Duke, Please Fail! - Chapter 9

Episode 9

‘Great. Now I can enjoy the steak without any worries!’

I followed Leonel out of the carriage and gazed at the brightly lit Braushtete.

‘Me, at a place like this upscale restaurant!’

Exclaiming in admiration, I walked inside.

Above my head, five sparkling chandeliers hung, and all the columns were made of marble. The walls were marble, the statues were marble, and even the floor was marble!

‘Is it okay to step on it? Can I step on these expensive rocks?’

I hesitated, tried to place my foot on the marble platform at the entrance, withdrew it, and tried again, hesitated, tried again…

Leonel, who was already inside, turned his head as he walked in. He looked at what I was doing, then cracked a faint smile.

“If you feel like dancing, head to the ballroom.”

With that, he elegantly walked forward as if it were nothing. I glared at the back of his head for no good reason.

‘Asshole.’

After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously placed my foot on the marble. Then, I mustered the courage and stepped on it again.

After walking for a while, I heard murmurs from all around. People dressed in fancy clothes alternated glances between Leonel and me.

Well, a woman in shabby clothes coming with the third heir to the throne to an upscale restaurant. It’s no wonder they’re reacting like that.

‘They must be even more surprised than I am.’

They’ll probably be chattering about this in high society by tomorrow, won’t they?

Of course, Leonel probably wouldn’t care at all. If he were someone who cared about his reputation, it would have been awkward. Just the thought of it was satisfying.

“Hehehe.”

An eerie laugh escaped my lips on its own. Worried someone might hear, I covered my mouth and lowered my head. My shoulders involuntarily shook due to my blocked mouth.

After quietly laughing for a while, I lifted my head, only to meet Leonel’s gaze head-on. He was looking at me with a mysterious look in his eyes.

‘What? Why? Why are you staring?’

Heaving a sigh as he looked at me with an impolite gaze, Leonel approached me.

“I didn’t pay enough attention, it seems.”

“What do you mean?”

Leonel stood there with a look of uncertainty on his face. Then, he extended his hand as if to escort me.

Did he want to use his calloused hands again to figure something out, like last time? I instinctively hid my hand, and in response, he took my hand and placed it on his arm, just as if he were escorting me.

Flustered, I glanced at him. But then he tilted his body slightly towards me and whispered in a low voice.

“I didn’t realize you might feel uncomfortable. If I made you feel insulted, I apologize on behalf of myself.”

“Insulted? Me? When?”

“Aren’t you the one who cried earlier?”

“Oh!”

Did he misunderstand and think that my shoulders shaking were because I was crying? But who would laugh “hehe” if they were crying? Well, maybe someone would sob “Hehehe,” but I’m not that type! And do I look like someone who would cry like that?

I looked at him awkwardly. Still, he’s the one treating me to dinner, so I kindly corrected the misunderstanding.

“You can order whatever you want.”

…But was that necessary? Misunderstandings happen to everyone at times. Well, whatever!

As I fervently nodded my head, Leonel smiled at me, whether mocking or not and led me with an unknown smile. Once we sat down, a waiter brought the menu to us.

“Can I order anything?”

Leonel nodded with a faint smile. I slowly read through the menus, my mouth watering just from looking at the dishes. Then I started listing some of the expensive-looking items.

“Boletus mushroom steak, duck leg confit with caviar and lima bean terrine, slow-cooked pork hind leg with truffle pasta…”

I glanced at Leonel’s reaction while saying this. His expression remained the same, so it seemed the price wasn’t a concern.

I want to order something outrageously expensive!

Watching Leonel’s expression, I turned the menu over. Unfortunately, the prices were not listed for the items I wanted. I tapped the top left corner of the menu with my finger and drew a diagonal line down to the bottom right.

“Please bring us everything from here to here. Exclude the milk pudding with strawberry compote and the strawberry cream cake!”

“Why exclude those two?”

“Don’t even think about my cholesterol levels.”

“Hmm…”

Leonel closed the menu with a peculiar sound.

“Add a course for two with milk pudding topped with strawberry compote.”

“Of course, Your Grace. We’ll prepare that for you shortly.”

As the waiter left, silence filled the air. Leonel was looking at me.

Why is he looking at me like that? This is so awkward!

I absentmindedly fiddled with the flower petals on the table, noticing dust on the vases. Could this be spices? Just putting these expensive things on the table like this!

‘If I sell the sugar here, I might be able to afford a dress. Who wouldn’t steal it?’

I cautiously looked around. Nobody seemed interested in the spices. Honestly, it seemed like I could take one without anyone noticing. Of course, I wouldn’t do it!

While greedily eyeing the sugar, Leonel spoke up.

“What are you so twitchy about?”

My heart sank.

He must have noticed me eyeing the sugar. I quickly withdrew my hand.

“There’s nothing to be twitchy about!”

“You’re quite flustered for ‘nothing.'”

“You asked all of a sudden!”

“Are you not twitchy about anything?”

Should I confess? That I briefly imagined how many dresses I could buy with the sugar on the table. But I wasn’t planning to steal it!

Nervous and feeling unjustly accused, I bit my lip and avoided Leonel’s gaze. I felt his intense gaze as if his red eyes were piercing through me.

“Just saying that you entrusted the job to Faust didn’t sit right with me. I couldn’t accept it, no matter how I thought about it.”

Oh, what’s this? Was that what he meant?

Suddenly, my tension eased. I relaxed and propped my elbow on the table, resting my chin on my hand. Leonel raised his left eyebrow.

“And you even encouraged the lazy Faust. Wasn’t that an attempt to gain my favor?”

“Your Grace, does gaining your favor lead to a raise in salary?”

“What?”

Leonel looked at me with a puzzled expression. Regardless of his response, I continued with a serious expression.

“It doesn’t even lead to a raise in salary. Why should I try to win your favor?”

“Don’t you want to earn my trust?”

My heart throbs. Trust. I wanted to gain it. But not anymore. There’s no use hoping for something they won’t give anyway.

‘What I want is revenge!’

I turned my head, pretending not to care.

At that moment, a waiter brought the food. I eagerly grabbed the duck leg confit that was placed first and started slicing it haphazardly.

‘I tried to see it as him buying me something delicious, but I guess I should just make people’s feelings miserable to feel better!’

I let out my frustration on the meat, and suddenly I heard muttering voices.

“Oh my God, how greedy…….”

“Why did she order so much?”

“Why does His Grace keep such a woman around?”

Of course, I wasn’t bothered by any of it. Let them say what they want. I’m going my own way. I’m going to spend the duke’s money recklessly here!

And besides, Braushtete shares their clean food with beggars and orphans in the vicinity. So these dishes will eventually end up with hungry people.

Using Leonel’s money for a good cause should be fine, right? Anyway, those people won’t know where the food came from.

I smiled satisfactorily and nodded my head. But even as I did that, the people at the adjacent table were still muttering.

“Could it be something like that?”

“His Grace has been worrying lately… beggars… deliberately… charity…”

I caught snippets of their conversation, but I was too engrossed in the delicious food to care.

I was chewing on the duck meat when suddenly the voices stopped. Our eyes met, and they nodded with smiling faces, unlike before.

What’s this? What’s going on? Why did the hostile looks disappear all of a sudden?

I even wondered if Leonel had given them a scary look, so I looked at him. He was staring at me. He had been watching me intently for quite a while. When our gazes met, he took a bite of his steak, and then slightly furrowed his brow.

“Salt.”

Couldn’t he add “pass me some” to that? Did his tongue get cut in half trying to say that?

I glared at Leonel and picked up a piece of the disintegrated meat and ate it. Then, deep in thought about how I could get back at Leonel, I turned my head.

Salt and sugar were placed side by side in glass containers. I couldn’t tell them apart, but I knew that the one that sparkled more was probably sugar.

However, pretending not to know anything, I picked up the sugar and handed it to him.

“I’ll sprinkle it for you.”

“I’ll do it.”

“No, let me. I’ll do it.”

Before Leonel could reach for the sugar, I quickly extended my hand and generously sprinkled it over his steak.

Finally, Leonel’s brow furrowed.

I grinned and withdrew my arm, watching him expectantly to see what expression he would make after eating the steak.

But as Leonel cut the meat and put it in his mouth, he remained calm.

‘Why does he look fine? Is this possibly salt?’

I hesitated for a moment, then lightly sprinkled some white powder on the duck leg. When I put it in my mouth, the sweet taste intensified.

It’s sugar! But why does it taste so good like this? Why? How?

Staring in amazement, this time I generously sprinkled salt. But instead of showing irritation, he seemed to wait, then put the steak in his mouth. And he even smiled briefly.

Is it good like that? Seriously?

‘What’s wrong with your taste buds?’

I guess so.