Can You Save Me Duke? - 20

“Didn’t you learn when you were young that you shouldn’t follow people you don’t know?”

When the man scolded her, as if he had misunderstood her actions of following the men a little while ago,

Lina smiled awkwardly.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes. Thanks to you. Thank you for helping me.”

Lina, who hadn’t seen the hand the man extended, got up on her own. Then the man quietly smiled at her hand that had lost its place.

“But isn’t it more dangerous to wander around alone?”

She tilted her head as if wondering what he meant by his absurd remark.

“I thought I would be noticed.”

“Ah.”

Lina quickly fixed her hood as the man pointed to her shoulder with his finger.

Since she had a conspicuous appearance, if she showed her face, she would get into trouble like before.

The man approached Lina, who was fixing her disheveled robe.

“Where are you going? I’ll take you there.”

She looked at the man who was doing her a favor and worried.

She was worried that she would run into the thugs who had escaped, but the duke was enough for her to meet him in his original form within the Permanence estate.

“No. It’s okay.”

When Lina hesitated for a moment and refused, the man shrugged his shoulders.

“This is the first time I’ve been rejected like this by a woman.”

Lina looked the man in front of her up and down. He spoke with an arrogant tone for some reason, and the fabrics looked simple but luxurious.

“A nobleman?”

“This is the first time someone has been so openly observing me.”

When he said that he was interested in the way she was openly looking him up and down, Lina quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry if you felt offended. I didn’t realize it… … .”

“I understand. I don’t have an ordinary face.”

Lina smiled awkwardly at his confident expression and strangely seemed to be asking for agreement.

“Yes, what… … .”

Lina started picking up the apples that had fallen on the floor, avoiding the gaze of the man who was staring at her.

When she had finished picking up all the apples, the man handed her the apples that were at his feet and asked.

“I came to see a friend of yours. What about you?”

“I’m also… … . Similar.”

The unidentified man started asking Lina a question that was difficult to answer. Lina answered vaguely and quickly got up to leave.

Lina’s eyes, shining like amethyst reflecting the sunlight, met the man’s blue eyes in the air.

“But.”

The man who had been staring at her eyes whispered.

“Purple eyes. That’s a rare color.”

He held out his hand to Lina as if telling her to get up.

“I’m Alex. What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Lii… … Lily.”

She almost introduced herself as Lina, but she quickly changed her words. Lili was a cute name that could be given to a puppy.

“It’s cuter than I thought. Lili. Nice to meet you.”

The moment she was about to take Alex’s outstretched hand, the ground suddenly began to shake. The sound of horse hooves hitting the stone floor was getting closer and closer.

Lina turned her gaze to find the source of the sound. Beyond the people filling the square, knights on horseback were galloping.

But there was one familiar person standing at the very front of them.

“Wow, even tigers come when you call them.”

Despite it being broad daylight, her black hair reminded her of the pitch-black night. And her yellow eyes were clearly visible even from afar.

‘… … Duke?’

Lina’s lips went dry at the ominous feeling that came from her toes.

A man got off his horse and looked around for a moment between the people who had already parted, and then stopped looking in her direction.

Then, as if he had found someone he knew, he slowly began to approach her.

‘No way.’

she knew she was unlucky, but for the past few days, she had been going through the worst of times. Her body stiffened as she watched the Duke approach without a single wave of hesitation.

Did he remember her from the last party? A cold sweat ran down Lina’s back as she became anxious.

‘Nonsense.’

However, as if ignoring her earnestness, the Duke approached exactly where she was standing. Even the people around him parted and moved aside whenever he walked.

‘Please. It can’t be.’

Dry saliva passed through Lina’s tense throat. As the Duke approached, Lina’s anxiety grew more and more.

At that moment, Lina tightly closed her eyes as she watched the man closing the distance with such large strides.

“What is happening here?”

‘What?’

Lina, startled by the Duke’s sudden respect, opened her eyes slightly. Then, Belige was standing right next to her.

No, to be exact, in front of Alex, who was next to Lina.

‘What’s going on?’

She looked at Alex with a puzzled look. It was a happy expression, as if he had met an old friend.

[I came to meet a friend. What about you?]

‘Wait, friend?’

Suddenly, the man’s words from earlier flashed through her mind.

‘You two are friends?’

Lina looked back and forth between Alex and Belige. She was surprised that the man was the Duke’s friend, but fortunately, she hadn’t been caught.

‘Whew-.’

Lina secretly let out a sigh of relief. She took a deep breath as soon as she heard the Duke’s words that followed.

“Your Highness.”

The people around him also stopped breathing, and the surroundings became quiet for a moment.

“It’s been a while. Duke.”

When Lina turned her creaking head, Alex greeted Belige with a leisurely smile.

And the Duke wiggled his eyebrows, perhaps annoyed by Alex’s words.

‘That man… … is the prince?’

Only then did she remember the facts she had forgotten. The duke who went to war with the prince.

And another man who was called a war hero like the duke. That blond hair like the sun, the symbol of the royal family. And the name Alex.

Benialex Legrum di Regnator

At first glance, that man who looked like a rascal was the first prince of this empire.

* * *

Alex asked the duke about his well-being in his usual voice, as if he had made an appointment.

But Belige just glared at him with eyes that looked like they were going to spew venom at any moment.

“You look like you’re about to commit treason?”

The duke opened his mouth as if he had given up, seeing Alex shrug his shoulders as if teasing him.

“What brings you here?”

“I’m coming to see my old friend, do I really need a reason? The duke who brought his knights here with him. There’s no way he would have come to greet me… … . There must be another reason.”

The duke lightly ignored Alex’s question, which seemed to be asking something.

“You still talk nonsense.”

“I’m the same as always. According to rumors, you seem to have changed a bit, though?”

Belige let out a long sigh, looking at the prince who still had a playful expression on his face. Then, he pressed his forehead as if he had a headache and continued speaking.

“… … Let’s go for now. I’ll take you to the castle.”

The duke’s attitude was strangely rude for a typical master-servant relationship. And the prince seemed to naturally accept Belige’s behavior.

Lina watched the two with curious eyes.

‘You said that the Duke and the First Prince were very close, right?’

The friendship between the two, who had been wandering around the battlefield together since childhood, was something that even the children of the empire knew. However, seeing it with my own eyes made the feeling different.

‘What should I do now?’

She was surprised by the sudden revelation of the man’s identity for a moment. She began to understand her situation.

The people who had already gathered in the square were kept far away from the Duke and the Crown Prince by the knights. However.

Lina, who was too close to Alex and could not get pushed out with the others, stood vaguely behind the First Prince.

‘It’s dangerous to stand here like this.’

Lina wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

Because she had placed a spell of oblivion on Belige, she was sure that he wouldn’t remember her current appearance, but it was better not to encounter him as much as possible.

But she couldn’t just leave the place on her own, fearing that she might be noticed by the duke if she moved.

It was when she quietly bit her lips due to the anxiety that made her fingertips tingle.

A black horse behind Belige sniffed around, looking around, as if it had caught something.

Lina, who had been thinking about getting out of this place, didn’t notice the horse’s strange behavior at all.

‘Okay. Now.’

Lina, who had been rolling her eyes and looking around for a while, began to slowly back away.

As she gradually moved away from the prince, Lina’s eyes met with a black horse that had been looking around.

The moment she tried to pass by the horse that was staring at her, an ominous feeling grabbed Lina’s ankle.

‘… … Thunder?’

The black horse standing next to the duke, looking at her with a dignified appearance, was Thunder.

The joy of meeting Thunder after a long time was short-lived. Thunder recognized her and snorted.

‘I’ll come see you later.’

Lina cautiously greeted Thunder, who was staring at her intently, and took a step back. But was the horse’s movement, which seemed to be approaching her, just an illusion?

‘No way.’

Thunder let out a short whine and twisted his body to approach Lina. She couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the horse’s sudden excitement.

And the inexplicable anxiety was gradually becoming a reality.

‘What, what is it… …!’

Lina swallowed dryly without realizing it as she watched the horse’s movements, which seemed to be running towards her at any moment.

Only then did Bellige realize that Thunder’s behavior was strange and tried to calm the horse down by holding the reins, but it was already too late.

Before the Duke could stop Thunder, the horse was already running towards her.

“Thunder!”

Bellige, bewildered by the horse’s unruly behavior, shouted its name, but it was no use.

‘An

Don’t come! Thunder!’

If Thunder greeted her here, everyone’s attention would be focused on her. If that happened, her plan to quietly slip away would fail.

‘Please! Stay still… …!’

Lina desperately begged Thunder not to come, but Thunder would never have understood her signal. Rather, he seemed to think she was greeting him, and his steps towards her became more excited.

With a purring sound, the black horse passed the prince in an instant and came right in front of Lina’s nose, sticking its head in and teasing her to touch him.

‘I’m screwed.’

In the end, Thunder’s sudden action caused everyone’s attention to be focused on Lina.

“Haa-.”

She, who had been watching the surroundings to see how Thunder’s aggressive affectionate offensive was going, eventually pretended not to be able to resist and stroked Thunder’s mane. Thunder snorted in satisfaction as if she liked what she was touching.

‘This is really driving me crazy.’

With a blank expression, he glanced at Belige. The Duke must have been looking at her too, as their gazes mingled in the air.

Lina had met his eyes dozens, hundreds of times since she became that man’s maid, but it felt completely different then.

Lina stared blankly into his yellow eyes for a while, then turned her head to the side to avoid his gaze.

However, Lina still felt the Duke’s intense gaze, so she glanced at him again.

And the Duke was still staring at Lina intensely without blinking an eyelid.

‘Why do you keep looking at me so anxiously… … .’

When Lina’s pulse quickened due to his persistent gaze, the Duke asked her.

“Who are you?”