Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13
The next day, in the Duke’s study.
Lina watched the Duke warily, sensing the cold atmosphere enveloping the room.
‘I don’t know why, but it’s clear he’s in even worse spirits than yesterday.’
Ever since returning from the infirmary yesterday, the Duke had seemed increasingly ill-tempered.
‘Could it be because of the teapot I broke?’
That morning, Lina had been summoned by the butler and scolded thoroughly. Kullen’s warning echoed in her ears—that this matter wouldn’t be overlooked and she should prepare herself for punishment.
‘If that’s the reason, he might as well just scold me outright.’
She felt as if she were sitting on a bed of thorns. Guilt gnawed at her over yesterday’s incident, as though the thief’s own feet were tingling.
‘It doesn’t seem like there’s anything for me to do.’
Strangely, though he never assigned her any specific tasks, whenever Lina tried to leave the room, he would always call her back.
After this happened several times, she gave up entirely and quietly busied herself with small chores around the study.
Lina had already polished the same ornament five times. If she kept polishing it much longer, its shine might vanish altogether.
‘At this rate, I’ll just get scolded by the butler again.’
Remembering Kullen’s angry voice, she quickly set the ornament down.
As she looked around for something else to do, her eyes fell on a pile of books stacked in the corner of the room.
“Your Grace, may I take these books to the library?”
Belige watched her as she pointed to the books, looking as if he wanted to say something, but soon averted his gaze.
“Do as you please. You haven’t forgotten about this afternoon’s schedule, have you?”
Lina was supposed to assist the Duke with his preparations before he left the mansion that afternoon. She turned to glance at the clock—there was still a little less than an hour left.
‘If I hurry just a bit, I’ll be fine.’
It was better to stay slightly busy than to sit idle for a whole hour.
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Lina gathered the books into a tall stack and headed toward the library.
“This is a bit awkward.”
Her hand, injured the day before, still hadn’t fully healed. To avoid aggravating the wound while holding the books, she had to adjust her posture, which felt slightly uncomfortable.
“Oh?”
Eventually, the precariously stacked books toppled over and crashed to the floor.
“Hoo—”
As Lina sighed at the scattered books and began picking them up one by one, a man’s hand suddenly reached out and picked up the book she’d been about to grab.
She looked up to see whose hand it was—and recognized a familiar face.
“Henry?”
Henry, with his warm brown hair, shook the book he’d taken from her and said,
“How can someone with an injured hand carry something so heavy?”
“If anyone heard that, they’d think I’d broken a bone or something.”
Annoyed by Henry’s overly protective attitude, she grumbled back.
“Where are you taking these? Let me help.”
Before she could even answer, Henry had already gathered all the books and asked,
“I’m heading to the library, but don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Nothing better to do? Do you even know how busy I am?”
He then proceeded to list off just how packed his day had been.
“Really? But for two people who keep running into each other this often, it hardly seems like coincidence.”
“Wh-what?”
Taken aback by her words, Henry stammered.
“Never mind, then.”
She thought she heard him muttering something behind her, but Lina paid it no mind. By then, they’d already reached the library, and she asked Henry, who was placing the books on the table,
“Actually, Henry.”
“Hmm?”
“When exactly are you planning to confess to May?”
Caught completely off guard by Lina’s blunt question—as if punched in the gut—Henry choked and coughed.
“Wh-what are you talking about?!”
“Weren’t you following me around because of that? Just ask me for help already.”
Henry wore an expression as if he’d been blindsided by a stranger.
“How did you…!”
“If you’re going to be that obvious about it, only a fool wouldn’t notice.”
Before he’d left the mansion, Henry, Lina, and May used to spend time together.
Henry had always been kind and gentle toward Lina and the other servants—but with May alone, he’d been unusually stiff and distant.
At first, she’d wondered if he disliked May.
But then she saw Henry dash through the rain to the village just to buy peaches for May when she was unwell—and that’s when she realized Henry didn’t dislike May at all; he liked her.
Apparently, he was the type who acted aloof toward the girl he liked.
‘Ugh, you two idiots.’
But May had also liked Henry for a long time. Unlike Henry, May’s feelings were obvious—but that fool had never noticed.
‘To think they both believe they’re stuck in unrequited love.’
Their situation frustrated Lina so much that she’d tried several times to create opportunities for them to confess—but every attempt had failed.
‘You can’t eat it even when it’s handed to you, can you?’
She’d been watching again this time, waiting to see when he’d finally confess—and sure enough, it seemed he’d never do it unless she stepped in.
“Shall I help you?”
“R-really?”
Henry answered as if he’d been waiting for her to say those exact words.
‘If Henry is by May’s side, she’ll be alright even after I leave.’
Lina knew she couldn’t stay by May’s side forever.
‘I’ll probably leave the mansion within five years.’
Before then, she wanted to make sure May had someone she could rely on. She opened her mouth to speak to Henry, whose eyes were wide with eager anticipation.
“Then listen carefully to what I say. May…”
Lina gave Henry various pieces of advice to help ease the awkwardness between them. Henry kept nodding earnestly at everything she said.
“Hey, guys, look over there.”
Loen and the other maids, strolling down the hallway, pointed toward the library. Inside, Lina and Henry sat close together, whispering as if sharing a secret.
“There they go again, sticking together like glue?”
“What? Does that mean they’re really…?”
They trailed off suggestively, implying something unsavory about their relationship.
“Loen, don’t worry about it. They’ve been close since forever.”
Seeing Loen’s face darken suddenly, Late whispered. Realizing their misstep, the others quickly chimed in one by one.
“Yeah, yeah! Lina isn’t even that pretty—why does Henry fuss over her so much?”
“Exactly! And the Duke keeps Lina unusually close too.”
The Duke rarely allowed any servant near him except Lina, Head Maid Emma, and Head Butler Kullen.
Emma and Kullen had been with the Duke since childhood, so that was understandable—but Lina was different.
“She was just banished to the annex as a maid not long ago, and now she’s already back as his personal maid.”
The servants had already exchanged gossip many times over how quickly Lina’s punishment had ended.
“That’s right! Susan was whipped and thrown out, after all.”
Apparently, they didn’t care at all that Susan’s offense had been far more serious.
Just then, one of the maids who’d been quietly listening spoke up in a hushed voice.
“Actually, I heard from Jenny… She saw Lina coming out of the Duke’s bedroom early in the morning, looking like she’d just woken up!”
“What?”
The other maids gasped in unison at the news.
“So what does that mean? Are they saying the two of them… spent the night together?”
“Oh my! Oh my!”
“Good heavens—does that mean Lina’s become the Duke’s mistress?”
Everyone stood with their mouths agape in shock.
“No way! What’s so special about Lina? She’s so skinny she looks like a child!”
“And what about Henry? I actually thought Henry liked Lina!”
“Could she be… seeing both men at once?”
They began tearing into Lina as if they’d just found fresh prey.
“Poor Henry!”
“Seriously! She’s such a sly little vixen!”
“She couldn’t possibly become the Duchess, could she…?”
Another maid waved her hands dismissively at that.
“Don’t be ridiculous! How could a commoner ever become a Duchess?”
“But honestly, isn’t Lina being ridiculous too? If she’s the Duke’s mistress, why’s she still flirting with Henry?”
Late cautiously glanced at Loen. Everyone knew Loen had liked Henry for a long time—it was obvious Loen was the angriest person there.
“Loen, are you okay… Loen!?”
Before Late could offer any words of comfort, Loen had already grabbed her bucket and marched toward Lina. Before anyone could stop her, she dumped the entire bucket over Lina’s head.
“Kyaaah!”
Drenched by the sudden deluge, Lina’s whole body soaked through. She barely managed to steady her shocked, frozen body and looked up.
There stood Loen, looking down at her with a smug expression.
“…Loen?”
When their eyes met, Loen brought a finger to her nose and muttered,
“Sorry—I thought I smelled something foul. Turns out it was you, Lina?”
“…What?”
“Loen! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Unable to stand it any longer, Henry stepped in front of Lina and snatched the bucket from Loen’s hands.
Loen opened her mouth as if to say something under Henry’s sharp rebuke, but in the end, she remained silent.
Roughly grabbing the bucket back from his hands, Loen shot Lina a glare and stormed off.
“That…! Loen!”
Lina grabbed Henry’s arm just as he was about to chase after her.
“It’s fine, Henry. Let it go.”
“But…!”
“I don’t want to cause a scene.”
At Lina’s calm words, Henry let out a sigh.
“Haa—. It’s because you just let it slide that they keep bullying you.”
Henry took off the dark brown jacket he was wearing and draped it over Lina’s shoulders. The warm garment enveloped her.
“You might catch a cold—just keep this on for now.”
“Thank you.”
“I think I should report this to Head Maid Emma. I’ll have a word with Loen myself. For now, go change your clothes.”
At Henry’s words, Lina looked up at the clock.
“The Duke will be leaving soon. I should inform him first before changing.”
“You’re going to see His Grace like this—soaked?”
Lina held up the jacket Henry had given her.
“I’ve got this. Just lend it to me for today—I’ll wash it and bring it back tomorrow.”
Henry gave her a look that said he couldn’t stop her, then gently pushed her back.
“Go on, then. You’ll catch a cold otherwise.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
Wrapping herself in Henry’s jacket, she hurried toward her room.
Her conversation with Henry had taken longer than expected, and the unexpected dousing had delayed her even further.
“The Duke must be waiting.”
Truthfully, she was worried about meeting the Duke in such a state—but it seemed better to explain the situation in person than to be late without any explanation at all.
Lina quickened her pace toward the study. Just as she reached for the doorknob—
The closed door suddenly swung open. Before she could recover from the surprise, she felt someone’s presence above her and looked up.
“You’re late.”
There stood the Duke, as if he’d been waiting for her all along.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (42)
“Lina had almost mentioned Roen’s name but didn’t want to make things worse, so she quickly covered it up as her own fault.”
She’s so kind but the ML is childish and annoying
thrme jacket is innocent,does not deserve to be thrown away
I don’t like henry. That guy didn’t know what is boundaries. Said he liked may, but act so close to other woman? Man….
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Blairwoods
Those stupid maids ckck she bullied her in front of someone she like? Stupid
debban23
linas goal now is to become a cupid between may and henry