Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 54

Episode 54

The next day, the mansion was bustling from the morning as servants were busy carrying the belongings of those in the west tower.

The butler, who was overseeing the servants in the hall, noticed Leonel coming down.

“Your Grace.”

He looked surprised as he saw Leonel’s neck.

“Are you seriously injured?”

“Not really.”

The butler looked at the bandage with a formal smile. He wanted to ask why Leonel was wearing it when it wasn’t a severe injury.

Since there was no need to hide it, Leonel casually explained.

“It’s a work of Nelly Pepper.”

The butler’s face immediately brightened. The maids and footmen nodded their heads or smiled at Leonel.

Leonel furrowed his brow and turned away.

“Prepare breakfast for two from now on.”

“Understood.”

“And bring Arette to me.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Leonel entered his office and took a seat. Before long, Arette entered.

“Have you found it?”

“How are the instructions going?”

“As you instructed, to provide security to the manager only during her commute.”

“How many intruders were there in the past week, including illegal immigrants?”

“Including illegal immigrants, there were a total of 281.”

“How many of them were targeting Nelly Pepper?”

“32 of them.”

It seemed they had apprehended all the large groups entering.

Leonel nodded his head.

With the warning given, it should remain quiet for a while. It was the same last time.

However, he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

“Strengthen the defenses on the river since they can enter through it. Increase security in the mansion as well.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Even after responding, Arette didn’t leave but stood there.

Leonel looked at him with a questioning gaze, wondering if there was something else to say. Arette remained silent and hesitated before finally speaking.

“The neck…”

“It’s not severe. It’s fine.”

Leonel interrupted him and gestured toward the door as if telling him to leave quickly.

Arette gave a nod without saying anything more and left the room.

Leonel ran a hand through his hair and tried to focus on his work. However, his concentration didn’t last long. When Lizzy, who had just arrived for work, saw Leonel’s neck, she screamed.

She approached Levance like a typhoon and asked if the Duke’s neck was broken.

Leonel briefly considered undoing the bandage but decided to leave it as it was.

Levance’s mumbled smile reached Leonel.

“You seem rather relaxed, Levance.”

“Well! Not really.”

Leonel stood up, holding a report for five years’ worth of production figures.

In no time, the stack of documents landed on Levance’s desk with a heavy thud.

“Compile it into a single page through comparative analysis.”

Levance quickly flipped through the papers.

The early three years contained records from when Leonel’s father managed the estate, meaning it was a mess.

Levance thought of Devondus Altwood, who had done all sorts of nasty things to prevent giving up control of the estate and cautiously asked.

“Should we tidy this up as well?”

“Do it.”

He turned his head decisively. Lizzy, who met his gaze, hurriedly averted her eyes.

Lizzy was worried that sparks might fly in her direction, but Leonel left the office without saying anything.

He headed towards the horse stable. As he followed the path leading to the cultivated fields, he saw a long brown-haired figure in the distance.

Leonel dismounted his horse and approached Nelly.

“Nelly Pepper.”

Nelly turned her head, and her eyes, shining brightly in the light, widened significantly.

“Is it okay for the Duke to be wandering around like this?”

“Anyone who hears about it might think I’ve broken a leg.”

Nelly’s expression changed comically, and she glanced at the loosely tied bandage. Leonel felt an itch on his neck again as her gaze moved away. The scrutinizing gaze that had been following him disappeared as he furrowed his brow.

Leonel, with a peculiar sense of regret, approached Nelly.

“It’s growing up well.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

For some reason, her voice sounded somewhat uncertain.

“Her Majesty is planning to visit during the harvest festival this time.”

“She is?”

“I heard she wants to see the rice fields when the rice is ripe. Be prepared so that you can accompany Her Majesty.”

“Alright?”

The loud voices caught the attention of the workers.

Leonel turned to face Nelly.

“In that regard, I was thinking of entrusting you with preparing the harvest festival banquet.”

“Me? But, why me?”

“Not everything, just assisting the butler would be sufficient.”

Entrusting important tasks was Leonel’s way of showing a favor.

However, Nelly’s expression changed amusingly. She looked at Leonel with her characteristic mischievous eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter.

The dynamic changes in Nelly’s expression were fully captured by Leonel’s eyes. When Nelly’s expression brightened, a faint smile also appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Yes! I’ll work hard to prepare!”

After her enthusiastic response, a sinister chuckle followed.

“Hehehe.”

‘It seems she liked my favor.’

With a contented heart, Leonel nodded and turned away. He toured the estate once and then returned to his office.

Even after Lizzy and Levance had left work, Leonel continued to remain at his desk.

‘Is it only four years left after this year?’

Within seven years, he needed to develop the estate to the point where it would be recognized by Her Majesty the Queen, or he would face execution for rebellion. Originally, he had planned to progress more slowly, but thanks to Nelly, the progress had been faster than expected.

The crops were growing well, and the residents’ lives had stabilized to some extent. Judging by this year’s harvest, it seemed they could consider increasing the population.

‘But for that, I need to tidy up the town in advance.’

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath when he heard a knock.

It could be the butler or Levance. Leonel allowed entry without checking.

“Come in.”

The footsteps were much lighter than he expected. When he opened his eyes, he saw brown hair, emerald green eyes, and a close-up face.

“Nelly.”

Leonel realized what had just come out of his mouth and added her last name.

“Pepper.”

Then he stood up from his seat and went to the sofa.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to deliver this.”

Nelly sat down in front of Leonel and handed him a small wooden box. It was the ointment she had applied to Leonel’s neck yesterday. Leonel was about to refuse it, but he accepted the ointment in silence.

“Why this?”

“You need to apply it regularly to heal faster.”

“You want me to heal quickly?”

“Yes.”

“But you said you don’t like me?”

Nelly’s lips pouted slightly. As Leonel smiled softly, her raspy voice was heard.

“Are you usually the type to take things to heart?”

“I’m the type to take them to the grave.”

When he repeated the words he had heard somewhere, her densely packed face displayed a bewildered expression. 

Leonel burst into laughter due to the inexplicable cheerfulness. At that moment, Nelly glared at him, then startled and jumped up.

“Don’t laugh! You’ll reopen the wound!”

Then, she looked at Leonel’s neck and tilted her head.

“You didn’t reapply the bandage?”

Leonel nodded his head. Nelly narrowed her eyes at him, examining him without malice.

“You didn’t plan to reapply the bandage?”

Again, Leonel simply nodded. Since he didn’t need the bandage anymore, he had intended to leave it on for a while, but it had stayed on longer than he expected due to a sudden change in his mood. 

However, Nelly assumed that he hadn’t bothered to reapply it because he found it bothersome.

“You should change it often to heal faster.”

For this kind of wound, it’s better to let it breathe rather than wrapping it with a bandage.

As she was about to say that, Nelly locked eyes with Leonel, and suddenly, a mischievous spirit arose.

‘Didn’t Levance say that taking care of someone’s injuries makes you grow fonder of them?’

He hid his smile and opened his mouth.

“Then you can reapply it.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because you were the one who first applied it, so you should take responsibility.”

Seeing her incredulous expression, he became cheerful once again. Leonel shamelessly handed the ointment to Nelly.

“It wouldn’t hurt to apply some ointment.”

Nelly said as she took the ointment and went over to Leonel’s side.

“You can do it yourself if you look in the mirror.”

“It’s bothersome.”

Leonel replied, ignoring Nelly’s pouting lips. She proceeded to unwrap the bandage. There was a bit of blood on the part that touched the wound.

“I knew it would be like this. It’s bleeding again.”

Nelly muttered softly.

Leonel listened with one ear, not sure if it was nagging or just grumbling. He stared at Nelly in silence from time to time, particularly her lips moving as she complained and the thin but abundant brown hair-like things.

Whenever her small hand brushed against his wound, his expression involuntarily contorted.

‘Now I understand.’

Whenever Nelly’s gaze reached him or he thought of her, his neck would itch. He had wondered why that was the case, but it was because of this touch that was overly cautious and gentle, to the point of being ticklish.

Feeling suddenly awkward, Leonel moved his body backward. Nelly gave him a disapproving look and then stood up.

“I’ll go get some bandages.”

Nelly went outside and returned shortly with a basket full of bandages.

“It seems like more than yesterday.”

“You have to wrap it a lot to heal quickly.”