The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Today is really…

“Wow…… It is nothing like Ardennes!”

Lena looked at the castle and the city of Terra Luave in the distance, admiring it.
She thought it would be like Sharden, quiet and buried in the snow, but Terra Luave was an estate on a scale comparable to that of a capital city.
The road from the capital to Terra Luave was better maintained than in other places, but as soon as they entered Terra Luave, a wider and flatter road than the capital’s appeared, and the carriage’s shaking was greatly reduced.
Since the road was a measure of how much the estate had developed, the condition of the road better than that of the capital was the testament of the development of Terra Luave.

The procession of the Duchy who entered Terra Luave became even more magnificent with the addition of knights who had come to meet them from the castle.

To Lena, who believed that there was no other estate as advanced as Ardennes, Terra Luave was surprising.
As many people and buildings as Ardennes, well-paved roads and clean streets, a huge castle and beautiful environment like a royal palace, it was believable even saying that this was the capital of the Logos.
Now, Kahel’s words, ‘To others, I am as good as a king’ made sense.
In Terra Luave, Damien and Kahel were kings.

“Do you like it?”

“I think it’s cooler than Ardennes.
There are no mountains or rivers like that in Ardennes.”

Kahel nodded, as if satisfied with the fact that Terra Luave was cooler than Ardennes.

He doesn’t come down often, but Terra Luave was like the heart of the Luave family.
This is where the Luave family began, and if the Luave family were to disappear one day, it had to be from here as well.
The people of the Luave family, without any exception, have felt affection for Terra Luave, and they feel comfortable every time they come here.

“Although Ardennes is the largest city in the Logos, Terra Luave and Terra Santella are just as big as Ardennes.
Of course, Terra Luave is a bit better than Terra Santella, though.”

Lena laughed a little at Kahel’s attitude, not wanting to lose anything to the Santella family.
But Terra Luave was such a wonderful place.
As if it had snowed recently, the mountains and islands were also covered in snow, but the streets around the castle and the general streets had been cleared of snow.
If you see people cleaning the alleys with shovels and brooms from time to time, it seems that everyone has a history of snow removal.

“It looks like it snows a lot here.”

“It tends to snow a lot, but unless it’s on the mountain, it melts quickly.
Because there are hot springs, there are many places where the ground is warm.”

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“Hot spring? You mean that hot water gushes out of the ground?”

“Well.
The reason my mother came here for recuperation is because of the hot springs.
There are many hot springs with good medicinal effects.”

 

“Wow…… cool.
How does warm water come out of its own accord?”

“It’s not that surprising.
Now that you are here, you should take a hot spring bath.”

“Me too? Can I use that?”

“In Terra Luave, even the poorest use hot springs to their heart’s content.
There is no reason why you, a noblewoman, cannot use it.”

Lena still couldn’t believe that she was a noble, but it was expected that she would be able to bathe in a hot spring anyway.
It was fun to experience things one by one that she never knew existed in Kerouac.

Lena was so excited by the expectations, but the closer they got to Terra Luave’s Castle, the more Kahel’s atmosphere subsided, and she became restless for some reason.
However, she had nothing to say, so Lena just glanced at him before they arrived at the castle.

There were many employees who came out to meet the masters of Terra Luave.
Lena was afraid she would be in trouble as she did in Sharden, so this time she got off the carriage first and waited for Kahel to get off.
Kahel, who seemed to be in heavy thought, didn’t stop her so this time it was a relief that she was seen as a ‘normal’ maid.

The servants lined up on either side to welcome the return of their masters were all expressionless in their modest attitude, and there were far more of them than in Sharden.
Lena was very nervous as she stuck close to Kahel’s back and passed between them.
After she entered the Duke’s castle, she began to worry that someone would inadvertently hate and harass her, even though no one had harmed her.

“Welcome back, Your Excellency.”

A butler, much older than Arder, met Damien and Kahel.
He looked stiffer than Arder, but his undisturbed position all the way to the tips of his fingers must have been the result of his much older career.
His gaze turned to Lena as he looked at Damien and Kahel’s luggage and party.

“Where should I take the woman?”

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“Oh, she’s my close maid, so a place close to my room.”

“Understood.”

Without showing any signs of surprise, he bowed his head politely, then gestured at the maid next to him and entrusted her with Lena’s guidance.
The maid was a woman of Lena’s age or a little older, with light brown hair and brown eyes.
Lena still had a strong feeling that she was far more veteran than her, and although she didn’t look fierce, her modest movements and expressionless face made Lena feel intimidated.

But as she followed her up the stairs and into the hallway, she glanced back at Lena and spoke to her.

 

“Hello? My name is Jessna Randall.
Feel free to call me Jess.”

Her eyes, which had been calm and dry until now, were filled with curiosity.

“Oh he, hello? I, I am, Lena…… Belrose.
You can call me Lena.”

“I heard that you were the close maid of the Young Master …… I didn’t hear it wrong, did I?”

“Yes.
I am working as close maid to Duke Luave.”

“Wow…… Incredible.
How is that possible?”

Jessna held her hands together and looked at Lena with an expectant face.
Lena wondered what she was doing, but she struggled to squeeze out an answer.

“I, I don’t quite understand why I became the close maid.
I’m just doing what His Excellency asks me to do, but surprisingly, there’s nothing difficult about it.
He is very generous.”

But Jessna’s expression was far from understanding.
For a while she seemed to understand Lena’s words, but she eventually tilted her head slightly and asked again,

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“So, what I was asking was, how are you overcoming His Excellency’s devilish power…….?”

“Devilish…… ?”

For a moment, Lena remembered that something similar had happened in Sharden.
Even then, the handmaiden, Marianne, brought up the word ‘the devilish curse,’ and immediately after that, Kahel came and blocked their conversation.
No, looking back, she thought Arder was like that when she first started working as well.
She thinks it sounded like the word ‘curse’…… Anyway, what they have in common is that everyone was amazed that she was Kahel’s ‘close maid’.

Lena first made sure that no one was around, then she smiled slightly at Jessna.
She seemed to be able to dig out the truth from this maid without Kahel’s interruption today.
With that, the tension that had made her neck stiff until just now disappeared completely, and a strange sense of victory arose.

“I have something to ask you.
Shall we go to the room I will be using first?”

“Yes? Oh dear, look at my mind.
I keep getting in trouble because of this.”

Contrary to her first impression, Jessna, who had a playful face, hurriedly led Lena to her room.
Lena smiled brightly as she closed the door behind Jessna, who was just about to explain what was in her room.

“Excuse me, Jess.
As you said earlier, that…… His Excellency’s ‘devilish’, could you explain a little more?”

“Yes? Why? Perhaps…… you don’t know?”

“Oh, no.
It’s not that I don’t know, I just want to make sure I know what I know.
It hasn’t been a while since I became his close maid, so I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake.”

“Uh….… Did you know that His Excellency was put under the ‘devilish curse’ when he was young?”

Of course she doesn’t know.
‘Devilish Curse’ is a combination of words that only appear in fairy tales about wizards, but she, as a maid, never knew that.
But Lena just smiled and nodded her head.

“It is said that everyone will be captivated by him, regardless of gender.
It was said that there was no way to stop the power until the Elder Master found the holy Calia and hung it on the Young Master.
So, the Duke hardly ever went outside, and there were many times when he was almost killed or raped by his attendants or maids.
So, even after hanging Calia around his neck, he didn’t have a servant or maid by his side because of the memories of that time.
But His Excellency brought Lena as his close maid! Are you not surprised?”

Jessna was surprised, but Lena did everything she could to keep from showing her surprise.
While she thought she didn’t know what Calia was, she immediately realized when she heard the phrase ‘hung around his neck’.
It must have been the necklace that Kahel, who was meeting with her for the first time, hung around his neck just before calling Arder.

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“I’m, I’m just as surprised…….”

“Right? How can you be okay with the devilish power? It’s said that Calia can almost suppress it, but it’s not completely contained.
It is said that if you stick with him all day, you will eventually be possessed…… Are you drinking the ‘purification potion’ every day?”

“Ah…… that…… Well, I do use several methods.
But His Excellency told me to keep quiet about that method……”

“Really? Why?”

“It’s because I’m just following what he told me to.
Jess should better not go out and talk about this, too.
His Excellency will probably…….”

“He wouldn’t let me off, with that personality.”

Jessna trembled as she intercepted Lena’s words.

This time, Lena felt a sense of incongruity.
Doesn’t Jessna’s expression seem like Kahel’s personality is cold and heartless? But Kahel was a generous and caring person.
He, of course, is sometimes terrifying, but for the most part he was a compassionate master who took care of his subordinates.

‘Is this only true in Ardennes’ mansion?’

Lena tilted her head and decided to focus on Kahel’s devilish story again.

“But does everyone react to his devilish power?”

“Nope.
It is said that a person from the direct line of the royal family who inherited the blood of Her Majesty the Queen or the direct line of the two Duchies does not respond.
It is said that even a knight with a strong aura, a priest with divine power, and a wizard with elemental power can protect themselves from the devilish power.
And…… If you are looking for more, it’ll just be children.”

“Ah…… like that.
Exactly what will happen if you are possessed by the devilish power?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? Possessing is a gentle way of expressing it, and everyone rushes in wanting to have a physical relationship with His Excellency.
When that’s the case, they’re trying to kill or assault His Excellency.
It’s a miracle that he’s still alive and sane despite such a past.
Who said he wasn’t a monster.”

Jessna was excited and said everything she knew.
Thanks to this, Lena was able to know about most of Kahel’s devilish power.
Really, it’s really unusual for her to be fine even though she’s next to Kahel.