The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

“Then, am I …… supp, supposed to…… work…… at night?”

Her trembling voice showed how nervous she was. Kahel’s eyes sharpened because of the doubts that this woman was expecting him to sleep with her.

“Why are you asking that?”

“That, in fact…… I’ve never, I’ve never done it…… I know…… nothing, and I’m really ugly, really, really, not much, I can’t please my master…… please…….”

Lena remembered the ‘bedroom etiquette’ that Mrs. Marvin had taught her, and she did her best to appeal that she was not attractive. And Kahel softened his aura as he saw Lena clenched her fists and desperately making excuses. That wasn’t the attitude of someone who wanted to do something like that.

“Good. Pass.”

“Yes?”

Lena looked at Kahel with a bewildered expression. But Kahel was calm.

“I will tell the butler and the maid chief. This week, learn the basics of the structure of this mansion and the Luave family. And starting next week, you will work as a maid under me.”

“Yes?”

Lena’s eyes widened. He’s a Duke here. A Duke is a very high ranked person, like a king. In general, it is common for a duke or count to have a noble male attendant or aide next to him, but even if he had a maid, the position of a maid close to such a person would be different from that of a normal maid.

But can the illegitimate child of a beheaded noble sit in such a great place? That, too, starting from next week.

Without even giving a glance to Lena, who was staring blankly at him with puzzled eyes, Kahel hung Calia around his neck and rang the bell calling the butler. Then, Arder, who was waiting outside, quickly appeared.

“Did you call me, Your Excellency?”

“I will use this child as my maid from next week. Teach her.”

It was Arder who was always quick-witted, but he could not easily understand the words Kahel had just said.

“Your Excellency. I’m really sorry. I think I misunderstood, yes, but just now…… Did you say maid?”

“Don’t make me say it twice. She worked as a maid in the Barony for a long time, so you only need to teach her a little bit.”

“Do you mean…… from next week?”

“Why do you keep asking it twice?”

“Sorry. I will prepare it as you said.”

Arder Higgins, the experienced butler of the Luave family, looked at the huge task that had been given to him and answered calmly. Lena trembled a little at his gaze.

* * *

The next day, Lena was assigned a new room and she was to follow Arder to learn as fast as she could to clean up her mess.

The butler Arder was a man in his late 40s with dark brown and gray hair neatly pushed back. When she thought of a butler, she thought of a thin and skinny old man, but Arder had a solid physique for a butler. However, his personality was as meticulous as other butlers. And he was loyal enough to lay down his life for the Duke of Luave.

The first day seemed to be to learn the basics of the Duchy of Luave and become loyal to this long-standing family. In fact, Lena doubted, as she had never had any loyalty to Barony Fidelia, whom she’d worked for nearly 10 years, but is there any possibility that she will suddenly become loyal to a Duchy she’s only known for a while?. But such doubts were shaken as soon as the butler opened a door in the Duchy’s annex.

“This is the ‘Leger Pavilion’, which can be said to be the history hall of the Duchy of Luave. This place was built by the 42nd Duke Leger Luave. You can feel the accumulated history of the family down to the current 106th Duke Kahel Luave.”

Unlike Arder, who spoke calmly and entered the Leger Pavilion, Lena stood nailed in front of the massive door and had no choice but to open her mouth. The height of the three stories was surprising, but the legend of the family engraved in relief on the pillars supporting the ceiling of that height was like a god’s work, and the stone statues of the heads of the previous generations lined up on either side looked like gods.

Brilliant sunlight was coming in through the windows on the two-story wall, but the air inside the Leger Pavilion was heavy and quiet, as if it had captured 2,000 years of history, discoloring even the splendid early summer sun. The dust floating in front of her reflected the discolored light and seemed to whisper the legend of this family.

“Lena?”

“Oh…… ! Yes!”

Lena, awakened by Arder’s call, silently walked her steps and followed him. In front of the statue of the family heads, who achieved a particularly impressive achievement, he told the story of the family heads and important events of that time, which was surprisingly interesting, so Lena listened intently with her eyes twinkling.

Thanks to this, Arder, who was initially skeptical of Lena, also treated her with a more gentle attitude. However, when the two of them stood in front of the place where the stone statue of Kahel Luave was to be erected, Arder’s attitude took on a somewhat disastrous light.

“It seems that you are not aware of the rumors about the current Duke of Luave. Right?”

“Rumors? I’m sorry, but I……, I’ve only lived in Kerouac…….”

Since she was born and lived in Kerouac, the country where ‘Baron Fidelia’ had the most power, it was natural that she did not know about Ardennes. Of course, as a citizen of the Logos Kingdom, she knew only about the names of the two Duchy families called the Guardians, but it was useless even if a country maid knew about the family history or rumours, so no one taught her.

However, Arder, who she had thought would be shocked how she didn’t know such a thing, suddenly asked something out of the ordinary.

“Didn’t you feel any kind of agitation when you were facing His Excellency?”

“That’s… is it rare that people don’t?”

Lena, who looked around, answered cautiously, Arder’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes, how did you feel? It’s okay to be honest.”

“Really, won’t you scold me if I tell you the truth?”

“Sure. Even if you swear, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you this time.”

Lena, who was biting her lip even at that word, hesitated, unable to withstand Arder’s silent pressure, who waited patiently for her, she barely answered.

“It’s so, so, so scary. It’s scarier when he smiles. Butler didn’t see what he was like in the tower, so I don’t know, but…… He, he doesn’t feel like a human…… Sorry.”

She couldn’t afford to feel anything other than fear. It was that creepy if he put a smile on his sculptural cold face.

Lena’s body trembled at the thought of that bizarre and horrific execution again. In fact, it still didn’t seem real. The Barony Fidelia couple who happily sacrificed their heads were strange, and the Duke who looked down at it as if bored and cut them with a sword was also strange. It’s scarier when someone who kills people so easily smiles as if nothing happened.

However, Arder tilted his head in response to Lena’s frank reply that she was ready to be severely scolded for her confession.

“Is that all?”

“Yes? Yes…….”

Lena wondered if Arder’s question was different from what she had thought. She was nervous. But when she saw the Duke, all she could think of was that she was terrified, so she had nothing more to say. But Arder started asking strange questions.

“His appearance is beautiful enough to be compared to the god of war Perius. What do you think about it?”

“Yes? That…… I do not know…… Oh! However, the way he struck Baron Fidelia in the head was definitely similar to that of God Perius.”

“No, I mean, didn’t you think that he was beautiful or that you would fall in love with His Excellency when you see him?”

“What? No! I’ve never had such disrespectful thoughts! Really! Trust me!”

“I don’t mean to scold you. It’s normal for other people.”

“That……? Oh, of course, His Excellency, of course, he would be great, but……Every, everyone has their own taste…… No, it’s not, I mean, as I said before, I didn’t think of such disrespectful thoughts.”

Lena was embarrassed and gibberish at the unexpected question, which she had never thought of. This Duchy was so strange. The butler asks such a question… … .

“Are you really unaffected by that curse? ….”

Looking at Lena, who was not sure what to say more, Arder muttered to himself. His face was tinged with surprise.

“Me……? What do you mean… ….”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to care. I just need to think about taking good care of you in the future.”

Arder, who changed the topic in a hurry, was reluctant, but Lena didn’t ask him more about her situation because whatever the facts he was hiding didn’t change her situation.

In fact, while Arder pretended not to be, he was watching Lena carefully. It was because Kahel had told him something in advance last night.

“She is Baron Fidelia’s illegitimate child, and she used to work there as a maid. She’s a maid who doesn’t respond to the devilish me who can’t have a personal servant, don’t you think she’s a good fit?”

“I’m sure…… There has never been a person who has not responded to that curse that has been clinging to you unless they are being protected by special powers.”

“So keep an eye on her closely. Quietly talk about the curse in front of that woman, and tell the servants to keep their mouth shut.”

Arder thought so, too. But just by watching her for half-day he knew that Lena wasn’t a character who could hide such a formidable intrigue. This woman, revealing her feelings on her face, was rather too naive to live in Ardennes. Of course, this could also be a high-level performance, but Arder wanted to put hopes on the side that Lena had a rare condition.

After that, Arder taught Lena this and that in a more friendly manner. For the next day, she greeted the residents of the mansion while being explained the structure of the mansion, and Lena was amazed that everyone had the same expression on their faces when she was introduced to be the Duke’s maid.

It was like those who had heard that a blue dragon appeared on the mountain behind. It’s the expression on their face when they realize that something that could never have happened has happened. A sense of astonishment beyond surprise

Thanks to this, Lena shrank a lot, but Arder ordered the employees to ‘actively cooperate with Lena’s work in the future’, and ‘If anyone is found harming Lena, then it’s not mine, but His Excellency’s punishment that will fall.’ It seemed that no one was going to harm her because of that threat.