How to Cure Insomnia (2)
“Are you saying Lord Nate invited me as well?”
“Yes. He says he wants to apologize for not attending your wedding due to poor health and wishes to treat you both to a meal.”
Duha tilted her head as she looked at the invitation handed to her by Sylvia.
“What did the Duke say?”
“He said he would attend. He also added that you must accompany him.”
So he’s accepting the invitation despite their poor relationship.
It seemed that this ‘Lord Nate’ person indeed had a significant standing in the ducal residence, as everyone said.
“I understand. It’s an invitation from the highest elder of the ducal family, so of course I should attend.”
Duha folded the invitation in half and tossed it onto the table.
With the coming Friday still far off, there was plenty of time to prepare.
At that moment, Sylvia observed Duha’s expression and cautiously spoke.
“Duchess, did something happen between you and the Duke last night?”
Did anything happen with the Duke last night?
She only remembered having a brief exchange that could barely be called a conversation before leaving the room.
“No, nothing happened. Why do you ask?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Sylvia’s face showed a strange disappointment upon hearing Duha’s answer.
“It’s just that the Duke’s complexion seemed brighter than usual.”
“Really?”
Duha recalled his face from breakfast time.
She thought he had worn his usual indifferent and cold expression.
“I didn’t notice anything different.”
“The Duke usually suffers from insomnia, so his complexion isn’t very good.”
“If it’s insomnia, couldn’t he use medication?”
“He absolutely refuses to take any medicine. But today, he somehow looked refreshed.”
Sylvia had assumed it was because the Duchess had visited the Duke last night.
But it wasn’t so.
She had hoped for the best between the man she had watched over for the longest time and cared for the most, and the woman before her whom she quite liked.
However, even couples who marry for love find married life challenging.
Perhaps it was too much to expect a good relationship from a couple who married without love.
‘The spring of the ducal family seems far and treacherous.’
While Sylvia secretly sighed, Duha was deep in thought.
‘Insomnia, huh.’
Come to think of it, his complexion did always seem pale.
Was it because of his characteristically sharp atmosphere? She had never thought he might be tired.
‘Well, he’s always being called out for demon subjugation or whatnot, plus paperwork and training.’
At that point, it might not be that he can’t sleep because of insomnia, but that he can’t sleep because he doesn’t have time to sleep.
“Sylvia, is there an herb garden in the castle?”
“There’s one near the infirmary that the physicians manage.”
“I should be allowed to access it, right?”
“There’s no place in this castle that the Duchess isn’t allowed to enter. But why the herb garden…?”
“I was thinking that giving thanks with just words seems a bit lacking in style.”
Duha flashed a light smile at the puzzled Sylvia.
*** *** *** *** ***
“My Lady, be honest with me.”
“About what?”
“Actually, you have feelings for the Duke, don’t you?”
Duha burst into laughter at her maid’s question.
“You’ve learned to make quite amusing jokes, Leila.”
“If that’s not the case, why would you be crouching in an herb garden in broad daylight looking for herbs good for insomnia!”
Leila struck her chest as if frustrated.
As she said, they were indeed wandering through the herb garden under the spring sun.
In the distance, physicians could be seen whispering while looking in their direction.
Even to their eyes, a Duchess personally picking herbs must have seemed strange.
“You could have ordered those physicians to do this! Though of course, you know more about herbs than those fools!”
Duha’s knowledge of herbs was famously extensive even in Bashar.
It was a skill built from experience, having roamed mountains and fields since childhood, indiscriminately picking and eating both medicinal and poisonous herbs.
Meanwhile, Duha chuckled as if finding Leila cute, then continued speaking.
“Leila, the Duke suffers from insomnia but hasn’t been prescribed any particular medicine. Why do you think that is?”
“Well, I suppose it’s not that serious.”
“That could be, but I think it’s because he doesn’t want to show weakness to anyone.”
The more capable one is, the higher position one holds, the more enemies one tends to have.
And enemies always try to find and attack their opponent’s weaknesses.
“Hmph, how is insomnia a weakness?”
“It could become one. Someone might give him strange medicine claiming to treat insomnia, or attack when his mind is foggy from lack of sleep.”
Leila seemed to ponder her words for a moment, then made a disgusted expression.
“They’d go to such troublesome lengths?”
“Such people, if they stand to gain a lot, won’t hesitate to not only go through trouble but even abandon their conscience.”
“I don’t really understand. It seems the high and mighty have too much free time.”
“Haha, maybe you’re right.”
Duha let out a hearty laugh as she stood up.
She put the herbs into the basket Leila was holding, then covered it with a cloth like a lid.
“We’ve got everything we need, let’s head back now.”
“Yes!”
Even as Duha left the infirmary hiding the herbs she had picked, the physicians were busy bowing deeply, not daring to stop her.
With the widespread rumor that Duke Esbaden had confronted the Prince for the Duchess’s sake, no one in the castle dared to stand in her way.
She was now secretly referred to as the real power in the ducal family, no longer the Duchess who was neglected on her wedding night.
Of course, whether this was the Duke’s intention remained questionable.
*** *** *** *** ***
Knock, knock.
The Duke, Leonhardt, was enjoying a rare moment of rest when he flinched at the sound of a knock and lifted his head.
“Duke, may I come in?”
“Come in.”
At his permission, the door slowly opened.
Sylvia entered carrying a tray and smiled at Leonhardt, who was sitting on the sofa.
“You were resting. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you take a break, Your Grace.”
“The urgent work is finished. What is it?”
In response to his question, Sylvia presented the tray she was holding.
“The Duchess has sent you a gift.”
At the word ‘gift,’ Leonhardt’s brow furrowed slightly.
He stared intently at the items on the tray.
“It’s herbal tea good for insomnia and a pillow made by the Duchess herself. The pillow is filled with cotton and herbs to help with a good night’s sleep….”
“How did the Duchess know I have insomnia?”
“I told her.”
At Sylvia’s answer, Leonhardt started to say something but then sighed instead.
Rather than scolding her, the Duke asked another question.
“Where did she get the herbs?”
Leonhardt continued, not hiding his displeasure.
“Surely not from the castle’s physicians…”
“Don’t worry about that. The Duchess handled it very wisely.”
Sylvia explained that Duha had procured the herbs herself without involving the physicians.
“The Duchess is very knowledgeable about herbs. The physicians believe she took herbs for cosmetic purposes.”
At her words, Leonhardt pressed his lips together tightly.
After staring at the gifts on the tray for a long time, he quietly turned away.
“Your Grace?”
“…Just leave it there and go.”
Sylvia looked slightly surprised but then smiled and quietly left the room.
Leonhardt stood still for a while before turning back.
He approached the tray and picked up the lukewarm teacup.
The golden-hued tea emitted a fragrant scent of flowers and herbs.
Leonhardt paused for a moment at the aroma, then drank the tea in one swift motion.
It was a quick and unhesitant action, as if it didn’t matter even if the tea were poisoned.
*** *** *** *** ***
“…What brings you here?”
“Is it strange for me to be in my own bedroom?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Duha’s lips tightened into a straight line as she saw the Duke, Leonhardt, sitting against the headboard of the bed.
Leonhardt, as if he had some exhibitionist tendencies, was shirtless, wearing only pants.
Duha struggled to keep her gaze from drifting below his collarbone and forced herself to look up.
“You don’t seem particularly pleased.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then why the face?”
“Well, it’s just….”
Seeing him come into the bedroom like that, his intentions were obvious, weren’t they?
Duha looked at him with a rather reluctant expression.
“I thought maybe you needed an heir…”
“…Even if I needed an heir, I wouldn’t want to have one with a woman who looks like that.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
At the Duke’s response, Duha relaxed and smiled brightly.
“…Do you know you’re really amusing?”
“I don’t usually hear that I’m boring.”
“Huh.”
Leonhardt looked at her as if he couldn’t believe it.
He had lost count of the number of women who had sneaked into his bed targeting him.
They revealed their desire to have a child with the Duke if they couldn’t marry him, aiming to secure the position of Duchess.
Of course, all of them paid the price for their excessive greed by losing a part of their body.
But watching Duha climb onto the bed with relief in front of him somehow pricked his pride.
Leonhardt spoke curtly as he watched Duha burrow into the blankets, keeping as much distance from him as possible.
“I’ll be sleeping here from now on, so keep that in mind.”
“What?”
Startled by the sudden news, Duha unconsciously turned her body toward the Duke.
“Thinking about it, it seemed unfair.”
Before she knew it, Leonhardt had turned toward her, his face less than a hand’s breadth away.
Even in the dark, his beauty shone, and Duha instinctively held her breath.
“This room, this bed, they’re all mine, so there’s no reason for me to sleep outside.”
“Oh, then I’ll sleep outside…”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Leonhardt pulled Duha’s body back toward the bed as she tried to get up quickly.
As a result, Duha’s small frame sank into the blankets as if buried.
Seeing Duha’s rarely seen flustered face, he raised the corners of his mouth as if amused.
“You sent things that are supposed to be good for insomnia, but I think this is more effective for me.”
Leonhardt turned his head toward Duha’s neck and slowly inhaled.
She was enveloped in a strange feeling as the hot breath on her neck made the fine hairs stand on end.
“So, I’ll be counting on you from now on, Duchess.”
With Leonhardt’s mischievous smile, Duha instinctively felt that something was amiss.
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