The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

It was easy to find a family of stable keepers who were still working there, where Baron Jenkins, the servant of the Duchy of Luave, presides over there now. When Baron Jenkins was told to send the stable keeper’s family to the duke’s house, he delivered them straight away without asking why.

“Hmph! I knew it! You guys also had an affair with that bitch Lena, so I’m sure your neck will fall off!”

Mrs. Marvin, who was still working in the Barony, slandered those who packed their bags. Sid gnawed her teeth and tried to slap her, but Theo hurriedly caught Sid.

Mrs. Marvin was the maid chief of Baroness Fidelia, but she received no punishment and she rather became the maid of Baroness Jenkins. They thought it might be because of her infinitely flirtatious personality in front of people higher than her, but they didn’t know that she would brazenly say such a thing when she herself had always been involved in the evil deeds of Baroness Fidelia and Elliot.

“What the hell did Lena do wrong, that you have to torment her?”

Mrs. Marvin’s eyes grew cold when Sid, who was being held back by Theo, asked about her evil deeds.

“It is only natural for Lena to be punished for her mother’s sins, as a dirty girl of an unknown origin who seduced a noble!”

“What? Of course not? There’s nothing wrong with Lena!”

Sid retorted with a barrage of shouts, but Mrs. Marvin snorted and looked down with scornful eyes. Theo, who had been holding back with his molars clenched, looked at Mrs. Marvin and scoffed.

“Since you were young, you were so anxious that you couldn’t catch the eye of Baron Fidelia very much, so did you get so jealous that Lena’s mother caught his eye instead?”

At those words, Mrs. Marvin’s eyes turned.

“What, what, what! What nonsense are these filthy things talking about now!”

But seeing her jaw tremble as if Theo had stabbed her in the face. Sid, who was a little refreshed by that, giggled and laughed.

“Aha! Was it such a pity that you couldn’t entice a noble to have a child? But even if it had been the Baron, I don’t think he would have had any eyes for you.”

Mrs. Marvin, furious at Sid’s teasing, looked around and found a large rake, which she grabbed and tried to run at Sid and Theo with it. However, the knights from Ardennes restrained and pushed Mrs. Marvin, and she and the rake were thrown back.

It was a pleasure to see Mrs. Marvin huffing, but the smiles faded from the lips of Theo and Sid in the carriage. They came to pick Sid and Theo up from Ardennes, but they couldn’t believe it was for a good thing. It wasn’t as harsh as when Baron Fidelia was captured before, but it was a scary enough situation for those who have always been weak.

The carriage ran non-stop and arrived at the Duchy of Luave in almost two days.

They swayed like luggage in a rattling carriage all day, and without even feeling the thrill of putting their feet on the hard ground, they were astonished by the Duke’s residence’s enormous size. The size of the Baron’s castle in Kerouac was difficult to comprehend at first glance for those who thought it was the largest house in the world.

Its enormous scale immediately became a horror. It was because they remembered the fact that the Baron Fidelia couple, who were clamoring around Kerouac, had lost their lives by Duke Luave.

“Sid…… Really, I guess it’s our turn now…….”

Theo said as he took Sid’s hand with a trembling hand.

“Bu, but why the hell…… ! We did nothing wrong!”

“Is Lena dead because she did something wrong?”

With those words, Sid became a mute. Another thought of that poor and pitiful child made her heart ache.

“That, that’s right…….”

The two of them, who did not know the reason, had resigned themselves to the thought that they were probably going to die, but were not guided to the dark basement, but inside the residence covered with a red carpet, and realized that things were going differently.

It was such a wonderful place where they didn’t know where to put their eyes on from the beginning, but the audience room for the Duke was even more beautiful. The two of them, who had never imagined they would come to a place like this in their lifetime, forgot to be careful and were busy looking around the room with their mouths open.

But when a middle-aged man who looked like a very high person came in and sat across from them, they started to get nervous.

“You have struggled hard to come a long way. My name is Arder Higgins, the butler of this mansion. You will soon see His Excellency Duke Luave in person. But before you see the Duke, you must drink this first.”

Then the two noticed the water bottle in front of them.

“Uh…… I don’t mean to throw back at your words, but…… It seems that you have misunderstood something. We are nothing more than stable keepers. How is it that a lower person like us can see the Duke directly?”

No matter how much he thought about it, Theo, who asked cautiously, could not comprehend that they, who lived by stepping on horse dung, would meet a Duke who was no less than a king.

“Of course, it’s very uncommon. His Excellency the Duke will probably explain the reason. We don’t have time, so drink that first. It is not harmful to the body.”

They still couldn’t figure out what it was, but they couldn’t resist the higher person’s command, so they had no choice but to drink the potion of purification in front of them. Of course, they didn’t know that a bottle of that potion was equivalent to their weekly wage.

After waiting for another 10 minutes, they felt strangely clear, and realized that the butler hastily motioned for them to stand up and finally met the duke. As they stood up, folded their waist in half, and waited, they heard the door click open from the other side.

Their bodies began to tremble like aspen trees as the sound of hard heels pounding on the carpeted floor drew nearer. But the being who made them afraid, casually sat down on the opposite sofa and said,

“Put your head up and sit down. Everyone’s back will hurt.”

Not knowing what to do, they looked at each other, but only after Arder said, “Please take a seat,” they hesitated and slowly put their buttocks on the sofa. And after hesitating again for a while, they finally lifted their heads, and for a moment were shocked that words could not describe. It was as if God had descended and sat in front of them. His eyes, nose, mouth, and arms and legs were all the same as theirs, but he seemed to show an utopia with that form.

The two people who were just staring blankly at him, Kahel also looked at them silently without saying anything.

Wearing shabby clothes that almost smelled, scruffy face and hair that was unknown when they were washed, and rough hands covered in calluses. Even Sid, unlike the oversized Theo, was skinny and he wondered how Sid did stable work with that body.

However, their eyes, who must have lived only in poverty and hardship, were truly clear and good. It was so clear that even the confusion and fear they were feeling right now could be clearly seen, but even in the midst of it, it didn’t seem like they were rolling their heads or being subservient. In a way, they were eyes with corners similar to that of Lena.

“You are Theo, and you…… are Sid. Am I right?”

Kahel’s eyes stayed on Sid for a long time.

“Yes? Oh yes. That’s right…….”

The two became increasingly afraid of the fact that the Duke, who was even honorifically called His Excellency, even knew their names. They trembled and trembled, thinking, ‘Are you sure we’re going to die like Baron Fidelia?’ But the command that came out of Kahel’s mouth was unexpected.

“Hmm…… You must be tired, so rest until tomorrow, and start working in the stables here the day after tomorrow.”

It was difficult to understand no matter how much they thought about it. And that thought was soon reflected on their faces.

“Your Excellency. Those who are trembling in fear are pitiful. Why don’t you stop the riddles and tell them why you called them?”

Arder, who smiled softly, scolded Kahel. Arder, who had been by his side for a long time, realized that Kahel was bothering them by talking round and round for nothing. Kahel laughed at the nagging, and gave an aimless command, saying, “Fetch her”.

Meanwhile, Lena was constantly tilting her head at Kahel’s strange instructions that day.

She had taken a bath in the morning and combed her hair finely. She pulls out the new clothes she cherishes, and puts an amethyst pin in her head. After that, she was said to wait patiently in the room until instructed otherwise.

‘Are you trying to sell me to another house?’

She had all kinds of thoughts, but above all, that thought was the most plausible.

But even as she thought so, she somehow felt very sad and disappointed. It was partly because it was easy and comfortable to work in the Duke’s mansion, but it seemed that it was because she had become a little used to the Duke, who didn’t smile well. She’s never been hit by him, and she’s never heard a single harsh word. He was a much better master than she had imagined, giving vague compliments with an expressionless face and showing unexpected kindness with a bored expression.

‘I have been full since then. I should be grateful that I was given food and sleep.….’

Lena smiled at her changed appearance and vowed to let go of her regrets. And around that time, Arder came to call Lena.

Click.

The door to the parlor opened again. Theo and Sid reflexively jumped up and bowed their heads. The sound of footsteps on the floor was barely audible, so it seemed as if a woman was approaching. But it was unexpected that they would hear a voice they longed for from that woman.

“Uncle Theo? Sid?”

They both raised their heads at the same time. And where they looked, there was Lena, much prettier than their last memory, and well-dressed.

“Lena?”

“Really…… Really, are you Lena?”

“Oh my world…… ! Ho, how! Uncle! Sid!”

Lena burst into tears and ran towards them. Lena, so moved that she forgot that Kahel was sitting right next to her, cried a long time in Theo’s arms, and afterwards hugged Sid, who was patting her on the back, soaking her clothes with tears.