The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Is it love?

“What happened?”

Ragdrill, with a pale face, asked the chief attendant.

“An urgent letter was sent calling for His Highness Luahalla.
He will be coming to Hildebrunn soon.”

“Hmmhmm…… damned boy…… It was obviously Luahalla who leaked that attack plan.
Look at the nobles rise up as if they were waiting.
I will pluck the disturbing buds at this opportunity.”

The chief attendant frowned at him further, and then withdrew, and Ragdrill filled a tin cup with wine and grinded his teeth.

Not long ago, a letter from Liddell had fueled his anger.

-You know our plan was leaked, right? Thanks to that, it was quite difficult for us as well.
I was even interrogated by Her Majesty the Queen herself, so it’s not an ordinary matter.
This is obviously the work of Marquis Rognac.
He must have put people in the palace and watched His Highness’ every move.
If you leave it like this, nothing can be done in the future.

Invite Marquis Rognac to Hildebrunn for reasons he can’t refuse.
As soon as he crosses the border of Logos and into Hildebrunn’s, the monster will attack him.
This time Duke Luave will not be able to be with him, so Marquis Rognac will surely die.
I await Your Highness’ decision.

Ragdrill, who lost his temper due to impatience and inferiority complex, believed Liddell’s letter like a rock.
In particular, it was said that Duke Santella was also in a very awkward situation due to the failure of this event, so he could feel the kinship between the two.

‘Yes, it’s just that I haven’t been able to make a decision because my heart has been caught so far.
This is what I have to do.’

Although Luahalla was quite a useful talent, it was not enough to give up the position of Crown Prince.
In the current situation, there might have been voices calling out to make Luahalla the Crown Prince.

‘Anyway, once the border is crossed, even Duke Luave cannot be reckless.
If only Luahalla dies, the nobles will have no choice but to accept me as Crown Prince.’

Ragdrill waited for the right time with a gloomy smile.

* * *

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At the same time, Kahel was startled by the strange news Arder had brought.

“Lena’s……father…… ?”

“Yes, it is.
He’s the one who asked to meet with Miss Lena several times, but this time I got a call asking to help put Miss Lena in his family register.
Previously, I ignored him because I thought he was just chasing after her, but seeing that he claims to be the father of Miss Lena and even sent evidence, it seems that he is serious.”

Kahel looked carefully at the materials Arder had given him.
Viscount Albert Ruban.
He was the man whom Count Castello, a white faction noble, had as his servant.
He married quite late for a noble, and in his early fifties, he had an heir who was only nine years old, and it seems that he had also lost his wife early.

He had a lover whom he promised to marry when he was young, but it is said that opposition from his family was severe because of the fall of the lover’s family.
However, he tried to force the marriage, and his predecessor, who could not stop him, pressured his lover to leave.

A woman pregnant with his child leaves Ardennes for the future of Viscount Ruban, who has searched for her for more than a decade, which is said to be the reason his marriage was delayed.

And he found Lena at the last Luave tea party, and he was confused because she resembled his lover so much, and when he followed Lena’s traces, it was said that they matched those of his lover.

“It’s crazy.”

It was crazy.
But it was also a plausible story.

The person whom Viscount Ruban mentioned was his lover was Helena, the daughter of Baron Arzew, who had fallen 20 years ago.
He attached a copy of the noble almanac, stamped with the seal of the royal librarian, as well as a portrait of her childhood, which Helena’s mother had.

“It sounds desperate, but this is just evidence that you can create easily enough.”

“Yes.
But Viscount Ruban only wants you to help Miss Lena to be recognized as his daughter.”

Kahel was also a little confused about that part.

Viscount Ruban didn’t mean to ask for Lena to be returned.
It is rather an honor for him to have Lena working as Kahel’s close maid, and he just wanted his daughter, who inherited his own blood, to be recognized as an official Viscounty, not as a Baronet.

Even so, Kahel was quite shaken by the evidence that Viscount Ruban had presented, thinking that he was looking for the daughter of a family that had collapsed about 20 years ago.

“For now…… Investigate Viscount Ruban and the Arzew family.”

“Understood.”

Even after Arder politely answered and backed away, Kahel looked down at the papers in his hand.

He was thinking that Lena wasn’t the daughter of Baron Fidelia, but it was a bit out of the blue.
Of course, even if Viscount Ruban was actually Lena’s father, it wouldn’t change anything from what it is now.
The Viscount isn’t trying to take Lena away from him, and it’s easy to deal with a Viscount whose name is not well known.

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But he wasn’t quite sure where it was.
He didn’t know where that feeling was coming from.

‘It’s something I don’t know yet.’

Kahel tried to be indifferent, but kept the papers from Viscount Ruban at the top of the urgent agenda pile.

* * *

Luahalla’s departure from Logos was only a week after Astold’s sudden letter.
Before leaving Logos, he distributed his work to his agents and sent letters to several places.

He especially wanted to hold a dress contest before the end of the year, so he was in a hurry to send a letter to clothing makers in other countries as well.
It was an unpredictable schedule.

“Have a safe trip.”

“I can’t say for sure if I’ll be able to come back.
But I have agents here anyway, so even if I die, the business will not be disrupted.”

Luahalla’s attitude was relaxed while saying, “I may not be able to come back” to Kahel’s greeting.
It was because he had been preparing for his return to Hildebrun from the time he heard from Kahel that Ragdrill was about to attack the Sage’s village.

“Sir Luahallla.
Don’t worry too much, but don’t let your guard down.
Ragdrill must be determined.”

“I will.
What is the status of the Santella family?”

“It is quiet on the outside.
But the silence at Hildebrunn is proof that they are up to something.”

“The back of my neck is cold.”

“I don’t think it’s something you should say with a smile like that.”

But that was how Luahalla felt.
He was nervous about risking his life, but when he thought about what he will get after overcoming this hurdle, a smile bloomed.

“Next time I see you, I will appear as Sir Kahel’s strong ally.”

“I look forward to it.”

After a few more secret talks, they parted.

It was another week later that the news that Marquis Luahalla Rognac had been attacked by monsters while returning home.
The news that the Sage’s village was attacked by monsters did not spread widely, but this news spread quickly because it was near the border of Logos.

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It was through his father, Damien, that Kahel, who had been busy with other affairs, learned about this in detail.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m still good enough, Kahel.”

“As a courtesy, I asked.”

The two of them smiled at each other and took the tea cups leisurely.

“As you said, the monsters came out shortly after crossing the border.
However, knowing that you were in Ardennes, the number of monsters summoned were few.
About ten ogres?”

“No one knows yet that Mother’s condition has improved, so they wouldn’t have thought Father will be out of Terra Luave.”

Damien nodded his head.
He had disguised his identity at Kahel’s request and brought Luahalla to Hildebrunn.
Until now, it was worthwhile to create an adage that said, ‘Damien Luave does not leave Evelyn Luave’s side unless it is a special event.’

“How is Mother?”

“She is getting better.
Maybe we will all be able to live together in Ardennes sooner or later.”

“Good news.”

It was really good news.
The mansion was too big for Kahel to live alone.
Kahel smiled softly, imagining his family eating together.

Damien, who looked at him happily, asked while fiddling with the handle of his teacup.

“By the way…… I can’t see the maid from the other day.”

At those words, Kahel’s smile quickly hardened.

“What’s going on?”

Damien waited patiently for Kahel, who looked down at the teacup without saying a word.
After arriving at the mansion, he had guessed that Kahel’s energy had been low the whole time, as he had been with him for several hours and the cute maid was nowhere to be seen.
Obviously something happened.

“It just happened.”

“Can you tell me more?”

“Before leaving for the Sage’s village …… One of the servants was possessed by my devilish power and went crazy.
That…… Lena saw it right next to me.”

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Damien let out a low sigh.

“Lena, she knew about my devilish powers from Terra Luave.
She tried to pretend she didn’t know.
But seeing a human possessed by the devilish powers in front of her would have been a completely different matter.
She was very pale.”

“Of course, she would be surprised.”

“Even after that, Lena tried to pretend she was okay.
But I know what she’s afraid of, and I can’t have her around.”

Damien was stroking his face with a confused mind, then suddenly stopped and asked Kahel,

“She is a maid after all? What’s the matter with saying that the child is a little bit scared? You say that the child doesn’t respond to your devilish powers anyway?”

“I don’t want her to tremble in fear next to me.”

“Why? After all, who in this mansion is not afraid of you? But you never reduced their work, did you?”

Kahel hesitated and managed to answer.

“Still, she’s the only maid who won’t react to my devilish powers …… I was afraid she would run away forever…….”

“Is it a big deal to find a maid? Don’t worry.
If she runs away, I will search the entire Logos and catch her.”

“Lena is not a prey, Father.”

“Who says what? However, the position of the close maid cannot be said to be an ordinary noble.
Half of it belongs to you, right?”

“But if that happens, Lena will be hurt.
I don’t want her to.”

“Is it love?”

“Yeah…… N, no! It’s not like that…….”

Seeing Kahel bewildered, Damien smiled brightly.

“If you love her, it’s better to tell her the truth, even a little bit, than to avoid her because you’re afraid of being hated.
Before she goes away forever.”

Kahel was embarrassed, wiping his blushing face and keeping silent.
However, when he heard Damien’s words, ‘Before she goes away forever,’ he remembered Viscount Ruban’s letter still kept in his drawer, and his anxiety soared.