Can You Save Me Duke? - 26

The mansion was once again at peace.

The duke was as calm and reserved as before, and he was not sensitive. He was also very busy with the work that had been put off.

“Is the dam construction going well?”

“You should probably go to Harren County. I heard that the river is rising due to the continuous rain, making construction difficult.”

After the dam construction that had been carried out randomly on the river last time had shown results, construction began on the Harren County, which was the most urgent.

If the dam construction was completed successfully, the Curpit River in Harren County would not have to fear the monsoon season.

“I guess I should go down and take a look. Prepare a carriage.”

“Yes. I understand. But why the carriage… … .”

Belige always rode a horse wherever he went, because carriages were slower than horses, and he could not use the rough terrain to get there by shortcut. But a carriage?

Lawrence looked at the duke with a puzzled look.

“Lina is coming too.”

“… … Yes?”

Then Lawrence, surprised by the sudden words, asked dumbly.

‘You’re taking a maid to an official event?’

She was even rumored to be the duke’s mistress.

“Lina… … Are you talking about her?”

He asked back with a hopeful heart, but the answer he got was the same. It seemed that the duke was not going to send the maid out of the mansion, but rather to keep her closer.

“Your Majesty. Are you really going to keep that maid in the mansion?”

Lawrence asked with a serious expression. However, the duke did not respond to his words at all and just looked at the documents.

They say silence is affirmation. Lawrence clenched his fist at the duke’s appearance.

Not only did she steal things from the mansion and run away, but she had also forged her identity and worked at the mansion with a fake letter of recommendation. To keep such a dangerous person by your side, who might be the Empress’s spy.

Lawrence felt his breath catch in his throat.

‘Are the rumors true?’

When he first heard the rumors that Lina and the Duke were on bad terms, he thought they were just rumors.

The Duke, who had been watching her for a long time, seemed incapable of feeling such personal feelings.

“No, Duke! She might be the Empress’s spy!”

“There’s still no news from Philip. So we can’t be certain.”

“That’s… …!”

As the Duke said, there was no evidence that she was a spy, but there was a suspicion. And that suspicion alone made it dangerous to keep that maid by your side. Especially at such a dangerous time.

The empire was now divided into two factions: one supporting the First Prince, the son of the former Empress, and the other supporting the Second Prince, the son of the current Empress.

And the Permanence family was the central axis of the faction supporting the First Prince.

Because of this, the empress sent the first prince, Alex and Belige, to the battlefield in order to put her young son on the throne.

However, not only did they survive the battlefield where they were sent to die, but they also returned with a victory.

Thanks to this, the first prince and the duke were gaining popularity among the people as the days went by, and the empress could not ignore the flow of public sentiment.

Furthermore, unlike the first prince, the second prince had been weak since childhood and had been secluded in the palace, so she could not help but feel more anxious.

‘Probably by now, they are desperate to get rid of the first prince and the duke by any means necessary.’

Lawrence bit his lip.

“Then what are you going to do with the brooch that the maid stole? The rumor has spread not only in the mansion but also throughout the entire territory thanks to the wanted notice. Are you really not going to impose any punishment?”

“Tell them that it wasn’t stolen. Just say that I gave it to Lina.”

“Your Majesty!”

If he did as he said, he would be implicitly acknowledging Lina as the Duke’s lover or mistress.

“Don’t bring up that story anymore. My intentions remain the same.”

Lina might be a spy. And that she stole things from the mansion and ran away. Even if all of this were true, no one else should know.

Then I wouldn’t be able to keep Lina by my side.

Lawrence was silent at the Duke’s firm order. The Duke now seemed to have no intention of listening to him. It was time to take a step back for now.

“… … I understand. Then I will pay the bounty to the guys who caught the maid as you announced.”

Bellige let out a short breath as if something came to mind at those words.

Dried scabs were stuck between the clothes that were torn as if they had been scratched somewhere.

When he remembered that time again, he felt annoyed. Then he mumbled in a lowered voice.

“Yes. Since you promised, I should give it to you. But.”

Belige’s last words caught Lawrence’s ankle as he was about to leave the room.

“Didn’t I clearly say that not a single hair should be harmed while capturing Lina?”

“… … Yes? Yes. Well, it was written that way on the wanted notice… … .”

At that moment, Lawrence swallowed dry saliva involuntarily with an ominous feeling.

‘No way.’

Joaquin had heard that the maid had hurt her arm. However, it wasn’t a serious injury, and he had said that it was just a slight scratch and that all she needed to do was apply some medicine.

And in reality, it would be impossible for a single hair to be harmed while forcibly capturing her. That kind of harm was inevitable.

“So. What did you do with them?”

“… … I didn’t do anything. What should I do?”

Lawrence, bewildered by the Duke’s completely unexpected reaction, asked stupidly.

“What should I do? I should do the same. Even with interest.”

The reason he did this was simply because he was angry.

If someone scratched his things, anyone would feel bad. The duke made excuses as if to comfort himself.

However, Lawrence, who was watching him, thought.

The duke is crazy about the maid.

Such rumors will spread throughout the mansion, no, throughout the empire.

* * *

“It’s frustrating.”

Lina muttered as she looked outside through the window. It had already been two days since she had been able to leave the room. And she was living a life of voluntary confinement in this magnificent room.

“I have to find the ring first.”

As soon as the sun rose, Lina had asked May, who had come to her room, to bring the cookie jar she had left under her bed.

However, she had already heard that all of Lina’s things had been taken away under the pretext of an investigation right after she left, and that there was nothing left in the room.

“Haa-.”

A sigh escaped Lina’s lips as the situation became more and more complicated.

Should she have refused when the duke asked her to stay in this room? In the mansion, the rumors surrounding her and the duke had already grown uncontrollably.

‘There’s no more gossiping or contemptuous looks like before… … .’

Rather than ignoring her, they were afraid of her. They didn’t even want to make eye contact with her.

That’s understandable, because when she first entered the mansion with the duke, everyone thought Lina would be severely punished.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Lina was not punished at all and was even assigned a room on the third floor. It was as if she had become someone special to the duke.

At that moment, everyone in the mansion realized. The rumors that they had been hearing were true.

Because of that, everyone had no choice but to watch Lina’s every move. Now that she was the duke’s woman, their heads could be cut off at Lina’s word.

And those who had always bullied Lina couldn’t help but be afraid. Lina. No, the duke who loved Lina.

“Whew-.”

In front of the question without an answer, all that came to mind was a sigh. Then suddenly May’s words came to mind.

The Duke had been emitting an aura that seemed like he was going to kill someone or something.

It seemed like the Duke had been in a bad state while she was away.

‘Did you not sleep well again?’

She remembered Belige’s nightmare. The hand that was desperately holding onto her with a trembling hand.

‘But it seemed like things had gotten a lot better recently.’

Suddenly, the questions she had ignored came to mind.

The Duke’s appearance as if he was always asking her to let him sleep, and he fell asleep.

And even the breathing sounds that became calm again as if nothing had happened when she held the Duke’s hand while he was having a nightmare.

She raised her right hand and muttered.

“If I hold your hand… … . Will you sleep well?”

At that moment, when she was thinking of a plausible hypothesis, she suddenly remembered the Duke who had been earnestly examining her hand the night before and shook her head.

‘What are you thinking about now… … !’

As she was cooling her blushing cheeks again, she heard something hitting the window.

“What is it?”

Lina approached the window. And at that moment, a flying stone hit the window and fell to the floor.

Startled, she opened the window and looked down. Then, a familiar man waved his hand happily.

“Hello-?”

Gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes that resembled the light of the sun. It was the first prince.

“Prince?”

“Do you know me?”

‘Oh. I’ve never met the prince like this before.’

She internally reproached herself for her carelessness.

“I heard from a friend. The prince is in the mansion… … .”

Lina nodded as if she understood what Lina had said in a hurry. Alex was the only man in this mansion with blond hair, so it wouldn’t have been a problem for him to recognize him right away.

“Well, that’s not important. More importantly, I’ve been waiting for you.”

“… … Me?”

Alex pointed at himself with his finger and asked Lina, who was asking back.

“How about coming down and taking a walk with me?”

Lina hesitated at his words. However, how could she, a commoner, refuse the prince’s invitation?

Perhaps even if she were a noble lady and not a commoner, she would not have been able to refuse his invitation.

* * *

Alex and Lina were walking together in a garden filled with green trees all year round without a single flower.

“What a desolate garden.”

Lina turned her head and looked around at Alex’s words.

The garden of the Permanence family was filled with trees and grass that did not die even in winter and were easy to maintain. It could not have been a truly insincere garden.

When she first came here, she had thought the garden was really bleak.

“This place used to be full of flowers. Daffodils in the spring, roses in the summer. New flowers filled this place every season. Not anymore.”

Alex’s voice sounded sad as he reminisced about the past.

‘The Duke’s garden, full of gorgeous flowers.’

She couldn’t quite imagine it. The Duke’s appearance and the flowers somehow didn’t seem to go together.

Lina smiled quietly.

“You’ve probably heard about the curse that has been passed down through the Fermanense family, right?”