Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
Belige heard this morning that Thunder was struggling to adjust to the new environment.
“Come to think of it, the soldiers had a hard time with him too.”
Due to his highly sensitive nature, Thunder only obeyed his master and rejected the touch of others.
“He probably couldn’t even run properly.”
Imagining Thunder unable to even leave the stable, Belige quickened his pace.
The persistent headache he’d had for days was bothersome, but not enough to disrupt his daily life.
As he neared the stable, he heard the faint sound of hooves.
“Whoever it is, the sound is lively, so they must be quite excited.”
About to pass by, Belige grew curious about the source of the sound and changed direction.
On the wide clearing, a familiar black horse was galloping proudly.
“…Thunder?”
He had thought Thunder would be struggling with the new environment.
Yet there he was, running so joyfully, and with a stranger in the saddle no less.
“The person up there, could it be…?”
To think the rider wasn’t even a stablehand but a maid.
Did this maid, riding so carefree, realize how grave an offense she was committing?
The duke, debating whether to call them, decided to observe a bit longer.
It wasn’t long after Belige began watching them from the shade of a tree.
The maid rode two more laps before leading Thunder back to the stable.
As he slowly stepped out of the shade, he spoke to Lina.
“Done with your stroll?”
The duke stared intently at the visibly startled maid, finding her stiff, log-like turn almost amusing.
“Your… Your Grace…?”
He coldly gazed at the maid calling him with a trembling voice.
Then Thunder moved, stepping in front of Lina as if to protect her from Belige.
At Thunder’s antics, Belige let out a small, incredulous sigh.
“Thunder, come here. I’m your master.”
But Thunder only snorted, ignoring Belige’s command.
To think his horse, who had been with him for years, was defying him to protect a maid he’d barely met. Belige’s mouth soured.
“Thunder! Go now.”
Even Lina, noticing the duke’s mood, urged Thunder, who reluctantly shuffled toward Belige.
To a stranger, it might seem like Lina was the horse’s master.
‘Unbelievable.’
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. He’s been cooped up in the stable for so long, I thought a walk would help…”
“You know it’s wrong, so that’s something.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Looking down at Lina bowing in apology, the duke let out a small breath.
“But you rode quite well. When did you learn to ride?”
He took a step toward Lina.
“…I learned from my father, who was a stablehand when I was young.”
He took another step, murmuring.
As the distance to the duke felt too close,
Belige reached out toward Lina. His large hand slowly approached her face.
“Your Grace…?”
A rustling sound brushed her ear as a leaf tangled in her hair fell away.
“A father who taught you to ride and a mother who taught you about magical tools…”
Was it her imagination that the duke’s usually cold voice suddenly felt soft?
“You had good parents.”
Lina couldn’t breathe until the duke’s hand moved away. The leaf that had been in his grasp floated off in the breeze.
“…Normally, I’d punish you for riding a horse without the master’s permission… but I’ll let it slide this once.”
“…Thank you.”
“Now go.”
Lina quickly bowed to the duke and hurried away.
Belige silently watched the maid hasten away from him, just as he had in the forest that day.
* * *
As soon as Belige returned to his office, he summoned Cullen and asked for Lina’s resume and recommendation letter.
“A letter from Baroness Anthony.”
“Yes. Lina’s father was a stablehand for Baron Anthony, and her mother was the baroness’s personal maid. After losing both parents in an accident, she left her hometown, and the baroness, pitying her, wrote the recommendation letter.”
Indeed, perhaps because of her mother’s teachings, Lina learned tasks faster and was more mature than other maids her age.
The older servants pitied her circumstances and adored Lina for her skill and composure beyond her years.
‘There’s no way a baroness from some obscure province would know about a verdant stone.’
“Send Lawrence to the south to investigate Baron Anthony, and verify if the recommendation letter and her records are true.”
“Yes.”
Cullen wanted to ask why the duke was investigating Lina’s background, but knowing not to question his master, he quietly left the office.
Once Cullen was gone, Belige leaned back in his chair, recalling his earlier moment with Lina.
Her riding posture was so refined, it wasn’t the skill of someone who had ridden for just a year or two.
‘She knows about verdant stones and can ride a horse? And with such poise?’
“No ordinary maid would be like that, and…”
He looked down at his right hand, which had removed the leaf.
“It’s definitely strange…”
Whenever he brushed past that maid, the persistent headache that no medicine could cure would vanish, and the air around him felt clearer.
‘It was the same in the forest that day.’
When he grabbed the maid’s wrist in the forest, drawn there by his headache, the pain vanished like a lie.
And, caught off guard by the sudden clarity, he hadn’t even thought to punish the maid for entering the forbidden forest.
“It was the same on the stairs too.”
Could this maid be connected to his family’s curse?
Even if she wasn’t, it was undeniable that his pain briefly disappeared whenever he touched her.
For reasons unknown, this tiny maid kept tugging at his nerves.
From the moment they first met until now.
After a moment of thought, Belige stood up, as if resolved.
“Then I’ll have to confirm it with my own eyes.”
* * *
“Lina, bring a new incense burner to the duke’s bedroom.”
“Me?”
Lina answered blankly to the head maid’s order to go to the duke’s bedroom.
The duke’s bedroom, for security reasons, was off-limits to anyone except the assigned maids, the head maid, and the butler.
“Haven’t you heard? You’ve been reinstated as the duke’s personal maid starting today.”
“What? Why so suddenly…”
“It’s a good thing, isn’t it? You were unfairly treated because of Susan.”
“No, I didn’t mean…”
Lina tried to protest the unwelcome news, but Emma wasn’t listening.
“No need to worry. The duke himself requested you, so hurry and bring the incense burner.”
“…The duke himself…?”
‘That’s even more unsettling… What is he thinking?’
The unease from earlier that day clung to Lina like a shadow.
‘I’d rather be punished and be done with it. And his behavior earlier was strange too…’
Ignoring Lina’s troubled expression, Emma placed the incense burner in her empty hands.
Lost in thought, Lina smelled the faint fragrance and asked Emma.
“A southern incense burner?”
“The duke hasn’t been sleeping well lately, so the butler specially sourced this. It’s a sleep incense; they say it helps you sleep deeply if lit before bed. It’s your job now, so don’t forget to place it in the bedroom.”
‘Insomnia, huh? No wonder his eyes looked darker and sharper than a few days ago.’
Sighing inwardly, Lina replied.
“Yes, I understand.”
* * *
Knock knock—
Standing before the duke’s bedroom, Lina knocked, but there was no response.
‘Is no one there?’
Confirming the duke’s absence, Lina opened the door and entered.
Seeing the dark bedroom with no light, she briefly considered lighting a lamp but decided to just place the incense burner and leave, striding toward the bed.
Clunk—
Placing the incense burner on the small table beside the bed, Lina noticed something bulging under the sheets.
“What’s this?”
Approaching the bed casually, Lina caught her breath.
In the corner of the bed she thought was empty, the duke lay with his eyes closed.
‘Why didn’t the head maid tell me the duke was in here!?’
Swallowing her silent frustration, Lina turned to hurry out of the bedroom.
“Ugh… ngh.”
But a groan from behind stopped her in her tracks.
Sweat beaded on the duke’s furrowed brow, soaking his black hair.
Clutching the white sheets tightly with both fists, the man twisted his head side to side, looking tormented, as if caught in a bad dream.
‘He’s having a nightmare… Should I wake him?’
Remembering Emma’s words about the duke’s sleeplessness, she hesitated, but his suffering made her feel pity.
‘Better to sleep less than to suffer like this, right?’
Deciding, Lina approached the duke’s bedside and cautiously knelt.
“Ahem, excuse me, Your Grace.”
Despite clearing her throat to make her presence known, the duke didn’t open his eyes.
‘Insomnia? He’s sleeping too well.’
His current state reminded her of that day when he didn’t wake despite her noisy exit. The difference was, back then he seemed peaceful, but now he looked in pain.
“Your Grace?”
She called louder, but there was still no response. After a moment’s hesitation, Lina gently placed a hand on his shoulder to wake him.
It happened in an instant. Her vision flipped.
The duke, now awake, was atop her, staring down with a chilling gaze.
A deep, cave-like voice echoed coldly in her ears.
“Who exactly are you?”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
MANGA DISCUSSION
2 Comments
Chapter Comments (54)
“But her face had gone pale—she’d unintentionally assaulted the duke.”
No girl, he did!!!
lina thought she is out of the bushes haha,think again
Why is ml always starting with being rude and mean to the fl?
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Blairwoods
“Even if she wasn’t, it was undeniable that his pain briefly disappeared whenever he touched her”
Yeah, i guess they are fated lovers
debban23
duke having ideas now,you cant escape anymore lina