How to Cure Insomnia (1)
On the night when the Fourth Prince was practically driven out of the Esbaden residence.
Leonhardt frowned as he was drying his hair with a towel draped over his shoulder.
It was because an uninvited guest had entered his study.
It was the Duchess, Duha, wearing a shawl over a partially transparent gown.
“…What are you doing here?”
“What do you think? I was waiting for you.”
She was sitting on the sofa where the Duke always slept.
Leonhardt, staring at her intently, turned his head and walked towards the desk.
“Is there a reason for you to seek me out at this hour?”
“I have something I want to say to you.”
“Something you want to say?”
Leonhardt raised an eyebrow as he tossed the towel aside and rummaged through the papers.
“What is it you want to say?”
“About what happened today…”
“If it’s about the Fourth Prince, you don’t need to worry. It won’t cause you any harm.”
He cut off Duha’s words firmly.
As if he had nothing to say about what happened today.
“But it will cause you harm, won’t it?”
“Harm? Harm, you say.”
At her response, Leonhardt let out a small laugh and lifted his head.
“So you just stood by quietly even when the Prince did such a disgraceful thing?”
“What?”
She didn’t expect to be reprimanded for standing by quietly, even though she didn’t expect praise for handling that dog-like situation well.
Duha looked at him with bewildered eyes.
But why was it?
The Duke, Leonhardt, seemed to have a face that looked somehow angry.
“So should I have kicked the Prince, Your Grace?”
“If you had, it would have been amusing.”
Duha tilted her head to the side as if she couldn’t believe it.
“You were the one who told me to maintain dignity and decorum as the Duchess.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you saying such things?”
Leonhardt didn’t answer her question.
No, he seemed unable to find the words to answer, staring at her silently before turning his gaze back to the papers.
What is he trying to do?
Duha was slightly annoyed by his incomprehensible attitude, but she decided to hold back since she hadn’t come to fight.
At that moment, Leonhardt, who was scribbling on the papers with a fountain pen, spoke again.
“You are the Duchess of Esbaden. It means you have the right to demand fair treatment against injustice.”
He added, still keeping his eyes fixed on the papers.
“That applies even if the opponent is a prince.”
“But…”
“If there are any bastards who try to pull such stunts in the future, give them a taste of that kick you’re good at.”
At that moment, his sharp, blue eyes turned towards her.
“Being part of the Esbaden family means that.”
Being part of the Esbaden family.
Duha looked at the Duke and couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“No, it’s just.”
Indeed, he might be strange, but he didn’t seem like a bad person.
If he just changed his way of speaking a bit, he might even be seen as cute.
Duha swallowed the words that came to her mind and asked him back.
“Then, does that mean you now acknowledge me as part of this family?”
Leonhardt frowned as if there was no such foolish question in the world.
“If the Duchess isn’t part of the Ducal family, then what is she?”
He lowered his head again as if he had said all he needed to say.
“I still have a lot of work left. If you have nothing more to say, you may leave now…”
“Thank you for today.”
Though he lifted his head with a puzzled expression at the sudden gratitude.
“…What?”
“I said thank you for today. Even for you, it couldn’t have been easy to go that far against the prince.”
Duha finally brought up the main reason she had come to see the Duke.
“……”
“It was very satisfying. Honestly, that was my limit at the time.”
If Leonhardt had appeared even a little later, she might not have been able to control her emotions and might have thrown a punch.
“If it had been me grabbing the prince by the collar instead of you, the entire empire would have been in an uproar.”
Rumors would have spread that the princess from Bashar attacked the empire’s prince, that people from barbarian origins are uneducated and violent, that Bashar actually looks down on the empire, that there’s no value in forming an alliance with such a barbarian nation, and that it’s much more beneficial to punish the princess and break the alliance, and so on.
Countless other rumors related to Duha would have undoubtedly spread.
“The incident in the stables would have also become noisy if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“……”
“So, thank you.”
Duha finally turned her gaze to her husband.
Leonhardt was looking at her with an expression she had never seen before.
What kind of expression is that?
Is that the face of someone who got hit on the head by an apple falling from a tree while walking down the street?
As Duha frowned and tried to interpret his expression, Leonhardt slowly opened his mouth.
“…You really are.”
What on earth is he trying to say with such a pause?
Duha unconsciously focused all her attention on his lips.
“Amusing.”
He, who is the strangest person in the world.
Instead of responding, Duha chose to stare at him silently.
“Don’t get it wrong. I didn’t do it particularly for you.”
Before she knew it, Leonhardt had returned to his usual cold demeanor.
“So there’s no need to thank me.”
“Even so, gratitude is gratitude.”
Though his response wasn’t entirely satisfactory, Duha had no intention of retracting her thanks.
After all, gratitude is gratitude.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Duha glanced at her husband, who wasn’t even looking at her, and then walked out confidently.
She didn’t notice the gaze that was intently watching her as she turned her back.
*** *** *** *** ***
What an amusing woman.
Leonhardt rubbed his eyes as he looked at the faintly brightening dawn.
‘Thank you for today.’
To think she came just to say such a thing.
‘I only did what I had to do as a Duke.’
As she had said, if the Duchess, who was a symbol of the alliance, got involved in a noisy incident, it could have had a greater impact.
It was better for him to take the blame, even if it meant being criticized.
Of course, being criticized wasn’t pleasant for him either.
He had ascended to the position of Grand Duke at a young age, overcoming the opposition of numerous vassals.
There was no reason to welcome being the subject of gossip and damaging his reputation.
But for some unknown reason, when it came to matters involving her, he found himself stepping in regardless of his own will.
In the stables, in front of the prince, always when he came to his senses, he found himself standing in front of her.
He was extremely irritated because he couldn’t understand the reason no matter how much he thought about it.
‘I’m tired.’
Thanks to this, his usual insomnia had been getting worse lately.
Leonhardt sighed and approached the sofa.
He lay down sideways, half-folding his large body.
At that moment, an unfamiliar scent tickled his nose.
It was similar to the scent of the midwinter wind you could smell when riding a horse at full gallop.
「Duha, you can call me Duha.」
Suddenly, the memory of the day they first met came to mind.
Lately, thoughts of Duha had been popping up unexpectedly at all times, further unsettling his mind.
‘It’s irritating.’
He raised his arm and pressed his eyes firmly.
Perhaps due to the unfamiliar yet comforting scent.
The Duke fell into a deep sleep without much effort.
With a face so peaceful it was hard to believe he suffered from insomnia.
*** *** *** *** ***
“Hey, did you hear? Lord Daniel is coming back!”
“Oh my, it’s already been three years!”
“Ah, now work will be enjoyable again. The ducal residence was too bleak without Lord Daniel.”
“True, the Duke is here, but he’s too scary.”
The ducal residence, which had quieted down after the Fourth Prince’s departure, became lively again in less than a fortnight.
It was due to the news of someone’s return that had started circulating recently.
Duha, passing through the corridor, unintentionally overheard the conversation of the maids cleaning the garden.
She turned to Leila at the mention of an unfamiliar name.
“Leila, who is Daniel?”
“Ah, Daniel is…”
“What, you really know?”
As her mistress looked at her with surprised eyes, Leila raised her shoulders with a confident face.
“Of course. Who do you think I am? I’m Leila, famous for being well-informed even in Bashar. I’ve got this ducal residence figured out in just a few days!”
Leila cleared her throat and began her explanation.
“Ahem, for months now, the maids have been in an uproar talking about this person.”
“Really? Why?”
“He’s said to be the Duke’s only cousin. Apparently, he’s returning to the ducal residence after three years.”
His name was ‘Daniel von Esbaden’, the Duke’s only cousin who had left for exile under the guise of studying abroad in the Eastern Empire after committing a grave mistake three years ago.
Duha nodded at her explanation, then frowned as if realizing something.
“But I remember the Duke having only one relative.”
“That’s right.”
Leila shrugged, confirming her mistress’s guess.
“He’s said to be the only son of that ‘Lord Nate’ who doesn’t get along with the Duke.”
“…I see.”
Duha had never met this ‘Lord Nate’ person.
Since he didn’t even attend the wedding, it seemed he was quite at odds with the Duke.
It might be better not to meet such a person at all in the future.
‘Being the Duke’s blood relative, we’ll meet someday, I suppose.’
A sudden premonition flashed through her mind that if they were to meet, she wouldn’t have a good impression.
‘My bad premonitions have never been wrong.’
Duha let out a short sigh and resumed walking.
‘I’d rather fight with strangers than with in-laws.’
She hoped that this time, her premonition would be wrong.
“Lord Nate has invited the Duke and Duchess to dinner this coming Friday.”
At least until that afternoon, when the head maid delivered the ominous invitation news to her.
Leave a Reply