Shall I Save You, Duke? (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9

Lina flinched at the suddenly narrowed distance and stepped backward.

“I thought you were reckless, but you’re even impudent.”

Yet, as if refusing to let her retreat further, the Duke stepped closer to Lina and spoke.

“Not only did you assault the master you serve, but you also tried to run away…?”

Despite his harsh, threatening words, the Duke’s expression—lifting one corner of his mouth as he spoke—looked almost amused.

“You’ve committed more than just one offense. How should I even begin to hold you accountable for all this…? Shall we discuss it thoroughly at Terethis?”

‘Terethis?!’

Lina was startled by the familiar word from the Duke’s lips. Terethis was a holding facility in the Empire where those accused of crimes underwent interrogation before trial.

But though it appeared merely as a detention center on the surface, it was infamous for interrogating prisoners through every cruel method imaginable.

‘Just because a mere maid struck your leg once, you mention Terethis?! Isn’t that going too far?’

Lina possessed an immortal body; no matter how deep the wound, it would heal completely over time without any treatment.

Yet if she were to be mistakenly subjected to torture at Terethis with such a body, she’d surely expose her immortality.

‘And I absolutely hate pain!’

Lina hastily dropped to her knees and pleaded with the Duke.

“P-Please forgive me, Your Grace! I’ll do anything you ask! Just please, not Terethis…!”

“You’ll truly do anything I ask?”

“Yes! Anything at all!”

“Then.”

The Duke smiled leisurely and said,

“Repay me—with your body.”

Ding-.

“Oh dear, it seems His Grace the Duke is calling for you again, Lina.”

Lina, who had been sitting in the dining room eating soup, slammed her spoon down loudly at the sound of the bell ringing yet again.

“Sigh…”

It was already the thirteenth time today. Because the bell had been ringing nonstop since morning, Lina had missed her proper mealtime and was now eating a late lunch alone.

But even this was interrupted by the bell that had just rung.

“Lina, did something happen between you and His Grace?”

“What do you mean, ‘something’?”

“Well… how else could he keep summoning only you, specifically?”

‘Right, it’s understandable she’d find that odd.’

Whenever the bell connecting the Duke’s room rang frequently, Emma—feeling sorry for Lina who couldn’t even eat her meals—once went to the Duke’s room in her stead.

[His Grace says he’s looking for you.]

But Emma returned almost immediately with only the Duke’s words that he wanted Lina. The same happened afterward whether the butler went or other maids and servants tried.

[His Grace is asking for you, Lina—only you.]

After this repeated several times, everyone now assumed that whenever the bell rang, the Duke was calling for Lina.

‘So that’s what he meant by “repay me with your body.”’

Ever since that night, the Duke seemed determined to summon her at every possible moment, assigning her all sorts of tasks.

‘I feel like a complete fool.’

She had imagined all sorts of dangerous scenarios from the Duke’s final words.

Yet, as if mocking her, every task he gave her turned out to be nothing but trivial, annoying chores.

‘Sigh-. But worse still, I’ll have to repeat that every morning from now on…’

The Duke had always greeted her with a perfectly neat appearance even before she entered his room.

But this morning, seeing him lying disheveled in bed made her heart plummet to the floor in an entirely different way.

At the sight of the Duke so thoroughly relaxed, Lina didn’t know where to look.

When she hurriedly tried to leave the room after placing only his clothes down, the Duke’s languid voice caught her by the ankle.

[Where are you going?] […Yes?] [My clothes.] [Oh, I’ve left them here. Then I’ll take my leave…] [No.][Is there… something else you’d like me to do…?] [You have to dress me.] […Yes?] [Dressing me has always been your duty, hasn’t it?]

Normally, her morning would end after simply bringing warm wash water, fresh clothes, and a light breakfast.

‘He didn’t lift a single finger.’

From changing his clothes to styling his hair, not a single thing was done without passing through Lina’s hands.

‘Couldn’t he at least fasten his own buttons?’

While dressing him, the only thing the Duke did was raise and lower his arms.

‘Even serving a young noble lady wouldn’t involve this much work.’

Seeing the Duke’s bare skin first thing in the morning was already unbearable, but facing him directly while fastening his buttons was no easy task either.

“Why on earth is he suddenly acting like this?”

Lina pouted and grumbled as she headed toward the Duke’s room once again to perform another pointless chore.

By now, the sun had set, and evening approached. Lina hadn’t managed a proper meal all day, worn out from the Duke’s constant demands.

Yet she still had to deliver his dinner, so she pushed the cart toward his room.

Knock knock-.

“I’ve brought your dinner, Your Grace.”

“Come in.”

‘So I have to serve meals to the very man who won’t even let me rest.’

Lina sighed inwardly as she placed each dish from the cart onto the table one by one. When the Duke sat down to eat, Lina began filling his empty water glass.

‘I heard from other maids that he usually just eats on his own once the meal is served, even pouring his own water…’

Yet for some reason, he demanded much more from her.

‘Then I’ll just prepare everything perfectly beforehand so he won’t have a single thing to complain about!’

Remembering how much she’d suffered at his hands during every meal, she’d taken care to arrange everything flawlessly in advance so the Duke wouldn’t utter a word.

But contrary to Lina’s hopes, the Duke took one sip of water and set it down.

“The water is too cold. Bring me some warm water.”

“Yes. I’ll bring you fresh water right away.”

Lina hurried off and returned quickly with warm water, pouring it into a new glass.

“Then please enjoy your—”

“This time the water is too hot.”

‘This man really…’

“…Yes. I’ll bring you fresh water right away.”

Lina forced down her boiling frustration and fetched new water, carefully pouring it into the glass.

‘This should be fine now, right?’

“Then please enjoy your din—”

“Salt.”

“Yes?”

“Bring me the salt.”

‘Your Grace, the salt is right within your reach if you’d just stretch your arm.’

Biting her lips tightly, Lina suppressed the words rising to her throat and placed the salt shaker before the Duke.

‘Just how did he manage to eat before?’

The Duke required assistance in absolutely everything, as if he’d never eaten a meal on his own in his life.

Because of this, Lina had to remain by his side throughout his entire meal.

After enduring the Duke’s demands all day, Lina collapsed onto a kitchen chair and gulped down water.

“Lina, is your work very hard? You look unwell.”

At May’s worried tone, Lina pulled out the mirror from her pocket and looked at herself. Her face clearly showed signs of exhaustion.

“May… Why do people have to eat three times a day…?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

‘Even a child wouldn’t ask for everything to be done for them like this.’

Just thinking about enduring the same ordeal at every mealtime made Lina dizzy.

“I was happier back in the annex…”

Originally, different maids handled different duties, so responsibilities were naturally divided.

But now the Duke assigned all tasks solely to Lina all day long, pushing her to the brink of collapse from overwork and stress.

‘At this rate, does he think I’m the only maid in the entire mansion?’

Clearly, the Duke had made up his mind to keep her from resting even a moment. Lina longed for the quiet days when she cleaned the empty annex alone.

‘He told me to return a book to the library, and as soon as I came back, he asked me to fetch another one.’

Memories of the day’s events flashed through Lina’s mind.

“He could’ve just told me everything at once! It’s not like he’s training a dog!”

‘And then he tells me to fan him because it’s hot.’

“With all his money, why doesn’t he just buy a temperature regulator?! Even a newborn baby wouldn’t be this troublesome!”

By now, in Lina’s eyes, the Duke had degraded from a noble lord to a child—and now to someone even worse than an infant.

Unaware that May had already left, Lina muttered to herself until a voice calling her name snapped her back to reality.

“Lina! His Grace is looking for you!”

Lina had no doubt that her name was the most frequently called one in Permanence Manor today.

“You look quite tired.”

‘Yeah. I’m so exhausted I could fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow. So please stop summoning me so much, you damn Duke.’

Contrary to the fierce thoughts raging in Lina’s mind, her mouth produced the perfect, polite response expected of a servant.

It was the moment her long-honed social skills truly shone.

“I’m not tired at all, Your Grace.”

“Then that’s good. I’ve been overwhelmed with work—my shoulders are stiff and I’m utterly exhausted. Come and massage them for me.”

Something inside Lina’s head snapped loudly, but she barely held on thanks to the patience cultivated over four hundred years.

“Wouldn’t a warm bath help you relax, Your Grace?”

“A bath?”

“Yes. Adding some scented oil to warm water should relieve much of your fatigue.”

The Duke, who had been gazing at Lina with sharp, focused eyes, soon nodded as if in agreement and said,

“That sounds good.”

“Then I’ll prepare the warm water right away.”

‘I’ll just fill the tub quickly and get some rest. It’s already late—he’ll probably go straight to bed after his bath.’

Eager to rest even a moment sooner, Lina hurriedly began drawing water. Once the tub was full of hot water, she led the Duke to the bathroom.

“Your Grace, your bath is ready.”

“Good.”

“I’ll prepare your change of clothes. Please relax.”

Just as Lina, bowing low, reached for the bathroom doorknob to leave,

“Where are you going?”

“Yes?”

The Duke’s languid voice caught her by the ankle.

“You have to come in with me.”

“…Yes?”

“Isn’t assisting with a bath part of a maid’s duty?”

Lina blinked rapidly, trying to process the situation.

It was only natural for a maid to assist her master with his bath.

‘But an unmarried nobleman receiving a bath from a young maid?’

This was clearly a situation ripe for misunderstanding. Flustered by the man’s overly confident demeanor, Lina couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Her lips trembled as she stammered,

“B-But…”

She could already feel the Duke’s hot breath against her skin, having drawn so close there was barely a hand’s width between them.

“You said you’d repay me—with your body.”