Duke, Please Fail! - Side Story 1 (Part 14)

Side Story 1: Part 14

After that incident, exchanging salads and desserts after a disagreement became a kind of ritual.

Even without any explicit apologies, once they invited each other to a meal and yielded the last dish, the two would clear away any lingering tension.

Considering their unique connection, Leonel often felt a tickling sensation in his chest or burst into laughter unexpectedly when recalling their shared habits. 

Nelly seemed to have become something special. Just when he wondered why he was so delighted about it, he realized that Nelly was always at the end of his gaze.

If Spring were to be born as a person, it might resemble her. Her optimistic and warm personality, as well as her soft brown hair and light green eyes as gentle as new leaves, conveyed a likeness to the season one couldn’t help but love. 

Leonel likened her to a person resembling a season he could never love.

Therefore, he never thought his feelings would be anything more than appreciation for a capable subordinate. 

‘It’s probably just the sentiment of cherishing a subordinate who excels at their job. It’s hard to find someone so diligent.’

That’s why he became even stricter when it came to work matters.

The distance between the two remained at the level of reconciling over salads and desserts. Leonel wanted to get closer to Nelly, but he didn’t know how, and his attention turned into interference in her work. 

The situation seemed to make onlookers uncomfortable.

Especially Roger, he wanted to do whatever it took to make his master’s first love a reality. Amidst this, an order to attend the National Foundation Day party was given.

As Leonel had to go to the capital, the briefing he had to receive that day was conducted in the morning. 

Roger purposely sent a servant to fetch Nelly much earlier than usual, then sent Leonel back to his room.

“Your Grace, it’s time to start preparing to go to the capital.”

“Is that so?”

“I will tidy up the study and leave.”

Leonel entered the room without any thoughts. It was only when it was time to change clothes and groom himself that Nelly came.

“I don’t see the Duke.”

“He’s getting ready to go to the capital now.”

“The capital?”

Roger smiled kindly and nodded as if he had been waiting when Nelly looked at the report with a troubled expression.

“He’s probably ready by now. I’ll guide you to his room. Go and report.”

“Is it okay?”

“Of course.”

With that, he led Nelly to Leonel’s room. 

When they knocked, a voice from inside told them to come in. When Roger entered, the crimson eyes that had shown no particular emotion sparkled warmly as if candles had been lit when they spotted Nelly.

Roger took the hesitating Nelly inside. Then, he gestured to the servant who had heard the story beforehand. The servant handed a box containing cufflinks to Roger and left.

Nelly’s gaze naturally turned towards it.

“It’s beautiful.”

Before she could finish speaking, Roger handed the box over. Before Nelly could question it, Roger smiled kindly, turned to Leonel, and nodded.

“Well then, you two, have a comfortable conversation.”

After that, someone unexpectedly left the room without catching any birds. 

Nelly, who suddenly found herself holding both the cufflink box and the report, wavered, not knowing what to do.

Leonel vaguely realized that Roger had orchestrated this to bring the two of them together. He couldn’t say it was a useless act. 

It was equivalent to Roger opening a way for Leonel, who wanted to get closer to Nelly.

Leonel approached Nelly and brought the report. Nelly flinched and stepped back. Leonel’s left eyebrow twitched slightly and returned to its place.

He positioned the report where it was visible and gestured for Nelly to come closer. Then, he extended his hand towards her. 

Nelly, looking puzzled, stared at his palm. If his palm had been facing the sky, it might have meant something, but she didn’t understand the significance of this.

Her gaze kept going to the veins on his hand, which were aesthetically pleasing. 

Feeling her face getting warmer for no apparent reason, Nelly quickly looked up. Leonel, who was watching her, shifted his gaze to the cufflink. Nelly’s eyes followed Leonel’s gaze.

She offered the cufflink box to Leonel. 

“I don’t know how to do this.”

“I’ll show you.”

“There’s no need!”

Although she refused emphatically, Leonel seemed uninterested in listening. He placed the box beside him and handed Nelly one cufflink. While Nelly, with a slightly reddened face, was glancing at Leonel, he started explaining.

“You overlap the sleeves like this, align the buttonholes, then pass the end of the cufflink through to lock it.”

“Like this?”

Her small hands fumbled around Leonel’s sleeve. As she brushed against the inside of his wrist, it felt tingling and ticklish.

When he tried to withdraw his hand, Nelly looked up. The face that had been watching from afar filled Leonel’s view. Her rosy cheeks looked as soft as rose petals, and her emerald green eyes held only him.

It felt like the world consisted only of what he saw in her eyes and what she saw in his. Satisfaction pressed heavily on the button, and warm breath filled his lungs like steam.

“You’re good at this.”

Nelly’s eyes softened sweetly at Leonel’s voice, which sounded much lower and rougher than usual. 

However, she quickly shook off the dazed expression and retreated abruptly. To conceal the flushed color that reached her neck, she pulled her hair forward unnecessarily and pressed against the wall.

Leonel, without taking his gaze off her, approached slowly. Nelly, instinctively stepping back, realized she was cornered.

With her head bowed deeply, and her chest pounding as if wanting to escape without knowing the reason, she heard Leonel’s voice.

“The other side too.”

Nelly took a deep breath, repeated the process of calming herself, and accepted the cufflink.

The hand holding the sleeve trembled slightly. That small vibration shook Leonel from within. 

Suppressing the urge to immediately embrace her petite form, he turned his head towards the side where he had laid out the report for no apparent reason.

Trying to distract his mind, Nelly, like a squirrel darting away, hurriedly ran to the door.

“Well then, be careful on your way!”

And just like that, she fled. 

The original purpose of the meeting, the report, was left untouched.

* * *

Nelly, momentarily captivated by Leonel’s appearance, snapped back to reality as soon as he left for the capital. 

The person who employed her, despite being penniless and lacking a prestigious family background, connections, or a remarkable career, was him. Unless something significant happened to alleviate the debt, she wouldn’t allow herself to entertain romantic feelings.

‘But he does have a dangerous look, so I should avoid getting too close.’

Though not outright avoiding him, Nelly maintained a certain distance from Leonel. She even conducted briefings from a distance greater than usual.

Leonel felt frustrated as Nelly didn’t get any closer despite her presence lingering in front of him. But there wasn’t much he could do.

“Manager. The cufflinks.”

“Do you want me to fill them in?”

It was merely such trivial requests that he could make.

It might have been bothersome, but fortunately, Nelly didn’t refuse. Despite always keeping a distance, she readily responded to small requests.

They lingered close enough that a mere stretch of his hand could catch hers. The physical distance fluctuated, drawing him closer and then further away without any apparent reason, wearing at his patience.

He wanted to be closer, have conversations, and learn more about Nelly Pepper. Every time this impulse arose, Leonel ordered Arette to repeat the information he had investigated.

‘Insufficient.’

However, what he wanted wasn’t just a few words written on paper.

It wasn’t something anyone could figure out by surface-level investigation; he was curious about something more subtle.

He tried to break down Nelly’s defenses discreetly, but it wasn’t easy. Still, opportunities weren’t absent.

Nelly often returned after drinking, perhaps because the memory of the first time she drank wasn’t too unpleasant. There was no memory of her excessively drinking to the point of blackout, but she always sat on a bench to catch her breath upon returning.

During those times, she seemed a bit more relaxed, and Leonel tried to approach her without startling her. Yet, every time he tried, she stayed still and didn’t run away.

Since Leonel often worked late into the night, and the bench in the garden was visible when he turned his head, he took advantage of the opportunity to go down and strike up a conversation whenever it arose.

“Take a short nap, at least.”

Nelly yawned, her eyes drooping with drowsiness, and slowly blinked to shake off the alcohol-induced haziness.

“Wouldn’t it be too much trouble?”

“There’s no one around who would be troubled by it.”

“Well, if you say so. What about Leonel? Aren’t you going in?”

“Just going to get some fresh air. I’ll wake you up when I go in.”

“Alright then.”

As Nelly lay down on the bench and drifted off to sleep, Leonel watched over her by her head.