The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Sleepless Night

“Did you live alone in the Barony? Did you say that the stable keeper’s family treated you like a daughter?”

“Because I was the youngest maid, I had to turn on the stove first thing in the morning and draw water.
So, I lived alone in a small room on the first floor of the Baron’s residence.
Because that was the room closest to the wood shed and the well.”

“Since the age of ten?”

“Yes.”

“You must have gone through a lot.”

“That’s how everyone lives.”

Lena seemed to laugh, but Kahel couldn’t laugh along as he imagined that rabbit-like child waving her bruised hand at dawn to draw water in the dark.

“Compared to those days, the work I do now is not difficult at all.
Can I live comfortably like this….?”

“If you had been recognized as the legitimate Baron Fidelia’s daughter, you wouldn’t have suffered like that in the first place.”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t I have died together with the Baron and his wife?”

At Lena’s answer, Kahel caught his breath for a moment.
Victims who forget about the damage and the perpetrators who remember the harm are rare, so he again forgot that he almost killed Lena with his own hands.

“Am you still scared?”

He asked, remembering Lena, who was startled with every word he uttered.
Lena inside the blood-soaked iron cage of the tower, Lena holding her hands together and begging to live, Lena trembling even with his smile, Lena looking anxiously at his eyes…….

Those who despised the Duke were considered worthy of punishment, but it was regrettable that Baron Fidelia and Baroness Fidelia were beheaded while he revealed his devilish powers in front of Lena.
It was nothing special to him, but it must have been a huge shock to Lena.

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But Lena touched Kahel’s heart again.

“No.
I am not scared now.”

It was a voice that didn’t mix with any lies.
Kahel turned his head and looked at Lena’s side.
Lena’s face turned whitish in the weak moonlight seeping through the window.

“It would be better to continue to be scared.
Actually, I am a monster.”

Depending on what she heard, he thought it was a little childish.
But he had nothing else to say.
Monster, because that was Kahel’s true identity.
It felt like it was scratching his teeth.
But Lena smiled again, perhaps she thought he was joking.

“Then I’ll be the monster’s maid.”

At those words, Kahel’s heart tightened and squeezed.
It was a sweet and kind sentence that made his heart ache.
Anxious that Lena’s ears would hear the beating of his heart at this point, Kahel swung his hand once in the air, creating a bluish swarm of lights.

“Wow…… !”

Lena, who had her eyes startled by the mysterious swarm of lights that suddenly scattered in the air, gradually became hazy from the moment the swarm of lights landed on her body.

“Huh…… ? Suddenly…… I’m very sleepy…….”

“It’s good.
Sleep well.”

With Kahel’s low, friendly voice, Lena soon fell asleep.
But only then was he able to breathe deeply, and Kahel sat up, placing his hand on his pounding chest.
This maid was so sweet and dangerous.
Of course, he believed that this feeling wouldn’t be such a strange feeling to call it love or anything, but it seemed to be at least as good as ‘excessively’ caring for pets.

It’s not that there was anything wrong about that, but there are people in the world who give all their fortunes to the cats they had, and there was no way they could stop doing it.
As Arder said, even if Lena had a bad heart and tried to deceive him, he somehow seemed to be able to forgive her.

All of a sudden, he remembered Arder’s request not to give her too much of his heart.
His arrogance told Arder not to worry because he doesn’t trust people…….

‘Arder will laugh at me.
No, if you want to warn me, you should’ve done it sooner!’

 

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After sitting for a long time to calm his beating heart, he blamed the innocent Arder for nothing, then looked at Lena who had fallen asleep again.
It was dark so he couldn’t see well, so he made a small light.

If it had been in front of other people, they could all become slaves of this devilish power just by using this insignificant amount of magical power.
It was because his devilish power was amplified even more when he used magic.
But in front of Lena, there was no need to suppress the use of his magic, so he was comfortable.

“Lena…….”

Kahel sighed again.
He felt overwhelmed by anything she did, and he didn’t know that he would consider someone so special.
He couldn’t even properly define what this feeling was.
But whatever it was, one thing was certain.
He never wanted to lose Lena.
Life without Lena seemed unbearable.

“Lena…… don’t leave me…….”

Kahel covered Lena’s blanket well and prayed earnestly.

* * *

“Elliot.”

“Yes, Miss!”

Elliot’s eyes twinkled at Liddell’s call, and the gown Liddell was wearing was placed on Elliot’s hands.

“Take the laundry to the maid.
Maria!”

“Yes, Miss.”

“I want to eat something sweet today.”

“I sent someone to .
At teatime in the morning, I’ll give you raspberry macarons that you like.”

“Maria, you are the best! Would you like to drink tea with me?”

“It’s an honor for me.”

Elliot hung the robe, which Liddell had worn overnight, on her arm, and looked anxiously at Liddell, who was smiling brightly with the chief maid, Maria.

It’s been three months since she became Liddell’s maid at the Duke Santella’s residence.

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At first, she couldn’t believe this luck.
The room the maids used in Duke Santella’s residence was better than the room the maids used in Kerouac, and she felt like she was a low-cost princess.

Besides, the food was delicious, and the clothes given were luxurious.
She had realized less than a month after she had been here that the dress she had been wearing in Kerouac was very rustic.

She was worried that the other maids might humiliate her or ignore her, but they were very kind to her.
Everyone seemed to take after Liddell.
This must have been an angel’s nest.
Elliot knew it was a very bad idea to even think that her parents’ unjust death was a huge benefit to her.
Had it not been for that, the daughter of a rural baron would not have been able to become a princess’ maid.

She was obviously happy.
She thought she had fallen into the worst abyss of her life, but she believed that this great fortune came because of her good life.
She should have been happy all the time.

However, from one day onwards, dissatisfaction began to seep into that happiness little by little.
It probably started with a small party at Duke Santella’s residence.
It was a party that was hosted by Liddell, not Duke Santella, but only for young men and women from nobles.

All of the maids were children of the nobility, and thanks to Liddell, who allowed them to attend the party, everyone seemed excited a month before the party.

So did Elliot.
What a dream Ardennes’ party was.
The maid’s salary for a month’s work was not small, so she tried to prepare a dress from it.
But one day, Liddell called Elliot.

“Did you get used to life in the Duchy?”

“Yes, miss.
You don’t know how grateful I am to Miss.
You saved my life.”

“Fufu.
I’m glad you’re doing well.
But then Maria said that Elliot was going to buy a dress…….”

Elliot’s heart raced.
She was still thinking about what to do because she didn’t have enough money to buy a nice dress, so she thought Liddell felt sorry for her and wanted to give her a dress as a gift.
So Elliot put on the most pitiful expression on her face, and she appealed in a sad voice.

“Yes.
I was looking for a dress for attending the party, but I was in trouble because the dresses I could buy with my money were limited.
I was worried that the prestige of Miss might be diminished by my shabby outfit…….”

“Oh, you were worried about me…… What a nice heart.”

“But I am a maid who serves Miss Liddell and no one else, so you are always my priority.”

Elliot thought her answer was perfect.

“Thank you, Elliot.
Then, fortunately, Elliot no longer has to worry about that.”

“Yes? That, then…….”

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Elliot looked up at Liddell with a look of great anticipation.

She had a beautiful yet awkward smile on her angelic face.

“Elliot must have misunderstood, but this party is only attended by the children of the household with the title.”

“Yes.
I also listened carefully to what you said last time.”

At Eliot’s answer, Liddell’s expression hardened a little.
But at this party, she’s buoyed by dreams of finding a decent man, and she’s busy looking forward to what kind of dress Liddell will give her.
Until Liddell, who had guessed Elliot’s naive brain, shattered that dream with a small sigh…….

“Elliot, you’re not officially an aristocrat, so I’m sorry but you can’t attend this party.”

“Yes? Bu, but I’m from Barony Fidelia……!”

“Elliot.
I believe Elliot’s words that Baron Fidelia passed away unjustly.
But according to official documents, Baron Fidelia has been stripped of his baron title.
Unless that is reinstated, Elliot is unfortunately not an aristocrat.”

“Well, it can’t be…….”

Elliot was shocked as if she had been struck in the back of the head with a huge hammer.

Even after reading the announcement in Kerouac, she was not clearly aware that she was no longer the Baron’s Lady.
Being an aristocrat from birth, she couldn’t accept the fact that she was now a commoner.

Most of all, she was determined to find a good man at this party and grab him, but she couldn’t believe that the plan had gone to waste.

“And Elliot shouldn’t be seen by other nobles.
I’m hiding a sinner.
Will Elliot understand my position?”

“Of, of course…… That’s right, Miss.”

“Thank you.
Elliot just needs to rest comfortably in your room that day.
The meals will be brought by the maids.”

It was like an order not to step out of the room.

Elliot had to do everything she could to keep herself from crying there.
She can’t even remember how she got out of there.
She ran straight to her room, locked the door, lay on the bed and cried for a long time.
She never understood why such an unfair thing had to happen only to her.

And from then on.
She began to realize her place among Liddell’s maids.

The maids, who had only been considered friendly and angelic, never reached out to Liddell’s laundry or garbage disposal.
Naturally, it was Elliot’s job.