The Devilish Duke Can’t Sleep

Proofreader: somnium

Afternoon of Angels

Lian returned from an outing and found Liddell as usual. Ever since the day when monsters attacked Ardennes, he felt uneasy even when he was standing in front of her. He still dreamed of his beautiful and cute little sister smiling like an angel and throwing a magic ball at him.

“The Miss is in the greenhouse.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

Liddell, who lost her memory, has been diligently learning many things since then, and now she looks the same as before she lost her memory. But it was not without change. She used to be the queen of the social world, where she was flooded with invitations and requests for visits, but people now rarely seek out Liddell.

Few people knew the full story of the incident, but they were unable to cover up the truth at all, and rumors that a treason took place and that the instigator was the former Duke Santella and his daughter Liddell secretly swept the social world.

Liddell said she didn’t want to go out after she found out about what she had done, which fueled the rumors even further.

‘Liddell is the biggest victim…….’

The bad ones were the ancestors, who dreamed in vain, not Liddell, who had been subjected to the curse of greed without choice from the time she was in the womb.

But he can’t blame the dead, and it was Liddell who stood at the climax of all the misdeeds. In fact, there was nothing to say if the Queen’s Sword cut her in two on the spot, so it was a miracle that she could now survive and maintain the family like this.

“Liddell.”

“Oh, Lian! When did you come?”

The face looking back was bright and radiant as always. The sunlight pouring into the greenhouse shattered onto Liddell’s blonde hair, scattering shards of light. The skin white and clear as snow seemed translucent, her blue eyes gleamed bright, and a pure smile appeared on the rosy lips with soft arcs. It was different from the smile she had before, which seemed like something she had made up.

Every time he saw that smile, Lian was happy. Now, he thinks that Liddell is finally free…….

“What are you doing alone?”

“I was just looking around. It puts my mind at ease when I see the green light as I walk through the greenhouse.”

“Is there anything that makes you feel dizzy?”

He asked the question half-jokingly, but Liddell didn’t answer, she just laughed. At that moment, Lian’s stomach sank.

“What’s going on, Liddell?”

Liddell carefully looked at her older brother, who was playful, cheerful, beautiful and strong. It was heartbreaking to see that he, a person who never seemed to be shaken, showed signs of urgency because of his worries about his younger sister.

“If it weren’t for me, would you still be alone? There seems to be marriage proposals coming in, but you dismissed everything.”

“It’s too bad. I heard that the marriage proposals that came in were of a lower level than before.”

“Would they like to marry their daughter into a family which they never know when they will be branded a traitor? They might get punished if they get involved. A low-ranking family may feel like gambling, but there is no need for a risk when they are already a well-established county.”

She could not forget the conversations she heard with the handmaids during the day.

Liddell couldn’t remember, but she knew what she had done. Even on the day he told the story, Lian was worried for her.

Liddell turned her gaze away to hide her bitter eyes.

“Why won’t Brother get married? You’re already twenty-six. It’s too late.”

“What? Are you upset because you are worried about my marriage? You are worrying for nothing.”

“It’s not a useless worry. My brother is the head of the Santella family. You must get married quickly and get an heir.”

Lian rubbed the back of his head as if embarrassed. In fact, his marriage was now a hot potato in the social world. He also knew it was something that had to be done quickly. But it wasn’t easy. The reason is that…….

“I will go down to the estate. I’ll live like I’m dead. Wouldn’t it be better then?”

“What…… ?”

At Liddell’s sudden remark, Lian widened his eyes and stared blankly.

“I know that Brother is in trouble because of me. In the meantime, I knew it, but I didn’t have the courage to do it. There were so many things I couldn’t remember, and there were so many things I had to learn…… But now it’s okay.”

“Liddell.”

“Really. I don’t want to be a burden to Brother anymore. It would have been better if I had died then.”

“Liddell!”

Liddell turned around not to show her face, but Lian was able to distinguish the wet voice without difficulty.

He had no idea that him not being married would put pressure on his sister. Lian shivered at his own indifference. He has been so indifferent before, leaving his father and Liddell to make the wrong choice, and yet again……!

“Liddell. That’s not it. What are you thinking?”

“But…….”

“It has nothing to do with you that I am not married yet. Really.”

“Then why aren’t you married?”

“Ha…… That is…….”

He was determined to tell Liddell the truth, but when he was questioned, the words did not come out. To be honest, he would have said it casually if it was before, but now he is somewhat embarrassed.

As Lian continued to mumble, the corners of Liddell’s eyes began to water again. Lian finally closed his eyes and confessed,

“The, the Lady I like…… still hasn’t given me permission!”

“Yes…… ? Permission…… ?”

Although the Santella family was reeling, there was no problem with Lian’s marriage as the others feared. Because Duchy Santella was still responsible for half of the industry in the Kingdom of Logos. Rumors that the level of marriage’s proposal had been lowered were also false rumors. Nobles who were sensitive to the smell of money had no way of dwelling on the faults of the past. Even the Queen has been able to silence the big affair, saying that the Royal Family needs the Santella family.

Lian’s marriage wasn’t the problem. Rather, a very personal and difficult reason lurked.

“There’s a little scary lady…… Maybelle Ristardt…… she’s the Lady I liked.”

“Maybelle…… Ristardt…… ? Ristardt, it’s a black faction noble, right?”

Lian nodded his head with a grim ace. That was the number one reason Maybelle turned him down. Even if the relationship between the Santella and Luave families improved, the two had to remain as rivals forever.

After Lena’s accession as Queen, the nobles who had immersed themselves in the rebellion of the Santella family were purged, and the white nobles changed their colors, but the black nobles stayed solid. The eldest daughter of Count Ristardt, who traditionally served the Luaves, could not have favored Duke Santella.

“I thought that there would be no one who would not be shaken by Lian even if she was a lady from a black noble family, …….”

“That’s …….”

It felt a little late for the successor of a giant family, but in terms of the Logos nobles as a whole, Lian was just the right age to marry. With the Queen taking Kahel Luave, the most beautiful man in Logos, there was no one who could stop Lian Santella’s popularity.

Although it was Lian who had been frantic for a while to sort out his family’s tragic events and get back on track again, the bright-natured Lian began to enjoy his life’s golden years without missing out on life when everything returned to normal. It was also part of his nature to flirt with beautiful girls.

“I should have been a little more careful at Count Ristardt’s party, but the eldest daughter caught me in a shameful manner. Well, though, that didn’t mean I did anything weird! We just chatted and kissed a bit, but it was pure coincidence that the shoulder of the girl’s dress went down. I was just trying to get it right!”

“It was Maybelle Ristardt who caught you, and Brother fell in love with the Lady, and you mean she doesn’t accept Brother because she witnesses Brother’s debauchery?”

“A lot of intermediate stories were omitted there, but, well, that’s it.”

“But why did you fall for Maybelle Ristardt? From what I’ve heard she’s very blunt…… It’s not to Brother’s taste.”

Lian always liked the bright, cheerful and beautiful girls. But Maybelle was a Lady who didn’t talk much, or laugh much, with the impression that she was calm and somewhat obstinate. Because of her smart head and serious personality, she was at one time even mentioned as the heir to the Ristardt family. She had not married until the age of twenty-six because of that, but it had already been three years since the heir of the family was chosen to be her younger brother Richelier.

In any case, the public opinion of Maybelle was neither good nor bad. No, it would be right to say that people are not interested in her.

If Lian hadn’t met her in Ristardt house, he might have lived unaware of a woman named Maybelle.

“It’s not a matter of taste, it’s just…… Should I say fate….?”

He approached Maybelle first to make excuses, and then to apologize for his rudeness. But she said plainly, ‘It’s okay. Rather, I was careless,’ and cut him off, then turned around and threw him away. But Lian felt some sort of stuffiness there. He wanted her to be more responsive and he wanted to talk a little more with her low-pitched, relaxed voice. He likes her being sarcastic.

That’s how Lian’s love, affection, and courtship began.

But he couldn’t tell Liddell why he was in love with Maybelle.

“How peaceful the social world is without Lady Santella who acted like the Queen.”

“That’s right. She had bought all of Ardennes’ wardrobe by herself, so she had a monopoly on all the most beautiful dresses.”

“It was said that men possessed by her have lost all their souls. At the same time, the marriage of other ladies was delayed. Lady Santella was nothing more than an evil in the social world.”

Hearing Liddell’s gossip by chance, Lian felt anger and wrath at the same time. He was so angry, but it was difficult to stand up, and take Liddell’s side. He didn’t know what kind of gossip that would turn to his sister…….

However, in the same place where everyone was arguing, ‘Right, that’s right,’ only Maybelle Ristardt came up with a different opinion.

“I do not know. I don’t think that the delayed marriages of the men who were chasing her after falling in love with Lady Santella was Lady Santella’s fault. After all, the marriage was delayed because of their own greed. Aside from getting embroiled in the treason case, I don’t think she’s done much wrong with being the queen of the social world.”

When the daughter of Count Ristardt, who was said to be the most loyal to the Luaves of all the black faction nobles, said it, everyone else smiled brightly and said no more of Liddell.

From then on, Lian developed a deeper interest in Maybelle, and, after his secret observation, fell in love with the character and wisdom of the woman named Maybelle, and the serious and calm personality that differed from his own. As he looked into her calm brown eyes, the worries and fears inside of him seemed to quietly subside.

And after his insistent courtship, he recently had been allowed to have a cup of tea.

“Don’t worry too much, Lian. Lady Ristardt will also like Brother. It’s hard to find a man who’s so handsome.”

“Yes, I hope she will.”

There was no longer any concern on Liddell’s face, who smiled brightly. Lian sincerely hopes that a woman who can embrace him and his younger sister will come to him, and he picks up the teacup.