Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 118

Episode 118

The nobles mostly left the palace.

Leonel and Nelly decided to stay a little longer to relax and ease their fatigue. They lay side by side in bed for the first time in a long while.

“I’ve never seen so much blood in my life.”

Nelly murmured with a dazed voice. Leonel gently stroked her shoulder and forearm with warm hands.

But the shock didn’t easily subside.

“My heart is beating too fast.”

“You’ll be fine after some rest.”

“Yeah….”

Nelly replied in a muffled voice and quickly fell asleep. Leonel, too, lay down comfortably and closed his eyes for the first time in a while.

The night passed peacefully, but even the morning was not peaceful.

Leonel was awakened from his sleep by the excessive warmth of the embrace.

“Nelly?”

His throat tightened, and her body felt like a burning coal.

Leonel couldn’t think for a moment.

He, who had stood like a statue, lifted Nelly like a possessed person and got up.

He quickly walked and groped for his memories. As soon as he arrived at the doctor’s room, he opened the door without even knocking.

The doctor looked at Leonel with a startled expression.

“Your Grace.”

The doctor greeted him, but there was no room for Leonel to respond. He laid Nelly on the bed.

“She’s been burning up since she woke up.”

While the doctor examined Nelly, Leonel held her hand tightly and sat beside her.

He rested his forehead on his hand, thinking. He wondered if she had eaten something wrong, met someone who upset her, or gone somewhere strange and had a terrible experience.

He didn’t know. Leonel was completely ignorant of Nelly, at least for the past few days.

Suddenly, he felt a roughness on his lips when they touched her hand. A scar from when she had thrown a piece of glass was there, and he carefully kissed it.

As Leonel was overwhelmed with helplessness, the doctor finished the examination and removed his hand.

“Has the patient eaten something she hasn’t eaten in the past few days?”

“…”

“Or has she exerted herself excessively or experienced psychological shock?”

“Yes.”

“Please explain in detail.”

All he knew was that Nelly had seen blood yesterday and was startled. 

Leonel was familiar with blood and corpses, regardless of how horrifying he might find them. Therefore, it was impossible to gauge how much of a shock Nelly had experienced.

“She saw a lot of blood yesterday in the courtroom. Does that have something to do with it?”

“There doesn’t seem to be any major physical issues. It’s likely a psychological matter. She should improve after a few days of rest.”

“No medication?”

“Give her this to drink when she regains consciousness.”

“What about before that?”

“Rinse a cloth in lukewarm water, squeeze it, and wipe her body. Dress her in loose clothing; it will help reduce the fever.”

Leonel returned to the room, holding Nelly. He cleaned her body and changed her clothes, but the fever didn’t subside easily. 

As he wiped Nelly’s arms and legs again, he heard a knock on the door. Without an invitation, Adelhardt entered the room.

“Is Nelly unwell?”

Leonel remained silent as he continued to care for Nelly. Adelhardt sat on a distant sofa and spoke.

“The maids can take care of her. The palace has plenty of people.”

Leonel sat down by Nelly’s side. He didn’t want to entrust Nelly to anyone else. He felt that if he did, he would once again be ignorant of her, and he couldn’t protect her.

Adelhardt, after hearing a deep sigh from Leonel, called him.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Relax your expression a bit. Anyone who sees you might think Nelly is dead.”

Leonel’s bloodshot eyes held a menacing glint.

“I can’t even make a joke, it seems.”

Muttering under his breath, Adelhardt got up from his seat and approached the bed. He extended his hand as if he were trying to measure Nelly’s fever, and Leonel swatted it away.

“Don’t touch her.”

Adelhardt, who had been looking at Leonel with a bewildered expression, remained in the chair next to the bed.

“She’ll be fine with some rest. Nelly has collapsed before. Relax a bit.”

Nelly had collapsed even when she had attempted to build a secret canal in the early morning. 

At that moment, Leonel’s heart had clenched. In truth, her current condition was better than it had been then. However, Leonel’s mood was even more miserable. The happiness that had once filled his arms seemed to crumble away like dust.

If he didn’t know what it was like to sleep deeply, to laugh easily, to listen to her heartbeat while leaning into her body heat….…

“I’m scared.”

Leonel scrubbed his face roughly with his dry palm. 

Adelhardt’s expression showed surprise. It was the first time his friend had shown weakness. 

Not even when his parents died or when he returned with Tatiasun’s body in his arms, his insides rotting and in agony, had he spoken a word.

He looked at Nelly with fresh eyes. She was the one who had changed Leonel.

‘With Nelly around, he won’t be suffering in silence all alone, will he?’

With that thought, his worries melted away like snow. He stared at his friend for a while before bringing up the matter at hand.

“Mary, the maid, woke up.”

“Tell her to go back to the manor and get some rest.”

Adelhardt nodded in agreement.

“I’ll arrange for a good carriage. Elling can return as soon as you find another ranch keeper. He’s too good to make fun of.”

Since he didn’t want to think about anything other than Nelly at the moment, Leonel simply nodded in response. As if his task was complete, Adelhardt stood up and approached Leonel. He placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Take care of yourself. Nelly might faint again if she wakes up and sees your face.”

“Get off my case.”

“Don’t thank me. I’ll come back when Nelly wakes up.”

With a cold remark, Adelhardt turned towards the door. 

Leonel watched him until he left, staring at his back with a mix of irritation and gratitude. Then, he let out a long breath.

‘She probably won’t faint, but she’ll worry.’

He went to the bathroom, washed up, and changed his clothes. 

After lying by Nelly’s side for a while, his eyelids had become heavy. When he closed his eyes briefly and then woke up, Nelly’s body temperature had returned to normal.

However, Nelly didn’t wake up immediately. She spent one day in a deep sleep and the next day in a feverish state before finally opening her eyes.

* * *

“Leonel…”

As soon as I called out with my parched voice, Leonel jolted up. 

He brought water immediately, probably because of the last time I fainted. I grabbed his hand tightly and gulped down the water greedily, taking in refreshing breaths.

“Phew…! I think I’m alive.”

“Is your body feeling better?”

Leonel gently wiped the sweat-dampened hair away from my face.

I let go of his hand, feeling embarrassed for no reason.

“My whole body aches.”

“It seems like you have muscle pain from being too tense.”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

When I leaned forward, Leonel held me close in his arms, as if he had been very worried. His long exhale indicated that he had been very concerned.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“About two days.”

“Is that so? What about Mary? Is Faust and Frer still with her? Are they still at Adelhardt’s mansion?”

“They’ve been sent back to the estate to rest.”

I nodded and looked up at him. His red eyes were shining warmly.

“Leonel took care of me?”

“Yes.”

“You must have been worried. Thank you…”

My expression of gratitude was interrupted as my stomach, quite inconsiderately, growled loudly. I was about to scold my belly, but Leonel was even more startled and grabbed my hand.

“What are you doing?”

“I, I’m embarrassed.”

He chuckled and lowered my hand.

“I’ll tell …… to get you some soup. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I’m not hurting myself!”

“Alright, I understand. Don’t hit my lover.”

“Lover?” 

I thought it was just another word for “significant other,” but hearing that term for the first time made my face flush unnecessarily. Being sweaty and turning red, I must look quite unsightly.

Not wanting to be seen by Leonel, I hid under the blanket. I heard him moving on the other side of the blanket. 

Unable to contain my curiosity, I cautiously peeked out with only my eyes, and Leonel kissed me on the eyes.

Then, he called a maid to bring some soft food. After dismissing the maid at the door, he came back with the food. He placed the tray on the console next to the bed and picked up a soup bowl, spooning a bit and blowing on it.

“Ah.”

I wasn’t sure if it was an exclamation or something else, but it seemed to imply that he wanted me to open my mouth. I hesitated for a moment as I gazed at the spoon so close to my face.

‘No one has ever fed me before, so it’s embarrassing.’

But now was the perfect time to try out a noble’s treatment! I closed my eyes tightly and opened my mouth. A few seconds passed, and the spoon hadn’t entered.

Is he teasing me? Or did he mean something else? Did he hurt his finger while scooping the soup?

I cautiously opened my eyes, and the spoon quickly entered my mouth.

I swallowed the soup, and when I opened my mouth again, Leonel chuckled. This time, he dipped a piece of torn bread into the soup and fed it to me

“Leonel, you should eat too.”

He nodded. I didn’t hesitate and used a knife to cut a piece of bread and a fork to pick it up, then offered it to Leonel.

“Here, ah!”

He took the bread without resisting, smiling as he ate it. We finished our meal this way, taking care of each other, and then we washed up and changed our clothes.

When I tried to rest on the sofa, Adelhardt appeared as if he knew I had gotten up like a ghost.

“Nelly, are you okay now?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine!”

Adelhardt sat down across from me, and I observed his face closely.

“Are you okay, Adelhardt?”

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t be?”

“But at that time, you saw it directly…”

“It’s me. I might not be as accustomed as Leonel, but it’s familiar.”

“I thought I’d die of shock.”

Leonel’s hand on my shoulder tightened. I wondered if there was anything to say, and when I turned my head, our eyes met.

I’ve seen this look before, but where? Right, it’s the same look I saw in Leonel’s eyes just before I died.

‘This doesn’t bode well.’

I wanted to ask what he was thinking, but Adelhardt’s voice broke the tension in the room.

“Even so, Nelly, you didn’t witness what happened because of your swoon.”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell us why Nelly was kneeling in the courtroom.”

Leonel’s response to Adelhardt was chilly. Adelhardt gave me a knowing look, and I couldn’t help but wonder why he had acted that way.

“I asked Archduke Landers to put Nelly in the palace as the culprit so that Gardner or Devondus wouldn’t have to try to kill her.”

Leonel had a rather displeased expression, but I knew he had the intention of protecting me, so I didn’t say anything.

I straightened up and looked at him.

“But why did you bring Viscountess Morgane with you, Leonel?”

“I stopped at the castle before coming to you and met Adelhardt there. He said someone seemed to be impersonating you.”

“You went to catch Viscountess Morgane just because of that? How did you know?”

“The shape of the nose is quite similar, especially the pupils of the eyes. Of course, she can’t compare to you, but…”

Leonel’s fingertip brushed against my eyelid. My face turned red, and Adelhardt’s expression soured.

I decided to stop the awkwardness and pulled Leonel’s hand away.

“That should be done by the prince, why are you asking Leonel to do it? He must be tired after going to the estate and back.”

“Nelly, if you’re going to treat me like that, then speak informally.”

“Adelhardt should go for that!”

“Am I usually too lenient? Even Elling has been acting up lately.”

Affectionately, Leonel tilted his head toward the somewhat lenient Adelhardt.

When the innocent prince sighed in relief, Leonel continued teasing him.

“When you hang out with Nelly, you’ll learn how to look down on your boss.”

Is he trying to provoke me?

I raised my eyes wide open, and Leonel let out a small laugh. For some reason, he seemed proud of himself.

Satisfied with leaning on Leonel, I nodded my head and asked Adelhardt.

“But why did you ask if I am good at acting?”

“If you’re a good actor, I wanted to give you a heads up on the plan. The Queen ordered us to find the kidnapper.”

“So, the Queen believes I’m not the culprit?”

“She didn’t even suspect you for a moment.”

“Anyway, all of a sudden getting detained, losing contact with Leonel, or you being with Devondus was quite shocking.”

“Right. Just now, I thought that person was betraying us when he was whispering.”

Calling the name of the deceased felt challenging, so I stammered and added awkwardly.

“But why didn’t you tell me? I’m good at acting.”

Adelhart smiled gently.

“Nelly, you can’t act. You’re very clumsy.”

What? Do I look like one?

I pouted, and laughter came from the side. I turned to Leonel and raised my head.

“No, really, I’m good at acting. Adelhart thought I was suspicious. He noticed, right?”

“You’ve been suspicious ever since you held the letter your mother sent you?”

How did he know that?

“Ah, uh, no, not really?”

“Look at you, acting all clumsy again. If I’d told you in advance, Devondus would have laughed as soon as he saw.”

He would’ve chuckled, right? I couldn’t even complain in front of the Queen. I reluctantly nodded.

Leonel, who was still upset, hugged me, and his lips pressed against my forehead.

“It’s okay. You’re cute.”

Even though someone’s around us! Blushing, I slapped his thigh, and he playfully pouted, muttering.

“Naughty.”

Adelehart, watching us, smiled and stood up.

“Leonel, when you return, get a check-up from Elling. You’re sick.”

“Go.”

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

Adelhardt waved at me and left the room. I bent down to hug Leonel’s waist.

“When are we going home?”

“Whenever you want.”

“Then let’s go today.”

Leonel responded with a kiss instead of an answer.