Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Rage.
It spread like wildfire, scorching and tearing through his mind.
Where exactly was this arrow of emotion aimed? He couldn’t even tell.
But if there was one thing certain—
It was that he simply couldn’t bear to see those two together. The sharp sound of boots striking the floor echoed throughout the hall.
“Did I happen to interrupt something?”
Belige spoke in a voice colder than ever before. Startled by the sudden voice, Lina and Henry turned toward the entrance of the hall.
“Your Grace…?”
Seeing their eyes—filled with the look one gives an unwelcome intruder—Belige felt a surge of something hot well up inside his chest.
“I never expected a mere insect to be here without my permission.”
It was truly strange. His insides burned as though turned upside down, yet his exterior was so cold it seemed to freeze the very air around him.
“Why don’t you try offering an excuse?”
Anger seemed to radiate from each step the man took as he moved toward them.
“We’re— we’re so sorry!”
Reacting as if suddenly remembering something, Henry and Lina bowed deeply in apology at the duke’s sharp demeanor. The gallery hall was never meant to be freely accessible.
Since it housed the family’s entire collection of valuables, only the master of the estate could enter without explicit permission.
Yet Henry had entered without authorization. Casting a quick, anxious glance at the trembling Henry, Lina pleaded with the duke.
“I’m so sorry, Your Grace. Please forgive us. I accidentally left my cleaning rag behind… Henry only came in briefly to return it to me.”
“You came in just to deliver an item?”
Perhaps because the duke’s voice had dropped even lower, Henry felt an odd shiver run through his body.
Entering the gallery hall without permission was indeed a serious offense, but if nothing had gone missing, such incidents were often quietly overlooked.
“Yes. I originally intended to hand it over at the entrance, but I was busy cleaning and didn’t hear Henry calling me. So I only stepped inside for a moment.”
Belige, who had quietly approached her side, whispered,
“You never open your mouth without telling a lie.”
“…What?”
Sensing the atmosphere had taken a strange turn, Henry dropped to his knees before the duke.
“It’s entirely my fault, Your Grace! Lina had no idea I was coming.”
“No, Your Grace! It was my fault for bringing Henry—!”
“Enough.”
Raising his arm as if refusing to hear another word, he cut them off. Then he fixed his gaze on Henry.
“Your name is Henry, correct?”
“…Yes, Your Grace.”
“Entering this place without any permission is unquestionably your fault.”
“…Yes. I understand. I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit.”
Henry’s voice trembled slightly with fear as he answered with resignation.
“Normally, you’d be flogged and expelled from the estate, but considering your father has served this household faithfully for many years, I shall show mercy.”
Lina and Henry swallowed hard, waiting for the duke’s next words.
“Leave this estate on your own two feet.”
At the duke’s words—spoken as though granting a kindness—Lina’s lips stiffened.
Even Henry, who had expected at most a pay cut, stared at the duke with wide eyes, clearly unprepared for such severity.
“Your Grace…!”
To be cast out of the estate… For Henry, who had belonged to the Permanence family since birth, this was akin to losing his homeland.
Moreover, it wasn’t just his father—nearly his entire family worked here.
“Your Grace! Expel him from the estate? Henry was born and raised here! His whole family lives here—if he’s driven out…”
Though Henry had indeed entered the hall without permission, this punishment was far too harsh.
Worse still, the duke hadn’t even verified whether anything was missing before delivering judgment. It made no sense.
Watching Lina defend Henry as though she were his advocate, Belige’s lips twisted slightly.
“What exactly do you find so harsh?”
“Then at least first check what, if anything, is missing from here. It’s not too late to decide the punishment afterward.”
“I’ll verify that in due time. Is anyone out there?”
Deciding punishment before even weighing the crime—where had such conduct ever been seen?
“Your Grace!”
“Enough.”
Lina, about to speak further to the duke, fell silent at his words.
“Don’t overstep your bounds again, Lina.”
A brief silence hung between them.
The entrance of the hall grew noisy, and soon knights stormed inside.
“My leniency toward you ends here.”
One knight stepped close to Belige, awaiting his command.
“Take him away.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the knights seized Henry’s arms to drag him out, Lina dropped to her knees and grabbed the hem of Belige’s trousers.
“Let me go instead.”
Convinced it was right for her to leave if anyone must be expelled, Lina pleaded.
“What?”
“Henry came here partly because of me. If someone must leave the estate, let it be me in Henry’s place.”
Watching Lina’s plea, something hot seemed to surge within the duke’s eyes.
“What should I do?”
The duke knelt on one knee to match Lina’s eye level, then gently lifted her chin with his fingers and murmured,
“I never intended to punish you.”
Several days had already passed since that incident. The maids and servants had grown cautious in all their actions, and the atmosphere felt much heavier. And—
“Because of her, Henry…”
“Lina is the duke’s mistress…”
Whenever Lina passed by, others’ gazes and whispers followed her as if by prior agreement. Yet she pretended not to notice and simply focused on doing her duties as best she could.
‘The duke’s mistress? Me?’
A rumor had been circulating since that day: the duke’s mistress had been unfaithful with a servant, so the duke had expelled the disloyal servant from the estate.
It was nothing short of scandalous.
According to May, someone had seen Lina leaving the duke’s bedroom a few days ago. There were also whispers that she attended to the duke’s bath every day.
“The man’s mistress, indeed.”
Where in the world was there a mistress treated like this? Lina scoffed inwardly as she knocked on the door.
Knock knock—
Inside, Henry was packing his belongings, with May helping him gather his things.
“You’re here?”
Having been imprisoned for several days while the hall was investigated, Henry had begun packing the moment he was released, preparing to leave the estate.
Noticing Lina as he placed clothes into his bag, he smiled.
“…Henry. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It was my fault.”
“But—”
“Just think of it as going back to the capital to study again. And the butler said that if I stay in the capital for now, he’ll speak well of me later. Since nothing’s missing from the gallery hall, it’ll be fine. So please, don’t worry too much.”
Yet as she listened to Henry’s words, May quietly wiped away tears.
“Don’t cry. I’ll be back soon. We’re not parting forever, so why act like this?”
“…Okay.”
Henry comforted May, stroking her head. Watching the two of them, Lina felt a pang of complicated emotions and quietly slipped out of the room.
“Mr. Rick said it wasn’t my fault, but…”
Rick, the stablemaster, had even comforted her, saying he’d been troubled more by his own foolish son. Lina felt both guilt and gratitude toward them.
Entering her room with a heavy heart, Lina couldn’t help but sigh.
“Sigh… Again?”
Lina looked at her clothes, stained with filth. Ever since that day, someone had begun subtly tormenting her.
‘Could it be Loen…?’
With Susan gone, Loen was the only one who came to mind as capable of such acts. But without any concrete evidence—only suspicion—she couldn’t properly confront her.
“How tiresome. Truly.”
The harassment, which she’d expected to last only a day or two, had now dragged on for nearly a week.
“I never thought it would go on this long.”
Sighing, she gathered her clothes and headed to the laundry area. Lately, Lina found herself washing clothes several times a day.
‘But why does my body feel so heavy? Am I coming down with something…?’
Perhaps it was from all the recent stress. Today, in particular, her body felt unusually weak and shivery.
In truth, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she fell ill.
Attending to the duke, cleaning the gallery hall, enduring her coworkers’ harassment—and Henry’s ordeal—had left her body and mind utterly exhausted.
‘At least it’s a small mercy that I’ve been spending less time near His Grace lately…’
The duke, who’d seemed in a foul mood ever since that day, hadn’t been summoning her much recently.
‘Has His Grace heard the rumors too?’
For an unmarried duke, such a scandal would certainly be troubling. Strangely, the rumors surrounding her and the duke only seemed to grow louder each day.
As though someone were deliberately spreading them.
Recalling the swirling gossip in the estate, Lina froze the moment she stepped into the laundry area.
“What… is this?”
Her clothes lay shredded to pieces on the damp earthen ground. Had she not known they were hers, she might not have recognized them as clothing at all.
“How on earth did this happen? Who could have done this…!”
As Lina muttered, picking up the torn garments, familiar voices sounded from behind her.
“Oh my! Your clothes are completely ruined!”
“If you just wiggle your hips, His Grace will buy you new ones. What’s there to worry about?”
“If you’re really the mistress, act like one—just flutter your eyelashes in the duke’s bedroom. Why pretend to be a maid and muddy the waters?”
“Exactly. Because of her, poor Henry got expelled for nothing!”
Lina rose from her spot, glaring at Loen and her group.
“What did you just say?”
“What? Did we say something wrong? Hey, everyone! Did I say anything untrue?”
Loen’s eyes, seeking agreement from those around her, burned with hostility toward Lina.
“You did this, didn’t you?”
“You’re accusing us? Do you even have proof?”
Loen crossed her arms and sneered mockingly.
“I don’t have proof. But does it matter?”
“What?”
Lina gently set down the clothes she’d been holding.
“If I really am the duke’s mistress, as you claim, do you think he’d refuse if I asked him to get rid of a few of you?”
“Wh-what are you saying?!”
Loen stammered, clearly flustered.
“If you insist I’m the mistress, then I’ll act like one—fluttering my eyelashes in His Grace’s bedroom.”
Lina took a gentle step toward them and said softly,
“What if I beg the duke to have you whipped and driven out—just like Susan?”
Only then did they seem to realize something had gone terribly wrong.
Their earlier confidence vanished, and they began exchanging uneasy glances.
“Oh! Right! Lady Emma asked me to do something—I completely forgot!”
“Huh? Oh! Me too!”
Making clumsy excuses, they one by one hurriedly left the laundry area, leaving Loen trembling alone.
“Loen.”
Lina smiled at her.
“Aren’t you going?”
Biting her lip, Loen clenched her fists in frustration—but soon fled the spot as if running away.
“Whew—”
Alone in the laundry area, Lina bent down to gather her ruined clothes. Raindrops began falling one by one from the darkening sky, growing steadily heavier.
“People really do come up with all sorts of things…”
Lina muttered as she picked up the scattered garments. Perhaps weighed down by the rain, she stood there with her head bowed for a long while.
“Should I just give it all up…?”
Her body, her heart—and all of this—had worn her down completely.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (36)
Omo omo!! He’s crazy!!! Just let her go! She has magic right!
oh my gosh,the duke lost his mind,lina escape for the woods
I wonder if ml realised his feeling to her or he just want her bcs his curse?
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Blairwoods
“Her body, her heart—and all of this—had worn her down completely.”
Runaway girl!!!
debban23
she is tired of all the drama,lina just wants to live by