What’s Wrong with You, Duke?!

Chapter 9

* * *

As soon as Noël woke up, she was shocked by the intense gaze that was upon her and immediately closed her eyes again. Hearing no indication that the duke had moved, she opened her eyes a tiny bit and stole a look at him. He had only a light robe on as he leaned back against the headboard. His eyes were looking her up and down. He had to have known that she was awake, but still he remained silent. Feeling his icy stare on her body made her shiver. It was clear he was free from the magic at this moment, so why was he just looking at her with that scary expression?

She patted her body cautiously to make sure she was wearing nightclothes, her fingers trembling with fear. She was defenseless before this man, as the one she loved was clearly no longer present. This was a stranger who wanted to kill her and was glowering at her with that very intent. Still, she couldn’t move without thinking things through, nor could just continue to lay there pretending to be unaware, so she considered her options. She felt like prey caught under a hungry lion’s paw.

I-I have to pretend to be unaware, b-be natural, and leave the room.

“Oh, you’re awake?” She pretended to yawn as she stretched awkwardly before pushing herself upright.

The duke followed suit but harshly ordered, “Damn it. Don’t look at me.”

“My lord?” She flinched and turned her head reflexively, but the duke threw a sheet over her head to cover her up. Right as the sheet fell over her, their eyes met through a flutter of the fabric.

Noël had to sit there with the fluttering sheet over her, trapped. What was going on? He couldn’t have put this on her to make it easier for him to cut her up, right? She trembled in fear, trying to figure it out, but suddenly the sheet was pulled away. Her darkened vision became bright in an instant.

“Did you sleep well?” asked the duke, as his eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Noël’s jaw dropped. She had witnessed the miracle of magic at work. It was as if an angry lion had disappeared under a sheet, only to be revealed as a cute puppy.

“Magic is great,” Noël said as she threw her arms around his neck.

“Hm? Did you dream of a magician?” asked the duke, no, Ru, as he gently patted back her mussed hair.

“It wasn't a dream.”

“All right, then what am I to do if you’re dreaming? Hurry back to reality. That way we can do things together,” he murmured.

“My lord?”

Noël could feel him brushing his fingers lightly on her slightly exposed neck and collarbones. She pushed his shoulder away from her to get a better look at him and found him licking his lips while grinning lazily. She reached out to fiddle with the messy silver hair at the base of his skull and he leaned his head back, growling deeply.

The ice had completely left his eyes, which were now filled instead with hot passion. The difference in how he treated her was like heaven and earth.

I guess it makes sense. How confused must he be when he’s the one under the enchantment, and yet even I cannot believe it. While she was lost in her thoughts, the duke rubbed his head against her hand, as if he were asking permission, and brought his legs closer to her. When she felt his firm body, Noël pretended to give in and drew her finger down his elegant nose to his plump, red lips.

She laughed, “You mustn’t kiss me with such beautiful lips and then bite my neck all of a sudden.”

“What? Why not?” he asked, quizzically.

“I’m saying it’s a risk to my life.”

“A risk to your life? Okay then, I’ll try to make you feel like you’ve reached heaven.”

“No, I don’t mean that. I’m always so happy with you, my lord. What I mean— Ah!”

“Ru. I told you, it’s Ru.” He corrected her, biting her neck lightly as a teasing punishment—it sent a chill down her spine and she froze.

“Noël.”

Ru must have felt her body stiffen because he lifted both hands above her head and gazed down at her. His face was so clearly full of passion and concern that she tried to trust him and relax her body.

The duke leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead, whispering in her ear like a devil, “Did you not like it because I was in too much of a rush? Then what about this?”

“Ah, Ru!”

“Do you like that?”

“Mm, this feels so good.”

Noël felt her body melt from his gentle, loving touches and relaxed completely. How much time had passed? She had her fill of the sweet fruit of heaven—picked for her by her love—and snuggled into his arms. As she let him caress her like she was the loveliest thing in the world, an idea popped up in her head.

I think I’m getting used to it because it keeps happening. Then wouldn’t His Grace be the same?

* * *

Lawrence saw a strange sight, whilst he was running around looking for his boss, who kept following his wife.

“What are they doing?” Lawrence asked the waiting Mary.

Of course, the maid knew nothing. “I’m not sure, Your Lordship.”

The two of them were in the receiving room watching as the duke stood with his sword drawn. The tip was pointed to the floor and a few steps away from him, with the table in between them, was the duchess, who was babbling away.

“Magic exists. It’s not just in children’s books,” said Noël.

“Yes. I know it exists because a fairy from children’s books really exists... You…,” the duke replied, grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s not what I mean. Magic... I’m talking about magic.”

“I know. You marrying me was like magic.”

“Not like magic, but actual magic.”

“Right, you agreeing to marry me was magic, a true blessing from the heavens.”

Listening to this was uncomfortable, and their topic of conversation was quite odd. It was obvious they had clear roles, as they were both extremely serious and volleying back and forth.

“I’m so happy you told me that, but more on the topic of magic. I don’t know how to use it at all,” said Noël.

“Yes, I was the one who used magic because I fell for your beauty. You married me.” The duke’s sweet voice was sickening, and Lawrence thought his ears would rot.

Unable to continue listening, the advisor gave up on getting approval on the documents he had in hand. He had stayed up the entire night trying to finish the papers—which his boss didn’t even look at—but he knew that it was better to give up, seeing the duke’s current engagement.

He mumbled to the maid, “Hang in there.”

“Thank you, Viscount Cecil.” Mary bowed to Lawrence as he walked away and hid her pained expression as she waited for the master and mistress to finish their strange, loving conversation.

He practically ran away from the receiving room and rubbed his aching forehead.

* * *

Noël was walking with Mary in the garden, enjoying the beautiful, sunny day when she met eyes with the duke’s, who was looking out the window of the study. In her excitement to see him, she waved, which prompted the duke to gesture for her to wait. Soon, he had run out to join them on their stroll.

“Ru, you look tired. Are you okay?” she asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied.

“Then how do you feel about taking a short nap? I was going to read anyway.”

“Even sleeping is a waste when I’m with you, my lark.”

Noël then asked if he wanted to rest a moment on the bench under the parasol, and he nodded. She giggled when he sat right next to her, pressing his large frame close to her smaller one. She thought it was cute when he tried to be in contact with her at all points.

“Mary, could you bring some cushions?” she asked, but the duke just shook his head.

“I want to rest my head on your lap,” he said.

“But you’ll be uncomfortable!”

“It’s okay. Your feathers are cozy.”

She put his head in her lap while he lay along the bench. This was very undignified in front of their servants, but they were used to the public displays of affection between the couple, so they simply focused on their work at a distance and pretended to not see it.

“But Ru... Is there anything else you can call me other than ‘skylark?’”

“Why, do you not like it?”

“I just don’t think birds and I go well together.”

“You do, though. You’re small, cute, pretty, and delicate. Of course, you’re much more beautiful than a bird, but you can’t deny that you brought a spring breeze into my life.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked.

“Of course. I swear on my soul,” asserted Dreux.

No, Ru. I don’t think your soul thinks like that at all. Rather, your soul doesn’t like me. Noël refuted it in her head, but she smiled and petted the duke’s head. His silver hair was shining beautifully in the sunlight.

After a few moments, the duke’s breathing evened out, indicating that he’d fallen asleep. She moved her book so it blocked the sun from his face and started to read, letting the time pass.

“Damn it. My neck hurts,” the duke muttered in a low voice.

Noël put the book down and looked at him. He got up slowly and turned around to face her.

“Did you sleep a little, Ru?”

“I told you not to call me that crap,” he replied harshly.

“My lord...”

The duke held the back of his neck and narrowed his eyes to glower at her.

His eyes seemed to blame her, so she hastily shook her head and waved her hands as if to say no. “I told you very clearly that you wouldn’t be comfortable!”

The duke stared at her stonily and deadpanned, “Do you have no fear?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you forget that I tried to kill you?”

Of course, she hadn’t forgotten. How could she when it wasn’t just once, but multiple times? She could never forget, but she was desperate. While she grumbled at him on the inside, outwardly she tried not to tremble.

“But you didn’t kill me.”

“I think it’s still not too late.”

“D-do what you want.” Though the words had come out of her mouth, she tentatively scooted back from him to put some distance between them.

The duke scoffed mockingly and drawled, “Locking you up in the dungeon and slowly torturing you could be good, too.”

Noël was considering jumping out of her seat and running away but whipped her head around at what he said. Torture her slowly in a dungeon?! She raised her head to meet his eyes and flinched but was somehow less scared than before. Maybe it was because she sat Ru down and practiced insisting she was innocent, or maybe it was because the duke didn’t try to kill her immediately as he had before. Either way, it didn’t matter. She scraped together whatever courage she had and cleared her through, lifting her chin confidently.

“My lord. My name is Noël Alexei.” As his silence, she continued, “I am your wife, my lord. I didn’t want to marry you, but you pushed for it so much that we even registered our marriage with the office of the law under His Imperial Majesty. You cannot get rid of me in whatever way you want.”

The duke frowned so hard that the scar at the edge of his eyebrow stuck out. “I can just divorce you.”

“Y-You can’t do that!”

“It was a marriage scam.”

Noël shrunk at his cold stare, but she felt somewhat assured at his lack of murderous aura. She pleaded, “You have to be knowledgeable to scam someone. I don’t know what this is either, so I feel wrongly accused and stifled by it.”

“Stifled?”

Because the magic keeps coming undone! Noël quickly clamped her mouth shut before her true thoughts slipped out. This was something she could never, ever say to him. If she did, then she really might be thrown into the dungeon. When she said nothing, the duke cracked his neck and stood from the bench.

“What are you hiding?” he demanded.

“N-Nothing.”

The duke loomed over her. He was just looking at her, but she felt like she was being crushed by the pressure.

“What trickery are you up to in the greenhouse?”

It didn’t seem like he was going to kill her, but she strongly felt that she would be in danger if she said even one wrong word. Noël decided to speak honestly since she’d never had a talent for lying.

“I tried to recreate the sigil.”

“Why?”

“To learn more about magic.”

The duke’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

She quickly added, “I can show you if you want.”

The duke stayed silent as he glared at her. Then he asked, in an even lower voice, “Are you a witch?”

“No, absolutely not! Please introduce me to one if you know any, I also want to ask them what happened.” To this, the duke only scoffed, so Noël waved her hands and hurriedly justified her words. “I’m saying I’m not a witch. Do you think I would have let the magic unravel if I knew how to do it, my lord? I would have just run away from you in Saboulin if it were up to me.”

As she his displeased expression and icy stare, she closed her eyes and prayed silently. Ru, come back I’m so scared. When it was still quiet, she opened her eyes a little, but only found that the duke was still glaring at her ferociously. She was crestfallen that he hadn’t changed.

“If I order an investigation and something suspicious comes up, you’re going straight to the dungeon,” he warned.

With quaking eyes and fingers cold from fear, she looked up at him.

“S-so you mean you’ll burn me alive.” When the duke didn’t say anything, she continued, “this is our situation right now, and the one who saw something good come out of it was me. So that means I cast magic, which then means that I will be instantly accused of being a w-witch.”

“Prove your own innocence.”

“If I could, I would have already... What will you do if I’m gone, but the magic doesn’t come undone, my lord?”

“I don’t care about that. I just don’t want it to be as it is now.”

His words forced her into silence. Though he lacked bloodthirstiness, she could feel his hostility. Feeling sad because of his hatred of her, she bowed her head and looked down at her hands as the duke turned on his heel and walked away.

I don’t think he believes me. He’s probably ignoring me, right? In a daze, Noël watched him as he got farther away from her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure it out from his back. She didn’t know if he was Duke Dreux Alexei of Faucigny or if he was Ru.