The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Good and Evil

“Why did they want to do that childish thing…… Ha, that’s right.”

Kahel threw out the trial print of , shedding something that was unknown whether it was a ridicule or a sigh.

“Recently, a ‘newsletter’ is emerging in the common people’s society.
People who like rumors make and sell newsletters similar to the newspapers seen by nobles, and they write down rumors that are not even true as if they were true, and sell them for 50 luans a copy.”

“If it’s 50 luans, it wouldn’t be a very cheap price for commoners.”

“Sure.
But even with that price, do you know what news the commoners want to know? That’s all about His Excellency, Duke Kahel Luave.
A devil of temptation, a murderer without blood or tears, they gave it a very provocative title.
Thanks to this, the image of the Duchy of Luave in commoners’ society is already a devil.
But now even the scriptures are trying to associate the Luave with devils.”

“Maybe there are nobles who support the publication of that newsletter.
Isn’t it?”

“Of course not! Surely, the Santella’s money would have flowed in.
Hmph! An angel, what an angel! From what they do, they are very cunning like a snake.”

Contrary to the chilling Kahel, Gerard was agitated as if he had been insulted.
After all, the attack on the Duchy of Luave, the head of the black faction nobles, was also a threat to the black faction nobles as a whole.

Of course, most of the politics were quarrels and trades between the nobility, but no matter how noble they were, they were human beings with eyes, ears, and mouths.
Rumors that spread among the common people will soon flow among the nobles, and even if the rumors are not true, prejudice will arise.

To be honest, he thought that the Santella family, which has been building up the image of an angel for a long time, is really amazing.
He may have been a little careless about that glamorous and vain appearance.
If they’ve been competing with the Luaves since the beginning, it’s clear that they are not an easy enemy.

“But the Logos publishing business is the exclusive business of the Santella family.
Just because we protest, there’s no way they’re going to say, ‘Yeah, we got it.’ They would not have secretly done the scripture revision work until the trial printing was finished.”

“The trouble is that the temple has already crossed to the Santella.
Haha, white jade is the most commonly used to build the inside of the temple and statues, so they wouldn’t try to go against the largest producer of white jade.
Other than that, seeing that Santella has invested quite a bit in the temple business, it can only be seen that the Santella family have been preparing for such a day.”

“I guess so.
But what Santella is aiming for is not to our advantage.
There’s no way they’re going to make such a fuss just to get more of the industry share in the Logos.”

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Kahel recalled the recent rumors of the ‘Princess Santella and the 1st Prince Marriage’ that had been leaking out.
It was an insistence that Liddell married the first prince and made Liddell the Queen.
But he was skeptical that she would be satisfied with her role as a tool to succeed the Ardenia dynasty when he thought of Liddell, who usually smiled in front of the Queen and cleverly undermined the Queen’s prestige behind her.
Perhaps Gerard thought the same, he shook his head with an absurd expression.

 

“As long as there are the Duchy of Luave and the black faction nobles, that won’t go their way.
In any case, the scripture business is out of our control, so we’ll have to stop their work in a different direction.
First of all, I brought it because I think Lord Kahel should know.
The urgent thing right now is the development of a new product that combines lylok and bloodstone, so please focus on that.
I will find a way to deal with this.”

It was a very reassuring statement, but Kahel was not the type of person to hand over the issue of attempting to undermine the Luave family with a smile.
But he didn’t need to be impatient with Gerard, so he decided to keep his mouth shut for now, and he changed the subject.

“How is the royal family’s movement?”

“The Queen is very interested in the work of Marquis Rognac.
Although he did not express it publicly until now, a person called ‘Madame Louise’ is in frequent contact with Marquis Rognac.”

“Madame Louise? Isn’t Louise the name of Her Majesty’s pet?”

“Yes.
That pet is a kind of white dove, which is often used as a messenger bird, isn’t it?”

Kahel and Gerard laughed at the same time.

“I’m glad they like it.
The business of Marquis Rognac must be successful.
Maybe Luahalla can help with the ‘image fight’.
Our main business is mining, manufacturing, and real physical trade, but his business is in the arts and culture.
So I think he can purify our image a lot.
It seems humans are swayed by things like that.”

“It is so.
Marquis Rognac also has a wide connection in the social world.”

“So take care of his escort.
Right now, the Crown Prince of Hildebrunn is docile, but if Luahalla does well, he won’t be complacent considering his personality.
Santella’s side could incite his jealousy.”

“Understood.
We will make sure there is no disruption to the escort.”

Gerard returned to a much more stable state than when he opened the door, but Kahel’s head was still throbbing.

He was really sick of humans being swayed by looks.
It was foolish to think of a simple dichotomy with the vague words of angels and devils, good and evil.
Where is the perfect good and evil in the world? As a human being, they have no choice but to live in a mixture of good and evil.

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Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

 

At the sound of a neat knock that cut off his complicated thoughts, Kahel barely suppressed the voice that was about to come out in a welcoming way, and gently said to come in.

“Huh? Has Count Langtail left already?”

Lena, who had prepared the tea for the guests, showed disappointment at the already empty seat.

“You’ve been preparing it, so let’s drink it together.”

Lena no longer refused to say no to Kahel, who offered an unreasonable seat together as a courtesy.
She refused several times, but the answer from him was the same. “My orders are top priority in this mansion.”

Lena went to the tea table by the window where Kahel was sitting, set the teacup, took the teapot that had been covered with a warmer, and poured tea into the teacup.
A sweet scent spreads in the orange colored water.
But Kahel didn’t raise his glass until Lena sat across from him.
At the end of the silent, pressure-filled eyes, Lena stuck her slumped hips to the other end of the table.

The two drank tea without a word.
The tea the duke drank was different from the tea provided to the employees.
The subtle tea scent, like the scent of fruit, like the scent of flowers, or like the scent of exotic spices, was also very attractive, and it was good to leave a pleasant sweetness through the throat.

Kahel looked at Lena savoring the tea and decided to put his curiosity on his lips.

“I have a question…….”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“Before I ask, this is just my curiosity, so you don’t have to tell me if it’s a memory you don’t want to recall.”

“I am grateful.
What are you curious about?”

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Kahel’s gaze turned to Lena’s bright clear purple eyes again.
He was a little worried about what would happen if his question caused pain in those clear eyes.
But he was curious about what he was curious about.

“Before, did you say that you were going to marry Viscount Delroins?”

“Yes.
The day I was brought here was three days before the wedding.”

A cold sweat sprung up on Kahel’s back, thinking that it was really close.

“It must have been difficult.
It’s a forced marriage.”

“Actually…… I tried to run away once, but I was caught right away…….”

“No, did they hurt you?”

“The wedding was just around the corner, so they didn’t hit me horribly, but instead I was mostly locked up in a room.”

Lena smiled softly as she recalled that time.
She thought the world was over when the Duchy’s knights came, but she found out that she had been saved from hell.

“I don’t think it would have been very pleasant to be locked up in a room and have to get married.”

“Yes…… Sid helped me when I tried to run away, and if I didn’t get married, Sid would be severely beaten, which made it even more terrifying.”

At those words, Kahel touched his lips and let the saliva flow.
Then, he asked what he was most curious about.

“Perhaps…… thinking of a husband, so…… Is there such a thing as your ideal type?”

“Yes? Well, so suddenly…… Why are you…….”

Lena’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Kahel looked at her, the lovely figure, and he swallowed a gulp for nothing.

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“Your dream…….
You wanted to make a family.
Usually, the wedding of a close maid is arranged by the wife of the master, and I am the master, so I thought it would be good to know.”

It wasn’t bad for an excuse, but Kahel couldn’t even control his expression.
He obviously thinks he should find Lena a good match, but he doesn’t know why he’s in such a bad mood.
However, he was very curious about Lena’s ideal type.

“Uh…… I am not in a position to choose anyone, but if I had to choose one, it would be nice to have a friendly person.”

At the answer Lena gave after much deliberation, Kahel thought of Sid without realizing it.

“Sid…… Is Sid a friendly person……?”

But Lena didn’t understand why Kahel suddenly brought up Sid’s name.

“Sid? Yes.
Sid is a friendly person.
Well, a bit blunt to others, though.”

In response, Kahel’s brow furrowed slightly.
Sid certainly seemed to have a heart for Lena.
Usually men are infinitely affectionate only to their women.

But that fact made Kahel feel very bad.
Even though Kahel knew he was being childish, but for nothing, he blamed Sid.

“Doesn’t Sid look a little…… weak?”

“The reason Sid was thin is because we didn’t eat well when we were young.
And Sid gave me a lot of food, too.
But Sid was also working in the stable, handling the best horses in Kerouac.”

Kahel’s mood worsened when Lena stood up for Sid.

“And didn’t look very attractive either.”

However, Lena defended Sid even more when Kahel’s comments about Sid being ‘not attractive’ as a woman.

“Sid will look much better off if cleaned, washed and given nice clothes! How pretty those green eyes are.
And I think the heart is more important than the appearance.
Of course, it would be great if a nice and kind person had a beautiful appearance, but if only the outer shell is beautiful and the inside is gloomy, it is even worse.”

Kahel’s mood fell completely to the ground.