Can You Save Me Duke? - 32

‘Failed.’

Lina was the first to come to her senses. Before she knew it, a deep sense of despair had taken hold of her face.

“You… … .”

Had he come out for a walk while sleeping? The duke, who had been stiff in casual attire, frowned as if he had finally figured out the situation.

“Why are you here?”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. That’s… … .”

She must have let her guard down because she hadn’t seen the duke in a few days.

She racked her brain to come up with a good excuse, but in the end, she couldn’t say anything.

‘I just had to get through today!’

I never thought I’d see you here.

Lina, who was planning to return to the count’s castle as soon as the sun rose tomorrow, bit her lip.

“What the hell is that.”

Bellige looked Lina up and down with a look of shock. Her clothes were covered in dirt, and leaves were tangled in her hair.

It was as if she was rolling around on the floor. Feeling the man’s gaze, Lina quickly removed the leaves from her hair and dusted off the dirt on her clothes.

“Ha.”

Only then did the duke let out a short breath as he watched Lina hastily fixing her clothes, and brushed his hair back.

It must have been ridiculous for someone who should have been quiet in the castle to be acting like a beggar here.

‘You didn’t know I was gone yet, did you?’

Judging from the duke’s face, it seemed that he was quite embarrassed by her presence here.

It was fortunate that he had met her before he heard the news. If he had known that he was gone, he might have been angry by now.

Soon, the duke, who had been looking around to see if there was anyone else, muttered softly.

“Follow me.”

Lina quietly followed Bellige with heavy steps.

She looked at the duke, who had not said a word to her the whole time she was leading, with anxious eyes.

As soon as they entered the tent that seemed to be the duke’s residence, Belige turned around and spoke to Lina as if he was glaring at her.

“Are you out of your mind?! What on earth were you thinking when you came here?”

“I, I… … .”

Lina, who had been smiling at the man’s harsher urging than expected, decided to just be honest and tell him why she came here.

“I came with you because I thought there was something I could do to help. Actually, in the village I was in before, there was a sudden flood and the villagers died… … . I couldn’t just keep thinking about that. That’s why I couldn’t just wait in the mansion.”

“Then you should have told me.”

“But then the duke would have been criticized for being crazy about women and bringing the government to the flooded area.”

“What?”

Belige’s eyes widened slightly as if surprised by Lina’s last words.

“At least I know what the Empire is talking about me and the duke. That’s why I couldn’t tell you that I’m coming with you.”

Lowering her gaze, Lina conveyed her honest feelings and furtively scanned the man’s face.

The man simply stood there without answering, wondering what on earth she was thinking. Lina carefully opened her mouth after observing his expression for a while.

“Then… … . I’ll go in now.”

And the moment she was about to leave the residence, Belige grabbed her wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“Where I’m staying. I can’t leave right now, so I’ll return to the castle as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Where you’re staying?”

The duke’s expression, which had been pondering something for a moment, soon crumpled.

“You’re not talking about the large tents on the edge, are you?”

“… … That’s right.”

“Ha.”

Belige let out another short breath as if he was shocked.

No wonder, the tent where Lina was staying was a place where commoners of all ages and genders slept together. In an emergency like now, there was no consideration for separating the men’s and women’s places.

“So you’ve been staying there until now?”

Lina was trying to go back there as if it was a given, and he was annoyed.

“Mixed up with other men, guys.”

“Huh? What… … .”

Was it really an illusion that she emphasized the word “man” so much? As she wondered why the duke’s face was getting darker, she started walking again.

“Wait a minute.”

Lina’s steps stopped at his voice.

“Sleep here.”

“… … Huh? Here… … huh?”

Lina looked at the cot in the tent at his words. It wouldn’t be right for a grown man to sleep together on a bed that was barely big enough for one to lie down on.

Belige read her expression and said.

“I have work to do anyway, so you can sleep over there.”

The bed he pointed to with his finger was small, but it looked cozy because it was covered with a soft blanket.

In fact, it was quite uncomfortable to sleep on the cold floor, mixed with strangers for the past few days.

Moreover, after working nonstop for several days, her physical strength was reaching its limit.

‘Should I just sleep here… …?’

In the end, Lina nodded, succumbing to the temptation of a warm bed. However, she couldn’t sleep in her clothes covered in dirt.

She had to take off her clothes, but Belige must have noticed her hesitation in front of the Duke, so he sat down at the desk and started fluttering papers.

Only then did Lina feel relieved and began to take off her clothes one by one.

Thud-.

The sound of clothes falling to the floor and the sound of a pen tip moving could be heard irregularly. Before she knew it, Lina, wearing only a thin one-piece dress, shivered and went into bed.

‘It’s warm.’

When Lina turned her head while lying down on the bed, she noticed the glass of alcohol placed in front of the Duke.

‘Come to think of it, I smelled alcohol.’

At first glance, he smelled alcohol. However, the duke did not usually enjoy drinking.

‘Is it because the flood recovery is slow?’

The slow support from the imperial family, the continuous rain, and the Hyperion tree made no progress in the flood recovery work.

I recalled the resentful laments toward the duke that I had heard over the past few days when I was sharing meals. Even though it was not his fault, the arrows of blame were aimed at Belige.

Nevertheless, I felt a little sorry for the duke who was silently enduring everything.

Maybe that was why I impulsively blurted out the words.

“Duke, don’t try to shoulder everything alone.”

The pen tip stopped moving at Lina’s voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s okay to say it’s hard if you’re having a hard time. It’s better to have someone by your side than to drink alone.”

But the duke didn’t respond to her words and just stared blankly at her. Lina, embarrassed by the  man’s reaction and thinking that she had said something unnecessary, turned over the blanket and said.

“Then I’ll go to sleep first!”

Lina’s eyes quickly closed at the feeling of the soft blanket wrapped around her body. Only Lina’s rumbling breathing began to quietly echo inside the tent.

.
.
.

“Hmm.”

Belige, who was looking at Lina, who was curled up as if she was cold, picked up the blanket that was hanging on the chair and approached her. Then he carefully covered her sleeping body.

Lina’s expression became much more relaxed, as if the heavy blanket pressing down on her body was not bad.

It was the first time the duke had seen Lina this close since arriving at Harren Castle.

Belige slowly stroked Lina’s cheek with his hand.

[Your Majesty, don’t try to shoulder everything on your own.]

“You’re being cheeky.”

But contrary to what he said, the corners of his mouth were gently raised.

Today, when he went out for a walk without being able to sleep, this child appeared before his eyes as if it were a lie. At first, I thought I was dreaming.

But it was too vivid to be a dream.

I was happy.

The fact that the person who had been lingering in my head was right in front of me.

When Belige was looking down at Lina with a pleasant smile, the gentle gesture that had been sweeping her hair suddenly stopped.

‘But why are you happy?’

The man’s body stiffened as if he had been shocked by something.

‘Why on earth.’

Is everything he feels and thinks right now really because of a curse? Questions that he couldn’t answer continued to swirl around in his head.

‘Or.’

Belige looked at Lina lying down with confused eyes.

For a very long time.

* * *

“Um-.”

At the loud sound of the tent being hit, Lina rubbed her eyes and got up.

The duke had already gone out, so she was left alone in the large tent.

“Did I oversleep?”

As Lina was about to leave the tent, anxious at the sound of people moving busily beside her, an unwelcome figure came in.

‘Lawrence?’

This man was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. And he was in the duke’s quarters.

And he must have felt the same way, because when he met Lina’s eyes, he frowned.

“You have a very good fate.”

Lawrence said as he tossed a clean robe to Lina. He was clearly speaking politely, but his tone of voice seemed completely disrespectful.

“I don’t know what on earth made you come all the way here.”

Lawrence approached Lina.

“You should refrain from such sudden actions in the future. Do you want to cause any more trouble to the Duke?”

Is this the gaze of a mother-in-law looking at a daughter-in-law she doesn’t like?

Lina, who was about to leave, ignoring Lawrence who spoke with a gentle face and a threatening tone, stopped walking when she heard the man’s words again.

“You may have been able to fool the Duke, but you won’t be able to fool me. I will soon reveal your true identity in detail.”

This man seemed to be almost certain that I was a spy.

‘Haa-.’

She didn’t even have the will to make excuses anymore.

‘Think as you wish.’

Lina, who was wondering what to say, shook her head in boredom and started walking again. Then Lawrence, who was looking at her, continued speaking.

“If your goal is the position of the Duchess, you should give up. “The Permanence family didn’t even have a government, let alone a duchess of commoner origin.”

And still, with an attitude that seemed to be nothing

What caught Lina’s ankle as she was about to leave was the words that followed.

“You didn’t think the Duke would have a fiancée, did you?”

‘Fiancee?’

Lina, who was passing Lawrence with an indifferent expression, suddenly stopped. Then the man twisted the corners of his mouth as if he knew that would happen.

“The Duke has a fiancée who has promised a future for a long time.”

‘Of course, not now.’

Lawrence told her without mentioning the most important fact. He looked at the woman who seemed quite shocked, and his conscience prickled a little, but he couldn’t help it.

‘This woman is absolutely not allowed.’

In fact, Lawrence wouldn’t have said this if Lina was an ordinary maid. He was always the Duke’s vassal, and he didn’t care what kind of woman he met.

‘But I don’t have a good feeling.’

His intuition was telling him that there must be some big secret hidden from that maid.

And that secret would never be good for the duke.

“Then change into that robe and come out. The carriage to the mansion will arrive soon. That’s it.”

With that, Lawrence left the tent. However, the moment Lina heard the words “the duke’s fiancée,” she didn’t hear anything Lawrence said after that.

“You have a fiancée.”

Well, no matter how long he had been on the battlefield, he was still a duke. It was only natural for him to promise a future with a noble family’s daughter.

“Yes. Of course.”

But.

“Why am i in such a bad mood?”