Can You Save Me Duke? - 36

‘Why… … . Why me?’

Lina looked at the duke with confused eyes.

‘Because of the curse?’

But that didn’t make sense either.

No matter how much he was a knight who had won countless battles, jumping into the swollen river was like a suicide.

He was trying to keep her by his side to survive, but he risked his life to save me.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

Lina’s steps stopped as thoughts swirled around in her head.

“Lina.”

The duke, who found Lina standing still with a blank expression strange, called out to her.

“Your Majesty.”

And she answered his question reflexively. To clear up all these doubts.

“Why did you save me?”

Belige’s hand gestures, which had been twiddling with the kindling, stopped.

“It was dangerous. You could have easily made a mistake. Why… … .’

To the Duke, she was just a being to overcome the curse. That must have been all.

But why. You.

Lina’s mouth felt dry.

Only the crackling sound of firewood broke the silence between them. It was hard to tell what the man’s yellow eyes were thinking.

After waiting for a long time, Lina felt that she couldn’t wait any longer and was about to ask again. The Duke’s tightly shut mouth opened.

“… … because it was like that.”

However, she couldn’t understand the man’s words, which were whispering in a small voice.

“Because I felt like I couldn’t be without you.”

‘What?’

Maybe it was because her mind had gone blank. Lina couldn’t understand what the Duke had just said. He said he felt like he couldn’t be without me.

“Because of the Duke’s curse? Because without me, you have a headache and can’t sleep properly?”

He shook his head quietly at her question, which seemed to ask for consent. And he looked at her with clearer eyes than ever.

“No.”

His eyes flickered red. Like flames burning in a fireplace.

“It’s not just because of a curse.”

It seemed like it would burn her if she got close. Very hot.

Lina averted her gaze at his low voice, as if he were confessing.

A premonition that she shouldn’t hear what he continued to say. An unknown ominousness rose up the back of her neck.

“I… … .”

“No. You don’t have to say it.”

Bellige gently wrapped Lina’s wrist as she backed away as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have heard.

“Listen.”

The atmosphere was different from before.

“You can pity me.”

In a different tone of voice than usual.

“You can pity me.”

He began to say words that would bind her.

“It’s okay to be cruel to those who tormented you.”

He lifted the wrist he was holding and kissed it. The man’s hot breath tickled the back of her hand.

‘It must be just because of the curse, why?’

“I’ll give you everything you want.”

That man.

“So stay by my side.”

Is it because I have the illusion of love?

Lina stopped all her thoughts and met Bellige’s eyes.

The sound of the tree burning black as it struggled. And.

The only thing that resonated in the small cabin was the sound of her heart beating like someone who ran without stopping.

* * *

“Haa-.”

Lina, who was walking through the forest following the duke, sighed without realizing it.

‘I couldn’t even sleep a wink… … .’

The duke’s confession last night left her with no choice but to stay up all night. He was a man who had always shown her an intimidating side.

Even thinking about last night made her heart flutter again.

Lina turned her gaze and looked at the cloths fixed to her right arm. The sight of the duke carefully fixing the cloths as if he was handling something precious was strange and new.

‘The duke really… … .’

At that moment, Belige, who had been walking ahead of her, stopped suddenly.

“I can see the village.”

As she approached his words, she saw smoke rising above the houses not far away. Only then did Lina let out a sigh of relief.

“Don’t call me the duke in the village. There’s no need to reveal our identity there.”

The duke had many enemies. So it wouldn’t be good for him to reveal his identity alone in an unfamiliar place.

She nodded as if she understood what he meant.

“Then what will you say… … .”

“Belige.”

“… … Yes?”

Since she looked so innocent, Lina was thinking of a suitable name, thinking that she could act like a nobleman or a minor noble.

But she was told to call him by his name. It seemed better not to call him Duke.

“How can I call you Duke… …!”

“There’s usually only one reason why a young man and a woman travel alone.”

“Surely, a honeymoon trip?”

So she was saying that she should act like a newlywed couple.

Lina looked at the Duke with a dumbfounded expression, but he looked completely serious.

In the end, Lina decided to follow his words without saying anything because of his attitude that seemed to say, “What’s the problem?”

‘Let’s just not call him that.’

Promising herself not to call him by his name as much as possible.

* * *

They arrived at the village and looked around. It seemed to be a larger town than they thought, and they could see people and carriages moving busily.

“Denver. It seems to have drifted farther than I thought.”

“Do you know where this is?”

When the duke gestured to the village entrance with his chin, he saw a bulletin board that said Denver.

“It belongs to the Minolta estate next to the Harren estate.”

“Then we should ask the lord for help!”

The duke shook his head with a serious expression at her words.

“No, the Minolta Viscount is one of the collateral families of the Marquis of Greta. It would be best for us to stay as quiet as possible and then go back. Let’s find a doctor first.”

“A doctor?”

“That arm. I gave it first aid, but I think I should show it to a doctor.”

“Oh, it’s okay. The duke treated it well, so there’s nothing special… … .”

However, the duke’s face gradually darkened as he spoke, so he couldn’t continue.

‘It’ll get better on its own anyway.’

Lina was muttering to herself the words she couldn’t bring herself to say. The duke looked around for a moment and then approached a man selling fruit at a nearby store.

“I want to ask you one thing.”

The man, who had been busy starting his business, turned his head with an annoyed expression. The man’s eyes quickly scanned the duke’s appearance.

Although a little dirty, his clothes made of luxurious material showed that he was of high status.

The merchant, who seemed to have finished paying, changed his expression and answered kindly.

“Yes! What’s the matter?”

“Where is the oldest doctor in this town?”

‘The oldest?’

The duke looked at him strangely as he emphasized the oldest doctor.

“Hmm-. If you say the oldest, then Martin is the oldest… … . He’s a bit far away. The closest place is Gemma, but the young gentleman’s skills are-.”

“Tell me where Martin is.”

He then handed the man a silver coin. The man, excited by the unexpected windfall, guided me even more politely to where Dr. Martin was, in an even more excited voice.

I couldn’t understand why the peacock would go so far when he was supposedly close, but I just let it be.

‘Well, if it’s been a while, then his skills must be good.’

I thought he was delicate in this kind of thing, so I quietly followed him. But.

“It’s much farther than I thought… …? Haha.”

The place where the peacock was too far.

After 20 minutes of walking, I asked the other villagers and they told me that it would take another 30 minutes.

“It’s not a very difficult treatment, so wouldn’t it be better to just go to a nearby place?”

“No. We should go to the oldest place.”

I wondered if he had ever been treated by Dr. Martin.

As I was walking, unable to help it because of the peacock’s stubbornness as if I had to go to that peacock, I finally saw a sign that said Martin in the distance.

“Whew-. We finally arrived.”

As Lina sighed and entered the place with tired steps, a young-looking man greeted them.

“Hello. I came to see the doctor. Where is he?”

“Oh, I’m the doctor. What brings you here?”

Then, Belige muttered after taking stock of the situation for a moment.

“… … You’re younger than I thought. I heard it’s the oldest.”

“Yes. It’s been here since my grandfather’s time. I’ve been taking over and treating patients recently.”

Lina looked at Belige’s expression, which was somewhat shaky.

‘Why are you acting like that? Do you not trust him?’

It’s not like he’s not good at something because he’s young. She thought lightly that the Duke was a bit old-fashioned in this regard.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh, I… … .”

“I hurt my arm, and I think it’s a crack in the bone.”

The Duke interrupted Lina, who was about to show her arm to speak directly. Then, she naturally had nothing to say and just smiled awkwardly.

“I see. Then, the patient, this way.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take off your clothes for a moment.”

The doctor was taking off Lina’s clothes to examine her arms as she sat down. The doctor raised his head, feeling a murderous gaze from above.

Then, his eyes met with Belige’s, who was looking down with an expression that seemed to be very displeased with something.

Martin swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“Um, would you like your guardian to go outside for a moment? You can come in after the examination is over… … .”

“Why? Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be there?”

“Huh? There’s no particular reason why you shouldn’t be there… … .”

Doctor Martin stuttered and answered the Duke’s question as if he was interrogating a criminal.

“Grand, hmm. Belige. You can just go outside… … .”

“Why do you keep telling me to go out?”

“Then stay a little further away.”

“No.”

Belige firmly refused her words and asked the doctor

“Do you have any complaints about me standing here, in this place?”

“Oh, no! Not at all! Haha… … .”

The councilman, frightened by his fierce aura, waved his hand and answered. Sweat beads formed on his forehead.

Lina looked at him with a look of surprise at the suddenly strange atmosphere.

‘What the hell is he doing?’

It was unfamiliar to see the peacock throwing a tantrum like a child.

Martin wiped away the beads of sweat that had dripped down and began examining Lina’s arm again.

However, somehow, the more he looked at her wounds, the more fierce the man’s gaze seemed to become. In the end, the councilman, unable to bear it any longer, asked cautiously.

“Um, is there something I did wrong… … .”

“… … No. Let’s continue.”

It was a somewhat unsatisfactory answer, but what could he do when he was told there was no problem?

Martin had only been a doctor for three years, but this was the first time he had seen someone so intimidating. It was an atmosphere that was hard to find in the village.

He swallowed hard and examined the arm of the woman in front of him.

“Still. You did a good job with first aid. If you just apply some herbs and re-bandage her, she will be fine in her daily life.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The doctor prepared some herbs, applied some medicine to Lina’s arm with his hand, and re-bandaged her arm. Meanwhile, the duke’s face gradually darkened, and the doctor’s hands began to tremble slightly.