Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 70

Episode 70

Leonel awoke from his slumber at the sound of knocking. Nelly seemed to have gone back to her room.

The sky, once serene until moments before he slept, had turned pitch black.

“Again…”

Leonel covered his eyes with the back of his hand. He had fallen into a deep slumber once again. Since returning from the battlefield, he could count the times he had slept deeply on his fingers.

‘But recently, I’ve been sleeping deeply quite often.’

Even when he was with his trusted subordinates, he didn’t fall into such a vulnerable slumber.

He was always on edge. Even the sound of the wind rustling through the branches could startle him awake.

Levance mentioned that Leonel often slept in the office, but in reality, he couldn’t call it sleep. 

He would briefly doze off and wake up repeatedly, hearing the faint sounds of Lizzy and Levance moving. It was less tiring to stay awake enduringly than to go through this cycle over and over again.

Knock, knock.

The knocking sound pulled him out of his reverie.

Leonel sat up and ran his hand through his hair, attempting to gather his thoughts.

“Come in.”

The butler opened the door, and for a moment, his expression showed surprise at the dimly lit interior.

“I thought no one was here because it’s so dark.”

Leonel didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t evade the keen eyes of the butler. He noticed that some of the fatigue had faded from his master’s face.

The butler called the servants and lowered the chandelier to brighten the room. As the room brightened and the servants left, Leonel moved to his desk.

The butler approached Leonel.

“Did you sleep well?”

Leonel hesitated for a moment before nodding. The butler smiled meaningfully.

“A few hours ago, I saw the manager in the hallway in front of the office.”

“…Sleep comes easier when she’s nearby.”

He added as if offering an excuse after a brief silence. The butler acknowledged it gracefully, restraining the urge to ask when it started.

“It’s an unusual occurrence.”

It indeed was unusual. The butler had watched Leonel since he was young.

Leonel’s insomnia had started after his parents passed away in a carriage accident.

It was an accident caused by releasing the carriage wheel just before the family’s trusted servant, who used to be close to the Duke, went off a cliff. 

It wasn’t a mere mistake; it was an assassination.

Someone was found to have received money, but the mastermind remained elusive, as the servant’s body was discovered. 

Leonel denied that anyone close to him would do such a thing.

However, the queen speculated that Leonel’s uncle, Devondus Altwood, was the culprit.

‘Do you have evidence?’

‘I don’t. It’s up to you to believe it or not.’

‘Even if it’s my uncle, he’s still family. I can’t believe he would kill my parents.’

‘If everyone dies, he becomes the duke. With ambition, what wouldn’t he do? If you find it hard to believe, watch carefully. He’ll surely try to kill you.’

Following the queen’s words, attempts to assassinate Leonel continued. He relied on the queen for protection. To gain the queen’s support for Leonel, they needed a justification. So he went to the battlefield to build a case.

Even on the battlefield, he was pressed for time to survive. There was no time to dwell on his parents’ deaths, the betrayal of the servant, or his uncle’s villainy. 

While things were gradually stabilizing, the person he considered closest to him turned against him.

Tatiasun passed military confidential information to the enemy. As a result, he was in danger every time there was a battle, and many subordinates lost their lives.

Since then, Leonel couldn’t easily fall asleep and couldn’t sleep for long due to anxiety about the possibility of betrayal. 

The butler, who watched this closely, always felt sorry for his master, who was like his own son.

Watching the butler skillfully tidying up the surroundings, Leonel crossed his legs and rested his chin on them.

“I wonder what’s different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do I fall asleep so easily with Nelly, when I didn’t when I was with Levance or Arette?”

“I suppose they’d be upset if they heard you.”

“I can’t help it, though. I feel rather uneasy around them, even though I trust them both…….”

Leonel sighed deeply and brushed his hair aside. The butler stood by Leonel and looked at him thoughtfully.

It was a look as if watching a latecomer who had just started love.

“I think I know what it is.”

Leonel turned his head to look at the butler. An understanding gaze met Leonel.

“If you think about it carefully, you’ll figure it out soon.”

Leonel was lost in thought. It had been quite a while since he had set aside his suspicions towards Nelly. However, if asked if he trusted her more than Levance and Arette, he could firmly say no.

Yet, why did he feel less anxious when he was by her side?

What was different about her? Leonel, lost in contemplation, sighed in realization, much like a person who had gained insight. The butler looked at Leonel, his eyes shining with expectation.

“Do you understand?”

“Yeah. Unlike Arette and Levans, Nelly is…”

Leonel paused for a moment to choose his words carefully.

“Like a piece of paper.”

Arette and Levance possessed strength, but Nelly was fragile. Even if Leonel were to become defenseless, it didn’t seem like she would harm him.

And she was easily startled by minor things. Even a slightly dangerous situation would make her scream and wake Leonel up.

Realizing this vulnerability, Leonel unconsciously felt a sense of relief and comfortably fell asleep.

“Is it because she’s so soft, like a tuft of fur?”

Thinking of her luscious, golden-brown hair that shimmered sporadically in the sunlight, Leonel nodded to himself.

While he was satisfied with this understanding, the butler closed his eyes as if implying there was no definitive answer and lowered his head.

“I’ll go out, Your Grace. Please call for me if needed.”

Leonel watched the butler heading towards the door.

The butler and Nelly had nothing in common. However, just by looking at the back of the butler, Leonel was reminded of her leaving after he had fallen into a deep slumber.

‘Come to think of it, she did say she doesn’t hate me anymore.’

Moreover, she came back without being asked and stayed by his side until he was completely asleep.

An inexplicable sense of contentment rose from his lower abdomen to his spine. It was like feathers tickling his chest, or as if thin and soft hair had been sprinkled over his skin, causing a pleasant sensation.

Again, there was that unnamed emotion that continued to unsettle his reason. Leonel looked down at his palm.

It still felt like he could sense Nelly’s warmth.

* * *

“Miss Nelly. Miss Nelly!”

“Yes?”

“What’s the matter?”

Gerald asked with concern, placing a piece of paper in front of me. I shook my head and lightly brushed my cheeks to snap out of my thoughts.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s the top list for the wines you requested last time.”

Right, I had asked him to choose the wine for dinner. I blinked without responding, then raised my head, realizing what it was.

“Oh! Thank you. Good job.”

Gerald nodded slightly and left the office. Once the door was closed and we were alone, Sophie glanced at me.

“Miss Nelly, you seem absent-minded all day.”

It’s not that I had any worries, but I felt uncertain all day.

I didn’t want to admit it, but it was because of Leonel. Like a sneeze that comes when you don’t want it to, his face popped into my mind without warning.

The bigger issue was that my desire for revenge wasn’t igniting. I would have thoughts like, ‘Well, I should start planning my revenge soon…’ but I didn’t actively want to devise a plan. Is this the power of infatuation? Even hindrances don’t seem like hindrances.

“That’s true.”

Even to my ears, it sounded like a voice that had lost all strength. When I raised my head, Sophie was looking at me with a curious expression, as if she wanted to ask what was wrong.

I wanted to confide in someone… I opened my mouth, then shook my head. 

What could I say to Sophie? ‘Actually, I was planning to revenge against the Duke, but I’ve lost my motivation and it’s bothering me.’ That wouldn’t be appropriate.

“Sophie, you can leave first. I’ll look over the wine list, the orchard status report, and a few other things before leaving.”

Sophie nodded and tidied up her desk.

“Make sure to have dinner and work.”

“Yes. Thanks.”

After bidding farewell to Sophie, I looked over the wine list.

‘I have no idea what’s what.’

I do drink occasionally, but I’m not well-versed in wine; I just have it as an accompaniment to meals. If you asked me to lay them out and compare them, I wouldn’t know the difference. That’s how clueless I am.

‘I need someone to consult with…’

Before I could finish my thoughts about the dining table, Leonel’s face popped up again.

No! Not Leonel!

I vigorously shook my head to clear his image and buried my face in my desk. Calm down. Calm down and focus on something else for now.

Reports had piled up as the harvest season approached.

I had missed seeing most of them as I had been lost in thought all day. At this rate, I felt like I wouldn’t finish even by night.

‘I should take them home and work on them.’

I’d stop by Hadiger’s on the way and grab something to eat. I put the documents in my bag and got up from my seat.

Guadang, my hedgehog, toppled over and I headed to Hadiger’s house. As soon as I arrived, I gave Guadang a carrot.

“Guadang, take a break for a moment.”

I patted his head and knocked on the door. It opened faster than usual.

“Huh? Frer, you’re here too?”

“I came to grab some food.”

“I’m here”

As I peeked inside, I saw Hadiger, wearing an eyepatch, carefully chopping something. He seemed to have heard my voice and spoke up.

“I’m just finishing up; you came at the right time. Come in.”

Closing the door as I went in, I sat across from him. I watched Hadiger put mushrooms into the stew.

Now and then, he would slow down as he cooked the stew, and then finally he ladled it into a bowl. Perhaps he was used to the place; there was a certain ease in his movements.

“Sometimes I feel like Hadiger can see.”

Frer, who met my gaze for a moment, stood up from his seat. He moved the stew that Hadiger had served onto a tray.

“Is that so? It seems I look better at home than in public.”

With a sarcastic tone, Hadiger smiled and poured water. I, on his behalf, gathered the water and utensils and sat at the table.

Hadiger walked slowly, groping for the chair, and sat down.

I handed him the utensils. Then, I picked up my spoon.

“I will enjoy this.”

As I took a bite of the stew, Frer scooped some pie onto Hadiger’s plate and asked me while handing it to him.

“Nelly, why do you seem so absent today?”