouse smiled proudly while fanning herself elegantly. Although the man was slightly strange for hiding his face with a horrendous mask, he offered a huge sum of money. All she had to do was find her ladies, who were virgins with hazel hair. Her brows rose when the man raised a finger, moving it across the ladies. When his finger stooped at the lady in the back, the Madam grinned from ear to ear.

"Just her," came out a seductive voice with a touch of playfulness. "The rest, leave."

"Yes." The Madam smiled politely, cocking her head to gesture his pick to serve him. The woman, who had this long hazel hair and a thin veil covering half of her lower face, walked forth. "Young Master, just call for me if you needed anything." The man simply nodded before waving. So, the other courtesans curtsied gracefully and left along with the madam.

"Thank you for choosing me, Young Master." The lady the masked man picked voiced out with an amicable tone. "I will do my best to please you."

His lips beneath the horrendous mask curled up into a smirk, pointing at the empty chair across from him. He fixed his sharp eyes on her figure as she gracefully sauntered towards the chair and sat down. "Shall I serve you wine?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly. Upon seeing him tilt his head down, she smiled and reached for the decanter. While she busied herself to serve him and keep the mood, Claude, who was behind the mask, leaned back. He recognized this woman the second he laid his eyes on her. Or rather, this woman was very familiar to him because this wasn't their first meeting. Although he didn't expect to see her here, he didn't mind indulging with her for now while he was waiting for someone.

"Young master." She slid the drink in front of him, smiling subtly. "Should I remove the mask for you?" Claude quirked a brow, recalling this woman claimed she wasn't a whore during their first meeting. But by the looks of it, she was well-versed in doing this. Hence, an idea crossed his head. "Removing my mask is easy, but that dress looks complicated to take off." He pointed out playfully, gazing at the dress that looked more reserved than the other courtesans wore previously. "It will take more time. Why don't you take it off first? I don't have very long patience once I get in the mood, you see."

For a split second, he noticed how her eyes turned icy before she sported a smile. "Yes, Young Master." But Claude ignored it. While she stood up in a slow-motion, he kept his eyes on her. Currently, Claude was disguised as a notorious felon that had recently hit his radar. This felon had committed murder, smuggled weapons, drugs, and trafficked human organs. And it all happened under his nose.

Insulted by this atrocity, Claude wanted to solve this problem personally. So, although no one had seen the felon's face, there were descriptions of him from the people they had caught. Inked body, mask that hid his face, and his preferences in women. Apparently, this felon only touched virgins with hazel hair. So, here he was, disguising himself as that felon to fool another criminal about this transaction the Earl's people managed to snatch during the exchange of letters.

"You're taking forever," he spoke as the courtesan was purposely moving slower. To him, although he wanted to play with her, he didn't actually need her to strip. He just thought it would only add a dramatic and believable effect if the person he was meeting would witness something like this once he come. "Young master." The woman smiled subtly as she let out a distressed sigh. "Will you help me take it off?"

He quirked a brow. She was seducing him — just like all the noble ladies he had met. Claude was already immune to such a cheap tactic, making him lose interest in her significantly. How sad, he thought. Lilou, his beloved auntie, would not do something this cheap even when all the powerful pureblooded men would kill for her. "Hmm... come here." He crooked a finger, too lazy to stand up to help her. Just as instructed, the lady approached him while tucking her hair behind her ear. She turned around, showing him the drawstrings of her corset. "How appalling," he muttered, clipping the drawstrings in between his fingers. "For a virgin to act this bold... I am starting to question whether or not you are actually one..."

Claude trailed off, raising his eyes while keeping his body still. Just right after he pulled the drawstring, the woman spun around, pointing a dagger at his throat, knees on his thigh. Her eyes were cold and unmoving, staring into the eyes beneath the mask.

"I finally found you," she smirked, raising her dagger, which made him lift his chin. "Don't even try to do anything. Otherwise, I will plunge this dagger right into your throat."

'Now, now... this took an interesting turn.'

Claude averted his eyes while raising his hand, purposely making his hand and body tremble to make her believe he was alarmed. Also, to signal his people to stay on standby. The look in her eyes bore hatred as if she had finally caught someone she had been meaning to catch for a long time. It seemed they were both after the same felon since Claude was in disguise.

"I — I — I — please don't kill me..." his voice shook, having a completely different tone. "Shut up." She was unmoved, using the tip of her dagger to take the mask off of him. Slowly but surely, the mask fell down with a light thud on the floor. As soon as she saw the dashing face of a terrified young man and his pale complexion, her brows furrowed. "Who are you?"

Claude opened and closed his mouth, lips quivering. "I was told to act as someone's proxy! Please don't kill me!"