The Devilish Duke Can't Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

Viscount Ruben Delroins was a perverted old man who only pursued young girls in their teens, even at the age of fifty. The family had a lot of money, so the scandal seemed to have been covered up somehow with money. The problem was, the last girl he teased was the daughter of Count Cadbury.

When Count Cadbury learned that his youngest daughter had been molested by some perverted old man, Count Cadbury immediately challenged Viscount Delroins to a duel. Both of them were in their 50s, but Viscount Delroins, who made most of his money from commerce, was a person who didn’t even know how to raise a sword, compared to Count Cadbury, a former Guardsman. If he had fought the duel, he would have ended his life on the spot.

Viscount Delroins asked for help from Count Malen and Duke Luave, but they vehemently rejected it, and in the end, he was able to put a request for mediation to the royal family, and the duel was finally put to rest. In return, of course, he gave Count Cadbury a fair amount of money, although he would not be able to set foot in Ardennes until the scandal subsided.

On such a subject, he openly criticized the fact that the reason he was driven out to the countryside was because the Duke of Luave who did not properly protect him. In addition, ‘The Duke of Luave is a prostitute who seduces men and women of all ages and mixes bodies’, and rumors spread that he was taking advantage of all the interests through the pillow talks. It would have been fortunate if that was all he did, but he recently used a nobleman on the side of the Santella family and was trying to attack the Luave family.

“If he wants to argue, argue with Count Malen, but I don’t know why he dares to mention Your Excellency.”

The young man acting as Kahel’s aide shook his head and clicked his tongue, but it was because of Logos’ unique social structure that allowed Viscount Delroins to insist that the Duke of Luave was obligated to protect him. The title of nobility in Logos was also divided into five ranks, but the system and function were quite different from those of other countries.

There were two dukes, nineteen counts, and a large number of viscounts and barons in Logos. Marquis was an honorary title, so they had no territories and no political influence, and were varied in number.

The nineteen counties, which can be said to be the largest political class among the aristocracy, were further divided into the black faction, which is the subordinate of the Luave family and the white faction, the subordinate of the Santella family, and the neutral faction, which belongs to no faction in particular. It was followed by the Viscount and Barons under it.

And since Viscount Delroins was tied in the line under Count Malen, who was a black faction, he believed that the Duke of Luave had to protect him. However, it was a matter that should be addressed to Count Malen from the beginning, not a matter that the Viscount should dare to bother the Duke with.

Kahel just smiled while reconfirming the ugliness of shameless humans. Because this was common.

Kahel buried himself a little deeper in his chair.

“By the way …..… Any news from Luahalla?”

“Luahalla…… Lamion Luahalla, Marquis of Rognac? Why bring up the Marquis of Rognac suddenly…….”

“We seem to be able to help each other, so I’m trying to build a strong relationship ahead of time. I think it’s time I heard from …….”

“Isn’t this the first time the Marquis of Rognac and the Duke met?”

“It is.”

“Don’t say…… He opened up to your powers?”

“A little?”

“Lord Kahel!”

The man reporting to him, Count Gerard Langtail, shouted in dismay. Kahel did not even get angry at the Count who raised his voice and called out Kahel’s name recklessly. He was the most reliable aide, and the reason he was agitated was also because it was for the sake of the entire black faction.

Kahel had been wearing the holy relic ‘Calia’ that suppressed his devilish powers since he was ten years old, but he was often suspected of using his devilish powers because he was too resourceful for his young age.

Because of the strong petitions from the Santella family, the Queen made it mandatory for Kahel to wear the Calia, and even if not for that reason, Kahel never took it off his body while working. However, he was able to freely use the devilish power that had attached to him like a curse from the age of fifteen.

Most of the devilish powers were definitely suppressed when he was wearing the Calia, but if his emotional state was unstable or he wanted to strongly radiate his devilish powers, the Calia couldn’t block it.

However, the power to turn the other person into a ‘rutting dog’ was not welcomed, so all of his aides were against Kahel’s use of that power. This is because, in the worst case, all of the achievements and fame that the Duke of Luave and the black faction nobles worked hard to build could be criticized as the result of dirty power.

“It is not a power that Lord Kahel should wield, but rather a curse that you should hope to be gone. You are tempting Marquis Rognac with the devilish power…….”

“Why? Gerard, do you think I am a prostitute?”

“Lord Kahel! How could you say such a thing!”

“If that’s not what you mean, then I don’t understand. If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. It is a curse that doesn’t go away no matter what you do, wouldn’t it be more productive to use it as a resource? Or is it because you think I will use this power on you as well?”

“Lord Kahel……!”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to see you panting either. But, just in case, always make sure you have the ‘purification potion’ with you.”

In order to not be swayed by his devilish powers, the most common method was to take the ‘purification potion’ made in the temple before meeting him. Originally, it was a potion made to purify evil minds before entering prayer, but after Kahel Luave’s devilish powers appeared, it was mostly used as a ‘devilish prevention drug’ for those who wanted to meet Kahel.

In fact, for Kahel, all of this was ridiculous.

He couldn’t figure out why everyone was blaming him for the cursed magic. Even though he was a duke because of this devilish power, he could not have a servant or a maid by his side. It was also the cause of the trauma in his childhood; he almost got killed or raped by the people around him, since he didn’t know who was going to be possessed by the devilish power that secretly leaks out of Calia’s suppression.

In particular, servants and maids had to stand by his side, and even Kahel could not prepare for a sudden attack from close range. It was more comfortable not to be served than to be on his nerves all day while doubting the person he had by his side.

Thanks to this, he always had to eat, change clothes, and bathe on his own. A massage to relieve fatigue was a luxury that he couldn’t even imagine. It had to be someone of a knight level or higher in order to keep their mind intact when they put their hands on his bare body. However, it is not possible to treat the knights like a servant.

Kahel got up from his chair and slowly walked towards the window. In the huge garden outside the window, the workers of the Duchy were working diligently. It was really unfair to not be able to receive a single attendance even with such a large number of employees.

“Watch the movements of the Marquis Rognac. Because it looks like he will come soon. And Viscount Delroins’ monitoring should not be neglected. It’s definitely not going to be smooth. There’s something that he believes in, so I’m sure he’s being arrogant. When he comes into the vicinity of Ardennes, let’s attack him. He dared to look down on the Duchy of Luave, so he should pay the price for it.”

Kahel turned his back to the window again and sat down in front of the office desk. He had a lot of work to do today.

* * *

After receiving a report from the aides in each field, authorizing the documents they posted, checking the report on the monsters in the Charden region, meeting those who requested a private meeting, drinking tea, and receiving a report on tomorrow’s schedule, Kahel was able to return to his room.

It wasn’t hard because it was something he always endured, but after he met a person who looked at him with dirty eyes like today, he didn’t feel well.

‘The weak person didn’t even drink the purification potion, is he here to treat his frigidity?’

The last person he spoke to today was Viscount Peyton, who came to him saying that he wanted to participate in the Luave family business. From the moment he sat in the waiting room, he had a somewhat excited expression on his face, and as soon as he saw Kahel entering the room, he looked at his face and body in a frenzy. No matter what Kahel asked, the only answer is, ‘Yes, it’s an honor.’ Besides, he didn’t seem to even notice that his body was leaning more and more towards Kahel.

Kahel also became upset and ordered the knights to pull him out, and while he was being dragged out, he screamed at Kahel to accept him. It was an impossible action to be done with a sane mind.

Every day Kahel encountered such people, he would always be reminded of the terrible memories of his childhood. It was his servants and maids who first terrorized him. Kahel still remembered their changed appearance clearly.

The enraptured eyes staring at him, the rough breathing and panting because they couldn’t control their sexual desire, the madness that wanted to rush to death with him, and finally the image of them being cut by a knight who heard his scream and running away……..

The first three years with this curse were really like living in hell. No matter how well-groomed and loyal they were, they became a ‘rutting dog’ in front of Kahel. There were people who tried to devour him because they could not control their possessive love. Every day was a horror and he couldn’t believe in anyone.

But, interestingly enough, the reason that Kahel decided to use that damn devilish power as his own strength was the day he acquired the holy relic, Calia, which suppressed the devilish power.

The only word that could explain that day was dramatic. First of all, the day itself was the Queen’s birthday, and his father’s return from Kasmanorov after hearing the rumors about the holy Calia, was later than expected. Since the family’s head could not attend, his successor, Kahel, had to attend the banquet.

For Kahel to get out of the house, he had to have at least four knights around him. Those knights also had to have strong mental power and possess great auras, and Kahel had to wear the cloak made by the temple.

How nervous was he as he headed to the royal palace with all the fuss. However, the royal family, the people of the Santella family, and the knights with strong auras are not swayed by the devilish power, so there may be some other nobles who would not surrender to this devilish power, Kahel expected. He believed that it would be different from servants and maids because everyone had high self-esteem and pride.

However, such expectations were shattered from the moment Kahel entered the banquet hall.