The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

“Are you going to send someone to Logos?”

It was a boy whose voice had just changed.

“Dashar?”

At Hersh’s call, Luahalla realized that the boy was Dashar and greeted him politely.

“I have heard a lot from Kahel. You are a great sage.”

“Ah, that’s an exaggeration.”

“Is it too much? Kahel’s curses had never been touched, but you had weakened a significant amount of one of them?”

Dashar’s cheeks turned red. He was a boy who was growing up, but still very young.

“Then, why did you ask such a question?”

“Ah…… I think I should send a letter to Duke Luave.”

“Is this important?”

“It is about the flow of magic. I wasn’t sure, but I was almost convinced when I heard that Your Highness had been attacked by monsters.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been studying the flow of magic since the last monster attack. Up until now, I had only thought of it as a hypothesis, but after hearing Your Highness’ words earlier, I became convinced that my hypothesis was correct. And according to it…… A great magic is moving within the Logos. I think I should inform Duke Luave about the situation.”

“It seems that the Santella family is preparing for something amazing. It’s important, so I’ll take it with me.”

Dashar looked happy and ran to his house, and after a while came with a letter written in magic ink.

Returning to the capital, Luahalla was awarded a medal directly by the King for normalizing the medicine supply and preventing the deterioration of relations with the Sage’s village. But for Luahalla, it wasn’t about just putting a single piece of metal on his chest. What he gained from this was the support of the hesitant central nobles.

‘Of course, Father is shaking quite a bit, too.’

Astold’s eyes looking at Ragdrill were completely different from before. Before, there was no alternative, so no matter what stupid things Ragdrill did, he had to go round with it, but now it will be different.

Luahalla felt relieved and a little dazed that everything was going according to Kahel’s words, and he embarked on the next plan.

* * *

At Logos, the nobility council was convened again. Kahel did not know why the meeting was called, but it was the Queen, not Count Melix, who called it. There seemed to be another important announcement.

As Kahel prepared his entrance, he struggled to keep his complicated mind at bay. He didn’t know that maybe they already found Heila’s daughter and were hiding her.

“I never thought the day would come when I would understand how criminals feel.”

His throat burned. He had no intention of losing Lena to the Royal Family, and it was difficult for him to recognize her as Viscount Ruban’s daughter. When he suspects she is of the Queen’s blood, he thinks, ‘Maybe she is the daughter of Viscount Ruban.’ With that, he made an excuse.

But seeing Lena trying his own cravat every week eased his guilt.

‘I can’t let Lena go until I find confirmation.’

On the one hand, he even thought about having a wedding with Lena in an informal affair before things could go any further. Although there is no way there is no interest in the Duke’s marriage.

‘What happens if we’re married, and it turns out that Lena is the Queen’s heir?’

If Lena was the daughter of Viscount Ruban, there would be no problems, but when she was of Queen’s blood, there would be a big problem.

There has never been a marriage between the Duchy and the Royal Family in history. It was because the balance between the two Duchies could be disturbed. Just as the current Duke Luave opposes Liddell’s appointment as queen, it was obvious that Duke Santella would also oppose the marriage between the Queen’s heir and Kahel. Before it was revealed that Lena was the heir, Kahel might have been stripped of his title as Duke Luave if the two married. But since Kahel is the only son, that could put Duchy Luave at risk.

‘There is a way for Father to have one of Aunt’s sons as the successor.’

Kahel was thinking of giving up his Dukeship before he knew it.

“It’s done. Hmm…… You look great today.”

Lena placed a brooch over the cravat and smiled as if she was very satisfied. A smile spread across Kahel’s lips at that sight.

“Ah, can I go and meet a friend for a little while today?”

“Friend…… Is it Miss Peregrine?”

“Yes, that’s right. haha.”

“Why don’t you invite her to the house, do you really want to go out and meet her?”

“Uh, I mean, Miss, Miss Leslie asked me to go see the dress with her…….”

Kahel thought for a moment. Although he was worried about letting Lena go, he didn’t want to ruin Lena’s experience of going to see dresses with her friends for the first time. Besides, now that she’s making her debut in the social world, Lena also needs more dresses. Kahel thought for a while, ‘Ummm,’ and then nodded his head.

“Alright. Instead, you have to come back before the sun goes down. And order three more dresses.”

“What? But, but is my dress already enough?”

“Is that enough? As far as I can remember, I only bought five sets.”

“Wouldn’t that be enough?”

“Are you going to wear the dress over and over again?”

“Yes.”

“If you do, you will soon be known as a frugal person. There will be gossip that the maids’ wages in Duchy of Luave are as low as that of a trifle.”

“But even if I buy a dress, I have nowhere to go…….”

“There will be more in the future. Go on, take this. Buy something delicious and eat it. You have to go to a premium store. If you go to a commoner’s street to save money, you might get robbed.”

Kahel said as he handed Lena a purse full of gold and silver coins. Lena jumped, but Kahel succeeded in threatening her, saying, ‘If you don’t come back after using it all, you’ll never get out again.’

But Lena didn’t really need the money. Because today, she wasn’t going to go shopping with Leslie, but she was planning to meet Viscount Ruban.

The afternoon of the day before yesterday, a letter arrived in Leslie’s name. But the real sender was not Leslie, but Viscount Albert Ruban. The nobility council will be convened the day after tomorrow, at which time they will meet for a while and have a cup of tea. It was even written that she could bring an escort with her if she was anxious. Desperate and innocent in every way, Lena decided to meet him once more to make sure he was her real father.

But she couldn’t tell Kahel about it. If he had already received Viscount Ruban’s letter and said nothing, there’s no way he would have allowed her to meet Viscount Ruban.

‘I’m sorry for lying, Your Excellency. I’ll let you know when I’m sure.’

Lena apologized inside and saw Kahel off, then hurried the preparations for her outing. At 12 o’clock, she was supposed to meet Viscount Ruban at the entrance to Artur Street, so it would not be too late.

‘What if Viscount Ruban was really my father?’

Her heart pounded even though she thought it might not be. Several times a day, she thought, ‘How nice would it have been if Mother was alive.’

Since she came to Duchy Luave, good things have happened, to the point that she wondered if it was really her life, in which nothing good had happened. Of course, the most surprising thing about it was that she became lovers with Kahel. She seemed to be filling in the gaps she had felt lacking so far.

Lena took out the best of her outing clothes so that Viscount Ruban had a peace of mind, and also put on the pearl hairpin that Kahel had given her. Even if this was not flashy, it seemed like she was living comfortably enough.

‘Good. Would this be enough?’

Lena flattened the collar more flatly, as if to cheer herself up, and went out taking her bag.

“Butler. I will go out for a while.”

“Oh, Miss Lena. You’re going to buy a dress with Miss Leslie.”

“Ah…… In fact, I may not buy it because I don’t have to.”

“Well, the shops that Miss Leslie goes to may not be to Miss Lena’s taste. I’d rather call the tailor to the mansion tomorrow.”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that…….”

“You will be late. Don’t worry, I’ll call the tailor.”

Lena looked at Arder’s friendly smile, and she confirmed once again that he was a follower of Kahel’s opinions no matter what. She couldn’t beat Kahel or Arder, so she had no choice but to sigh and say goodbye. Then she took her own maid Chloe and one of the knights to Artur street.

* * *

Escorted by the knight, Lena and Chloe got off the carriage at the entrance to Artur Street and headed to the tea house she had promised to meet with Viscount Ruban.

She entered the tea shop and carefully told the shopkeeper her name, and the shopkeeper kindly guided Lena inside. The room on the inside was decorated more luxurious than the outside, perhaps only for special guests.

“Would you mind waiting here?”

“Yes. If anything happens, please call me right away.”

“Yes, thank you.”

She was sorry to leave Chloe and the knight standing outside the room, but she couldn’t help it. They didn’t know much about today’s business, so they were able to report to Arder and Kahel that she had met a middle-aged man, not a young girl of her age.

Of course, she was a little worried that she was alone in the same room with a man she wasn’t even sure of yet, but it didn’t seem like it would be too dangerous because if she shouted the knight would come running to her right away.

“Lena!”

“He, hello?”

After a while, Albert entered the room, and as soon as he saw Lena waiting for him, he gave a thrilled expression and held her hands tightly. However, Lena could not bring herself to say ‘Father’. She wasn’t sure yet, and the word ‘Father’ itself was unfamiliar because it wasn’t there all her life.

While the two of them sat down and exchanged light greetings, the shopkeeper prepared tea. Lena grabbed the sweet-smelling tea and moistened her mouth, trying to calm the awkward mood.

“Did Duke Luave has anything to say?”

Lena recalled Viscount Ruban’s letter on Kahel’s desk. She didn’t read it closely, but it was claiming to be her biological father. How disappointed this man would be to learn that Kahel had not responded to the letter at all.

“No. There was none.”

“I see…….”

Albert nodded her head with a look on that was unknown whether he was relieved or suspicious. He looked a little sorry, but Lena was determined and asked him a question. It was to determine if he was really her father.

“By the way…… What is Maternal Grandmother’s name?”

“What? Ah…… That’s right! Diane, it is Diane.”

“Diane? What is her age this year?”

“Huh…… I don’t know for sure, but it must have been 70.”

“I see…… Does Maternal Grandmother look like Mother?”

“Haha, unfortunately, Helena resembled her father more. Baron Arzew was a very handsome man.”

He answered relatively calmly, and Lena, more convinced that he might be her father, asked again with a pounding heart.

“Did you come to this tea house often with Mother?”

Lena looked down at the refreshments placed in front of her and recalled a cookie with a strange name that her mother loved.