The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Sin of daring to covet

“Miss, miss!”

“Why are you making such a fuss again, Sarah?”

“Hohoho.
When I went to the laundry room, I witnessed a very interesting scene.”

“Huh? An interesting scene?”

Elliot’s eyes began to twinkle.
As if to fuel Elliot’s expectations, Mrs.
Marvin lowered her voice even more and curled her eyebrows.

“Yes.
It was a scene that didn’t make any sense to me at all, but maybe this will help you.”

“What is it, what is it?”

Mrs.
Marvin whispered into Elliot’s ear.

“A while ago, Young Master Lian was eavesdropping on the conversation between the Duke and Lady Liddell.
There was definitely something there, he was just creeping around like a mouse.
Is Young Master Lian and Lady Liddell having a succession dispute?”

At that, Elliot frowned.
Because it couldn’t be.

Officially, Lian and Liddell were both candidates for the Santella heir, but everyone in the Santella family knew that Lian had ceded his position to Liddell.
He said that if Liddell became queen, the succession would naturally pass to Lian, but Lian had never shown any greed for the succession.

“It’s really strange…… Why was he doing this now?”

“Whatever it is, it is clear that Young Master Lian captured the secret conversation between the Duke and Lady Liddell earlier.
Because his face had turned very pale.”

“What? Hmm…..
I’ll have to talk to Miss Liddell tomorrow.”

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Maybe she could score a little bit from her, so Elliot gave Mrs.
Marvin two silver coins.

* * *

Kahel returned ten days after he left for Hildebrunn.
Arder hurried out in front of Kahel, who came back abruptly and opened the door of the mansion, bowing his back.

“You’re back?”

“Yes.
Was everything all right?”

As Kahel heads to his office, he gets a report from Arder about the big and small things that happened in between.
But throughout his journey back to Logos, Kahel’s head was filled with thoughts of a little rabbit that might be somewhere in this mansion.
The last time he saw her he didn’t forget that awkward face.

As Arder, who was following him, closed the door to the office, Kahel flopped down on the sofa and sighed.

“What about Lena?”

“It’s nothing special, but she was at her first tea party a while ago.”

“A tea party? Whose?”

“It is the Lady she met at the Spring Banquet, and her name is Miss Leslie Peregrine.”

“Ah, that girl.”

Kahel recalled the playful face with red hair.
He didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
In fact, Lena would be more comfortable with Leslie, who came from a commoner.

“Do you think she had been through something bad?”

“No.
She seemed to have quite a bit of fun, and since she came back, she has always looked excited.”

“Actually, it must have been the first time she had made friends of the same age as a noble.
I’m glad…….”

Arder quickly noticed the bitterness at the end of Kahel’s words.

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“Are you concerned about anything?”

“No.
Lena is fine.
I am the problem.”

“Your Excellency?”

In front of Arder, who seemed to have no idea what he meant, Kahel sighed as he wiped his face with both hands.

“I should have listened to you more.”

“Your Excellency…… ?”

“I should have been vigilant when you told me not to fall for Lena too much…….”

It was then that Arder realized what kind of suffering Kahel was in.
On the day he left for Hildebrunn, the servant possessed by the devilish powers raged in front of Lena’s eyes…….

“It is not your fault.”

“It’s my fault.
It is the sin of daring to covet people while being cursed by such a heinous curse.”

“Again, it is not your fault.
Lena is a child that owes her life to Your Excellency before she is a vassal of the Luave family.
If Your Excellency wants the child to be your mistress, you can of course.”

Arder, who had Kahel as number one in everything, spoke out words that might seem ruthless.
Kahel’s ever faithful agent, that was Arder.
But Kahel shook his head.

“I don’t want Lena to suffer.
It would be better for me to suffer.”

“Your Excellency…… !”

“Lena knew about my devilish powers since Terra Luave.
It looks like she tried to be brave on her own, but that day she seemed to be quite shocked.
so…… Keep Lena from serving me to a minimum.”

“But then Your Excellency will be uncomfortable again.”

“It’s okay.
It’s not something I’ve never done.
I’ll leave Lena to write Mother’s biography.”

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“If that’s what Your Excellency intended, yes, I understand.”

Arder’s heart ached at Kahel’s seemingly indifferent face.
When he thought about how much Kahel’s heart must have been crushed to disguise that expression, he hated the people who placed the devilish curse on Kahel once again.
If he could only find out who it was, he wanted to kill them, even at the cost of his own life.
But all of this was a futile idea.

Arder withdrew from Kahel and looked for Lena.
Lena was wandering around Kahel’s office when she heard the news that Kahel had arrived.

“Miss Lena.”

“Yes, Butler.
I heard that His Excellency is back.
Shall I prepare the bath water?”

Contrary to what Kahel said, Lena didn’t seem to be bothered by Kahel at all.
However, he clearly remembered Lena at the time when she witnessed the servant possessed by the devilish power.
The purple-eyed face showed the shock she had received.
It was strange to see that child try to put down her fears and act as usual.

“I already left it to the maids.
From tomorrow, Miss Lena will pay more attention to the former duchess’ biography.
Attending His Excellency won’t be as much, and you only need to go when you’re called.”

“Yes…… ? Wh, why?”

“It is His Excellency’s command.”

Lena opened her eyes wide and looked at Arder’s expression.
But, as usual, nothing could be read from Arder’s gentle face.
Before Kahel left for Hildebrunn, she felt that she had done too much wrong before him.

“I, I have nothing to do with it, Butler.
Really.
That day, of course, I was a little surprised, but I really don’t mind.”

“Miss Lena.”

“If I am not there, who will serve his meals or tea? I have to prepare the clothes he was going to wear, and, again, ah, yes, someone has to prepare washing water and dressing up every morning.
When he comes back from practicing swordsmanship, I sometimes give him a massage.
All of that, unless it’s me, nobody……No one can.
Right…… ?”

“Miss Lena.
These are the things His Excellency has been doing even before Miss Lena.
As Miss Lena said when you first started learning your job, we are the ones who act at His Excellency’s command.
Please do not disturb His Excellency’s heart.”

Lena was more shocked than when she saw the devilish power possessed servant.
It was as if the sky was falling apart when she heard that he no longer needed her, perhaps because she had always thought, ‘I am the person he desperately needs’.

“His Excellency no longer…… needs me…… ?”

Arder understood the sense of loss that Lena felt to some extent.
This child, who was saved from a life of persecution, must have desperately found the value of her utility in the Luave mansion.
Because her usefulness must be acknowledged so that she will not be thrown away again.
So, it must have been the reason why she was trying hard to hide her fear of the devilish power.

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Arder thought that Lena was just as pathetic as Kahel, but he still prioritized not provoking Kahel’s trauma.

“You are not completely excluded from your work as the close maid.
As Miss Lena said, there are certain things that no one can do if it’s not Miss Lena.
In particular, it is difficult for me to pass on the orders to subordinates other than Miss Lena.
However, it means that you don’t have to do anything like eating or drinking tea with His Excellency in the future.”

“But…….”

“It was also against the original etiquette.”

“That…… That’s right…….”

“Then, I know that Miss Lena understands, so let’s go.
Let the maids do the chores.
His Excellency will not call Miss Lena separately, so Miss Lena may go back to your room.”

She couldn’t have been so upset with the words to go in and rest now.
Lena shrugged her shoulders and nodded to Arder before she tumbled back to her room.
She hadn’t seen Kahel’s face for several days, and it was not easy for her to be told that it was going to be more difficult to see him in the future.

It was her room where she always felt comfortable whenever she returned from work, but today it was strangely uncomfortable.
Perhaps, it was because she was trying to take a break when she hadn’t even worked.

‘Still, I don’t know if this is better.
If I said I was reacting to His Excellency’s devilish power, I would probably have been prevented from working as a close maid.
It’d be so painful not to see you forever…….’

After all, Kahel was someone who was so far away that she couldn’t reach him, but she just wanted to see him from afar.
She was happy just looking at him.
The way he enjoyed his meal, the way he savored the scent of tea, the way he grumbled and smiled all made Lena’s day happy.

‘I wanted to see you…….’

All sorts of thoughts about whether he might have come from Hildebrunn with an injury, or whether he was tired, made noise in her head.
But Kahel might not want to see her.
Because the last time he saw her, she was acting like an idiot.

Even if she couldn’t see his face, she wanted to at least do something that would help Kahel, so Lena groaned, and then she quietly lifted her head.

‘You must have gone to take a bath by now, so should I just make the bed and come back? It doesn’t matter.
Right? When he isn’t there, I’ll come out with clothes that need to be washed, and leave the sleeping tea on the side table next to the bed…… Yes, I don’t have to bump into His Excellency…….’

It was something someone had to do anyway, even if she let the maid do it.
If she didn’t run into Kahel, she didn’t think there would be any problems if she did it.
As she thought about it, she suddenly felt empowered.
This was the time.
Kahel doesn’t tend to bathe for long, so she had to move quickly.

Lena peeped around the corridor, making sure Arder wasn’t there, and trotted towards Kahel’s bedroom.
Kahel’s clothes were piled up in the basket, and the bag he was carrying was also scattered on the floor.
She couldn’t be more happy that her work could be seen everywhere.

Lena threw all the laundry in the bag into the basket, then looked back down the hallway and secretly carried the laundry basket to the laundry room.