Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 67

Episode 67

Arette signaled to the soldier. The soldier nodded and shouted to Adelhardt.

“I’ll open it, come in!”

“Don’t I need permission from the Knight Commander?”

Adelhardt was frustrated again by the fact that he wasn’t recognized.

When the soldier said it was okay to stay until the festival, Adelhardt slowly entered.

He felt eyes on his back, but he didn’t pay much attention. He had only briefly encountered Arette Dexter a few times. There was no way he could recognize him. 

As he was relaxing, Arette suddenly spoke from behind.

“Your name?”

Since there was nothing to prove his identity, Arette intended to at least inquire about his basic identity.

Adelhardt flinched as if he didn’t know there was another person present. Then, he turned his body towards the direction of Arette’s voice.

“Who else is here?”

“The Knight Commander.”

“Ah. Hadiger.”

“Where were you before coming here?”

“I was in the capital.”

“Your occupation?”

“I am a musician.”

“Criminal record?”

“I have none.”

“I’ll let you in. Stay quiet until the festival.”

“Thank you. I won’t cause any trouble.”

Arette nodded and realized that the musician couldn’t see him. He responded aloud.

“Yeah. The soldier will escort you.”

“Thank you.”

Arette called a soldier over and left quietly.

With the help of the soldier’s guidance, Adelhardt took caution and found an inn. He unpacked and waited for the village to be engulfed in darkness.

Taking advantage of the absence of any signs of vigilance, he quietly slipped out through the inn’s window. Adelhardt moved carefully to avoid being noticed, recalling the patrol times and routes he had received from Frer.

Arriving at Frer’s cabin, Adelhardt grinned playfully instead of knocking on the door. He confirmed that the latch on the window was unlocked and pushed it open.

“Aah!”

Frer screamed and raised his staff.

“Who… Your Highness?”

“How about that, Elling. Pretty cool coming through the window, isn’t it?”

“It’s not as impressive as I thought.”

Frer scratched his head with the staff and sat down on the bed.

“You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Adelhardt laughed and sat on a chair. Frer got up and started boiling tea.

“How did you come so quickly?”

“I rode hard right after the ball ended.”

“Why were you in such a hurry?”

“It’s easier to come in when Leonel’s not in the castle. They’ll think I’m in the palace. Plus, even if they hear a blind musician came in later, they probably won’t bother to come and check.”

“That’s why half of your face is covered, I see.”

While Frer fetched a teacup, he glanced at Adelhardt and asked in a playful tone.

“But is the disguise all about that? Just dyeing your hair brown?”

“When coming in, I wore an eyepatch and limped a bit. I bumped into Arette Dexter, but he didn’t notice.”

“The Knight Commander recognizes Your Highness’ face?”

“I’ve seen him a few times fleetingly after coming back from the war, so he might recognize me, perhaps?”

“No need to worry too much.”

“Right. Just need to be careful with Leonel. Even with the disguise, if we come face to face, he might recognize me.”

“I see.”

Frer sat across from him and changed the topic.

“So, how did you befriend Nelly Pepper? She doesn’t seem easy to approach.”

“Well, she already disliked me at first.”

Adelhardt smiled, recalling Nelly, who downed champagne in one go.

“Now I understand why you said she might turn somewhere unexpected.”

Thinking of the green eyes that looked at him as if observing a curious creature on the street, he couldn’t contain his amusement.

He burst into laughter unexpectedly.

“She’s quite the character.”

Frer stared intently at Adelhardt’s smile. Sensing his gaze, Adelhardt composed his expression.

“Any advice on what to do?”

“Hmm…”

Frer stirred his tea and let out a small sigh as a memory came to him.

“Don’t act suspiciously, especially since she’s often very sharp. If she catches on, she’ll promptly inform the Duke and your disguise will be in vain.”

“Besides the obvious, any other suggestions?”

Frer reminisced with a distant look on his face.

“She seemed to think of herself as an outsider. If you can establish a sense of camaraderie, it might work somehow.”

“That’s a decent suggestion.”

“Oh! And acting pitiful can work wonders.”

Adelhardt tilted his head, wearing a somewhat ambiguous smile as if asking what he meant. 

Frer sighed, looking as if he couldn’t be bothered to explain, and absentmindedly stirred his tea.

* * *

The intense sunlight peeked below his heavy eyelids.

Leonel woke up feeling unusually refreshed, unlike the usual mornings where he felt like his head would split upon waking due to lack of sleep and the aftermath of nightmares.

‘When was the last time I slept like this?’

He couldn’t recall. Since the mysterious carriage accident that claimed his parents, he hadn’t been able to sleep properly.

He thought he wanted to sleep a little more. As he contemplated this, he jolted awake at the faint sound of breathing.

Leonel reached out to the head of the bed to find his sword, but something else was already grasped in his hand.

When he turned his head, he saw a person sleeping diagonally on the couch.

‘Nelly Pepper.’

Leonel stayed put, lost in thought. Scattered memories started to piece together.

He was haunted by the specter of the past, as always. Then, someone called his name.

‘Your Grace, wake up. Your Grace, Leonel!’

The voice that pulled him from the nightmare was undoubtedly Nelly’s. He seemed to have had a conversation with her while still half-asleep, but he couldn’t remember it clearly.

However, as the nightmare was about to begin, the tender touch that comforted him felt strangely vivid.

It wasn’t so much a touch as an attack to pull his aching arm away, something Leonel was not aware of.

“Mmm….”

Nelly furrowed her brow and fluttered her eyelids.

Leonel couldn’t take his eyes off that small movement. Her trembling eyelashes swayed slowly. Soon, her eyelids opened, and her dazed pupils emerged like budding sprouts.

The morning sunlight-dappled irises sparkled transparently like shallow water.

Leonel even forgot to blink. He felt like he was being drawn into the light brown and golden patterns etched in the light green iris.

“Your Grace. If you’re awake, please release my wrist.”

“….Ah.”

Leonel made a dazed sound, releasing his grip a beat too late.

“Why is the person who was sleeping so strong?”

Nelly whimpered and playfully massaged her hand. Her grumbling voice and lips were endearing.

So, this was just an impulsive moment that slipped out.

“You can call me by my name.”

“Huh?”

Nelly widened her eyes. As if representing her bewildered emotions, her lips parted slightly.

Through the gap, her white teeth and the tip of her pink tongue were visible. Leonel, once again, pulled his gaze away, realizing he was being captivated.

‘I guess I’m not fully awake yet.’

He lightly patted his face a few times with his dry palm.

“You usually call me out of the blue, right? It’s not surprising.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Calling someone freely and getting permission is different, right? Nelly swallowed her words. Then, she nodded soon after.

“I understand.”

After all, she always called him Leonel in her mind anyway. What’s the big deal if it slipped out accidentally without being mindful of it? That was her thought.

But now that she had received permission, her words didn’t come out so easily.

On the other hand, Leonel felt an odd sensation when he, who usually drew clear boundaries, granted permission so easily to Nelly. It felt like a rich brush delicately and smoothly sweeping across his ribs. It was unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable.

What should he call this emotion? Unable to figure it out, he closed his mouth, making the atmosphere awkward.

Amidst this, Leonel’s gaze was still directed at Nelly. It was an intense, persistent stare.

Nelly felt like she had turned into strawberry pudding or something.

‘I should get up for now.’

She couldn’t just sit on the floor forever. She had to excuse herself for breakfast or something.

As Nelly finished her thought and started to rise, she felt a kind of pain as if muscles around her waist were being squeezed.

“Ouch.”

Nelly’s leg twisted abruptly. Leonel instinctively grabbed her arm and pulled her up as she was about to fall.

However, there was something Leonel hadn’t anticipated.

One was that Leonel was still lying on the couch, and the other was,

“Aah!”

Nelly was already sitting in a position. Moreover, she had been sitting like that for quite a long time, her body devoid of strength from falling asleep.

As Nelly slumped against Leonel’s chest, her thin and voluminous brown hair cascaded over his neck.

“Wait, don’t move.”

Leonel’s voice sank as Nelly lifted her head.

Their eyes met. Leonel felt sparks of an unfamiliar emotion. A weight and warmth pressed against the nape of his neck.

He covered Nelly’s face with his hand, feeling her soft forehead and cheeks against his palm. There was a subtle warmth in the air.

Nelly’s earlobes started to feel warm. Reflexively, she tried to get up. However, the sofa was narrow, and the only flat surface for her to step on was Leonel’s chest.

As her touch made contact, it felt delicately thrilling.

“I, I, I’ll, I’ll get ready to leave!”

Blushing intensely, Nelly, feeling a chill in her legs, hobbled towards the door as if she were fleeing.

As Leonel raised his upper body, she was already opening the door.

Nelly glanced back for a moment. When their eyes met, she blushed and turned her face, looking like she might jump in surprise.

Leonel wanted to grab her, pull her back, and put her on top of him again. The very thought of it was absurd.

‘Am I going crazy?’

A small hollow laugh was drowned out by the sound of the door closing.

He wiped his face once and looked at his palm.

The gradually intensifying petite face. The color, warmth, and texture vividly came back to life. 

Leonel squeezed his hand as if trying to grasp onto that memory.