Shall I Save You, Duke?

Chapter 11

Early dawn. Duke Valige, having awakened from sleep, turned his head at the rustling sound coming from beside his pillow.

Lina, lying with her eyes closed in an uncomfortable position, seemed to have fallen asleep sometime earlier, breathing softly.

'She must have fallen asleep here.'

Did she know that this place was his bedroom? Her face, deeply asleep, was only peaceful.

The Duke examined the maid's face carefully, from her forehead to her eyes, and then her lips. Everything seemed to be something he was seeing for the first time since she had come to the mansion.

'Why does it feel so familiar?'

Valige reached out his arm, to see the maid's face more closely. Her shallow breath brushed against his skin.

And her somewhat stiff hair tangled around his fingers.

The fresh energy emanating from the maid spread through his fingertips and into his entire body.

Like rain seeping into the hem of his clothes, very slowly.

The clear air seemed to calm the boiling blood within his body.

"Haa- ."

Valige's eyelids fluttered as he let out a satisfied breath.

"But what was that dream about......"

Valige's brow furrowed as he tried to recall his memory. It was unfamiliar, having not had such a nightmare in a while. But more than that,

"What were those sensations?"

Valige muttered, clenching and unclenching his fists.

It was strange. That the nightmare that had tormented him was so vividly remembered. The unpleasant, sticky sensations that had clung to his entire body still seemed to linger.

The dreadful howling noise that rang in his ears. The putrid smell that stung his nose. All these things made Valige's feet feel numb.

No matter how he struggled and screamed, nothing changed. Cutting down everything that rushed at him was futile.

As if he had fallen into an inescapable swamp. They only tightened around Valige's throat.

Would he suffocate in this nightmare? A ray of light came to him, who was in despair.

That light brightly shone around, and in an instant, dispelled what was choking his throat.

And when he opened his eyes in that warm light.

The maid was there.

The relief that he had escaped from there was short- lived, and Valige began to falter on the boundary between reality and dream.

Even after opening his eyes, his body trembled at the unpleasant sensations lingering on his skin and the eerie noises that seemed to ring in his ears.

He was afraid.

Even though he had awakened from the dream, the remnants of the nightmare seemed to slowly climb up his feet and choke his neck.

Until he felt the warmth that enveloped his cold hand.

The quiet that cleared the confusing noise. And the peace that felt like a lie.

["I'll be by your side."]

Her voice calmed Valige's turbulent heart like a rough wave.

["Don't be anxious, Duke."]

A peaceful voice like leaves brushing against each other in the wind.