Can You Save Me Duke? - 16

Anger.

It spread like wildfire, burning his mind.

Where exactly was this arrow of emotion headed? He couldn’t even tell.

But one thing was certain.

The only thing he could see was that those two were stuck together. The sound of shoes hitting the floor echoed throughout the hall.

“Did I bother you?”

Bellige said in a voice filled with coldness like never before. Lina and Henry turned their heads toward the entrance of the hall at the sudden voice.

“Your Majesty… …?”

Bellige felt something surge inside his chest as he looked at the two eyes that seemed to be looking at an intruder.

“I didn’t know a bug would come without my permission.”

It was really strange. It was so hot that it made his stomach turn inside out. His shell was so cold that it made the air around him freeze.

“Why don’t you try to make an excuse?”

The man’s footsteps toward them seemed to be filled with anger.

“I’m sorry!”

Henry and Lina bowed and apologized as if they had remembered something at the Duke’s sharp attitude. Originally, the Gallery Hall was not a place where people could freely enter.

Since it was practically a place where the family’s wealth was gathered, anyone other than the castle’s owner had to receive permission to enter.

However, Henry did not enter this place with permission. Lina glanced at Henry, who was trembling with anxiety, and appealed to the Duke.

“I’m sorry, Duke. Please forgive me. I forgot a … … Henry came here for a moment to give me that.”

“ came here just to tell you something?”

Maybe it was because the Duke’s voice had gotten a little lower. For some reason, it seemed like his body was shaking a little.

It was a big mistake to enter the Gallery Hall without permission, but if there were no missing items, it was often passed over quietly.

“Yes. Originally, he was going to tell me at the entrance of the hall, but I couldn’t hear Henry calling because I was cleaning. So he just came in for a little while.”

Belige, who had come to her side, whispered.

“You lie every time you open your mouth.”

“… … Yes?”

Henry, who noticed that the atmosphere was becoming strange, knelt before the duke.

“It’s all my fault. Your Highness! Lina didn’t even know I was coming.”

“No, Your Highness! I… …!”

“Enough.”

As if she didn’t want to hear any more, she raised her arm and cut off their conversation. Then she looked at Henry.

“Did you say Henry?”

“… … Yes. Your Highness.”

“No matter what anyone says, it’s your fault for stepping foot in here without permission.”

“… … Yes. I know. I’ll gladly accept any punishment.”

Henry’s voice, as if he had given up, was trembling slightly with fear.

“Originally, you should have been beaten and kicked out of the mansion, but since your father has been working for the mansion for a long time, I will show mercy.”

Lina and Henry swallowed hard as they waited for the Duke’s next words.

“Get out of the mansion on your own two feet.”

Lina’s mouth hardened at the Duke’s words, which seemed to be offering mercy.

Henry, who had thought that at best, he would only get a pay cut, looked at the Duke with wide eyes, as if he had not expected that much.

“Duke… …!”

Leaving the mansion. For Henry, who had been a member of the Permanence family since birth, being kicked out of the mansion was like losing his hometown.

Furthermore, Henry’s entire family, not just his father, worked here.

“Duke! Leaving the mansion! Henry was born and raised here. His entire family is here, so if he gets kicked out of the mansion… …!”

It was Henry’s fault for entering the hall without permission, but it was too harsh.

Even without checking what was missing, the punishment was handed down. It didn’t make sense.

The corners of Belige’s frozen mouth twisted as he watched Lina, who was acting as Henry’s lawyer.

“What do you mean, harsh?”

“Then first, check what items are missing here. You can decide on the punishment later.”

“I’ll check that out later. Is there anything else?”

You’re going to decide on the punishment first and then weigh the severity of the crime. Where would you do something like that?

“Your Majesty!”

“Enough.”

Lina, who was opening her mouth to say one more thing to the duke, closed her mouth at the duke’s words.

“Don’t cross the line anymore, Lina.”

A brief silence lingered between the two.

The entrance to the hall became noisy, and soon, the knights barged in.

“I’ll let you see me through this.”

A knight approached Belige and waited for his order.

“Take him.”

“Yes.”

When the knights grabbed Henry’s arms and tried to drag him away, Lina knelt down and grabbed Belige’s trouser leg.

“I’ll go.”

Lina, who thought it was right for her to leave even if she was kicked out, pleaded.

“What?”

“It’s my fault that Henry came here. If someone has to leave the mansion, I’ll take Henry’s place.”

Something hot seemed to rise in the Duke’s eyes as he quietly watched Lina.

“What should I do?”

The Duke knelt down on one knee to Lina’s eye level. He lifted Lina’s chin with his finger and mumbled.

“I don’t intend to punish you.”

* * *

A few days had passed since that incident. The maids and servants had become cautious in every action, and the atmosphere seemed to have become much heavier. And.

“Because of that girl, Henry… … .”

“Lina is the Duke’s mistress… … .”

Whenever Lina passed by, other people’s gazes and whispers followed her as if they had made a promise. However, she tried to act as if nothing had happened and just did her best at her job.

‘The Duke’s mistress? Me?’

A rumor had been going around since that day. The Duke’s mistress had an affair with a servant. So the Duke kicked the mistress and the servant out of the mansion.

It couldn’t have been anything but a scandal.

May said that someone had seen Lina come out of the Duke’s bedroom a few days ago. And it was also said that she took care of the Duke’s bath every day.

“That man’s mistress.”

Where in the world would a mistress receive such treatment? Lina snorted inwardly and knocked on the door.

Knock knock-.

Inside the room, Henry was packing his luggage, and May was helping him pack.

“You’re here?”

Henry, who had been in prison for a few days until the hall was inspected, was packing up to leave the mansion as soon as he was released.

He smiled as he put his clothes in his bag and saw Lina.

“… … Henry. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? It was my fault.”

“But.”

“Just think of it as going back to the capital to study. And the butler said that if you go to the capital for a while, he will tell you later. There is nothing missing from the gallery hall, so it will be okay. So, don’t worry too much.”

However, May, who was listening to Henry, was secretly wiping away tears.

“Stop crying. I will be back soon. We are not even breaking up, so why are you doing this?”

“… … Yeah.”

Henry comforted May while stroking her head. Lina, who felt complicated seeing the two of them, quietly left the room.

“Uncle Rick said it wasn’t my fault, but… … .”

The stable keeper Rick consoled her, saying that he was having a hard time because of his bad son. Lina felt sorry and grateful to them.

Lina, who entered the room with a complicated mind, couldn’t help but sigh.

“Haa… … . Again?”

Lina looked at the clothes covered in dirt. Since that day, someone had started to harass Lina cleverly.

‘Is it Roen… … ?’

Now that Susan was gone, the only person who could think of who would do something like this was Roen. However, since I only had a suspicion and no evidence, I couldn’t properly investigate.

“I’m sick of it. Really.”

The harassment that I thought would end in a day or two continued for almost a week.

“I didn’t know it would last this long.”

Sighing, she packed her clothes and headed to the laundry room. Lina had been doing laundry several times a day recently.

‘But why is my body so heavy? Am I getting a cold… … .’

Is it because she’s been having a hard time lately? Today, her body felt particularly shaky.

Actually, it wasn’t strange at all for her to be sick right now.

Because of the Duke’s work, cleaning the gallery hall, her colleagues’ harassment, and Henry’s work, her body and mind were exhausted beyond belief.

‘Is it fortunate that I have less time with the Duke these days… … .’

The Duke, who had been feeling unwell since that day, hadn’t been visiting her much lately.

‘Did the Duke hear the rumors?’

It was a scandal that could be quite bothersome to an unmarried Duke. And strangely, the scandal surrounding her and the Duke was growing bigger by the day.

It was as if someone was deliberately spreading the rumors.

As she thought about the scandals circulating in the mansion, Lina couldn’t help but stiffen as she entered the laundry room.

“What is this… …?”

On the damp dirt floor, her clothes were torn to shreds. If Lina hadn’t hung the laundry there, I wouldn’t have thought it was actually clothes.

“What the hell is this? Who did this… …!”

As Lina muttered while picking up the torn clothes, familiar voices were heard from behind her.

“Oh my? The clothes are all torn?”

“If you just shake your waist, the Duke will buy it for you. What would you be worried about?”

“That’s right. Because of her, only poor Henry got kicked out?”

Lina, who was looking at Roen and the group, stood up from her seat.

“What did you just say?”

“What? Did we say something wrong? Guys! Did I say something wrong?”

Roen’s eyes, seeking the agreement of those around him, showed strong hostility toward Lina.

“This is also what you did?”

“Are you suspecting us now? Do you have any evidence?”

Roen crossed his arms and laughed in a mocking manner.

“There’s no evidence. But does that matter?”

“What?”

Lina quietly put down the clothes she was holding.

“As you said, I am the Duke’s mistress, so if I ask you to clean up one of them, wouldn’t you listen?”

“What, what are you saying?!”

Roen stuttered, looking flustered.

“If you’re going to be the government, you should act like the government, and act cute in the Duke’s bedroom.”

Lina took a step closer to them and spoke softly.

“What are you going to do if you act cute to the Duke and ask him to whip you out? Like Susan.”

Only then did they realize that something was going wrong.

They began to look at each other’s faces, their confident demeanor gone.

“Oh! That’s right! Emma asked me to do something, but I forgot?”

“Huh? Huh! Me too!”

As they left the laundry room one by one, making lame excuses, Roen, who was left alone, was shivering.

“Roen.”

Lina smiled at her.

“Aren’t you going?”

Roen bit his lip at Lina’s words and clenched his fist in anger. But soon he ran away.

“Hoo-.”

Lina, who was left alone in the laundry room, bent down to pick up the mess of clothes. Raindrops began to fall one by one from the dark sky, and they became heavier.

“It really is all sorts of things… … .”

Lina muttered as she picked up the fallen clothes. Was it because the falling rain was heavy? She stood there for a long time with her head down.

“Should I just throw them all away… … ?”

Her body and mind. And all of this situation was exhausting her.