Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 55

Episode 55

“It makes no sense.”

Nelly, who was about to nod in agreement, stopped moving.

She reached out to grab the thickest bandage she could find but her arm fell short to pass it over Leonel’s neck. She hesitated for a moment before moving closer.

Leonel kept trying to suppress a smile that threatened to burst forth.

“Don’t just laugh; please put your hand away.”

Leonel, realizing his actions, furrowed his brow. 

“We need to hurry…”

Nelly mumbled, but Leonel’s attention was elsewhere.

With each pass of Nelly’s hand over Leonel’s neck, her thin hair tickled his chin. If someone were to see them, it might have seemed like they were hugging. 

Leonel finally whispered when Nelly got closer again.

“Let me do it.”

“Okay!” 

Nelly smiled and handed the bandage to Leonel. She stepped back without any disappointment.

Leonel lightly brushed over the areas Nelly’s hand had touched. Despite claiming to dislike physical contact, there was no reluctance in their touch. 

Whether riding together or wrapping the bandage around his neck, there was no tension between them, as if leaning against a wall or hugging a tree. 

‘Does she not think of me rationally?’

It was actually a good thing. Getting entangled with the manager on a personal level would only complicate matters.

But why is it bothering him so much?

Leonel frowned as he stared down at the bandages. Upon noticing, Nelly sighed softly and took the bandages again.

“I’ll do it.”

She said as she approached, and the scent of soap, mixed with an unidentified flower, wafted from her.

Leonel squinted his eyes and seemed to breathe deeply as if trying to push away the unfamiliar scent. 

Nelly tilted her head when she saw that he was clenching his fists more tightly than usual.

“Does it hurt? Did I wrap it too tightly?”

“Just do it.”

Leonel muttered as She tied the bandage. The touch of her hand near his neck felt vivid, almost as if it passed too close.

Unconsciously, he held his breath until Nelly retreated.

“Well, I’ll leave then. Make sure to take care of the treatment!” 

She said as she nodded, and then she left the room.

Only after hearing the sound of the door closing did Leonel finally exhale. The faint smell of soap still lingered in the air. He took several deep breaths and ran his hand through his hair.

But his breath still felt constricted, as if he had inhaled a lungful of hot steam.

* * *

I have been holding back revenge for several weeks.

Leonel’s throat had long since improved. Eating breakfast together had become somewhat familiar.

But why wasn’t I seeking revenge?

“Your Grace, are you not feeling well?”

Leonel’s expression was far from good. His face was pale, and he looked extremely tired.

A few days ago, I woke up in the early morning and couldn’t fall asleep, so I saw the lights on in Leonel’s room when I was walking. It seemed like he had been staying up all night for several days.

‘How is it that he’s having a harder time because I’m not taking revenge?’

It seemed like not seeking revenge was perhaps more difficult in this situation.

“I’m fine.”

Leonel said with a far-from-fine expression.

Before dying, when he was struggling, I tried to push dessert toward him as I used to do out of habit, but he slapped my hand lightly.

‘No, don’t pity him!’

With determination, I quickly finished the dessert and got up.

“Well, then, I’ll get up first.”

Leonel nodded his head.

Leaving him behind, I went outside and ran into Levance, who was on his way to work. It seemed like a good opportunity, so I stopped him.

“Mister Levance!”

“Miss Nelly.”

“Do you happen to know if anything is wrong with the Duke?”

Levance raised an eyebrow in apparent confusion and looked at me with a questioning expression.

“His complexion doesn’t look good.”

“Oh!”

He sighed softly and nodded his head.

“He hasn’t been sleeping much lately. He hasn’t slept well at all.”

For an average person, that wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Just how little has he been sleeping?”

“For the past week and a bit.”

He hasn’t slept at all for a whole week? …Is he even human?

“Not a wink?”

“He takes catnaps in his study, but that’s about it, I think.”

No wonder his face looks so worn out.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“I don’t know for sure.”

He answered with a sidelong glance, avoiding my eyes. I knew that expression well. It was the “I know, but I can’t say” look.

“Do you have any guesses?”

“But it’s such a personal matter…”

“It’s not because of work that he can’t sleep?”

“It’s the opposite. He works because he can’t sleep.”

Is he planning to keep working without sleeping until I put him to bed? That can’t be right!

“Wouldn’t it be better if he took some sleeping pills?”

“He’s already been taking various medications for a long time, so sleeping pills don’t work anymore.”

How many pills has he taken to the point where even medication doesn’t work?

When I looked at him with astonishment, Levance gave a bitter smile.

“Oh, and brace yourself for the influx of immigrants. You’ll probably be extremely busy soon.”

I felt a rush of anxiety. If we start receiving immigrants, it won’t just be the current staff; we’ll need supervisors, knights, and laborers. We’ll have to organize the town, build houses and public facilities, and repair the roads!

“Anyway, don’t worry too much about His Grace. He can get by with catnaps.”

Right now, it wasn’t Leonel I was worrying about, but myself. However, those words still stung a bit.

“Catnaps are enough? Does anyone in the world manage with just catnaps?”

My gruff voice seemed to pierce through my throat, but I swallowed my concern, not wanting to appear too worried.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

Levance nodded and went upstairs.

I stood there, picturing Leonel’s face. Then, I shook my head. 

Pull yourself together, Nelly Pepper. This is your chance.

The only revenge that had ever seemed possible was to ‘visit at night and keep him awake with stories of the estate.’

I needed to let Leonel know the suffering of working without sleep.

‘Let’s make sure he can’t even take catnaps!’

* * *

“Frer! Frer!”

“Yes, I’m coming out.”

He opened the door and let out a sigh.

“The door might break.”

“Give me some medicine.”

If Leonel sleeps today, he might fully recover from exhaustion. Then I won’t be able to let him know the agony of working in a tired state.

With desperation, I grabbed Frer’s hand. He was startled and pulled his hand away.

“We don’t handle narcotics.”

What is he talking about?

“Not that kind!”

“Then what kind of medicine do you need?”

“I need something to help me not to sleep.”

“Huh?”

“More precisely, I want to sleep, but I can’t! I need that kind of medicine.”

Frer scratched the back of his head with his staff.

“Why do you need that?”

“Because I have too much work and I don’t want to sleep!”

“Ah, I see.”

Frer lightly sighed and nodded his head.

Alright, this excuse was perfect. I smiled proudly, and Frer went inside to rummage through the cabinet.

I followed him inside and sat at the table. Frer turned around.

“We don’t have the ingredients right now.”

“Should I go get them from the storeroom?”

“Some of the things we need aren’t in the storeroom… I saw them in the nearby forest, but I can’t go there right now because I need to let the sheep graze later.”

“Then I’ll go get them!”

Frer clenched his fist while hugging his staff. After some hesitation, he nodded.

“The forest is dangerous, so you shouldn’t go alone.”

“Of course.”

Frer looked at me with distrustful eyes, then turned away. He sat at his desk, spread out a few books, and began transcribing something onto paper.

After a while, he handed me a sheet of paper.

“Here.”

“There aren’t many?”

“No.”

The paper was meticulously illustrated with bright red berries, tufts of grass, and peculiar-looking roots.

As I carefully examined it, I stood up abruptly.

“I’ll be on my way then.”

“Don’t go alone.”

“Yes!”

I went outside and climbed onto Guadang. I had planned to go with anyone I met on the way.

“Arette?”

Of all the people, I had to run into that person.

In an instant, dozens of scenes flashed through my mind. Arette had reported to Leonel about the herb I was looking for, and I was drawn to him, about to be interrogated.

‘Fortunately, it seems like he didn’t hear my voice.’

Now is the chance. I need to run away!

I turned Guadang’s head towards the forest, bent down, and hugged his neck.

“Guadang, run!”

I whispered, and Guadang pounded the ground and dashed out. The fierce wind brushed my cheeks. I closed my eyes tightly. The speed was too fast, and it was a bit scary.

At the same time, I felt relieved and slowly turned my head backward.

‘If he didn’t ride a horse, it would be hard to catch up… Aah! Scary!’

Arette was following me at an incredible speed without changing his expression.

He was even catching up with me!

But he couldn’t match the speed of the donkey, and the gap began to widen little by little.

However, I was already in the forest. If I kept running to shake him off, I would be out of the woods.