The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

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Beautiful Monster

It was then.

Kuang!

She felt a powerful magical energy exploding behind her back.
This was a level that she could not get even if she traded her life.

“Mother!”

The voice, which she was so happy with but didn’t want to hear right now, called her.

“Da, Dashar!”

As she lifted her head, Dashar, with tears in his eyes, was looking at her tattered left arm.

“Run, run away, Dashar!”

“Huuuhk, I’m going to kill them all!”

He was a child who had never experienced a bloody battle in his life.
Although he was a child with great magic, he could not win this battle on his own.
Hersh grabbed Dashar’s wrist with a trembling spirit, but it wasn’t Hersh who spoke afterwards.

“If healing magic is possible, it would be better to fix your mother’s arm first.”

It was a low, elegant yet relaxed voice that did not suit this situation at all.
A man dressed in black was standing in front of Hersh, who turned her head around.
The red eyes that could be seen through the black hair shone dazzlingly.

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“Duke Luave…… ?”

“It’s a little late.
I’ll say my greetings later.
Dashar.
Send all the villagers away.”

Kahel left the words behind and moved his steps in the direction the monsters were approaching.
When Hersh looked around her, the wolf-type monster that had rushed at her earlier was nowhere to be found, instead, unidentified chunks of meat torn like rags and rolled on the floor.

“How…….”

While Dashar cast a spell to heal his mother’s arm, Hersh simply marveled at Kahel’s formidable magic.
All six or seven wolf-type monsters nearby had been exploded due to the explosion Kahel had caused earlier.

“Mother! You must escape first.
Please help me with one of Grandfather Alcan’s shoulders.”

Dashar clasped Alcantura’s other shoulder and shouted to his mother.
At that time, Hersh also came to her senses and supported Alcantura, moving in the direction in which the villagers had retreated.

The villagers who couldn’t get to the entrance of the cave, faltered as they looked at the back of the savior who suddenly appeared.

“Mister Karazhan! I’ll leave Grandfather Alcan and my mother with you!”

Karazhan, who was suddenly awakened, ran and supported the side Dashar was supporting, and Hersh panicked and called for Dashar,

“What are you doing, Dashar!”

“Because we cannot completely entrust the battle of our village to others.
Everyone, don’t come near us.
For Duke Luave to use his magic properly, it is better for him to have no one around.”

“You!”

“Don’t worry about me, Mother.
Then, I will go.”

Dashar said goodbye and ran to Kahel again.

In the meantime, Kahel slaughtered all the little monsters.
At the same time as Alcantura fell, a group of large and medium-sized monsters were approaching through the stone ruins of the collapsed golems.

“I’ll help, too.”

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Kahel smiled as he looked at Dashar who was approaching him.

“Just think about protecting yourself.
After the work is done, you have to pay the price you promised.
If you can’t fulfill the contract because you were injured, I won’t let you go.”

It sounded like a threat at first glance, but Dashar grinned and stood behind Kahel, ready to unfold a shield.
Just in time, two large monsters and several dozen more medium-sized monsters were crawling out from the distance.

“It’s disgustingly many.”

“It is a number that can never appear in nature.
Someone has summoned the monsters.”

Kahel smirked, thinking that Duke Santella might be watching from beyond the thorn bushes.
And the next moment, he sprinted forward, spewing his magic power from his body.
Kahel’s hands were dyed black by his sharply raised magical power, and gradually swelled up, and each of his fingers twisted into sharp claws.

It was a sudden and bizarre body transformation that surprised even Dashar, who had read the cursed spell entangled in his body, and expected it.

“KUWAAHH!”

The cow-shaped monster with its body torn in Kahel’s hand fell down with a terrifying scream.
The bird-type monster that flew into the sky was caught by the magic from Kahel’s hand and was thrown to the ground.
The magical energy that spread out from behind his back became a sharp harpoon and pierced the hearts of small and medium-sized monsters that were attacking.

Dashar realized that Kahel’s words, ‘Try not to let the Sage’s village people come forward as much as possible,’ were quite modest.
Unleashing his own magical powers as they were, Kahel Luave could not be seen as a human being.
He was the apex predator of all monsters.

And there were people on Dashar’s opposite side who were surprised by Kahel’s power.

“Did you know the level of Duke Luave?”

Margella, whose relaxed expression had completely disappeared, asked Leonard, who was standing next to her.
Leonard couldn’t answer.
He knew how immense Kahel’s magical power was when he was seven years old.
However, just because he had abundant magical powers did not mean he could become such a monster.
At the same time, the concentration and understanding of magic that unreleased several attacks without any mistake were truly genius, and the delicate magic control was close to an art form.
He now can’t stand against Kahel, even if he goes out on his own.

‘As expected…… In the Luave family, Kahel is something to be eliminated.’

It wasn’t that he didn’t know.
But how to kill such a monster?

“Shit…… ! Close the portal.
You can’t beat him at this level.
While he fights against the monsters, we get out of here.
Summon all those who crawled under the tunnel.”

In fact, an attack on the ground was a means of misdirection.
This was because the mole-type monster had dug a tunnel long before the attack even started and was returning with a magic stone by now.
He gained something by attacking the Sage’s Village, but he couldn’t help but feel resentful.

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Leonard turned around, grinding his teeth.
But Margella couldn’t take her vivid gaze away from Kahel in her madness.
In her eyes, Kahel was the most beautiful monster in the world.
She wants to have him.
She wants to put a magic stone with her own bondage curse near the monster’s heart and make him her slave.
Or, just sucking in the endless magic that springs up from that body would be enchanting enough.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that only both arms were transformed into a monster.
If his whole body became a monster, there would be nothing more beautiful in the world.”

Margella laughed.
It was because there was a potion sleeping in her lab that was the perfect gift for Kahel.

* * *

Lena becomes awkward as she habitually cleans up Kahel’s desk, remembering Kahel, who left for Hildebrunn, and Arder came to leave letters and invitations on his desk.
He also handed her one of the envelopes.

“Here, Miss Lena has also received an invitation.”

“Huh? Me too?”

The name ‘Leslie Peregrine’ was written on the outside of the simple envelope.

“Wow…… ! Miss Leslie is already having a tea party.”

She and Leslie had just become aristocrats, but Leslie seemed to be having a lavish tea party already.
Arder, who was looking at the invitation, tilted his head.

“It’s rare.
It would be difficult if you didn’t build some connections in the social world…….”

“Miss Leslie seemed very sociable.
Maybe she just made friends in no time?”

“Even so, the Baron’s daughter had a tea party…… Well, it’s not something for me to say.
Will Miss Lena also attend? The date is…… It’s the day after tomorrow.
She sent the invitation too late.”

“Should…… I go?”

“If Miss Lena wants to go, you can.
His Excellency is also away anyway, so please go if you want.”

“Really…… Can I go to this place?”

Arder looked down at Lena with sorrowful eyes and lightly stroked her head.
It was because he remembered that one day when Lena asked him to stroke her hair.

“Miss Lena, before being a vassal of the Luave family, Miss Lena herself is a wonderful lady.
In fact, most of the ladies won’t be able to do as much as Miss Lena.
So don’t worry too much and go.”

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Thinking if this would be how it feels if her father had been by her side since she was young, Lena felt her heart warming.
Arder was strict with his teachings, but not emotionally uninvolved, and he was always kind to Lena, except when giving instructions related to Kahel.
She was very grateful to have a direct supervisor like this.

“Then, I will send her a reply that I will attend this tea party.”

“Yeah.
I will lend you an envelope and letter paper.”

That day, Lena wrote her first letter.
She is succinct according to Arder’s teachings, but she is polite.
When she writes the letters, she seems to have become a little more noble.

And two days later, with the help of the maid Chloe, Lena got ready to go to the tea party.
Chloe, who often served as Lena’s attendant, had been Lena’s maid since she was given the Baronet title.
If Chloe was her age or older, she would have been a burden to Lena too, but Chloe was only sixteen, and Lena was comfortable with her.

As witty as she was dexterous, Chloe skillfully comforted and prepared Lena, who was awkward at decorating herself.
In a simple dress that Kahel had bought her, her hair was only half a ponytail, and then she let it flutter naturally.
Her makeup was lightened enough to reveal her natural beauty, but she managed to pin the swaying Lena with pearl earrings and necklace, and even pearl hairpin.

“You’re really pretty, Miss Lena.”

“Ugh.
No, Chloe.
When I went to the Royal Palace, there were a lot of pretty people.
I hope I don’t embarrass myself.”

Lena took a few deep breaths and then rode the carriage, which Arder had called, to the Peregrine mansion.
It was the first time she had gone out alone without Kahel, so her hands were sweaty and nervous, but on the other hand, she felt like she had just grown up, so she was a little excited.

When she went to the address on the invitation, she saw a mansion that she thought was too grand for a person who had just recently become a Baron.
A knight stood guard in front of the large grate door, and the mansion inside was not clearly visible.

Before Lena could even stick her head out of the carriage window, the knight guarding the front door approached and asked,

“How did you get here?”

“Ah, that…… Is this Baron Peregrine’s residence?”

“This is Viscount Rosenheim’s residence.”

“What? Uh…… The invitation must have written the wrong address…….”

“Can I check the invitation for a moment?”

“Yes.
Here…….”

Lena flickered her fingertips nervously, looking at the knight guarding the door.
No matter how awkward Leslie was in holding a tea party for the first time, she wouldn’t write her home address wrong, which was strange.