The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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The man behind the window

Sid clasped her hand and looked at Lena’s face.

“By the way…… Do you have anything else?”

“Uh?”

“It’s just between us.
Do you have any other concerns?”

It was as expected of Sid.
Growing up like a real sister, she got everything just by looking at Lena’s expression.
Lena was both curious and grateful for such a Sid.
Actually, she had one more problem that was too big for her to think about on her own.

Lena looked around again.
It was late in the evening, so it seemed that all the employees had gone to eat.
Only after confirming that no one was there, Lena put her hand to Sid’s ear and whispered.

“Sid…… I met a man who called himself my father.”

“What? Father, what are you talking about? Baron Fidelia is dead.”

“Baron Fidelia is not my father.
My biological father is the Viscount of the Capital.
It’s hard to believe, too, but he also had a locket with a portrait of my mother and a letter she wrote.
I also have a maternal grandmother.”

With the locket he showed her, the letter was really her mother’s handwriting.
The name ‘Helena’ caught her attention, but she, too, has only heard her mother’s real name once, so she may have misremembered it.

“Really? …… Because you don’t even look like Baron Fidelia at all.
I knew it.”

“This is a secret.
You must never say it.”

“Why? Do I need to keep it a secret?”

“I’m not quite sure yet…… Actually, my father is a white faction noble.
It’s not something His Excellency would like very much.”

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“Oh, I see…… Viscount, what is his name?”

“Albert Ruban.
I don’t think he’s very influential on the white faction side either.”

Sid was already contemplating the name Lena Ruban.
It didn’t seem like a very suitable combination, but she was proud of the fact that a child like her younger sister was a Viscount’s Lady.

“Isn’t that a good thing anyway?”

“Well…… Is he really my father?”

“You were suspicious because you have suffered so much.
It’s time for you to get everything back.
Meet your father and your maternal grandmother, get officially registered there, and date a wonderful knight! So don’t think too badly about it.”

“Thank you, Sid.
I’ll make sure to introduce Sid later when I’m sure.”

“Tomorrow, I will introduce you to a really good person.”

Lena smiled and hugged Sid tightly.
The way Sid cared for her, was warm and cozy as always, so the feeling of standing in front of a chilling wind until now was much lessened.
In her head, she was thinking about how to say no to the person she will meet tomorrow.

The next day, Lena regretted, saying, ‘I shouldn’t have promised it.’ But while hesitating, time passed and it was 3:00 PM.
She didn’t have to attend Kahel’s tea anyway, so she had nothing to do.
Lena took a deep breath and headed to where she had met Sid yesterday.

A strong, handsome young knight was already there.
His hair gleamed with gold in the afternoon sun.

“Miss Lena.”

“Oh, hel…… lo?”

“It is such an honor to meet you, Lady.
My name is Irik Clint, of the 1st Order of Duchy Luave.”

He was a handsome and well-mannered young man, as Sid said she would ‘select the best’.
Even Viscounty Clint was one of the most prestigious families who produced many talented knights.
He had fine blonde hair and blue eyes, and, unlike his pretty appearance, his body full of solid muscles was attractive.
But Lena was unwittingly comparing him to Kahel.

‘I think black hair is better than blonde hair.
Besides, His Excellency’s red eyes are famous for being beautiful.
His height seems to be a bit taller, and his physique is…….’

Lena’s cheeks turned red as she inadvertently recalled Kahel’s naked upper body.
The man named Irik laughed when he thought that it was her shyness towards him.

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“Sid said that Miss Lena is very shy.
You never met a man before…….”

“Ah yes…… a little…… awkward.”

“Don’t worry.
Because I have a lot of patience.
I want to get to know Miss Lena little by little.”

“Ah…… Hahaha…….”

For some reason, each and every word Irik said was embarrassing and uncomfortable.

But Lena wouldn’t have been as uncomfortable as Kahel, who was hiding behind a window on the second floor and looking down.

‘Lena…… meeting a man…… ?’

Kahel, who had been avoiding Lena all day, secretly followed her and caught eye on Lena’s back, witnessed the scene where Lena met the knight of the Duchy.
The knight standing opposite Lena was also familiar with Kahel.
Irik Clint, an excellent knight of the 1st Order, was a popular man in social circles.
Did Gerard say that in the ‘Blond Handsome’ tournament, he always finished in the top 5?

He smiled kindly at Lena, who was shy and withdrawn, and handed a bouquet of flowers that he had hidden behind his back.

“I prepared this because I thought it would go well with Miss Lena because the spring flowers are bright, but the flowers also lose their luster next to Miss Lena.”

“Yes? Oh, how, how can it be…….”

“It really is.
There is no other color in the world more beautiful than your eyes’.”

“Thank you…….”

Irik skillfully praised Lena, and Lena was helpless and continued to thank him.
And Kahel’s inside was boiling with anger he couldn’t explain in words.

‘It’s a common word.
You must have seduced ladies with such words.’

Up until now, he was a knight that Kahel had no feelings of like or dislike, but suddenly it turned violently toward ‘dislike’.
Unable to know Kahel’s insides, Irik carefully raised his hand and gently stroked Lena’s cheek.
Lena shrugged her shoulders, startled, but he laughed naturally and made excuses for touching her hair.

“Your hair hangs over your cheek.
I think it will tickle if I leave it alone…….”

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At that moment, a strange noise was heard from somewhere.

“Just now…… I think I heard something breaking…….”

“Is that so? I couldn’t hear anything because I was concentrating on Miss Lena.”

“Ahha, haha.
I see…….”

But Lena had a feeling that she strangely had Kahel near her.
She can’t explain why, but somehow it was.
She scoured the perimeter if Kahel was nearby and she had to have an ‘accident’ in which she ran into Kahel.
She hadn’t seen him for a few days, and she was so upset that she felt like going crazy.

“Well, I’m going inside for today.”

“Already? It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since we met.”

“It’s only that way…… No, I mean……I was only saying hello for today…….”

When Lena seemed troubled as she wiggled her hand holding the bouquet, Irik sighed slightly with a smile, took Lena’s hand and kissed the back of her hand lightly.
There was also a loud, cracking sound from somewhere, but it seemed that Irik couldn’t hear it at all.

“My Lady seems to be still unfamiliar with everything, so I’ll leave you for today.
But next time we meet, I would like to ask you for a cup of tea.”

“Yes…… I’m sorry.”

“No.
At first, everything is difficult and awkward.
In that case, you should not overdo it.
As you slowly get used to it, one day you will suddenly realize it; Miss Lena also likes me.”

“Yes? Oh that…….”

“I’m not forcing you right now.
As I said before, I am very patient.”

He kissed Lena’s hand once more, bowed politely, and stepped back.
She nodded goodbye several times until he disappeared, and when he was gone, Lena slumped down on the stone steps, exhaling the breath she had been holding back.

‘I should have refused.’

It was so uncomfortable.
She didn’t quite understand why Irik wanted to be introduced to her.
They’ve never shared a word before.
The bouquet in her hand was burdensome, and the thought of having a cup of tea next time was even more burdensome.

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‘Is this really how I can escape from the devilish power?’

Sid said that she could fall in love with another one, but it didn’t seem like she could ever fall in love with that blonde knight.
She just wanted to pour tea by Kahel’s side.
Then she will feel really at ease.

‘Anyway, it’s His Excellency’s tea time right now…… Is His Excellency making tea himself?’

It was hard to imagine the appearance of Kahel making tea.
He seemed accustomed to being served by someone from birth.
All he needs to do is lift the teacup lightly with his long, straight fingers.

‘Somehow, I think His Excellency is around here…… Shall I look around a bit as I go up? if not…… Well, can’t I just go to His Excellency’s office and tell him that I’ll leave the tea?’

Irik had disappeared from Lena’s mind.
Lena looked up at the side of Kahel’s room and stood up, brushing her skirt.
When she finally met another man, she wanted to see Kahel even more and she couldn’t stand it anymore.

‘Let’s pretend we’re crazy.
He won’t throw me out right?’

She was scolded very heavily last time, so it looked like he’d let out a sigh this time, too.
Lena, hoping for him to do so, hurriedly headed towards Kahel’s office.

* * *

Kahel watched as Lena moved away, capturing his magical energy that spurted out of his body, and exhaled a trembling breath with anger.
There was no old furniture left in the room where he was hiding.
Every time that damn bastard Irik touched Lena, he couldn’t stand it unless he broke something.
No, he broke it all down, but it didn’t cool him down.

Looking at it rationally, neither Irik nor Lena did anything wrong.
Because it was a natural opportunity for a young man and woman to meet each other and fall in love.
Besides, from an objective point of view, Irik was a very good man.

The problem was that Kahel had no desire to rationally weigh the situation.

Kahel broke through the wood dust from the shattered furniture and made his way to his room.
He didn’t want to go into detail about his devilish power anymore.
He has always been patient with Lena.
Because of his power, because of Lena’s incomprehensible constitution, he fears that Lena will be scared, and if Lena is the Queen’s blood…….

But he couldn’t stand it any longer.
As soon as he got back to his room, he planned to call Lena over to serve his tea and have dinner together.
He was going to keep her by his side all day long, taking care of his clothes and making the bed, as well as taking a bath, making sure that she didn’t see anyone, whether it was Irik or anyone else.

‘I can’t stand it any longer.’

What did he gain by persevering hard? If he keeps going like this, he’ll just watch Lena become another man’s wife.
Just like his father said, she will be gone forever!

If Lena was scared of him, he was ready to do anything to reassure her.
There may be a way to have a priest who heals those possessed by the devilish power reside in the mansion altogether.
It’s going to cost a lot of money, but it didn’t matter as the money would grow back when he woke up.
It seemed like it would be okay to offer Sid and Theo’s accommodation to a better place.
If it was Lena, she would never refuse.

However, when he opened the door to his office with such a thought, the image he had hoped for was already spread out there.