Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 76

Episode 76

Lizzy’s voice echoed. There was a moment of silence.

“I seemed distant to the estate residents?”

Sophie forced a somewhat awkward smile. Even the cheerful and audacious Faust seemed flustered, repeatedly muttering ‘uh, uh,’ before abruptly standing up.

“I think I’ll leave Tom here. Uh, Miss Nelly and Sophie, be careful going in.”

He bolted. Sophie watched him for a while, then asked with an awkward expression.

“Um… Should we go too? I’ll walk you.”

I nodded and stood up. It seemed like we had been at the tavern for quite a while. There were no people inside, and it was quiet. The culprit who woke me up was probably the voices of Sophie and Faust.

We exchanged greetings with the tavern owner and went outside.

It was dark outside. Looking at the scarce-lit homes in the village, it seemed quite late.

“You don’t have to take me home! It’s too late to go to the castle and then back home. Sophie, it might be dangerous for you too…”

“I’ll walk you home, Miss Nelly, and then I’ll stay overnight at the knights’ dormitory.”

If that was the case, it should be fine. It would be safer for us to go together.

I nodded and started walking.

“And… please don’t worry too much about what Lizzy said. She said it because she was drunk.”

“But Sophie and Faust also thought the same…”

I unintentionally voiced my thoughts, still not completely sober.

I was taken aback after venting my frustrations so openly in front of Sophie. I was about to apologize and make amends, but she was smiling brightly. And in a voice that matched my grumbling, she expressed her feelings of unease.

“To be honest, there’s no wrong in what she said. You don’t accept anything from the estate residents, decline invitations for meals, and don’t speak comfortably with them.”

“But if I accept, I have to reciprocate.”

“…I don’t understand.”

“I don’t have real power, but I do collect taxes and oversee various facilities within the estate. If I become too friendly with them, I might find it hard to refuse unfair requests, so I’m cautious about it.”

“You’ve effectively cut off any chance of receiving bribes from the start.”

Sophie remarked in an admiring tone, her words trailing off. My cheeks turned a bit pink for no reason, and I lowered my head.

“It’s not that big of a deal, but I didn’t turn it down to keep my distance.”

In truth, there had been a time when, just after becoming the estate manager, I accepted a dinner invitation and got caught up in rumors of accepting bribes.

I was taken to Leonel, interrogated, and suspected, and after proving that I only had a meal, I was subjected to a sermon disguised as advice. That’s when I became careful.

“Miss Nelly, you’re truly considerate and upright.”

It’s just my second time, so I’m just a bit more skilled… I thought to myself and justified it, keeping my eyes on the ground.

There was a brief silence. I glanced sideways. Sophie seemed lost in thought for a moment, then opened her mouth again.

“If it’s for the residents, I understand, but why keep a distance from the supervisors and people in the castle?”

“That… Well…”

Originally, the plan was to seek revenge for three years and then leave the estate to achieve my dream. That’s why I kept my distance to avoid getting attached.

With Frer and Hadiger, the sense of being a wanderer made us become closer faster.

With coworkers, I might have appeared to keep my distance to avoid getting too close by portraying myself as an outsider.

“I’m not intentionally like that.”

It sounded like an excuse, but it was the truth. Looking at Sophie, who smiled gently, nodding with a wise smile, I felt a bit lost.

Sophie fell silent, and I became lost in thought.

‘What should I do?’

Unconsciously, I seemed to be uplifted by Leonel’s trust. 

Despite deciding to give up revenge, I had no plan in place. Six months had already passed since I returned to the past. 

My death year would come back in just two years.

Things weren’t difficult right now. It was much easier than before I died. However, Leonel intended to develop the estate, and the point I died was when the estate had just started to grow.

If I were to significantly increase the population, engage in businesses, and expand the village and facilities, the workload would swell like the river during the monsoon.

Although I had hired more people to reduce the workload, it was still far from enough. Even if I hired more, I was as anxious as the estate at the time of my death, given that the place where I died was an aristocratic residence.

‘Moreover, if I expand the number of supervisors more than now, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manage people well.’

When I had resolved for revenge, I had a reckless attitude like, ‘It would be even better if the estate fell into chaos due to my poor management!’ But now, things were different.

“Miss Nelly, we’ve arrived.”

“Already?”

Startled, I snapped out of my thoughts. Sophie called out towards the castle gate.

“Miss Manager has arrived!”

The firmly closed castle gate slowly opened, and the drawbridge descended. I absentmindedly stared at the gate.

The wide-open gate felt oddly awkward. I hesitated, unable to enter easily, and slowly walked forward, trying to clear my mind.

‘Let’s finish the festival first and think about it later.’

* * *

Leonel seems to be avoiding me. No, it’s not just seeming, it’s certain that he’s avoiding me.

He doesn’t even make eye contact and doesn’t come down for breakfast! Yet, he relayed the message not to skip breakfast through the butler without leaving me out.

‘Why all of a sudden?’

I clenched my fist and glared at the documents.

During the festival, many guests would come, and the annex needed repairs as it was old. I intentionally set the budget excessively high. High enough to completely renovate it to top-notch quality.

Considering Leonel’s personality, he’ll surely ask why I’ve calculated it this way when he’s called. Or he might think it’s inappropriate and object.

If he objects, I plan to go see him under the pretext of persuading and casually inquire why he’s avoiding me.

“Sophie.”

“Yes?”

“Will you go to the Duke’s office? Please ask him to approve this as well.”

“You won’t go yourself?”

“No. I have a lot to do. I’ve already been there this morning.”

And I just made excuses. When I went to the office, Leonel wasn’t there.

These days, he didn’t even bother to follow me. I thought maybe it was just a coincidence, but when it continued for the second day, I couldn’t help but suspect.

He didn’t even come to dinner yesterday. He claimed to be busy, but when I went to the office, he wasn’t there again.

Searching through over 400 rooms to find Leonel is an impossible task, and it’s frustrating. Frustrating.

‘I should make him come out from that direction!’

Energetically, I handed the documents to Sophie.

…And the approved documents were returned. Did they allow this? I stood up from my seat in surprise.

“Miss Nelly, where are you going?”

“To question how such an unreasonable budget was approved!”

“What? That’s un…”

Ignoring Sophie, I climbed onto Guadang’s back without a second thought. I went to Leonel’s office, knocked on the door twice for formality, and immediately opened it.

“Miss Nelly?!”

Lizzy jumped up and hid under the desk.

She still seemed embarrassed from last night’s drinking. But I didn’t have time to comfort her. While I was inspecting the office, I turned my head and left her, who ran out in a hurry.

Leonel was not there, and only Levance was in the office. He was looking at me with his usual cheerful face. However, there were dark circles under his eyes.

“Miss Nelly.”

“Lord Levance. Did the Duke approve this budget?”

“I handled the approval.”

As I looked at him closely, he forced a tired smile, struggling to maintain a cheerful expression.

“It’s just that Lizzy is always telling me that everything you do has a purpose.”

“……Lizzy’s a bit like that, isn’t she?”

“A lot. I thought she’d even establish a religion for you.”

“Ugh…”

“Hah…”

Both of us let out a sigh simultaneously.

“But what about Leonel, and why did Levance handle it?”

Levance seemed uncomfortable with the question. He didn’t usually talk much about Leonel’s matters, so I let it go for now.

‘Alright. Let’s wait and see how long he can stay hidden.’

I let out a frustrated breath and walked out.

* * *

Gerald handled the work relatively quickly, and a reply from the Wine House Raeblun arrived a few days later. 

The content mentioned that they would depart as soon as they sent the reply, considering our schedule. I thought they would just send a branch manager or someone, knowing that we also have wineries in our country, so I was surprised when they said the head of the Wine House himself would come.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t disregard an upcoming guest, so I first checked the impression and name of the head of the Wine House.

‘It seems he’s quite diligent and trustworthy, not just with bad wine.’

The head of the Wine House would be coming with a carriage, so it would probably take about three days.

I included a basic price list in my reply, and the price per bottle was staggering.

‘If I sell one bottle of wine, I could drink 7,000 glasses of beer.’

What’s even more astonishing is that this is not an exaggeration.

But, who cares. Even if I have to play tricks with money, given how he’s been avoiding me like the plague, it’s fine since it’s not unjustified spending!

Leonel hasn’t been showing his face for days, and now he’s too busy to meet properly. Probably calculated even up to that point, considering how he’s been avoiding me like the plague.

Whether he likes it or not, we’ll see each other at dinner, so I decided to just leave it be.

‘Still, I’m going to spend a lot of money!’

I had been saving up, so when they said someone from the Wine House would come a few days later, I ran out with a wide smile.

From afar, I saw a beautiful lady with red hair wearing a vibrant hat getting off the carriage. She looked just like the impression I had received in advance of the head of the Wine House.

Behind her, another lady with pink hair got off. I picked up the pace a little and stood in front of the two.

“Whew, Raeblun, phew….”

It seems I rode Guadang too hastily. After running for a long time, I was breathing heavily, and my head was spinning. First, I caught my breath in front of the two people.

“Lady Raeblun! Welcome! I’m Nelly Pepper, the estate manager who greeted you in the letter. Thank you for coming to visit the Duke….”

“Coming to visit…?”

Oops. Due to my labored breathing, my true intentions slipped out.

I quickly corrected my words.

“No, not to visit, but to lighten my burden! Shall we discuss the contract matters at the castle? I’ve invested a great deal to renovate the annex!”

After I finished speaking, I looked at the lady with pink hair. Our eyes met at just the right moment.

“But… who is this person?”

“She’s my family. Is it all right that she came with me?”

“I welcome her, even more so!”

Welcoming additional guests would increase the expenses, so I smiled widely, and a playful smile briefly appeared on Lady Raeblun’s face.

She turned and had a brief conversation with her companions. Her cheerful face turned serious as they spoke.