Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 43

Episode 43

“That’s already known.”

Silence enveloped the room. Roman appeared momentarily flustered, then spoke again.

“She said she would never tell the Duke that I was a spy. Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”

“Is that all?”

“Yes?”

“Nelly Pepper’s suspicious behavior.”

“At night, digging the ground…”

“Skip that, go on.”

“Taking the donkey secretly…”

Leonel straightened his back and crossed his legs. He placed his clasped hands on his thigh.

“The first person who informed me that you were a spy was Nelly Pepper.”

Roman’s face contorted with shock and betrayal.

Leonel looked at Roman’s face again and reaffirmed it. Nelly Pepper was just conscientious and competent enough to be suspicious.

He wiped his face with his dry hand and continued the interrogation.

Most of the questions were about what information he had stolen. Leonel instructed the scribe to record everything and then stood up from his seat.

He hadn’t noticed it in the underground, but when he came out, the sun seemed to have gotten stronger.

He went up to his office.

Levance and Lizzy got up and greeted him. Lizzy, who had heard about Nelly’s collapse, seemed more sullen than usual.

Leonel briefly glanced at her, then gestured for Levance.

“Change the schedule.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Instead of receiving the reports once every three days, we will receive them once a month.”

“Is this a sudden decision?”

“I thought it might be difficult for Nelly Pepper.”

As Leonel finished speaking, the ink cap suddenly flew toward his head, startling him. He tilted his head slightly to avoid the ink cap.

When he turned around, Lizzy was holding the inkwell upside down, and her eyes seemed ready to pop out. Her gaping mouth seemed like it would touch the desk if she exaggerated even a bit. Beneath it, black ink gushed like a waterfall.

Levance rushed over, his expression filled with surprise. 

“Miss Lizzy! The ink!”

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

Although their processing speed had increased, the cost of supplies had gone up tenfold. Leonel sighed and rubbed his temples.

Levance joined Lizzy in wiping away the ink.

“Didn’t you say that you would never extend the term for fear that the managers would embezzle and become lazy?”

“If it were her, she wouldn’t ruin the estate…”

Before Leonel could finish speaking, Lizzy suddenly burst into tears. 

“See! Our estate manager! Miss N-Nelly, she’s such a good person!”

“Alright, but don’t wipe your face with ink-stained hands.”

“Huh, okay! Huh.”

Lizzy replied while unconsciously wiping away her tears with her ink-stained hands, leaving her face covered in ink.

Leonel sighed and touched his forehead. 

“Send her home.”

“Yes, understood. Lizzy, please ask the butler to help you wash up before leaving.”

“Alright, huh!”

Lizzy sniffled, dabbing her face with her sleeve, and then left the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, her sobs grew louder, as if she thought no one would notice.

Her cries gradually faded into the distance. Leonel pressed his temples and then put on his glasses, picking up his pen.

Levance glanced at him, and when Leonel sensed the gaze, he lowered his pen with a sigh.

“If you have something to say…”

“Well, it’s nothing, Your Grace.”

“Say it.”

“I was just surprised that you reduced Nelly’s workload because she was feeling overwhelmed.”

“If a talent like her feels burdened and leaves, it’s my loss.”

A faint smile crept onto Levance’s face. When their eyes met, Leonel felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment. His entire body felt itchy, reaching an uncomfortable level.

He furrowed his brow and pointed towards the door with his index finger. 

“Leave.”

“Are you telling me to leave for the day?”

“Do as you please, just get out for now.”

“Then, I won’t overstay my welcome.”

Levance chuckled playfully, gathered his belongings, and hastily left.

Leonel remained alone in his office, surrounded by the scent of ink, burying his face in his hands.

* * *

The surroundings were noisy. Before me, a banquet was spread out, with Leonel to my right and Arette to my left.

‘What’s going on?’

My thoughts ended abruptly, and my lips moved on their own.

“The weather is quite nice, isn’t it?”

Lightning flashed outside, and Arette raised his head. We engaged in a few unexpected conversations. None of it seemed to be under my control.

But it felt very familiar. It was only natural. The conversations were just like the ones I had shared on the day I died. At the same time, there was a lack of any sense of reality.

‘This must be a dream!’

As soon as I realized it, I felt relief. No, I shouldn’t feel comfortable. I died that day. I needed to wake up before I experienced that pain again.

‘I might be able to wake up when I can move my body as I please.’

However, no matter how hard I tried to move my body as I would, it was futile. The situation from that time was reproduced exactly as if following a predetermined script.

I opened my mouth to say something, but when the salad was served, I started chewing. I could taste the sourness, the bitterness, and the sharpness.

‘…It’s delicious.’

Feeling my body chewing and swallowing the salad against my will, I stopped rebelling.

‘Anyway, it’s just a dream. I’ll wake up soon, right?’

As Leonel ate the salad he offered and looked around, my body became increasingly heavy. When I tried to get up from my seat, my vision suddenly spun.

Everything seemed to move slowly, as if under a spell. Gradually, the face of a man appeared in my fading field of vision. He was a middle-aged man with an unfamiliar face but the same red eyes as Leonel. The face of Altwood slowly contorted.

It was like watching someone who had caught a cat in a trap set for a leopard.

‘Is this just a simple dream? Or is it showing me something I missed?’

I didn’t ponder this for long. I heard Leonel calling my name like a scream. His face, filled with despair upon hearing my declaration of revenge if I survived, made me realize once again that this was just a simple dream.

‘Leonel shouldn’t be despairing over my death.’

<End of Volume 1. To be continued in Volume 2.>

1) Wooden Interior Decoration Placed On The Wall Surface.