If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties - Chapter 32

Episode 32. The Duke’s Weaknesses (4)

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Dooha arrived with Daniel at a corner garden located quite far from the annexe.

 

“You must be new to space movement magic, are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine except I’m a little dizzy.”

 

In fact, the magic itself seemed to be her first time experiencing, but she didn’t bother to show it.

 

Dooha pushed Daniel, who still had his arm around her waist, and looked around.

 

After confirming that there was no one nearby, Dooha pulled her hood down and swept her hair away.

 

Daniel, who was watching the scene silently, opened his mouth.

 

“That was reckless. I can’t believe you thought of going in there just like that.”

 

“Then how am I supposed to get into a place like that?”

 

“How the hell did you get in there?”

 

“Over the fence.”

 

“A fence full of thorns?”

 

“Something like thorns wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

 

After coming to the Empire, Dooha received the responsibility of management and showed her rough palms, which were unlike the back of her fine hand.

 

“In Bashal, a hand becomes covered with countless cuts from the blade. Don’t worry about unnecessary things.”

 

“You could have gotten the Duke’s permission, but why…?”

 

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed.”

 

“Oh, I thought you were on good terms with the Duke.”

 

“You don’t share all of your secrets just because you’re close, right?”

 

“Well, if I were the Duke, I would have told you right away.”

 

Daniel smiled as he looked at her, who seemed to have heartache for some reason.

 

“By the way, seeing that you managed to get in there even though he didn’t allow it, it must have bothered you a lot that he cherished whatever was in there.”

 

Before she knew it, Daniel was looking at her with mischievous eyes.

 

“Were you worried if there was a woman?”

 

As if he had seen right through her heart.

 

“…You.”

 

The Duke hid something precious in the annexe, so what else could it be so precious that he wanted to hide it from his wife?

 

It was Daniel who said so significantly.

 

Dooha grabbed the hood with strong force alongside a furious face.

 

“If you didn’t say it that way, I wouldn’t have done this…”

 

“I didn’t say anything to rile you up on purpose.”

 

His fine hair fluttered in a pompous manner.

 

“I just told you that the Duke’s precious thing is in the annexe.”

 

“I mean…”

 

“What else is so precious that you would want to hide from an aristocrat in the first place?”

 

Daniel smiled at her bewildered expression as if he had seen a funny sight.

 

“But did you really think that the Duke would have hidden a woman?”

 

“…”

 

“I had no idea that the Duchess would be so distrustful of her husband. I’m lucky, I guess.”

 

Dooha gave up making excuses for his mischievous accusations.

 

From his reaction, the excuses didn’t seem to work.

 

“The combination of rumours and facts was enough to make the situation suspicious.”

 

“Well, maids tend to inflate rumours.”

 

At his words, Dooha touched her forehead and sighed.

 

“So why did you say that to me…?”

 

Daniel drooped his eyebrows, acting as though he was falsely accused.

 

“I’m just trying to help you because you seem to be very interested in the Duke.”

 

“If it was purely meant to help me, you would have immediately told me who was in the annexe.”

 

He rose from his seat as Dooha frowned.

 

“That’s why I ran to Madam today. I cast a spell on the maids and knights who were there to erase your memory so you wouldn’t have to worry about being caught.”

 

“So you want me to thank you? You got me in trouble, but you saved me?”

 

Daniel seemed a little taken aback by her sharp tone.

 

“Oh, I think you’re angrier than I thought.”

 

“Yes, it’s my fault that I misunderstood.”

 

Dooha glared at him with fierce eyes.

 

“But I hate people who play with people’s hearts.”

 

Of course, she was the one who misunderstood every word, but the person who misunderstood was not the one at fault.

 

Thanks to this, Dooha became a coward who secretly dug up the secrets that the Duke wanted to hide.

 

She was ashamed of the fact that she had doubted the Duke and thought that he had a woman, but she was even swayed by others. 

 

She was angry at herself and at the man in front of her.

 

“I’m so disappointed.”

 

Daniel’s eyes were shaken by a short, intense word with sincerity.

 

“Wait!”

 

It was when she turned coldly and he tried to grab Dooha’s wrist.

 

“Ugh!”

 

“It must be easy for men to touch a woman’s body.”

 

Dooha tried to grab his wrist, but rather kicked him behind his knee.

 

“Why do you grab other people’s bodies without permission?”

 

She knelt down on the grass and looked down at the back of Daniel’s head, whose wrist was bent by her.

 

“Or do I just look like a pushover?”

 

“No way.”

 

Daniel tried to smile, enduring the pain felt in his joints that had been broken to their limit.

 

“Madam, will you release me? I’m as fragile as I look.”

 

“Why? You’re a wizard. Try to escape by magic.”

 

“I don’t want to use it for this kind of thing.”

 

From Daniel’s point of view, he said it in consideration of her just in case he would hurt her.

 

But unfortunately, it backfired.

 

“Why? Because I’m a weak woman?”

 

Dooha was frequently ignored in Bashal for being a woman.

 

For her, Daniel’s words were nothing but an offensive provocation, as the duel to decide the position of chief was also dropped because she was a woman.

 

“Then try to hold it in until you can.”

 

Daniel was gritting his teeth because of his shoulder, which had already reached its limit.

 

But Dooha’s power was much stronger than he expected.

 

Daniel had to use magic because he had a premonition that his shoulder would break at any moment.

 

Again, it was a butterfly.

 

Dooha quickly rose from her seat as she looked at her hand clutching the air.

 

Before she knew it, a butterfly made of flame sat gently on her shoulder.

 

“Madam.”

 

And before she knew it, the butterfly was back to its original form.

 

Dooha slowly turned to the voice behind her.

 

Daniel was standing close enough to hear his breath.

 

“I’m sorry, Madam.”

 

Maybe it was because of the slightly bowed head, or the bangs that fell just above his eyes.

 

Daniel’s bright face was shaded.

 

Somehow, looking sullen was like a scolded child.

 

“I went too far with the prank.”

 

“Why did you do that when you knew it was too much?”

 

“I must have been mischievous because I wanted to be friends with you.”

 

As if he knew his face was a weapon, he appealed with an expression of infinite patheticness.

 

“Isn’t it said that a man is a child with only a large body?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m very playful, but I’m a fast learner. From now on, I will never do anything you don’t like.”

 

Daniel gently lowered his long eyelashes.

 

“So don’t tell me you’re disappointed in me.”

 

He seemed very desperate, for some reason.

 

Like there’s nothing more frightening than disappointing someone.

 

She thought he was rough enough to play with a woman in the library, and he was bold enough to go into the off-limits area and ridicule the knights.

 

“Why? Just because I’m a little disappointed in you doesn’t mean it’s a big deal.”

 

“It’s a big deal for me.”

 

His red ruby earrings shook slightly as if they had sensed the owner’s tremor.

 

“I want to get close to Madam.”

 

Daniel’s voice dropped.

 

“I want to keep going.”

 

‘What the hell?’

 

Dooha frowned.

 

In fact, he was a man she didn’t understand from the moment she first met him.

 

The point was that he approached her with a smile, even though he could see what she didn’t like, and kept chasing her even more after he got caught.

 

On top of that, he apologized with a sad face when she said she was disappointed.

 

‘Are you really a pervert?’

 

Dooha looked at him for a long time and finally opened her mouth.

 

“Do you really want me to forgive you?”

 

“Very desperately.”

 

“Well, there’s a condition.”

 

“Condition?”

 

“Yeah. Did you really want to be forgiven with just your bare mouth?”

 

Dooha’s golden eyes twinkled in the sun.

 

She was always on the side of the bargainer.

 

“Don’t worry. It’s not too much to ask.”

 

***

 

“Daniel in the annexe?”

 

“Yes, I missed him because he ran away with magic.”

 

Claude, the Duke’s loyal lieutenant, bowed his head, ashamed.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Instead of answering, Leonhart only wiped dry blood off his armour with a cool face.

 

For a person who had been wallowing in an area infested with monsters for over half a day, he looked too casual.

 

Claude opened his mouth cautiously as he watched him.

 

“Why don’t we put a magic barrier on the annexe…?”

 

“That’s not enough. Barriers are meaningless to him.”

 

Unfortunately, Daniel was a very good wizard.

 

The only person who could create a barrier that he cannot break into would be the only owner of the White Tower, Serion.

 

“Leave him alone. It’s just a whim.”

 

After all, it was Daniel who had not come to the annexe, even before leaving the Duke’s Castle three years ago.

 

Indeed, he wouldn’t have thought of meeting Margaret even if he had a conscience the size of a hair strand.

 

It was because Nate and Daniel were the two people who repaid Margaret’s kindness to her when they were young, who raised them on behalf of their busy parents.

 

This time, for some reason, it was obvious that it would be a moment of whimsy.

 

Daniel was always like that.

 

He was fickle and could only tell lies.

 

Daniel was like that to Leonhart, at least now, if not back in the day.

 

“Was there anyone else suspicious besides him?”

 

“Oh, that’s…”

 

Claude hesitated to talk about what happened during the day.

 

Even Claude, who was not usually afraid of monsters, had something to fear.

 

It was the scolding of the Duke of Esbaden.

 

Although the maid of the duchess hung around near the annexe, he couldn’t call her suspicious.

 

No matter what anyone said, she was the closest person to the Duchess aside from the Duke.

 

In addition, the lady suddenly collapsed in pain and suffered untimely.

 

For Claude, he wanted to avoid a situation where she suffered and cursed at him as much as she wanted.

 

“Oh, there was no one. Except for Daniel.”

 

“…It’s all right if there was no one else. I’ll go in first.”

 

Claude bowed deeply to the Duke’s back, returning to the castle without saying a word.

 

He had no idea how the words he didn’t tell the Duke would affect the Duke’s relationship.

***