The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

“Le…… No, Your…… Majesty.”

“In this room…… I used soundproofing magic. So…… Just like before, call me by my name.”

But he couldn’t. The fact that his meticulous but weak close maid had cast soundproofing magic made him feel the distance of the reality he knew.

“I can’t …… do that now, Your Majesty. Awakening…… No, I don’t think that’s important right now… … .”

Kahel swallowed a gulp and closed his eyes tightly. He was confused as to what to put in his mouth. Somehow, everything seemed to have worked out, but he wasn’t happy at all. It’s like knowing that the rabbit he was trying to hold in his arms was a divine beast who couldn’t even be called a rabbit. All he wanted in life was that little warm rabbit.

Kahel took a deep breath without making a sound and then opened his eyes. He was accustomed to duty and responsibility. It was about killing his own heart, it wasn’t impossible. As always, if only he held on tight and didn’t waver, everyone could be happy.

“Thank you for saving me, Your Majesty.”

Kahel didn’t bother looking at Lena.

“It seems that you have awakened on the spot. In the meantime, I have been ignoring Your Majesty, I will repent my sins, and I have carved into my bones the grace that saved my life…… In the future…… Duchy Luave is the Queen’s loyal…….”

“Kahel.”

His heart, which he thought was already firm, quickly collapsed at the sound of the small voice calling him ‘Kahel’. Nothing came to mind as if his mind had gone blank.

“I missed you.”

Kahel turned his gaze to Lena without realizing it. There was a lot of water around her pretty eyes.

“I thought I would never see you again…… I was so scared.”

“Lena…….”

“I’m sorry for being deceived like an idiot. When you get stabbed because of me…….”

Tears flowed from Lena’s eyes.

“I was so scared that I thought you were going to die. I’m afraid you’ll never call my name again……..”

Kahel had no choice but to disobey his father’s words this time. He gently wiped Lena’s tear-soaked cheek.

“I…… I was afraid you would die…….”

Lena rubbed her cheek in his hand, as big and warm and firm as she remembered. She thought she had calmed down a lot over the past week, but that must have been an illusion. It is only now that she had a great sense of relief.

“Kiss me.”

She felt Kahel’s hand twitch.

“That…….”

“It’s, it’s Queen’s co, com, command.”

Lena’s voice was trembling badly. Kahel, wondering where in the world was such a tyrant, was willing to obey the orders as the Queen’s loyal black wings.

“Then, as ordered…….”

He could feel the trembling breath on his lips as he got closer. His little rabbit, despite her formidable rise as the Queen, was still so lovable and cuddly that he has had the honor of putting his humble lips upon those fragrant lips, as he struggles to suppress his predatory instincts.

There were noises for a while, but Damien, who was standing around outside, kept knocking on the door, wondering if something was wrong. But the two couldn’t afford to worry about it. The body temperature they were feeling was so precious that they didn’t even know that Damien slammed the door open while they were concentrating on it.

“Your majesty! Ka, Kahel!”

At that moment, the two of them were taken by surprise and pulled themselves apart. Maybe Damien was more surprised, but Lena didn’t even think of it that far, and she quickly swung her hand, causing him to step back and slammed the door. She was naturally using her powers like breathing.

However, even though she wielded power that could immobilize even the blood relatives of the Duchies with immense magical power, Lena was still Lena.

“Wha, what…… to do…….”

The reddened face and the mumble of a crawling voice was too cute. Lena gnawed at her swollen, puffy lips and looked up at Kahel.

“Will Count Allendorf scold you?”

Seeing how she naturally treated the person that was the ‘former Duke’, it was hard to believe that this person was his close maid until recently, but the way she mumbled as she looked into his eyes was the same as it was in his memory, and somehow made him laugh more.

“Anyway, Duke Luave is me.”

“That, though…….”

“If he was going to scold me for what I’m doing…… Let’s tell him I have become Her Majesty’s leman, well.”

“What? Not leman!”

“Sorry……. I spoke out of my way.”

“The, the…… good thing about me being a Queen…… Kahel and…… I will be able to get …… married…….”

Lena’s voice became small as if crawling again. Her face was so red that it couldn’t turn any more red.

“Are you talking about…… marriage with me?”

“No, no, I mean, if you don’t want it, uh, there’s nothing I can do…… But, I’m sure…… You said you love me. Beside…… You asked me to stay. Was it a lie?”

Her tone, which had been muttering in embarrassment, became clearer and stronger. At first glance, it seemed like she was arguing.

“In my mind, I want to kidnap Your Majesty and run away to a place no one knows about. I don’t want to show you to anyone, and I want you to live only knowingly in my arms. It doesn’t matter if you insult me ​​for being sultry and twisted. Because that is my truth.”

Lena inhaled her breath as if surprised.

“But if you live as the Queen of Logos…… It’s not easy. The union of a Queen and a Duchy has never happened in history. It is not even a direct descendant, but a union of the Queen and Duke Luave. There will be huge opposition and a lot of talk.”

“Who?”

“I think Duchy Santella will oppose the union.”

“Oh, it won’t be. They cannot oppose me or Kahel’s decision.”

“What?”

Lena was about to scratch the back of her head as was her habit, but she felt the maid’s voice ringing in her ear, so she hurriedly lowered her hand.

“The Santella family is no longer the same as the Luave family.”

Lena calmly recounted the story that happened after Kahel collapsed.

* * *

Within a week of Kahel’s sleep, the elite powers of Logos had to accept a drastic change.

First of all, the power of the Queen appeared from a completely unexpected place. Everyone was astonished when Lena arrived at the Palace with Damien holding Kahel and a carriage carrying Liddell, who had lost her consciousness, and Leonard, who had died. But apart from their surprise, they didn’t question that the little woman in front of them was the next Queen. It was a very strange feeling. Obedience from the depths of their hearts dominated them.

“Please guide me to the Queen.”

The woman who was Kahel Luave’s close servant, although she was speaking respectfully, she commanded very naturally, and everyone who obeyed her had no doubt when they obeyed her. It was just normal.

Fabian was burning her last vitality like a dying candle. But even she recognized at a glance that the young woman who had come before her was Heila’s daughter. The power, which she herself didn’t have enough, was overflowing from the young woman’s body. Fabian could see it clearly, even though others couldn’t see it.

“You…… must be Heila’s daughter…….”

Lena nodded her head slightly, and neither scolded nor comforted Fabian. Fabian smiled weakly.

“From the first time I saw you…… I thought you were familiar somehow…….”

Now, Heila’s face came to mind more clearly. Nadia had more solid evidence of the silver hair and purple eyes, but she seldom recalled Heila’s face in Nadia. But when she peeks through Lena, she thinks, ‘Oh, this is what Heila looked like.’ In addition, some parts of Lena also resemble Raphael, the escort knight who was upright.

“Heila, who closed her eyes because of you…… How worried was she…… How much did she resent me…….”

A voice filled with regret came out thinly. But Lena shook her head lightly.

“Mother knew you were trying to save her. However, she was worried that my strong power, unlike the predecessors, would cause riots.”

Lena found her past memories the moment she awakened.

Although her powers were weaker than Fabian’s, Heila also gained more power as she got older. Thanks to her power, she was easily immersed in the Kerouac, where she intended to simply live a quiet life, but she realized Lena’s dangers when Lena was seven years old.

“I’m gaining power too quickly…….”

Every day she put her hand on Lena’s forehead to measure something, and she always mumbled something with a worried face. When she was young, Lena didn’t know what she meant.

Heila would have been troubled with it. Lena’s power would be fully recognizable, even by the blood relative of the Duchies or a powerful priest. However, the Queen at that time, Fabian, was already insecure about her status due to her weak powers, and Duchy Santella publicly ignored her.

If Lena’s power were to be revealed, there might be a fight for Lena. It was only a matter of time before Lena became stronger than Fabian, who was not yet ready to step down. She didn’t know maybe there was going to be a war between the aunt and the niece.

Above all, Lena was not a vessel capable of handling her formidable power. Because she had no one around her to support her, nor had she been educated in her powers.

“You have to hide it.”

Heila decided to seal Lena’s power until her daughter was old enough to handle it. If she had great power at such a young age, it could have turned into a disaster. She was a child with greater powers than the Queen, and it was too dangerous.

One day, when she felt Lena’s power explode, she sat down and devoted all of her energy to sealing her power. It was sudden, but she couldn’t help it. Leaving it alone, it would be nothing for Lena to have Kerouac kneeling at her feet.

However, there was one variable that Heila did not expect. Maybe it was because she naturally sealed Lena’s power to attract affection and obedience from her people, but people came to hate Lena. Those with a calm mind and full of spirit treated Lena as before, but those who were not, instinctively wanted to be wary of and torment Lena, whose power was sealed.

But before she realized it, Heila closed her eyes. It was because Lena’s power was so strong that she had to squeeze out every last drop of her power.

“Forgive Mother, Lena. But this is the only way to protect you. It’s sealed for now, but someday, if you meet a guardian who will protect you, the seal will be unlocked naturally. The meeting must not be too late, when you are eighteen, leave Kerouac and go to Ardennes.”

Her mother’s last words, which had been erased from her memory, were locked in Lena’s unconscious and moved her. She missed her mother, though most of her memories with her were erased, and she saved up money, hoping that someday she would leave Kerouac and go to a bigger place. Perhaps, it was fate that she, not Elliot, met Kahel instead.