Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 42

Episode 42

The excuse of being sick and laid up is a good way to get off the hook.

He trusted my instincts. If he wants to unmask Nelly Pepper, he needs to make a move now.

“Arette.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Tell Levance to take charge of the fire suppression. And you, immediately join the firefighting efforts after driving away the wolves.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Before the response was even complete, Leonel strode purposefully. His steps pointed towards the western tower.

There was no reason. It was just a gut feeling.

As he ascended the stairs into the tower, he met a maid coming down.

“Is Nelly Pepper awake?”

“Yes. But she took some medicine a little while ago and fell asleep again.”

“Medicine?”

“She had a fever and complained of muscle pain, so Mr. Frer came by and gave her some medicine. He said it was a drowsy fever reducer.”

“I see. I’ll go check.”

The maid greeted him and went downstairs. It was probably unnecessary, but it was a momentary thought. Whether Nelly Pepper was in bed or not, he felt he needed to see with his own eyes.

Leonel went up.

He quietly opened Nelly’s door.

Inside, it was dark and silent… except for the faint sound of her breathing.

Leonel closed the door and approached Nelly, bathed in moonlight through the window, her face serene in sleep.

As he looked at her sleeping face with slightly parted lips, Leonel couldn’t help but let out a sigh he didn’t realize he had been holding.

‘At least this has nothing to do with the current situation.’

Leonel observed Nelly for a moment longer before turning away. So, who started the fire and why? 

Was it Roman again? Did he cause the commotion to steal classified documents? Leonel thought he needed to check the study.

That’s when it happened.

A suspicious sound came from near the window. Leonel hid beside the wardrobe, and soon after, there was a noise from the terrace. A man opened the window from outside and silently made his way towards Nelly.

“Hmm…”

The man, after a brief pause to catch his breath, rolled up his sleeves. Leonel slowly approached from behind, drawing a dagger he carried with him. Simultaneously, the man also drew a dagger.

“No offense, but even if I fail, they’ll probably keep trying to assassinate you anyway, so you might as well die by my hand.”

At the mention of continued assassination attempts, Leonel’s face contorted. He couldn’t understand why a spy was targeting Nelly Pepper. But his body reacted before his reason.

Leonel reached out with his left hand as the man raised his dagger. His large, strong fingers grabbed the back of the man’s head. Simultaneously, he kicked the man’s legs away forcefully, as if pushing a heavy gate.

“Ugh!”

The dagger fell to the floor. The man couldn’t resist the force from above and below and fell to his knees. His head twisted backward as Leonel pulled his hair.

Leonel pressed his boot onto the man’s calf and looked down at his face. The man’s face was concealed by a black mask.

However, the mask fell helplessly to Leonel’s dagger.

“You’re the ranch keeper, aren’t you? Your name was Roman, right?”

When Roman tried to turn his head to cover his face, Leonel applied more pressure to his hand. Roman couldn’t make a move; Leonel’s strength was overpowering.

“Guh…!”

“Shh.”

As a warning, the blade blocked Roman’s lips vertically. A cold and sharp sensation penetrated his thin skin. It felt like his lips would split if he moved even a little.

“It’s better if you stay quiet.”

Leonel glanced at Nelly for a moment. She was still sound asleep, oblivious to the world.

His gaze shook for a moment.

Roman had attempted to assassinate Nelly. With that revelation, a significant portion of the assumptions Leonel had built about Nelly came crashing down.

‘If she were a spy, she wouldn’t be suffering like this in such a situation.’

Nelly whimpered lightly and tossed and turned, clearly in pain from severe muscle aches. Her actions and words showed no sign of deceit. No one would put on such an act even while asleep.

If he could, Leonel would have sighed and rubbed his temples. 

‘Did I suspect the wrong person?’

Acknowledging this fact didn’t take long. He made sure to keep his breath steady to prevent Nelly from waking up. They needed to leave before she woke up.

She seemed to resent being under suspicion, and if he showed any signs of violence, she might even quit her role as the estate manager.

If she truly was a diligent and competent talent, this was an indispensable situation to address.

“I’ll help you up, but follow me quietly.”

“Yes…”

Roman replied in a voice that seemed on the verge of fading away.

Leonel used his foot to push Roman’s dagger under Nelly’s bed. Then, he removed his foot from Roman’s calf, but his grip on Roman’s neck remained tight.

Quietly, with the dagger still pressed against Roman’s throat, Leonel moved towards the door.

“Open it.”

Roman opened the door.

There was no one in the corridor. With the dagger still at Roman’s throat, Leonel stood in front of the stairs.

When Leonel didn’t move further, Roman thought Leonel might push him down the stairs. Trembling, he reached back and grabbed Leonel’s clothes.

“P-please, spare me.”

“I don’t intend to kill you, as long as you cooperate.”

“I’ll tell you everything!”

Leonel briefly glanced at the room at the far end of the corridor and whispered.

“Don’t make a loud noise.”

“Yes, yes.”

“The fire and the wolves, was it your doing?”

“…”

Roman involuntarily clenched his lips shut when asked about his actions. Leonel observed the trembling Roman for a moment before taking a step forward.

Roman’s toes extended beyond the edge of the stairs in front of Leonel. He pushed harder against his heels and answered with a trembling voice.

“Y-yes, I started the fire and lured the wolves with meat.”

“The purpose?”

“To sneak into Nelly Pepper’s room…”

It was an unsatisfactory response. Leonel extended his arm forward, and Roman’s body tilted dangerously forward before being pulled back.

The fear of potentially falling from the high stairs and the impending doom left Roman speechless. He couldn’t even scream; cold sweat dripped from his body.

As if demanding a more detailed answer this time, Leonel asked.

“Why did you sneak into Nelly Pepper’s room?”

“I received orders to kill her!”

“And the reason?”

“They said she was too competent and would interfere with their plans…”

“Hmm.”

Leonel made a strange noise, causing Roman’s legs to shake even more.

“I-I’ll tell you who ordered it!”

“I already know that.”

Roman let out a sigh.

“But I’m curious about something else, and this isn’t an appropriate place for a conversation.”

Leonel glanced at the stairs, considering his options. The stairs were too high to drag Roman down easily. Making a mistake could lead to disaster.

He measured the distance between Nelly’s room and his current location, then pushed Roman’s legs with his foot, placing them over the stairs. 

“I apologize in advance.”

“W-what…”

Leonel’s shoe heel struck Roman’s ankle sharply, causing a distinct cracking sound as the full weight of an adult male pressed down on it.

“Ah, oh!”

Leonel grabbed Roman’s hair and forcefully twisted him, silencing the scream that burst out of Roman’s mouth.

Before long, the scream subsided. Roman, injured from his fall, was writhing in pain as he was dragged down the stairs.

Just as Leonel was about to leave the entrance, the knights rushed over. Leonel tossed Roman aside to them.

“Lock him up in the underground cells.”

The knights bowed and carried Roman away.

The next day, Leonel, accompanied by a few knights, entered the underground cell. Following a winding path, they reached Roman. His arms were shackled and connected to the ceiling, bearing most of his weight.

“Are you in pain?”

Roman, with his eyes tightly closed, nodded his head.

Leonel signaled to a knight, who then adjusted the pulley to lower Roman slightly.

As his broken leg touched the ground, Roman let out a painful groan. Leonel gripped his head and pressed his thumb firmly against the pressure point.

“As long as you answer honestly, your life will be spared.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Roman’s voice was severely hoarse and difficult to understand.

Leonel gestured to the knight to allow Roman to lower his neck.

“For now, tell me everything you know about Nelly Pepper.”

Although he had already acknowledged that Nelly wasn’t suspicious, it wouldn’t hurt to double-check.

Roman spilled all the information he had gathered about Nelly’s past. It didn’t differ significantly from the report he had received after Arette’s investigation.

Strangely, his headache intensified.

“You were observing Nelly quite closely. Did you notice anything unusual?”

Roman suddenly raised his head.

“Yes!”

The knights flinched, knowing that many of their family and friends had unknowingly received help from Nelly. If she were indeed a spy, it would be hard to trust anyone ever again.

Reluctantly, Leonel signaled with cold eyes for Roman to continue speaking.

“She said she didn’t like the Duke and that they weren’t on good terms!”

It was a juvenile answer, but from what they had heard, Nelly was the first to suspect that Roman was a spy. So, saying such things to a spy could be considered a subtle approach.

The knights glanced at Leonel, their expressions troubled. He still held his head and exhaled deeply.