# Chapter 16

Episode #16      Kiss

“Send him back,” said Lucifella wearily, not thinking about it much.

“My Lady, you said he could come,” said the maid who had been waiting for her answer.

Lucifella tilted her head at her. In the morning, she remembered she nodded her head to what she was saying, and that was it.

“Shall I send him back?”

Unlike her other maids, Roisa bravely asked her opinion.

Lucifella pondered for a moment what to do, and then she shook her head. She didn’t know why, she just wanted to see his face.

Unmanaged, frizzy hair was trimmed, and over the nightgown, a thick robe woven of warm yarn was draped over her. Lucifella was still hazy from her fever.

“Should I go down?”

When she asked if she should go down to her parlor, Roisa shook her head.

“His Highness has to come up to your room. My Lady is too sick!”

“Okay.”

Lucifella looked out of the window next to her in a dazed state when the maids finished their final makeover.

The sky was gray, and the whole landscape was shrouded in fog. Lucifella was immersed in her thoughts.

‘Where did Estelle go?’

That was the question she had since she met Khalid again. She still didn’t get an answer.

Then she heard the footsteps walking in this direction, and the door opened. Nevertheless, Lucifella’s gaze was directed toward her window.

“Leave us.”

A familiar male voice echoed quietly in the room. Then the maid bowed and went outside, closing the door.

The room was engulfed in silence, before the sound of clattering footsteps spread, and then he stayed by the bed. Then there was silence again.

Lucifella heard a man’s voice with a sigh.

“Have you really gone crazy?”

“… … .”

Lucifella turned her head. He must have been to the royal palace, so he was wearing a black uniform. Her gaze rested on the clothes.

“Is that a knight uniform?”

“What?”

Jed looked at Lucifella with a puzzled expression on his face. Jed thought she was crazy because Lucifella was sick - he concluded with the benefit of the doubt.

“Yeah, it’s a knight uniform,” he said.

“It looks great.”

What did that mean all of a sudden?

Jed was at a loss. He looked down at his knightly uniform. ‘Is this a great design?’

Hearing the unexpected in unexpected circumstances, he wondered whether this uniform looked that good.

Red-brown eyes scanned her face with a drained look.

“My Lady, you do look really sick.”

Lucifella laughed at his words. She had a sad smile that was completely different from the smile he had seen at the banquet. Jed couldn’t understand this woman at all.

Lucifella looked at Jed. Jed was still standing, so Lucifella needed to raise her head, but she did not refute. Uniform - it was the clothes that she wore until she died.

“What did you do today?”

“What?”

“Did you practice swordsmanship?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since we trained together.”

“Even when it rains, you are diligent.”

“Isn’t that natural as a knight?”

Seeing Jed’s expression, Lucifella bit her lips involuntarily, which almost made her break into tears.

The day she accepted Estelle’s death, she was called Lucifella and realized that she herself could not avenge Khalid. To be precise, she wanted revenge, but she had practically no means of getting it.

Her swordsmanship, which could have made her stay as Estelle, had been lost and she had become Lucifella. Lucifella could not kill Khalid, who was equal in skill even when she was Estelle. Therefore, it was impossible for her to get revenge on him.

“Because you are a duke, you must have tremendous power here, not just on the battlefield, right?”

“… … .”

At that, Jed’s face frowned slightly. Those gleaming eyes seemed a bit blurry. Lucifella was looking at Jed with an unfamiliar look in her eyes.

Lucifella thought about whether ‘Lucifella’ could kill Khalid - that was impossible.

What kind of power did the Duke’s daughter have to kill a Duke? If she were a man, she would have at least had the ability to stamp him down, but she was a ‘woman’ who couldn’t do anything like Lucifella.

Lucifella took her eyes off Jed and looked at her own hands.

White and delicate hands, beautifully manicured hands – they were in stark contrast to Estelle’s hands, covered with scars and calluses.

“I have no idea what this conversation means.”

Lucifella turned her eyes to Jed. Lucifella had a blank expression on her face, and then she softly spoke.

“Just… … I am saying you look great.”

He was not flashy, but he wore high-quality clothes, and he had a muscular physique like a knight. He was the Duke of this Empire, so there would hardly be any enemies.

He held immense power in the hierarchy of the empire. He was a master of swordsmanship, he was holding a sword that protects the country, and he had defended the country. On his handsome face, there was a man’s unique leeway.

He had it all: wealth, power, fame, health, and even the country.

“What do you mean?”

“You are a very capable person.”

She was envious of him. She wasn’t judging Jed’s attractiveness. She was looking at what he had.

If she was going to be someone, how good it would be if she were a man. Then she wouldn’t have been so helpless. When she saw Jed, who had everything she needed right now, she shuddered with overflowing jealousy.

“What are you talking about?”

She would never be that man herself. Maybe if she was Estelle, but not as the current Lucifella. She couldn’t even take revenge on Khalid, let alone defend the country with her sword. She wanted to get revenge on Khalid, but how could she do that?

“Lady Aydin?”

She tried to get out of bed. She struggled to get her body up by leaning on against her hands. Her arms trembled so much that she was cursing. A suffocating breath came out of her mouth.

“My Lady.”

Jed wanted to do more than just watch, so he lifted her. Their faces came closer.

Jed’s red-brown eyes met hers. At that moment, Lucifella’s sense of reason stopped.

After all, if she was born a woman and became his fiancee, then wouldn’t it be nice if she could seduce this man and put him in her hands? She could use this man’s power. Whether in this country or her own country, that’s what women are like, and that’s what she should do.

Besides, she had the highest asset she could have as a woman among all of the ladies. Lucifella had damn beautiful looks. It would undoubtedly be easy to win the heart of the opposite sex.

If that were the case, wouldn’t it be okay to belong to Jed and use his power? Yes, she could seduce this man since she is a woman.

His hands were firmly supporting Lucifella’s back. Lucifella reached out her hand, supporting her body in his arms. Her outstretched hand gently brushed his rugged face.

“… … now.”

Irrespective of Jed’s words, Lucifella stretched out her arms and wrapped them around his neck, raising her knees, making herself about his height. Then she kissed him without hesitation.

A soft sound rang in their ears.

“You don’t like it?”

Jed seemed at a loss for words at the question. Two eyes with a strange light, a pure white face, a lovely blush on both cheeks, and her lips red as if they were drenched in blood. And a curve was drawn on her lips.

Long, loose black hair contrasted her white skin. The red curve contained an obvious temptation.

Jed stared blankly at the dizzying figure for a moment. At that short and straightforward provocation, he immediately raised one corner of his mouth.

“Well, how about it?”

He pulled Lucifella by the waist and pressed her against his body. Then his lips touched hers again.

Even though she started it, everything was done under his hands. Lucifella tried to follow along clumsily, but she was stumbling. Jed pressed his hand to her cheek and licked Lucifella’s lips open.

In an instant, his tongue came in and brushed her even teeth. The kissing sounds of their wet lips touching rang in her ears. His mouth was warm.

“Hmm!”

The arm wrapped around his neck tightened, but Jed’s hand rubbed Lucifella’s back as if reassuringly. At that, she shut her eyes tightly. Her black eyelashes fluttered.

His hand touched her cheek, and stroked her hair behind her ear, and then went down to her neck and chest. Lucifella flinched at him, trembling, with a startled look in her eyes, trying to pull herself away.

At that, Jed also opened his eyes. Suddenly, something touched his reddish-brown eyes, and his lips and body pulled away from her.

Lucifella’s breath was shaky by the afterglow of a fervent kiss. Jed’s breathing was also slightly faster.

As they calmed down from the kiss, a seductive heat settled in her room.

Jed stared at Lucifella’s face for a long time with an incredulous expression. Then he reached out his hand, hand combed her messy hair into place, and fixed her robe that had slid down her shoulder.

His face hardened cold with profound scorn in his eyes. There was no conversation. The scorching heat quickly cooled.

Lucifella stiffened with a surprised expression as she held a hand to her lips, and Jed looked at her and frowned slightly. Then he turned around and went out of the room.

***

Bernard had learned over the years that his own master’s personality was not so great.

So, no matter what kind of temper his boss may explode, Bernard would be understanding by rationalizing:

‘Well, it’s okay. Since he was a kid, he’s been kind of straightforward, so it’s okay. I won’t be surprised or annoyed if anything happens.’ He had a open-minded attitude, getting annoyed is something that only happens to beginners.

If one day at the temple the oracle was given to him and it said, ‘You are a God-given saint,’ he would not be surprised, and was confident it could happen because he was a saint for enduring his master’s terrible temper tantrums.

When the master would get angry, Bernard would repeat a saying - ‘A mountain is a mountain, water is water, a star is a star, and that person is the black lion of Yansgar. Animals do that in the first place.’ 

The statement ‘he’s not a person’ had a very positive effect on Bernard’s mental health. That was his way of living the world wisely.

But Bernard boldly gave up calling himself a saint.

‘Too straight? It was too direct, what kind of crazy person thought of such a thing!’

‘And the black lion? Black lion, my ass! That man wasn’t a roaring lion but an arrogant, grumpy, and picky cat. He didn’t say “Meow, meow” but expressed his grumpiness all day, not just one day but three days in a row.’

It was the first time since he had been so irritable since the end of the war in Ersha three years ago.

‘If only he had quit then, but he’d continued being a knight all this time,’ Bernard sighed.

“I have received a letter from the Kremad Blacksmith Guild.”

“What is the purpose?”

He was sitting at his desk, looking out his window, listening to the report. After three days of spouting all kinds of verbal abuse, now he was dazed.

“This time they are asking for financial aid for the development of iron weapons…… … .”

“Are we philanthropists? Throw it away.”

“What… … .”

Wouldn’t it be suicidal not to provide financial aid to the weapon-making guild? Due to the long war, the price of weapons had risen and, in addition, there were not enough high-performance weapons to sell.

The pride of the weapon makers was sky-high, and if anyone were to get on their bad side, there would be restrictions on obtaining rare weapons in the future.

Even the Duke of Heint was no exception. Many blacksmiths from the Duchy were in that guild, but they also would have no choice but to make profits.

The Lord was making the wrong decision and had to be stopped! If His Highness made a foolish choice that was clouded by emotions, they would all perish.

Then the Duke’s red-brown eyes blazed and looked at Bernard as if he knew what he was thinking. Bernard flinched.

“You think my decision right now is emotional and unreasonable. God knows how long the territorial expansion wars have been over. For how much longer are they going to be excited about developing new weapons? If it is Kremad Guild, isn’t their main business to develop siege weapons? They are the weapons against Mamul monsters, so are we going to wage another territorial battle? If you want to be ripped off, you invest your own money.”

“No. I will proceed as directed.”

“If you want to report something like this in the future, do some thinking first. Is your head a flowerpot for growing hair?”

‘I should not have said anything, Instead, I got the scolded twice as much.’

Bernard squeezed his eyes shut. Wouldn’t it be better to quit and leave this place? He didn’t have a family to be responsible for, and he knew that the reason he couldn’t get married was because of his master - he didn’t have time to do it.

Next, there were the reports of the soldiers caught and arrested for causing a public disturbance in the standing army stationed in the territory.

The Duke’s annoyance rose again. This time they were given the brutal punishment of a week’s labor in the coal mines. It usually was customary to end up with a only few slaps.

In addition, when the 101st letter from Count Yenia - who was infatuated with the Duke whether he was interested in her or not - arrived, he threw it into the fireplace, saying that he refused to invest the money or time to write a letter to a lunatic.

Her Lady’s flame-like love became a real flame in the fireplace and disappeared.

Bernard wanted to say ‘No matter how annoying, she is Lady Yenia. Since her father, Duke Yenia works in the Ministry of Finance, the master should reconsider if he wants his military budget approved by the Minister,’ but the Duke gave him a dirty look with a message – that if Bernard continued he would become firewood - so he shut his mouth.

The fire was hot, and Bernard hated it.

Next, he found a problem with tea time.

Tea, that damn tea!

He drank hot tea in a gulp, and he exploded.

It was the master’s fault for not listening when the maid said, ‘It’s hot, so drink it with caution.’

Secretly, Bernard enjoyed the moment when his master burned his tongue.

Then the master looked out the window and cried, “Damn rain!”

He was annoyed that it was raining now.

“Damn, it rains a lot!”

‘Maybe it’s annoying that the clouds are white, that the sky is blue, that the desk is wood, and that the teacup is ceramic?’

‘But why isn’t it annoying to tell the truth about yourself? At that point, you might feel skeptical about your rotten personality.

I want to go to work. I want to go back.’

But to his dismay, it was there that Bernard lived.

Bernard could guess why the master was behaving this way.

It was after visiting Lucifella Aydin that he became strange.

As soon as he left, he came back like the wind, and he was having all kinds of temper tantrums like this.

‘What the hell happened with that crazy Her Ladyship? The first day back, he was sullenly moody, then it got worse on the second day with an explosive temper, and the third day was finicky like a cranky cat, nagging at everything.’

Indeed, this Lord could not have fallen deeply for Lucifella Aydin, could he?

‘The background of the Aydin family didn’t matter because the master’s heritage was excellent, but if that woman were indeed a crazy woman, his situation would be different.’

From the information he heard, it seemed that she was not in a normal state right now, but what the hell happened?

‘What was it that made her so attractive to him?’

“What do you mean? What was it that made her so attractive?”

“Yeah. Wait, what?!”

Jed was repeating Bernard’s thoughts as if he had read his mind. Bernard almost fainted.

‘Has this master finally mastered mind-reading?’

Bernard really thought his heart would burst out of his chest.

‘Long live the Duke of Heint, prosper forever!’

Bernard quickly enumerated in his mind the merits of his master.

He didn’t dare to even think of the Duke as a cat. He had no idea.

“It is nothing,” the man murmured weakly with a dark face, not knowing what servile praise had been going on in Bernard’s head.

“I’m just crazy,” Jed continued.

“Sir?”

“I need nothing from someone who is insane, yet why did I ….”

Bernard held his tongue and decided not to jump to conclusions when he hadn’t received any conclusive information. But he was almost sure that it had to do with Lucifella.

When he heard the word “Lucifella,” he decided to report something he left out earlier when the Duke became irrational during tea time.

“Your Highness.”

Bernard addressed his master with a newly found deep respect, trying to hide his fear.

The Duke looked at him with indifferent eyes, signaling for him to speak.

“The daughter of Duke Aydin.”

“What? Why!”

The Duke had been sprawled in his chair without any energy. But as soon as Bernard mentioned Lady Aydin, Jed leaned his body immediately towards Bernard and looked at him with rapt attention, and Bernard felt his conjectures were confirmed.

“Lady Aydin will be going down to their estate in the countryside.”