Can You Save Me Duke? - 23

Inside the Permanence Estate, Hallstatt Street.

A woman wearing a robe pulled down low was secretly looking at the checkpoint behind the wall.

Her eyes were on a line of people trying to leave the castle gate, being checked by the security forces.

A movement ban was in effect, but those with special reasons could be checked and allowed to leave the estate.

Lina, who was watching, laughed at herself.

“I feel like a real criminal because I’m here.”

As time passed, the security forces’ checkpoints were getting stronger. Because of this, she couldn’t live locked up in the inn forever.

Maybe it was because of her mood, but the innkeeper’s gaze looked ominous.

‘I really have to make a decision now.’

While she was mumbling, time passed by without a trace.

‘How can I return to the mansion on my own feet when you’re searching with your eyes wide open like that?’

Lina, who had been standing behind the wall for a while and biting her lips, took out the money in her pocket.

Five copper coins.

If I pay the accommodation fee right away, I’ll only have about five shillings left.

“Whew-. Let’s go back to the inn first. And then… … .”

As she turned to the room to think about what to do next, she happened to hear a conversation between a passerby.

“Did you hear that? The crime of the woman the duke is searching for with his eyes wide open.”

“What? What! What kind of heinous crime did that young girl commit that there’s such a big bounty on her head?”

“she stole a very precious jewel from the duke.”

Lina stopped walking at the words that followed.

‘What? A jewel? What is that… … .’

She almost accidentally caught them and asked them.

‘she  stole the jewel and ran away!’

It seemed like a lot had happened in the duke’s absence.

Seeing that she had become a thief who had taken jewels that she hadn’t even stolen, Lina bit her fingernails.

‘Why did they even issue a wanted notice… … .’

I thought the duke was crazy, but it seemed like there was a reason.

‘Seeing that he’s going this far, it must be a pretty important item.’

What kind of idiot could have done such a thing? I sighed involuntarily.

If I go back like this, I’ll have to make excuses for the items I didn’t steal.

The crystal ball that Susan stole last time was lucky, but there was no guarantee that I would be as lucky this time.

However, if I don’t return to the mansion in this condition, I’ll be branded a criminal.

It was a hassle for her to be chased as a fugitive instead of going through the formalities and leaving the territory, and it was something she wanted to avoid if possible. Also.

‘I left my ring behind.’

Lina thought of the ring she had hidden under her bed, in a cookie jar. That ring had been with her since she first opened her eyes four hundred years ago.

She had kept it carefully, thinking it might be a small clue to her lost memories.

‘I don’t know about anything else, but I absolutely cannot leave that behind.’

She couldn’t bear to wear the ring while she was working, so she kept it in her room.

She had rushed out, and of course, she had planned to return to the mansion, so she hadn’t had time to bring it back.

‘I should have stayed there… … .’

Lina, who was thinking of the ring she had left behind, unconsciously headed toward a dark alley. Not knowing that someone was following her.

And soon after, Lina suddenly lost consciousness from a strong shock hitting her neck.

* * *

“Why are you doing this?”

Alex, who was lying down on the sofa in the office, asked while picking up a grape and eating it.

“What?”

“The woman you’re looking for. I heard that the item she stole was nothing special.”

Alex was right. I didn’t even know that a brooch like that existed in the mansion.

That’s why there was no need to put up a bounty to find it.

“And you even threatened to never hurt her?”

Alex continued speaking instead of Bellige, who was silent.

“Do you like that woman?”

The moving pen tip stopped at the prince’s words that suddenly came in.

“… … .”

Bellige’s lips stiffened as if they were stiff. Alex, who was watching the duke, continued speaking instead.

“I heard that you took a maid as your mistress, so I came to take a look. When I came, I saw you searching for the maid who ran away with your eyes wide open. Well, this is fun in its own way.”

Alex got up from the sofa and looked at Belige while adjusting his clothes.

“Then I’ll see you later, Duke.”

As soon as Alex left, Belige threw down the pen he was holding.

Was it because of the headache and nightmare that had started again? Or was it because he couldn’t answer Alex’s teasing question? He frowned with irritation rising from deep within.

After staring into space for a moment, Belige opened the drawer and took out the ring inside. It was something he had found under Lina’s bed while searching her room.

He rolled the ring around in his palm and examined it closely. It was an orange color like the sun. It was a ring made of a mineral that he had never seen before.

The Duke felt suffocated for no reason and ran his hands over his hair.

There had been no news from Philip, who had been sent to the capital. Originally, he had planned to decide Lina’s disposal based on the truth. But.

“It doesn’t matter. Now.”

No matter what truth Philip brought, he had to keep Lina by his side.

“I’ll use it the same way.”

And that was when he tightly grasped the ring he had been fiddling with.

“Your Majesty-!”

An urgent voice was heard from outside the door. With the news he had been waiting for the most.

* * *

Only a cool air lingered in this place where the sound of water dripping repeatedly quietly repeated.

Lina, who frowned and barely opened her eyes, groaned without realizing it. Her whole body was screaming, perhaps because of the hard floor.

“Ugh… … .”

The musty smell surrounding her pierced her nose.

“Where is this… … ?”

She looked around, shivering from the chilly cold. The cold stone floor. That narrow, dark space without a single window. And.

The thick iron bars blocking her path.

‘It’s a prison.’

With a sudden realization, Lina quickly got up and sat down again with a small scream.

“Ugh… … .”

She looked at her right arm and saw that blood was leaking out. It seemed that her arm had been injured while being dragged. Lina leaned against the nearby brazier to check her condition.

Her clothes were already torn in places, and they were covered in all kinds of dirt and dust.

“It really looks like i ran away and was caught.”

I couldn’t see it, but there must have been traces of her rolling around on her face. Lina let out a small sigh and began to look around the prison.

“How much time has passed?”

Since there were no windows, she couldn’t tell the time.

‘It was around 2pm before I lost consciousness. Even if it’s early, it’ll be evening.’

In the end, Lina’s plan to return to the mansion was all ruined.

Looking at the situation, it seemed like someone who recognized her had captured her for the bounty.

Looking at the dark place where the damp cold air was lingering, Lina began to chew over what had happened to her.

She had suddenly been hit on the back of her neck in an alley she had unknowingly entered and lost consciousness. She raised her uninjured arm and caressed the back of her head.

A chill still lingered in her head.

“i should have just returned to the mansion the next day.”

She hadn’t entered the mansion on her own, and if she was caught like this, who would believe her innocence?

‘Should I escape?’

However, it was highly likely that her capture had already been reported. If she escaped like this, she might even be charged with prison escape.

She felt her head throbbing with the distant future ahead of her.

“But why do I have such an ominous feeling?”

Even though she was already unlucky enough, it seemed like it wasn’t over yet. The familiar unpleasantness from earlier sent shivers down her spine.

And this ominous feeling was definitely right.

As she was shaking her legs in a strange sense of impatience, unfamiliar footsteps began to come down the stairs.

‘Who is coming? Is it a guard?’

As she listened to the sound of people getting closer, a man entered with a rattling door.

However, because of the thick darkness, she couldn’t see the man’s face. Lina frowned and stared at the man’s face.

‘Ah.’

Lina’s mouth opened slowly with a short sigh. Even in the prison, which was only supported by a small torch, the man’s yellow eyes were clearly showing their presence.

And the moment she saw his two eyes, she didn’t have to struggle to see the man’s face.

Because she already knew the man with those eyes.

‘Your Majesty… …?’

As the man approached step by step, his face became clearer. And when the man came within reach, a cold voice echoed in her ears.

“I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

The man’s gaze, tilting his head and looking down at Lina, made her hands and feet tingle.

“So, how was your last freedom?”

The cavernous low voice made the surrounding air seem to freeze. Her entire body stiffened at the appearance of the unexpected person.

‘Why are you here… …?’

I thought he would be waiting for her elegantly in the mansion when she was soon to be taken away. And the last freedom? The man was saying something incomprehensible.

Bellige was looking down at Lina arrogantly through the iron bars. His golden eyes, looking at her, were blazing red like torches.

“Lina.”

And before she could even answer his call. The man who had a laugh corrected what he had said.

“Oh, wasn’t your name Lina?”

“What is that… … .”

Her eyebrows twitched at the man’s unexpected words.

The rusty iron door gave off a creepy sound along with a clanking sound.

The sound of the knock filled the silence between them. And the thick iron door that seemed like it would not open showed its gap.

Belige, who had been slowly approaching Lina as if admiring her sitting, knelt down to her eye level.

“What is your real identity?”

Lina realized at the man’s soft question.

This man was not questioning her about the missing item, nor was he asking her why she had suddenly disappeared.

“Your Majesty, Duke. I… … .”

Lina barely managed to control her trembling voice and opened her mouth to explain.

“With an expression that seemed like she didn’t know anything.”

And Belige whispered, looking at Lina’s eyes that were shaking without hesitation, as if she thought that was pretentious.

“With such innocent eyes.”

Belige, who had been close by, lifted Lina’s chin with his index finger.

“You must have fooled everyone like that. Even Cullen. Emma too. And me too.”

‘You know everything. That man.’

Everything she had forged to work as a maid at the Fermanense mansion.

She must have figured out about herself because of this incident. Why didn’t he think about it?

Lina barely swallowed her saliva and sighed inwardly.

“That must have been a lie too.”

That’s why she didn’t hear the last words that came out of Belige’s mouth.

“I.”

He stroked Lina’s cheek. With a rather gentle touch.

“What should I do with you?”

It was a sweet voice that didn’t match his faded eyes.