Translator: void
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My heart was beating wildly. I might die out of shame if he caught me like this.
Even if it’s a little weird, can I use the ladder disease as an excuse?
When my reasoning came back, I felt so stupid that I wanted to cry.
Too much. Duke Kyron, you’re too much for me…
Just when I was about to cry, I heard him come out of the bath. Duke Kyron ignored me as he trudged along. And it seemed like he was naked…? Perhaps it was due to God’s blessings that he passed by me when I closed my eyes for a moment to rub the tears out of my eyes.
No, am I this perverted…?
Anyway, while I was in a momentary panic as I kept my eyes staring straight at the wall he quickly dressed himself up before sitting down on the chair.
“Arielsa.”
“…Yes! Yes, Duke!”
I ran quickly as I covered his head with a towel. I remembered that he was very tired so I pressed his scalp with my fingertips more carefully. I massaged his head while I dried his hair. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.
However, it did not help me to calm down when I looked down and saw Duke Kyron’s face with his eyes closed. When I felt that his hair was relatively dry, I gulped down my overflowing saliva before speaking to the Duke.
“I think it’s done, Duke.”
His eyes opened silently as he went straight to the bed. He was so tired that he plopped down on the bed unceremoniously.
I quietly went out of his room while closing the door gently. It was time for me to go back to my room and scold my uncooperative heart under the covers.
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Once I came back to my unfamiliar room, I strangely felt more relaxed. In the end, a grin and a chuckle couldn’t help but escape from my mouth. I could see a lustful spirit flying out of my window.
I did not like this inn because of the storm that it caused in my heart but it seemed like I really like my life right now.
I was glad that Duke Kyron returned unharmed and it was already good enough for me if he received the things that I gave him.
To be honest, I think he has no hesitation when he entrusts himself to me…
He was a very difficult and scary person and I used to have this guilty pleasure since I felt like I was someone exceptional and special to him. At some point, I felt like I somehow entered the male lead’s heart so I was enjoying every day that I spent with him.
I will spend another day with Duke Kyron tomorrow too.
It definitely occurred to me that it was much better that I possessed his maid instead of the heroine of this story.
“Ah…”
He had to meet the daughter of a marquis that was well-known as the Southern Rose one day. That was how it was in the original work, but…
But, can’t it be me?
I jumped out of bed in shock when such a thought crossed my mind.
“I, I must be crazy!”
I placed my hand on my chest that was caging my wildly beating heart. I definitely only had this crazy idea because of today’s excessive visual stimuli. No, it was because there was a tactile stimulus today! Yes, that was why!
I was horrified at the thought that I would be destroying < The Snowing Desert >. The reason why I liked Duke Kyron was because he fell in love with her and loved her passionately…
Perhaps I should avoid helping him bathe in the future even if I had to make an excuse. In other words, I should definitely not let go of my senses so I would not come up with ridiculous ideas.
“Die, you lustful spirit!”
I waved my fist angrily in the air before putting my quilt back on.
I wasn’t sure if it was because my heart was too much or Duke Kyron’s fatigue had been passed on to me, but I quickly fell asleep.
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Duke Kyron appeared the next morning with a clean and refreshed face. And I also served him his breakfast perfectly.
If you were wondering how I knew that I served the meal perfectly… It was because no one complained to me. It was quite an extraordinary experience since the knights that were living in Harpel Castle with me were all ready to make fun of me.
The East Administrator, Hallisa, spoke to Duke Kyron.
“You’ve travelled a long way yesterday. Why don’t you take a rest today, Duke?”
That was what I thought so too. He said that he was tired yesterday so I think that he should go and get some rest today. So I nodded my head along in agreement as I looked at the East Administrator. However, Duke Kyron shook his head.
“I’m going to look at the village’s construction site today. It won’t take long so I think it’ll be an appropriate schedule for today.”
“Then I will arrange it for you.”
The administrator nodded his head slightly as he continued to eat.
Whatever could I do with this responsible and cold northern man who did not know how to take a rest? He even had the sense to adjust his schedule appropriately just so he could save the face of the administrator who was worried about him.
“Arielsa, are you alright? A bug will come in your mouth if you’re like that.”
When I heard the words of a passing servant, I quickly went back to eating, turning a blind eye to their actions. Since the construction site for the new village was not that far, I sneaked and followed behind their group without asking for Chaers permission.
Administrator Hallisa was explaining this and that to Duke Kyron. Duke Kyron listened carefully and he even asked questions from time to time. Then, the administrator spoke with concern.
“We’re doing things as you ordered, but it’s costing us a lot of money.”
Chaers roughly cut in and interfered with their conversation.
“The Duke has given us more money.”
I wondered if this was the reason why Duke Kyron was extremely busy before we departed here. Perhaps he was reviewing the sudden increase in budget for the disaster recovery.
When I read the original, I thought that the Duke only needed to be good at swordsmanship but it seemed like the real Duke was a very talented multiplayer.
‘I have no choice but to feed him well.’
I clenched my fist tightly as I confirmed my determination in my heart.
Then, the administrator replied loudly with a troubled voice.
“It’s spring so the price of the wood has gone up a lot but because the roads that lead here were also lost to the landslide, it has blocked the way for merchants to come here. So when they came back from afar…”
“Chaers.”
I felt nervous for a moment when Duke Kyron called Chaers with his deep and sullen voice.
“Yes, Duke.”
“Are the demonic beasts in the barrier silent?”
“Cough…”
Chaers made a sound that was uncharacteristic to him. I let out a tiny gasp but no one heard me since it was just a small sound. However, the administrator was left with his mouth wide open.
I was able to guess the situation quickly.
Duke Kyron meant that since the restoration of the village would cost more than he thought then he would have to go and kill demonic beasts so he could sell their mana stones to replenish the money that would be spent.
Chaers couldn’t help but reply with a face that looked like he was fed up and done with everything.
“It’s quiet but…”
“That’s going to be quite the problem.”
Heok.
That was the moment when I confirmed that Duke Kyron was a bit of a madman himself. This was the reason why rumors of his bad personality would not disappear even with his perfect visuals.
Deep inside I was screaming Aigoo but somehow, my lips were curled up in a grin.
Duke Kyron left his dismayed retainers alone as he went inside a house that was still under construction. Only the walls of the house were built.
There were no scenes in Arielsa’s memory where she saw the demonic beasts so I was wondering how Chaers could look so fed up at the mention of them.
After looking inside, Duke Kyron came out of the house. He took off his hand from his hold on the wall. Seeing him frown a bit, it looked like his finger was pricked by a thorn or something.
“Are you alright, Duke?”
He nodded slightly when the administrator asked him. Then, Duke Kyron looked at the timbers piled as high as a house on one side of the construction site. My face couldn’t help but turn stiff.
“Administrator, are these the wood that you have bought this time?”
When Duke Kyron asked him sharply, the administrator answered him with a bit of trepidation.
“That’s right, Duke. That’s how much we have left.”
“The price went up a lot?”
“Yes…”
The administrators answered in a fright. From what I can hear, Duke Kyron’s voice was clearly sounding a bit ferocious. Feeling the signs of a mad Duke, Chaers reflexively rested his hands on the hilt of his sword that was hanging on his waist.
The administrator called out to him with a bit of fear.
“Du… ke?”
However, Duke Kyron did not reply to him as he went closer to the pile of wood. He looked closely at the sides and the back. Chaers followed him and returned with a gruesome expression on his face.
“The wood in front is obviously new but the lumber inside are covered with moss. This means that it has been stacked here for at least a year. Administrator Hallisa.”
I was shocked.
If the moss was enough to cover the wood, then, it must have been logged years ago and left unattended. It would clearly be embezzlement if he deceived them by telling them that the price of wood had risen and that they were paying a high price using the Duke’s budget. Furthermore, they had no excuse. Their intention was clear to the Duke when they covered it with new wood just so he would ignore it and pass by it.
“Duke! It’s not that…!”
“Don’t you have something to explain? Administrator Hallisa.”
Both Duke Kyron’s eyes and voice were colder than the frozen rocks nearby when he came back. The administrator stuttered and repeatedly spoke ‘Duke’ as he was caught by the knights in both arms.
Chaers then looked at the village chief with his eyes filled with vigor.
“Did the chief know about this?”
“That, that…!”
It was impossible to stack those piles of wood without mobilizing the people from the village. The chief must have been an accomplice.
Chaers followed suit as the knights dragged the administrator and the chief along.
“Pardon me, but you’ll have to confess everything. Administrator.”
Embezzlement during a disaster… It seemed like he had a bad feeling earlier so he asked the Duke to take a break today. I looked angrily at Chaer’s group that was moving away.
Sir Tyra, who was standing by the Duke’s side, also looked in the same direction that I was looking at with a frown on his face. When he turned, his eyes met with mine.
When I quickly stepped out of their sight, Duke Kyron spoke coldly.
“Let’s go back.”
Their party headed back to the inn. I returned faster while half walking and half running.
I have to make tea! Winter strawberry tea that has soothing effects!
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The original book described Chaers as someone with an inhuman cool-headedness. However, I thought that it was just a character set-up.
But when Chaers appeared shortly after Duke Kyron returned to the inn, I thought that I should never rebel against this man ever again.
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