Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 11

Episode 11

“Seems a bit suspicious, but it seems genuine that the manager is concerned. And since she said efficiency will increase, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. However, thoroughly investigate the selected individuals and report back.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Levance replied sharply and observed Leonel for a moment. There was a faint sense of anticipation in his gaze as he looked at the ledger.

Levance, holding a quill, murmured as if sighing softly.

“If you’re so pleased with it, why did you ask for an investigation afterward…?”

When Leonel looked at Levance with an urging gaze, Levance chuckled playfully and shrugged.

* * *

This is strange. Why isn’t the carriage shaking? Blinking my drowsy eyes, I suddenly sat up. 

What’s going on… Why am I lying in a room? And on a bed! I’m pretty sure I had dinner with Leonel, didn’t I? 

‘Is this a dream?’ 

I thought, but my mouth felt uncomfortable. Checking the time, it was a little past 10 o’clock. It seemed like I must have fallen asleep in the carriage as if fainting. 

I was puzzled about why I woke up in the room, but I got up and went to the bathroom. I applied toothpaste to my toothbrush and brushed while contemplating. 

‘Did Leonel bring me here?’ 

In the past, when I dozed off in the garden, Leonel often used to carry me to my room. But we don’t have that kind of closeness right now. He probably instructed a servant to do it, well. Still, I should thank him later. 

I yawned and changed into my pajamas. I lay down again, but sleep wouldn’t come. Should I work or… I shook my head. 

‘I’d better plan my revenge instead!’ 

I got out of bed and sat at the desk. I lit a candle and placed it in front of me, taking out paper and a pen. First, I wrote down what Leonel cared about. Excluding people from the list. 

‘Trying to manipulate people as if you’re some brilliant strategist. You’re too arrogant.’ 

Then it struck me that there were crops to cultivate at the queen’s command and a large-scale banquet to prepare for. One of the crops was from a foreign land, and I couldn’t recall its name properly. 

The banquet wasn’t my responsibility; the butler and Levance were in charge, making it hard for me to mess it up. 

‘Then let’s sabotage this crop for now!’ 

Nodding, I drew circles overlapping each other on the crop. I wanted to keep it this way, but if anyone found out, it might raise suspicions. Above all, Leonel’s suspicion was getting on my nerves. 

I put the paper into the fireplace and set it on fire before returning to bed. 

After a good deep sigh, I woke up, had breakfast, and headed straight to the management office. As soon as I entered, Sophie sprang up from her seat.

“Manager!”

It was a cheerful voice I hadn’t heard in three years.

“Good morning, Sophie.”

Sophie walked towards me, tears welling up in her eyes, and grabbed my hand tightly as she approached.

“When I woke up, the empty ledger…! Is this your doing, Manager?”

Doing you a favor? Sophie. When you say that, it makes it sound like I did something wrong. I awkwardly smiled and nodded vaguely.

Seeing how happy she was, I felt guilty for not helping out due to my busy schedule all this time.

“I’ll help out little by little whenever I have time.”

Between being exploited for labor by Leonel and working, this is the least I could do! It’s not something to be overly thankful for…

“Manager! No, Ms. Nelly! You’re the first one, Ms. Nelly, to do something like this for supervisors. I will support you like the sky from now on!”

Is this something to be so thankful for?

If I stayed still, they seemed ready to carry me and even march in the fields. Feeling burdened, I quickly clapped my hands.

“Oh no, there won’t be any help needed since we’ll be hiring more supervisors. It’s just a polite thing to say…….”

“You’re hiring more supervisors?”

“Yes. I got permission from the Duke yesterday.”

“Permission?”

Why does her voice seem to be getting louder? When I turned my head, Tom and Gerald, who were working, were also looking at me with surprised expressions.

As our eyes met, the two of them walked towards me like zombies.

“Hiring… more… supervisors…”

“Is it true that you’re planning to do that?”

What the heck! This is scary!

Backing away, I nodded my head, and suddenly the three of them rushed towards me.

“Hurrah for Ms. Nelly!”

“Hurrah for the Manager!”

My body, held by them, seemed to float in the air before settling on their arms. And just as suddenly, I was floating in the air again, with no chance to escape.

“Ahh!”

An involuntary scream came out at this first experience of being lifted like this.

Seeing me frightened, the three of them caught me and safely set me down on the ground. As I sighed in relief, Sophie grabbed my hand again.

“Thank you. Truly, Ms. Nelly, you’ve saved us.”

“To call it ‘saving’…”

Awkwardly laughing, I withdrew my hand, and this time, Tom firmly grabbed my hand.

“I thought I was going to die working like that! Ms. Nelly, from now on, if you’re involved, I’ll always assume it’s for a good reason.”

Before I knew it, the three of them were in a tug-of-war to hold my hand. And they were adding absurd flattery to it.

“I’m willing to lie under your feet like a human carpet. Walk all over me!”

“I’ll be your footstool!”

“Then I, I’ll lick your feet!”

Neither human carpet nor footstool, don’t even think about licking my feet!

I swatted away the hands of the three people who were competing strangely all at once. Then, I fled to my office and shouted.

“Alright, then prepare to hire the supervisor!”

“Yes! Understood!”

All three of them answered loudly at the same time. I heard the bustling sound of them moving outside the door. Worried that they might burst into the room, I quickly locked the door to prevent any sound from leaking out.

Afterward, I slumped into a chair with my legs giving way.

Sitting down on the spot, I covered my flushed face with both hands.

‘I didn’t mean to earn such fierce trust like this!’

I just wanted to help because I knew how tough their job was. If I had known they would react like this, I wouldn’t have mentioned hiring more supervisors.

Zombies who don’t care about humans are better than fanatics, after all!

‘No, let’s think positively. With this level of trust, even if I plan my revenge right in front of them, they won’t notice.’

Yes. There’s a saying that good is good!

I took a deep breath and stood up from my seat. Then, as I began to tidy up the desk I had left in a mess the previous day, I heard a knocking sound from behind.

Startled, I turned around, and it was Levance’s voice.

“Levance Danio here. Nelly, are you inside?”

“Yes, come in.”

I answered absentmindedly, and there was a clicking sound at the door.

Right. I had locked the door. I realized I’d been acting foolish and quickly walked to the door to open it. Levance was looking at the doorknob, but when he looked up and our eyes met, he smiled slightly.

“You locked the door.”

Is that a problem? Tilting my head, I allowed him to enter.

However, he wasn’t alone. Behind him, servants were following in a line, each carrying a box with only the upper body visible.

“What’s all this?”

“Dresses sent by His Grace.”

“For me? Why?”

“I suppose he felt sorry for the misunderstanding yesterday.”

Misunderstanding? Ah, right. Because of what happened yesterday. He’s giving me a dress for this? He would probably attach a full designer label to me if he saw me in worn-out clothes or short dresses.

…Not a bad idea? Should I try it next time?

Since Leonel cares more about the harvest for the year than money, it might work.

“Hehehe.”

I chuckled at this amusing thought, and our eyes met as I did so. For some reason, Levance gestured to the servants. Following his cue, they simultaneously opened the lids of the boxes.

The jewels on the dresses reflected light, shimmering brightly. It was so dazzling that I had to turn my head away. Levance proudly spoke in a satisfied voice as he watched me.

“If there’s a dress you don’t like, please let us know.”

While he said that, his expression seemed to say there couldn’t possibly be something she didn’t like.

His face was a bit smug, but since I was planning to sell most of them and keep only a few anyway, the design didn’t matter.

“Please convey my gratitude to the Duke.”

“Of course.”

Levance nodded with a proud expression and then asked the servants to bring the dresses to my room.

Not long after, the servants rushed out in a hurry. However, Levance was still sitting on the couch.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Just thought I might accompany Nelly to the fields.”

“Why?”

“…Maybe to build some familiarity?”

A pause between his words revealed his hasty reasoning. I squinted my eyes and looked at Levance.

“Familiarity? Why?”

Even though the same question might be annoying, Levance was still sitting there with a smug smile on his face.

Most likely, the Duke instructed him to find out more about me.

Levance is quite crafty, so I need to be careful not to let him manipulate me. To do that, it’s better to meet someone else instead of just the two of us. I could pretend to be engaged in a conversation with someone else and ignore Levance!

“Well, since we’re on the topic, how about we take a stroll to the fields?”

“Sounds good.”

As soon as we stepped outside the office, Sophie, Tom, and Gerald lifted their heads like meerkats.

“Ms. Nelly, where are you going? Shall we escort you?”

“Ms. Nelly, shall I call the carriage for you?”

“Ms. Nelly, I’ve prepared a refreshing drink for you!”

Their enthusiastic responses caught me off guard. I was too flustered to even look at Levance to see his expression.

“No need for an escort, carriage, or drink.”

I firmly declined, and the three of them wilted almost instantly.

Before the three of them could regain their liveliness, I hurriedly changed my pace. If I went outside, there would be too many estate residents to greet, and I wouldn’t have time to talk to Levance. I marveled at my perfect plan.

With a satisfied smile, I stepped outside. Just my luck, Levance started talking.

“It seems you’ve become quite close with those guys.”

“Well, sort of.”

“Do you always walk around the fields?”

“Sometimes, yes, sometimes no.”

“That’s good. Since it’ll get hotter soon, it might be better for you to take the carriage from now on.”

“Ah, sure, whatever.”