Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 27

Episode 27

“Is this something the Duke has permitted?”

“Well, it’s not exactly…”

“Then it’s a problem.”

Roman, with a stern expression, cut me off with an uncompromising attitude.

“But, up until now…”

“If you’ve been using the donkey without permission, I will inform the Duke.”

“…I’m making efforts to obtain permission, something like that. Haha. I’ll come back once I get permission.”

Roman gave me a casual farewell and turned back along the path he had come from.

I held my head in my hands and sat down right there.

I’m doomed! There’s no way I can get permission.

If I borrow the donkey, Leonel will interrogate and doubt me with a face as inscrutable as marble.

‘Just thinking about it suffocates me.’

I need Frer more than ever, even if it’s for swift revenge.

Forget about the doctor. Frer is a celestial ranch keeper!

And it’s something he can do even while being a ranch keeper.

I turned around and began walking briskly.

Frer is right. I should try to talk to Leonel. If he becomes suspicious and investigates Roman, he might discover something, right?

As soon as I returned to the Duke’s residence, I knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

As soon as I opened the door, Levance appeared. I greeted him with a nod and entered.

Leonel glanced at me briefly and continued organizing documents.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Go on.”

I glanced at Levance. He was looking at me with great interest.

“The new ranch keeper, Mr. Roman, seems suspicious.”

“On what grounds?”

“He sent a messenger pigeon that appeared to be carrying a coded message to the open sky.”

“Hmm…”

Leonel placed his clasped hands on the desk.

“Was there a letter?”

“Well, there might have been…”

I hesitated for a moment before speaking honestly.

“There was nothing tied to the legs. But it could have been attached to the back or belly.”

“Is there any other evidence?”

Other evidence… Other, evidence…

I scratched my head, but nothing significant came to mind.

“Guadang seemed to dislike Mr. Roman, but that’s not strong evidence.”

Leonel looked at me intently. He didn’t specifically refute my words, but he didn’t seem to think my argument was valid either.

He released his clasped hands and picked up a pen.

“Alright, go.”

“I know you don’t believe me, but I thought I should mention it just in case. Maybe you could look into it.”

You’re good at being suspicious, after all.

The words shot up to my throat, but I swallowed them because I didn’t want any unnecessary resentment in my voice.

Without even looking at me, Leonel nodded vaguely. I gave him a nod and left.

On the way back to my room, Leonel’s gaze continued to haunt me.

‘Actually, even if it were me, I wouldn’t have believed this time.’

He’s a terminal case of paranoia, and on top of that, I want to give back the ranch keeper position to Frer.

Furthermore, Roman was different from the other ranch keepers.

He tried to fit in. People were prejudiced against him because of Frer.

So, from Leonel’s perspective, he had no grounds to accuse me of being prejudiced against Roman.

‘Let’s think about this again.’

What kind of person was Roman when I saw him before I died? I don’t remember well.

The pasture was under Tom’s jurisdiction, and I had only received reports and records.

I vaguely remembered how the operation was going, but I didn’t remember what kind of person Roman was.

‘I think he tried to socialize even back then.’

I had seen him a few times when I gathered rumors in the square or tavern.

But it wasn’t easy in the old days. People were overly cautious of the outsider, Roman.

But still, he had persistently mingled with people with an unsociable face.

Then, suddenly, he had an accident with folk medicine and was driven away.

Yeah. Suddenly! Out of nowhere!

‘Of course, it could be the case, but it’s strange how it keeps bothering me. Is it because the usually quiet Guadang was acting up?’

People would laugh if I said I trust a donkey over a healthy person.

I took a deep breath and returned to my room, lighting a lamp. Sitting at the desk, I pondered, but no convincing evidence came to mind.

‘What if I get closer and see what happens?’

* * *

The next day, as soon as work was finished, I packed beer and a pork leg dish and headed to the pasture. Guadang, who had run towards me happily, sniffed the air beyond the fence.

“Sorry, Guadang. No treats for you today.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Guadang abruptly turned around and left. Guadang, the cold donkey.

As I stared blankly at its black tail, I heard hearty laughter from inside the cabin. The voice sounded oddly familiar.

My intuition immediately warned me to turn back. Should I go? Should I stay? I hesitated, but the door suddenly swung open.

“Ho ho ho! Roman, you’re quite the hardworking fellow!”

It was Faust. This couldn’t be good. He was surely about to overwhelm me with excessive praise!

As I tried to flee, Faust’s voice grabbed me.

“Huh? Isn’t this the estate manager?”

Oh no. Wait, it might be better than being alone with Roman.

I turned around awkwardly to greet Faust.

“Ha ha ha. Faust, hello.”

“Well! Hello or not, who cares! Huh? What’s this? Alcohol and meat!”

Faust admired the food in my arms and smirked.

I glanced briefly at Roman. I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not with this situation.

“I brought this for Roman.”

“A ranch keeper having meat! It’s rare to be treated like this. Our estate manager is truly heaven-sent…”

“Argh, I’m hungry!”

“Uh, you’re that hungry? To the point of screaming?”

“Yes!”

“Well then, let’s eat something quickly!”

Faust hung his arm around my shoulder and turned towards Roman.

“Let’s go inside for another drink!”

Roman seemed to hesitate, his expression unclear.

“I’ll pass…”

“Come on, let’s have one more!”

Roman opened his mouth as if to refuse.

“By the way, how’s the Duke these days? I haven’t been able to find time to visit him.”

Faust asked me as if he couldn’t hear Roman’s voice.

I glanced at Roman, whose speech had faltered, fearing he might be embarrassed.

I wanted to ask what he was trying to say.

“Please come in, Manager.”

Somehow, the hoarse voice felt eerie.

…I’m really glad Faust is here. Since he used to be a knight, he’ll protect me if anything happens, right?

But I still need to stay alert!

I nodded and went inside. The layout of the house was no different from when Frer lived here. However, it felt barren due to the lack of belongings.

As I looked around, Faust entered and spoke.

“I see, Vice Commander, huh! Is he the Knight Commander now?”

“Arette?”

“Yeah. Arette and Levance look a bit more human now. Is that thanks to you, Manager?”

“No, it’s thanks to Lizzy. Lizzy is a genius.”

I was just speaking the truth. Faust’s expression changed so much that it seemed overly delighted. He kept nodding his head with a touched look in his eyes.

It seemed he thought I was attributing my achievements to someone else again.

Tired of explaining, I turned away from Faust and took a seat.

Roman brought three beer glasses. As soon as he filled the glasses with beer, Faust raised his glass.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

I weakly followed suit and raised my glass. Next to me, Roman linked glasses without saying a word.

After downing their beers, Faust put his arm around Roman’s shoulder.

“Is there any salad left from earlier?”

“Yes.”

Roman stood up and went to the kitchen like a ghost. I was surprised by the sudden informality in their conversation and looked at Faust.

“Have you become close enough to use informal language?”

“We got closer over drinks. Hahaha!”

“You didn’t meet for the first time today, did you?”

“We met a few days ago at a tavern, and he invited me home.”

“I was about to ask if Roman…”

I tried to ask, but suddenly Roman’s arm reached out and blocked the space between Faust and me. He had only put the salad down, but the conversation abruptly stopped.

Faust scooped the salad onto his plate and cut the pork with two forks.

“What about Roman?”

It wasn’t a rude question, but I didn’t want to ask it in Roman’s presence.

“No, more than that, I hope you enjoyed this dish, I asked the chef to bring it to you specifically!”

Faust laughed heartily and nodded. Then, he served the meat on my plate and Roman’s plate one by one.

Roman picked up a small piece of meat with his fork and put it in his mouth.

“Is it delicious?”

He nodded with a dazed expression in response to my question.

“Do the nobles enjoy this kind of dish?”

“Nobles?”

“I was wondering if people of high rank like this kind of food.”

Does Leonel eat this kind of food well?

I had never seen him pick at his food. He just ate whatever was given to him and didn’t seem to have strong preferences. While I was tilting my head in thought, Faust answered as he ate the meat.

“To be honest, he’s not particularly fond of meat. He often leaves it behind.”

“Is it because there’s too much meat? He doesn’t overindulge.”

“He always finishes his salad, though.”

That’s true. But when there’s no salad, he doesn’t specifically ask for it. Moreover, when I occasionally substituted the salad for other dishes, he happily ate them. So, it’s not that he enjoys eating it.

“He eats it to fill his stomach, I suppose. What the Duke enjoys…”

I was about to speak about the Duke’s taste when I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine and decided to keep my mouth shut.

Roman seemed to be listening with interest on the side. Faust was no different, judging by their expressions.

Looking at the two of them with nearly identical expressions, I wondered if they were in cahoots.

Without saying a word, I stared at them blankly, and Faust tapped the table impatiently.

“Come on, spit it out! You got me curious now that you stopped talking!”