Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
“Who are you?”
In this place where only the sound of trees clashing with the wind repeated, the man’s chilling voice made the surrounding air feel even colder.
Was it because the frozen air had hurt her throat?
As if something was tightly blocked, no sound came from her quivering lips.
“Can’t you speak?”
Seeing Lina open her mouth like a goldfish, the man furrowed his neat brow and tightened his grip.
“Or are you choosing not to?”
A low, warning voice pierced her ears again.
“Ah…!”
Unable to bear the increasing pressure, Lina let out a faint groan, and only then did he release her wrist.
But unlike her freed arm, she couldn’t escape his persistent gaze.
He scrutinized her, as if trying to confirm her identity.
“So you can speak after all.”
Startled as if doused with cold water by his chilling voice again, Lina quickly clasped her hands at her navel and bowed.
“I’m sorry. I’m a maid working at the Permanence ducal estate, and I came to gather herbs because a colleague was injured, but I heard a noise… I was so startled to see someone that I… I’m truly sorry.”
‘Did he see?’
Trying to calm her pounding heart, she lowered her gaze.
Then, she gently kicked away a branch lying lifelessly on the ground.
No matter how secluded this place was, using magic in the ducal territory? She felt utterly foolish.
“And to think that man was a knight of the Permanence family…!”
That night, if she had known he was a knight of the Permanence family, she wouldn’t have even glanced at him.
If she hadn’t erased her memory, just thinking about what could have happened made her dizzy.
“I didn’t know the Permanence family was so impoverished that they couldn’t treat a single injured maid.”
Lina, desperately bowing as if she might sink into the ground, looked utterly frantic.
The man, gazing at her quietly, let out a sigh-like remark.
“I don’t know why you came here, but you’d better not come back. Go.”
“…Yes. I’ll be more careful in the future! Then—”
Before he could finish, Lina, with proper courtesy, fled toward the estate as if escaping.
For a moment, the man stared at the spot where the maid had vanished, then looked down at his hand.
“What was that just now?”
He tilted his head, as if something felt off.
* * *
The next morning.
Lina was heading to the laundry area, carrying a basket full of clothes.
“Because I was so startled yesterday, I left all the herbs in the Porinendo forest… Sigh—”
That day, to think the knight who spent the night at the party for knights was from the Permanence ducal family.
Lina felt her vision blur.
“Should I just quit…?”
But soon, Lina shook her head, changing her mind.
‘No, no. To quit just because of this? Even though I’ve become the duke’s personal maid, how often will I run into the knights of the estate?’
Since the knights worked far from the main building, she probably wouldn’t encounter them much.
And above all, that man didn’t remember a thing from that night, so how fortunate was that?
She had only been here for three years, and since she hadn’t decided where to go next, leaving so suddenly felt unreasonable.
‘What could possibly happen? He doesn’t even remember anyway.’
“Let’s just do the laundry and think later!”
With renewed vigor, Lina arrived at the small well behind the estate.
Other maids were already gathered there in small groups, washing clothes.
“Did you see the crystal in the second-floor office? It was so beautifully transparent!”
“When I worked at the Count Kuron estate, I saw something similar in the countess’s room. Probably every notable noblewoman has one.”
“Ah…!! I want to have something like that too.”
They were in the middle of lively chatter when—
The moment Lina set down her laundry basket, the noisy atmosphere froze instantly.
“Oh my, who’s this? Isn’t it Lina, the duke’s personal maid?”
“How on earth did she sweet-talk the head maid and butler to snag that position?”
Loen’s sarcastic voice broke the heavy silence.
As if waiting for it, the other maids began chiming in.
‘Here they go again.’
But Lina, ignoring their words completely, focused silently on her laundry.
Feeling ignored by Lina’s demeanor, Loen stomped toward her angrily.
“You’re ignoring us again!!”
“Everyone, stop it.”
“…Susan?”
Susan, who had been quietly observing from the side, raised her head.
With her light brown hair, Susan spoke in a soft, cat-like voice, gently reprimanding Loen and the other maids.
“Don’t be too hard on her. Isn’t it because Lina does her job well that Emma recommended her herself?”
Lina looked at Susan with an expression as if she’d heard something unexpected.
Susan’s sudden kindness made Lina feel an inexplicable unease.
‘I’ll do the laundry in the evening and handle other tasks first.’
She couldn’t keep washing in this atmosphere.
So, Lina quickly gathered the unwashed clothes and left. Watching her go, Loen asked.
“Susan, what’s with you all of a sudden? You used to be so eager to tear Lina down.”
“She’s just… kind of pitiful, don’t you think?”
“Pitiful? Lina, the duke’s personal maid, living the high life?”
Loen muttered, looking at Susan, who still spoke in a gentle tone.
As if hearing Loen’s words, Susan curled one corner of her mouth.
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
A strange, sinister glint flickered in her eyes.
* * *
“Once you enter, bow deeply to the duke immediately. Greet him first, but don’t straighten up until he permits it. Don’t look at the duke’s face carelessly, and don’t speak until he addresses you first. And—”
The butler, as if he didn’t trust Lina, repeated the instructions from the head maid endlessly as they headed to greet the duke.
Her ears were practically calloused from it.
As the butler began again, Lina interrupted him.
“Don’t worry, Butler. I’ve been thoroughly trained by the head maid, so I won’t make mistakes.”
“Alright, I trust you, Lina.”
Reassured by Lina’s confidence, Cullen knocked on the door.
Knock knock—
“Your Grace, it’s Cullen.”
“Come in.”
A deep voice came from behind the door, and Cullen opened it.
Inside the office, only the scratching of a pen and the turning of pages echoed repeatedly.
“It’s my first time meeting you. My name is Lina, and I’ll be serving Your Grace from today.”
Reflexively, Lina bowed deeply, reciting the memorized words.
Then, the scratching pen stopped abruptly, and she felt a piercing gaze on the crown of her head.
Caught off guard by the intense stare, Lina tilted her head and straightened up. Naturally, she looked at the duke’s face and began to speak.
“I will serve Your Grace with utmost sincerity…”
But the moment her eyes met the duke’s, her words froze.
‘No way.’
Barely suppressing a scream, Lina covered her mouth with both hands.
Unable to even think of avoiding the duke’s gaze, her expression hardened as if she’d seen something horrifying.
In contrast, the duke leaned deeper into his chair, raising one corner of his mouth.
“So you really are a maid.”
‘Why is that man…’
[Beware.]On a warm spring day long ago, when a gentle breeze wove through her hair, someone had whispered to her.
[Witches bring bad luck.]Why did that distant memory suddenly resurface?
“Are you done staring?”
He spoke lazily, looking at the maid who stood frozen, her mouth agape.
Snapped out of her daze by Cullen’s nudge, Lina lowered her head.
“Staring so brazenly at your master—what kind of manners are those?”
The man’s lowered voice resonated through the room.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I warned her, but… she must have been nervous and made a mistake.”
Hearing Cullen’s trembling voice, the realization hit Lina again that this man was the duke.
‘The duke, really…?’
Biting her lips, Lina mentally replayed the past events.
Recalling the man’s imposing presence from that day, the doubts she had overlooked began to unravel.
A low sigh escaped Lina’s lips.
‘Why was a duke at that party…!’
She had thought it was a party for low-ranking knights, attended at most by a baronet.
To think a duke was there. Her hands, clasped at her navel, had turned pale.
“I was asking the maid.”
Lina, who had been biting her lips, snapped back to reality at the duke’s question.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I was nervous and committed a discourtesy.”
She tried to act calm, but her mind was a whirlwind of chaos. It felt as if her whole body was paralyzed.
Noticing something off about her, Cullen apologized to the duke again.
“This isn’t like her… I’m sorry. I’ll quickly bring another maid.”
But the duke, ignoring Cullen’s words, scrutinized Lina and asked.
“How old are you? You seem too young to be a maid.”
“I’m twenty-four… Your Grace.”
Lina answered, barely hiding the tremor in her voice.
“Twenty-four…”
The duke tapped his desk lightly, murmuring softly.
“But.”
He didn’t grant Lina’s silent wish.
“Haven’t we met somewhere before?”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (62)
They were fated kah? That scene is so cliche 😂 it’s okey, still good…
as expected haha,good luck to you lina on sticking to your plan
He met her at the forest, and she said that. He still asked her when he heard her reason already? He’s mean
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Blairwoods
As if hearing Loen’s words, Susan curled one corner of her mouth.
“Well, we’ll see about that.”
A strange, sinister glint flickered in her eyes.
There is always character like that ckckck
debban23
haha well the duke remembers you alright,you are doomed