The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

-…… When the old sun sets and the second cold moon rises, Deneb and Altair will turn to Spica, and the chosen wing will raise the eternal sun.

The metaphor was not as difficult as this verse, so a clear interpretation was possible. It is said that the old sun meant the end of a thousand years, the moon rises after the sun sets, and the ‘second cold moon’ rises, so the old sun is also the second sun to rise. In other words, it is a metaphor for what is happening in Logos, which has a history of 2,000 years.

And Deneb was the star of Cygnus, known as the patron sign of the Santella family, Altair was the star of Sagittarius, the patron sign of the Luave family, and Spica was the star of Virgo, meaning queen.

This meant that at the 2,000-year-old Logos, the Santella and Luave families would fight for the throne, and in the end only one family would survive and rule the new era of Logos forever.

It was not known which house would win, but Liddell knew that the moment she understood the meaning of this verse at the age of seven, she decided that she would become the queen of the country. And for Liddell to become queen, it was the dream of the Santella family. Of course, only a small part of the people of the Santella family knew about the dream, but it was only a matter of time before everyone would know it as the ‘2000 years of the founding of Logos’ as mentioned in the scriptures and prophecies soon arrived.

She has been patient for a long time, she has been preparing for a long time. When she becomes queen, she won’t have to bow to anyone, and everyone will kneel before her. Liddell thought it was the right fit for her.

“It’s good. You worked hard.”

“Sister Liddell has worked hard for a long time. The scriptures will start printing next week, and they will be available for sale in two months.”

“Well…… The printing of this revised edition will be an important event in the history of Limon, so we will distribute 5,000 copies free of charge to the members of the Santella family.”

“Oh, Sister. Such kind words. Even the Creator Lana will be pleased with your faithful heart.”

The two exchanged smiles full of meaning and headed for the temple’s chapel, where there was no one there.

“Ah, Priest. There is something I have been curious about for a long time.”

“Yes, tell me.”

“The Queen of the Logos Kingdom is endowed with the power to subdue angels and devils, but as generations passed, that power weakened, and in the current queen Fabian Ardenia, even calling it power was embarrassing. If so, will the power of the ‘new master’ weaken over the generations even after she enters a new era?”

“It’s certainly hard to nail down. The scriptures clearly said that it would make the ‘eternal’ sun rise, so it can also be seen that the power of the family will last forever.”

“I think interpreting the scriptures is always a headache. Of course, it is a future that cannot be easily understood by anyone, but it is always frustrating to see a metaphor that only the person who wrote it can recognize.”

“But what is certain is that the words of the scriptures are not just metaphors. Just look at the fact that, around the second millennium of the kingdom, the queen’s power is weakening and her successor is not born.”

“Well, it is.”

Liddell smiled brightly.

The Queen kept it a secret from the people, but this time the Queen was very weak in her powers. Even a few generations ago, the Queen’s power was a force that could be felt by all the people of the Logos. According to the records, it was a powerful force not only to subdue people and make them obey, but also to overpower the magical powers of both Duchies.

But that power grew weaker and weaker through the generations, and now the two Duchies, descendants of the white-winged and black-winged beasts, barely feel obedience, and the common people feel nothing from her.

Besides, she never gave birth to a daughter. The Queen’s position was generation by generation, and there was never a queen who had not given birth to a daughter, the successor. Fabian is already forty-three. She may have been trying, but seeing no news since she gave birth to the second prince eight years ago, she seemed hopeless to conceive more, and the anxieties of the Queen and the royal family grew day by day. .

“But the national popularity of the Ardenia dynasty is still there. Rather than being popular, it may be a habit that has been passed down for a long time.”

“That is the problem. We have been submissive to the Ardenia dynasty for two thousand years, and under that rule, we have enjoyed some peace and quiet.”

“Is that the power of the Queen? It was the power of the two Duchies.”

At Liddell’s mocking voice, Rubid smiled and nodded his head.

The scripture business has already been established as an important business of the Santella family since their ancestors long ago. It wasn’t just about making a lot of money. They did not doubt that they were descendants of angels, and they believed that they should defeat the devils, the Luave, and rule this Logos.

However, there were two obstacles to the plan: their cursed blood, which felt submissive to the power of the Queen, and the second, the existence of the Luaves with powers equal to those of the Santellas’.

For many years they have studied how to become disobedient to the power of the Queen, and have enchanted their bodies to dilute their obedience to it. It was believed that if the blood continued to be blunt to the power little by little, descendants who would not obey the power would one day be born. It didn’t happen just because a generation passed, but they worked hard, believing that one day they would have a child who would make their dreams come true.

And so Liddell was born. When she first met the Queen at the age of three, she didn’t feel any respect for her at all, even after her oath of allegiance to the Queen, which she must do at the age of seven to be a member of two Duchies. At that sight, her father, Leonard, thought that the time had finally come for the family’s long-cherished wish to come true.

It was also effective to infuse a negative image to the ‘black-winged beast’, the ancestor of the Luave family, little by little with each revision of the scriptures for several hundred years. In particular, thanks to the addition of illustrations depicting the black-winged beast like a devil, all people have naturally accepted the formula ‘Angel goes to Santella, Devil goes to Luave’, which is very important in the plan to seize the dynasty. That was the useful part.

“The time has come, Priest. I will begin the glorious history of the Santella dynasty.”

“The noble one who has inherited the wishes of the clan. May Lana bless you.”

Rubid knelt down on one of his knees and kissed gently on the back of Liddell’s white, fine hand.

The sunlight penetrating through the crystal glass window embroidered the inside of the chapel with a brilliant five-color light, and the expression of the statue of Lana standing in the middle of the front was kind and warm. However, not all prayers to God in the chapel were sincere and pure.

* * *

After going out on the streets of Rivella, Lena began to feel closer to Kahel. He spent two silver coins for the insignificant wishes of the lower one, and he even threw the coins to make her wishes come true.

Of course, she didn’t bother bringing up the story that a certain blonde man found her. She locked the carriage door, crouched, so Kahel looked at her puzzledly, but he didn’t ask about it.

‘He wouldn’t have seen all of my face because I was wearing a robe. And seeing that he was gone so quickly, it must have been no big deal.’

Lena felt like she was deceiving Kahel a little bit, but she wasn’t willing to confess the sins that Kahel didn’t ask. She didn’t really understand why she shouldn’t be noticed, and if she really shouldn’t have been noticed Kahel wouldn’t have taken her there.

Anyway, after seeing Ardennes for the first time in her life, Lena was so happy that she quickly forgot about the blonde man. Rather, she was busy thinking about what Kahel had done for her.

‘I feel like I’m getting too good things compared to what I do.’

When she worked as a maid in Barony Fidelia, she worked hard from early morning until late at night, but her diet was poor, her sleeping arrangement was poor, and she was often beaten.

But now she doesn’t have to put her hands in cold water, she doesn’t have to mop till her arms are about to fall out, and she doesn’t have to roll around with a bunch of dust. She received good clothes, strong shoes, a clean and cozy room, and high quality meals. She even got a jewelry hairpin.

‘This is no different from a thief.’

Lena had grown up really difficult and poor, but she was a girl who knew shame and place. Maybe it’s because she’d heard Elliot’s bad words, ‘If you don’t know your place, I will whip you out.’ But Lena wanted to pay back something to Kahel anyway.

‘What can I do? Other than what I am supposed to do, if there is something I can do to please the Duke…….’

Lena, who had been agonizing while cleaning the furniture in the room, was so focused on her worries that she was unaware of Kahel’s existence as he came into the room soaked in sweat after practicing swordsmanship.

As he came in, Kahel narrowed his eyes as he saw Lena cleaning the already shiny furniture.

“Lena?”

“God, you scared me! Yes, yes!”

Kahel felt a little sorry when Lena jumped in surprise, but rather, he wondered what the hell she was thinking, so she didn’t even notice he was coming in.

“Are you worried about anything? You seem to be so engrossed in thoughts that you don’t even notice me coming in.”

“Oh, no! it’s nothing! Really! Bath water is ready.”

“Okay. I get it.”

If he asked Lena, who shook her head, it would be difficult to get a proper answer, so Kahel put his curiosity behind and started taking off the sweaty, damp shirt. Lena picked up the shirt he was taking off as she followed him to the bathroom.

“Ugh!”

“Gasp! Du, Duke?”

Kahel, who was taking off his shirt, suddenly let out a small moan and grabbed his right shoulder.

“Where are you hurt? I’ll get the doctor here…… !”

“No! No. It’s just that my muscles are a little startled. I was busy with work, so I neglected to practice swordsmanship, and it showed right away. I’ll get better soon anyway, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

When she heard that, Lena’s expression began to brighten. Because she finally found something she could do for Kahel.

—

Note:

So, it might be confusing that Liddell was titled as Princess, but in Korean, Liddell’s title and the usual Royal Princess title is actually different.

For a Royal Princess, it would be 왕녀 which belongs to the Royal Family.

While’s Liddell’s is 공녀 even though she’s the daughter of a Duke, derived from the 공작 (Duke).

But they both are princesses when tled in English, just one is a Royal Princess.