If I Disobey the Duke

Not Easy (1)

It was a night where even the faint moonlight was obscured by black clouds.

A musty smell filled the cell moistened by the spring rain. It even smelled soggy.

Rocus sat with his back against the stone wall that cast the shadows.

His bearded face was unparalleled before, and his complexion was much duller.

“Vladislav de Winter… ”

Thousands of fires boiled even if he was only breathing. He didn’t know if it was because of the damp air or if it was because of his painful reality.

“Even so, I had no idea he would be so disgusting. Then, he won the war. Does that mean everything about him is not an exaggeration?”

“Yes, yes!”

A cracked voice crawled out of a crevice in the innermost corner of the dungeon.

There was a crack in the corner of the cell covered with moss. It was a small gap that could only be seen by stretching his neck and squinting his eyes.

In that gap, not knowing how it came, the maniac murmured. He had a sore throat and made a squeaking noise every time he took a breath.

“A thousand knights… died! Evaporated to hell without a corpse. There was only one person left. He sent them all to hell!”

“…Thousands?”

“All at once, allies and enemies! Because winning is all that matters, yes. Because the devil… Then he went to hell and ate all of their souls.”

Rocus frowned as if he did not understand his language.

“…What devil? If you want to kill something, you can choose an old man, a girl, or a child. It’s easier because if you set fire to something like a serf or a leper at once, you won’t get caught.”

“Yuck. The devil eats souls!”

“…”

Rocus’s eyes darkened. A sense of skepticism came over.

The serenity that came after a fanatic who had been shouting until his throat was sore.

When he was beaten by the guards, he smashed his head on something, and he truly became a madman.

“What the fuck am I doing with this crazy old man…”

Rocus leaned his head against the wall.

Alone in a prison closet, he laughed at himself as he chatted with a mad old man who had no idea how he looked.

It was not the first time he’d been in a prison with no one to talk to. Could it be that the madness from the next room transmitted through the air and to him?

When he thought about it that far, he raised the corner of his mouth.

Anyway, the situation was different from before.

There was a sound of scraping the stone wall with a fingernail. Rocus responded by clicking his tongue.

“You there. Isles.”

“…”

“The duchess’s younger brother. Crocus Isles. The one on death row!  Are you going to die?  huh? Hehe.”

The veins on Rocus’s forehead swelled up. He rubbed his face nervously. The rough skin and beard abraded calloused palms.

The ignorant question of his prison mate seemed to remind him of his defeat by another male. A squeal of laughter ignited the bellows of his anger.

“You’re a stubborn old man. You’re beaten up like that and yet still alive. Guess you are still holding on. Just kick the bucket, you.”

The voice choked in the palm of his hand was as terrifying as the bark of a wild dog.

But a madman was a madman.

“Crocus Isles. You can live. I heard it all. I’ll tell you, so please listen to me. Yes?”

“Who wants to know…”

“Everyone. All citizens know. The guards are talking about it. They were so excited to see things they had never seen before.”

“What are you saying now? Fuck.”

“Kneel down and talk. That devil.”

Rocus stopped holding his hand around his eyes. There was only one man called the devil.

He frowned.

“Your sister told you that you lost your mind. I know. I heard it all. Hehe.”

“…”

In an instant, the figure of her sister leaning against him appeared in front of his eyes. His backbone twitched. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter to me. Anyway, she’s a woman who doesn’t care about her own blood.”

Rocus put his knee up and rested his elbow on his elbow. The migraine, which had been quiet for the day, haunted his temples again.

“Fuck. She never really came…”

More than a month had passed. In the meantime, not even his sister, let alone her maid, visited.

An ominous feeling ran across his spine.

There’s no way she had forgotten. It was clear that he had been abandoned. Now it was really clear.

No way. He didn’t think she could live with the man who killed her brother every night.

Really…

He knew how much his sister loved her family. He was sure she’d regret it when he died.

Even if Lily acted impulsively now, she would not know the consequences until later. After several months or several years. She might regret it decades later. Family was like that.

“The duchess of the devil. That bitch who ate her mother, husbands, and now plans to hang up her brother’s neck…”

“Fuck, shut up!” A band of veins rose like an iron tendon from Rocus’s thick neck. Even as the shouts echoed, his bones swelled hotly.