The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Lady Belrose

‘Logos will usher in a new era at the rise of the third millennium…….’

The Luave family has been thinking for a long time about what the ‘new era’ mentioned in the last verse of the Logos biography is.
But Kahel was very well aware that the process of breaking down something old was essential for something new to begin.
And the only thing that could overturn the 2,000-year-old Logos was the clash of the two Duchy and the transformation involving the Queen.

Santella must have thought so, too.
Revision of the scriptures, disloyalty to the Queen, manipulation of public opinion even, the relationship between the territory of Levanas and the monsters…… It’s heartbreaking to turn a friend he’s known since childhood into an enemy, but what the Santella family and Liddell have been up to has only come to a single conclusion.

‘Soon, there will be war.’

The champagne used as a party drink must have been sweet, but there was a bitter taste in his mouth.
Luahalla also swallowed dry saliva at Kahel’s calm expression.
He couldn’t speak of it, but it was because he had guessed what Kahel was implying.

“How much time do you think you have left?”

“I think it will be within one year at the earliest, and within three years at the latest.
It is not yet known whether this will come first or Hildebrunn’s change will come first.
Because there are too many variables.
I wish I could hold hands with you a little earlier, but I can’t help it.
We have to do our best in the current situation.”

“All right.
Whoo……I’m nervous.”

“Stop pretending to be meek.
You must be more greedy than Ragdrill.”

“Wh, what……!”

“Isn’t it? Look at your face.
A person who was nervous has such an excited face…… Everyone who sees it will be embarrassed.”

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Kahel smiled charmingly and handed a half-filled glass of champagne to Luahalla.
His face went red for a moment, but he smiled when he realized that Kahel wasn’t taunting him.
He didn’t even think that it was possible to hide his heart from this monster from the beginning anyway.
He drank the rest of the cup he had taken again in one breath.

“It’s like we share blood.
Please help me.
I, too, will be your strong ally.”

Kahel, who had finally won Luahalla’s heart, nodded his head lightly.

 

“Welcome to the same boat.
We will win.”

* * *

The busy schedule of the New Year’s Celebration passed in the blink of an eye, but Ardennes and the social world were still crowded.
The nobles who ascended from the provinces gathered together to finalize their visit during the New Year’s Celebration, and resolved the problems that had to be dealt with in Ardennes while they were up.

There was a lot of talk about marriage, so the party where young men and women gathered was full of excitement, the wives who liked to stand in matchmaking were busy going from house to house, and love letters flew into the house of the girls between 18 and 25.

But the Luaves was quiet, as if one step away from all that fuss.
Kahel had only to pack his things, as he had decided to go to Terra Luave to meet the critically ill Duchess.
It was a minor incident that Lena received the title of a Markgrave as the Duchess’ secretary who wrote her biography.

Of course, there was another writer to write the biography, and Lena was nothing more than a ghost writer, but thanks to that, Lena rose to the status of a noble that she never even thought of.

However, her daily life did not change.
She wakes up in the morning, wakes up Kahel, helps with his dress and outfits, prepares his meals, eats together, prepares tea, and sips tea together.
So she couldn’t even realize that she had become a noble herself.
The only thing that changed was that when Arder called her, he didn’t say ‘Lena,’ but ‘Miss Lena.’ Miss Lena was also a compromise by barely stopping her from being called ‘Lady Belrose.’ For clarification, ‘Belrose’ was Lena’s last name given by Luave.

At the news that Lena had become a nobleman, Sid rejoiced as if it was herself.
At the same time, she said that she would call Lena ‘Miss Lena’ from now on, so Lena had a hard time stopping it.

In fact, Lena did not want to be a noble at all.
The nobles were the people who persecuted Lena and Sid, and they were terrible powers who could kill people with just a few words.
Kahel swore not to make her afraid of him and never to hurt her, but Lena knew very well that other nobles would not be able to treat commoners as kindly.

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But she had to accept this.
Because giving her a nobility surname was not for her, but for the prestige of the Duchy of Luave.
Moreover, since it was not through adoption, there was no reason to refuse.

“It won’t be difficult, Lena.
To be honest, you’re much more noble than that woman Elliot.
The truth is, you are the one who took all the etiquette classes and liberal arts classes at that house.”

Sid frowned as she remembered Elliot, who had been wrong over and over again with the etiquette that even Lena knew.
Lena, who had always attended class as a child who was beaten instead of Elliot, thought that Elliot was in trouble, so she gave the answer with the shape of her mouth, but Elliot hated that even more.
She even purposefully made a mistake and tormented Lena.

Because of the experience at that time, Lena never came forward, even if she knew something.
In the Barony, that was a wise attitude.
All of the maids under Mrs.
Marvin were so desperate to tease Lena, so they must have hated her if she acted like she knew something.

But now everything has changed.
Sid wanted Lena, who was smarter than anyone else in Kerouac, to live her life in full swing.
Kahel said he didn’t need Lena to write the Duchess’ biography, but Sid firmly believed that Lena would do the job better than anyone else if he only let her.
Lena was able to recite the contents of all kinds of difficult books with ease.
If she were given the status and opportunity, she would have been able to become a great person.

“At that time, it felt unfair and painful to be beaten, but I was able to work here as the maid because I was able to take the class with her at that time…… I was a little grateful and…….”

 

“Hey, that’s not something to be thankful for! Did Elliot say thanks this time, even though she treated you so badly?”

“Because she didn’t really hit me.”

“It would be that way had it not been for your blessing! What a bad girl.
What? Traitor? That’s what the girl who has been hiding like a mouse would say, right?”

Sid was angry again as she recalled the events of that day again.
In fact, Sid was curious about the magic that Kahel had cast, but rather than being amazed by the magic, she chewed on the fact that Lena had been hit by Elliot and was furious.
So Lena vowed that she would never tell anything like this to Sid again.

“The hairpin is pretty.”

Lena, who had rolled her eyes in embarrassment in front of Sid, who was so angry, praised the hairpin on Sid’s head to distract her.
The hairpin with square, pale blue-colored peridot pieces connected side by side, although not flashy, suited Sid’s light blonde hair and green eyes very well.
Sid was surprised that Kahel had called her and gave it to her as a gift, but when Lena heard about it, she smiled for a long time because he was willing to buy it.

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“Is this an apology for mistaking me for a man?”

“Why did he mistake Sid for a man? I don’t get it.
Sid is pretty.”

“Hey, hey! His Excellency is normal.
You and Abbert are strangely cheering for me too much.”

“What are you talking about! Me and Abbert were right.
And since you came here, Sid, you’ve become prettier.
After my mother, Sid is the prettiest.”

At Lena’s praise, which has been constant since childhood, Sid shook her head as if giving up.

“Did you say that the Lady called an angel also came to the tea party this time? The girl who brought Elliot.
Do you think she’s very pretty? How did she look to you?”

Liddell’s appearance was a popular topic among commoners.
That’s why people flocked to see Liddell’s white carriage every time it passed by to see her from afar.

But Lena had a shaky expression on her face.

“She was beautiful.
She was pretty…… uh…… I was somehow reluctant.”

“Huh? What?”

“I don’t know, but even her smiling looks a bit scary…… should I say it like that? It’s something you just see and feel? It’s very……bad.”

It was a strange feeling, hard to describe in words.
Liddell had an insidious and reluctant energy that she had never felt even from Kahel, who had only seemed to be scary.

“I can’t imagine.
She’s very pretty, but she doesn’t sound good…….”

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“She was the one who brought Miss Elliot, so maybe that’s why I felt that way.”

“Well, it could be.
Oh, you said you were going to follow His Excellency to the local estate again this time?”

Sid asked, worried about Lena, who had to go on another trip with Kahel.
From Kerouac to Ardennes, the horse-drawn carriage trips were really not something to be done many times.
However, the only close maid to the Duke, could not neglect her duties.

“Don’t worry.
I can even sleep in a moving wagon!”

“Still, take care.
Understand?”

Lena nodded her head, with Sid’s hand stroking her hair.
It felt a little different from how Kahel was stroking her, but it still felt good.

* * *

Two days later, Lena grabbed her luggage and climbed into Kahel’s carriage.

This time, she wondered if she would have to get into another carriage that came with Damien’s party, but, of course, her opinion was not accepted.
Her carriage was decided by Kahel loading Lena’s luggage, which had been laid down on the floor, onto his own carriage.
Lena looked around in embarrassment, but no one looked at her strangely except for Damien’s strange smile.

“There are more people with us than when we went to Sharden.”

“Because we’re going down with the people my father brought.
It will be much smaller when we come back.”

“Oh, I see.”

Lena peeked out the window, asking something she wasn’t even curious about, trying to soothe the awkward mood.
Since the day he touched her cheek not long ago, when she was alone, she felt strange.

He seemed too kind to Elliot, whom he was more angry with than she was.
She knew that he had touched her cheek to dispel the magic, but the warmth and firm touch that had stayed on her cheek, and his eyes that she did not understand the meaning, made her heart pound.

Kahel looked like nothing, so she was even more embarrassed.
It was obvious that Arder would severely scold her if he knew that her face was turning red while thinking of blasphemous thoughts on her own.
Lena kept asking questions to think about something else.