Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 74

Episode 74

It’s strange. 

I thought I was accustomed to being suspicious, but something felt different this time. 

Was it because I thought I understood Leonel and Tatiasun better after we talked about them? 

My nose tingled.

Just as I realized his loneliness like how he recognized mine, we both seemed to think we could trust each other this time.

But I felt like I was back to square one. My vision blurred, and I bit my lip.

This isn’t right. I know crying won’t solve anything. If Leonel suspects me, instead of crying, I should fuel my revenge.

“Nelly.”

His rough, low voice made me lift my head. At the same time, the tears I had been holding back finally fell.

Leonel clicked his tongue lightly and gingerly ran his index finger under my eyes. After his fingertips quivered for a moment, he lowered his hand, clenching it lightly into a fist.

“I know.”

I was completely taken aback by his unexpected words.

“You do?”

Stupidly asking again, Leonel swept my hair over and gently wiped away my tears.

“I know it’s not you. So stop crying.”

“But earlier, you seemed angry, so…”

“I was just trying to get you to hurry.”

I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. What does he mean by getting me to hurry?

As I stood sniffling, Leonel snapped his fingers. Then he pulled out the chair next to him and gestured for me to sit. As I sat down, a servant brought a warm cup of tea.

A sip of it made me feel a bit more settled.

“It seems that Her Majesty desires you. Lady Etkin is here to find out who you are.”

My stomach, which had calmed down with the warm tea, flipped again. I wished I could just crawl under the table and cry.

This is all because of the rumors! Adding strange rumors to my failed revenge has caught Her Majesty’s attention.

I don’t know how to salvage this situation.

Amid my turmoil, Leonel continued his explanation.

“Lady Etkin belongs to the type who believes to understand a person’s essence, you need to see what angers them. The problem is, that’s also how she usually behaves.”

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and nodded.

“So that’s why she talked like that…”

“Yes. Honestly, I thought you would get angry, but you surprisingly remained calm.”

That’s a teasing tone. Feeling embarrassed, I shot a brief glare at him.

“Don’t even give me that look.”

“I thought you might faint from trying so hard to restrain yourself.”

“I’m not being sarcastic.”

“But she’s the Duchess. How could I dare?”

“I’m a Duke.”

Right. When I realized this, he chuckled and took a sip of his tea.

“I found it difficult to deal with Leonel at first too.”

I added defensively, and he laughed.

Well, I don’t know about Leonel now. But when I first met him three years ago, I was so scared that I could hardly speak properly.

Only after returning to the past did I realize how reckless my actions were. He might be a much more forgiving person than I thought.

Regardless of the attitude of skepticism and scrutiny towards everything.

“Anyway. You didn’t like it when I got on your nerves and you just laughed it off, so don’t bother since I leaked information that could be suspected of being an attempt to disturb the relationship.”

“…How can I not worry?”

“It was something I already knew. I didn’t know who the spy was, though.”

“You knew?”

Leonel nodded.

“So why didn’t you interrogate me?”

He looked at me and lowered his eyes.

“I already told you, didn’t I? I knew it wasn’t you.”

“Were you watching me? Or did you search the room or the office?”

“You… “

Leonel frowned and sighed. He rubbed his forehead for a moment and then muttered to himself.

“Yeah. It’s all my fault.”

He brushed his hair back and looked up.

“In the circumstances-“

“Circumstances?”

“It couldn’t be you. Is it that surprising?”

Leonel doesn’t judge the situation based on circumstances. He always wanted solid evidence. It’s about confirming and reconfirming until doubts are dispelled.

But this was like… like…

“Do you trust me?”

I was startled by my own words and covered my mouth. Leonel didn’t respond immediately.

His sleeping figure overlapped above his face. A defenseless and peaceful face. How many people could sleep calmly in front of someone they don’t trust?

There may be some, but Leonel wasn’t one of them. He was someone who could never be included.

Perhaps I had already realized it. Revenge was the only reason I thought I had come back to the past, so I turned a blind eye.

In my opinion, Leonel hit the nail on the head.

“Indeed. In many ways.”

There was no falsehood in our meeting eyes.

“So, don’t be taken by Her Majesty. She’s not one to easily give up on what she wants, so if you don’t want to leave, you should prepare your mind firmly.”

And I realized. It’s still unfair that I died young due to exhaustion, but it can’t be helped.

Revenge is already lost.

* * *

Leaning on the table and relaxing my body, my arms slumped down. In my listless state, I heard Frer’s voice.

“Why are you like this?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Nelly. You look like a defeated jellyfish.”

“Frer being Frer.”

When I lifted my head, Frer scratched the back of his head with a blank look in his eyes. It seemed like he was debating whether he should feel bad or not.

It’s funny, but I don’t have the energy to laugh. I sighed weakly and slumped down again.

“…Why are you like this?”

Frer sat next to Hadiger.

Hadiger groped around with one foot and found the leg of Frer’s chair. He pushed the chair away and shrugged, distancing himself from Frer.

I answered Frer’s curiosity in Hadiger’s place.

“What should one do to fall out of favor with the Queen?”

“Trying to find out to do the opposite?”

Hadiger asked with a teasing tone.

“I’m serious.”

“Wouldn’t it be an honor to work directly under Her Majesty?”

“It is. It’s an honor, but it’s too burdensome. I’m not exceptionally competent.”

“Nelly tends to underestimate herself.”

What does Frer know? It’s like a byproduct of revenge failure!

I couldn’t hold back the desire to cry and buried my face on the table. Hadiger stretched his hand and patted my back.

“There’s a story I’ve heard.”

“What is it?”

I sat up as soon as he moved his hand. Hadiger seemed to hesitate, then leaned on the table with his elbows and rested his chin on his hand.

“Her Majesty likes wine. Quite extravagantly, to the point of excess.”

Frer seemed uninterested in our conversation and excused himself to prepare the stew. I nodded and asked Hadiger, who had paused.

“So, should I pay special attention to the wine? Look good and politely refuse afterward!”

“No. It’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

Hadiger began a story about a certain viscount.

The viscount was quite competent. He wanted to live modestly, tending to his lands, but the Queen wanted him to rise to the capital and assist her.

To persuade him, she visited his estate, but she found the wine to be terrible. However, the viscount was oblivious to the bad taste of the wine.

The Queen, without trying to persuade the viscount further, shook her head and said this.

‘How can one who does not know the taste of wine understand the affairs of the state? I shall not keep him by my side.’

I’ve got it! I haven’t submitted the wine suppliers yet, but I have a selection. I didn’t finalize the order.

I asked with concern suddenly while laughing brightly.

“Did he get punished for it?”

Hadiger nodded his head. 

“He hadn’t done anything wrong.”

I stifled my laughter, afraid Hadiger would be surprised. Anyway, it seems like a way out. I’ll have to change the wine as soon as I get back!

“Which wine did Hadiger find the most unpleasant?”

“Raeblun. …I haven’t tasted it, but I heard it’s terrible.”

“How terrible?”

“Terrible enough to make nobles recoil in disgust during a conversation.”

Alright. Raeblun. I’ll remember that.

As soon as I returned to my room, I checked the wine list. There wasn’t even a similar name on the top of the list of wines we’ve traded with the dukedom so far.

“Hehehe.”

I laughed happily after a long time and lay down on the bed.

I woke up earlier than usual, finished my preparations for work, and went down to the dining room. Leonel was looking at documents with a slightly tired expression.

“Leonel, good morning!”

Leonel looked up. He stared at me for a while and then nodded briefly. Then he lowered his head again and continued reading the documents.

I sat down next to him, feeling light on my feet. He glanced at me briefly and handed the documents to a servant.

“You look in a good mood.”

“Yes! I had a great idea.”

I looked around. There were quite a few servants, and the butler was also near Leonel.

It wasn’t something you would say in a place with many people that you intentionally wanted to serve the Queen bad wine.

To speak privately, I leaned toward Leonel, but as I approached, he moved away. When I straightened up, he also returned to his original position.

I stared, but he didn’t even spare a glance in my direction.

“Can I borrow your ear for a moment?”

Only then did Leonel turn his head towards me. He didn’t say anything, so I thought it might be a sign of permission and approached, but he moved away again.

What’s going on? Why is he acting like this? I squinted my eyes and glared. 

Soon, the appetizer was served, and Leonel’s head turned away again.

What did I do wrong? He doesn’t seem angry. Leonel picked up his fork and knife.

“Just say it.”

“I don’t think it’s something others should hear.”

Only then did Leonel lean towards me. Even that was slightly slower than usual.

Though he leaned towards me, his ear was still a bit far. I pulled the chair closer, sat down, straightened up, and covered my mouth with my hand.

“The Queen likes wine, so…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Leonel suddenly stood up. 

He raised his head slightly and looked up. His body was subtly turned in the opposite direction, so his face was not visible.