Can You Save Me Duke? - 19

“Refuse to treat?”

“Yes. she refused to treat her and refused to open the door.”

The duke, who was waiting for Lina’s treatment report, let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

Joaquin was the second son of a baronial family, and although he had no title, he was a nobleman. The very act of entrusting him with examining a maid could have been controversial.

And the duke risked such controversy and sent Joaquin for the maid. But all he got in return was a refusal to treat her. Belige’s mouth felt bitter.

“What should we do? Your Majesty?”

Cullen asked cautiously, looking at the frozen duke.

“I’ll go myself. Tell Joaquin to go back to Lina’s room.”

The man’s brow furrowed. There was a hint of annoyance in Belige’s steps as he left the room.

Lina’s defensive attitude, rejecting all the favors he offered, irritated him.

Soon, when he reached Lina’s room, he saw Joaquin standing at a loss in front of the door.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty… …!”

Joaquin, who had arrived before the duke, looked at him to see if he would be the one getting hurt.

“I’m sorry. she kept not opening the door, so… ….”

Joaquin trailed off. The duke glanced at his intention with an indifferent look and stood in front of the door.

“Lina. The duke himself has come. Now, open the door.”

Cullen informed Lina that the duke had arrived, but there was no reaction from inside.

Cullen and Joaquin swallowed dryly at the maid’s attitude that seemed to be blatantly ignoring her now.

The moment the butler knocked on the door again and tried to urge Lina, the duke, who had been quiet, opened his mouth.

“If you don’t open this door right now. I will force my way in.”

But the reaction that came back was not much different from before.

“Lina! What are you doing! Open the door… …!”

The moment Cullen, who couldn’t stand it any longer, tried to press him again, the duke felt his patience reach its limit and twisted the doorknob.

Then, the door that seemed unopenable opened with great ease.

Clink-.

Cullen was taken aback by the duke’s sudden actions for a moment. Looking around the room illuminated by candlelight, he involuntarily took a deep breath.

“No… …!”

“How is this… …!”

There was no one in the room, and only the cold air greeted them.

Joaquin and Cullen, who only then realized that Lina had disappeared, looked at the duke without exception.

“Bun, I’m sure she was in the room before the duke came!”

Joaquin was going crazy and jumping around. As soon as he heard that the Duke was heading to the maid’s room, he ran to the room faster than anyone else.

He told the maid that the Duke was coming and persuaded her to open the door before she got into more trouble.

But there was no one in the room. Who was the one who had been talking to him?

Besides, this was the second floor. It wasn’t that high, but if she jumped down, she would have broken something.

And he couldn’t understand why the maid was so desperately refusing to treat him.

he wasn’t here to kill her, he was just here to examine her?

Joaquin looked at the duke’s face. His eyes looked calm as he stood there with a hardened expression, but those who had been by his side for a long time knew.

He was more agitated than ever.

“Cullen.”

The duke’s voice, so calm, actually sent shivers down their necks.

“Find her, now.”

* * *

After the long war, the quiet town regained its vitality as the men who had participated in the war returned to their hometown.

The bustling atmosphere of the streets made her shoulders shake.

“I left the mansion in a hurry… … .”

Last night, I was surprised when the doctor I had sent away came back, but now the duke himself came to see me. My heart sank.

My body had already changed, and there was no more excuse to leave, so I was confused when I heard the duke’s voice.

[If you don’t open this door right now. I’ll force my way in.]

Lina, who was scared by the duke’s momentum as if he was going to break the door down, quickly grabbed her robe and some money and used magic to leave the mansion.

“Whew-. I don’t know what excuse I’ll have to make when I return to the mansion tomorrow.”

The fire in front of her was turned off, but what happened next was a bigger problem. Since she suddenly disappeared without saying anything, the mansion must have been turned upside down by now.

“Miss! Come here and try some apples.”

Lina, who was slowly passing by the fruit stand with her hood pulled down, stopped walking when she heard a voice calling her name.

The person who stopped her was the fruit shop owner who had been kind to her whenever she came to town.

“Oh, you’re so pretty. I’ve never seen your face before. You’re not from this town, are you?”

The person who had greeted her whenever she came to town was now treating her like he was seeing her for the first time. It was a strange feeling that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Yes. I stopped by for a moment while traveling.”

“How could I not remember such a pretty lady! Try some of these apples. They’re so sweet!”

The fragrant sweetness filled her mouth as she bit into the apple slice the owner had given her.

No matter how much she thought about it now, what would change? For now, she had no choice but to fill her hungry stomach.

Let’s taste the apples. The empty stomach that had been empty since yesterday began to churn.

“Thank you. The apples are really delicious. Please wrap this up!”

Before she knew it, Lina was walking down the street with her arms full of apples, and a satisfied smile was on her face.

These days, she’s been suffering all day, but how much she’s missed this kind of daily life.

It’s been a long time since she’s been able to enjoy a free and ordinary daily life because she’s been tormented by the duke all day.

Even on the day her body changed last month, she thought she was going to die from the heat because she was lying in bed all day under the blanket in the middle of summer.

“I’ll eat stew at the Fredu restaurant later, rest a little at the inn, and then return to the castle tomorrow morning.”

As Lina excitedly planned out her day, the words the duke had said two days ago suddenly flashed through her mind.

[If the reason you’re leaving is because of that rumor.]

[I’ll make it true.]

Lina chewed over the duke’s words one by one.

“You were really going to make me the real government, weren’t you?”

Lina was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t notice the group of people walking in front of her.

“Ugh.”

With a thud, the apples fell to the ground and rolled around.

“What the heck?! You’re not keeping your eyes open?!”

She accidentally bumped into a large man walking in front of her. The man glared at Lina in a voice full of annoyance.

“Ah! I’m sorry.”

Lina bowed to them and bent down to pick up the fallen apples. A vicious hand grabbed her arm.

“If you’re sorry, just know that… …!”

Lina’s body was suddenly pulled upward by the man’s evil force. And in reaction, the hood covering her face was ripped down.

Her thin silver hair, hidden under the old hood, fell down in a torrent.

The surprised purple eyes met the man in front of her. Then, the man’s eyes, which had been filled with annoyance, instantly changed to dirty desire.

“Hoo-. This is no joke?”

“What the… …!”

Lina, who was about to ask the man who suddenly pulled her closer, stopped what she was about to say.

The surroundings became quiet for a moment, and the man’s attitude suddenly changed. And the gazes scanning her.

‘No way.’

She hurriedly felt around her head and found that the hood that should have been covered was gone.

Everyone who passed by stopped and looked at Lina’s face, which was exposed under the sunlight.

Lina, who soon realized that her face was exposed, hurriedly tried to put the hood back on with her free hand, but she couldn’t.

The man grabbed Lina’s other hand and scanned it with sticky eyes.

“Why are you trying to cover up something so pretty?”

“It’s no joke!!”

“Ken! The lady was surprised. Be kind! Haha.”

She twisted her head as she felt the man’s dirty breath.

However, the men around her, ignoring her reaction, whistled and surrounded Lina.

“We’ll pretend that we just bumped into each other never happened, so how about you play with us today?”

“What the… …! Let go of me!”

Lina screamed, her spine tingling at the man’s creepy words, but she couldn’t escape the man’s grasp.

‘Damn it. There are too many people around, so I can’t use magic!’

It was a situation where she could easily escape if she used magic, but she couldn’t use magic in the middle of the village where everyone was watching.

‘Then we have no choice but to follow these guys and then go to a deserted place and use magic.’

She relaxed her rebellious hands, thinking that she had no choice but to follow the men for now.

Then, as if Lina thought they had accepted them, the men giggled and tried to drag her away.

Something red was thrown over the head of the man named Ken who was holding Lina’s arm.

“Ouch! What the!?”

“An apple… …?”

The apple that had hit the man’s head rolled on the floor.

“What kind of bastard are you?!”

The man who had been hit in the head with an apple shouted while covering his head.

“I’m sorry, what should I do?”

I turned my head following the voice I heard. Then, a man with a rather noticeable appearance in the crowd of people approached me, repeatedly throwing and catching an apple on his palm.

“My hand slipped.”

Brilliant blond hair that seemed to have been hit by sunlight. Eyes that were as refreshing as a blue lake.

“You bastard! What are you?! Do you want to die?!”

“Kill me, or if you can.”

The man who was holding Lina, perhaps feeling a little arrogant, pushed her hand away and ran towards the man.

“What? This

“You cheeky brat!”

However, unlike the bold attack, the blond man dodged easily and fell comically without being able to swing a single punch.

Lina, who had fallen because of the man who suddenly pushed her away, looked at them with surprised eyes.

“Hey, you!”

The man who got up from the floor charged at him again with a look of indignation.

However, before the fist of the man named Ken could reach the blond man, he dodged the fist with a light gesture and kicked the man in the stomach.

Then Ken rolled on the floor with a pitiful scream.

“Ugh!”

The group joined in and attacked him, but it seemed that they were not enough to deal with the blond man, and they fell one by one.

It was a moment when the large thugs were defeated so clumsily.

“You bastard… …! T-T, let’s just wait and see!”

Those who were so miserably treated by a man suddenly disappeared, leaving behind some cliche words that sounded familiar.

The man who was shaking his head while looking at them approached Lina, who was lying on the floor, and reached out his hand.