The problem was that Margaret Chesworth and her servant, Duett, were housed in the annex, which was not suitable for guests.
As evening fell and all people were bitten, the Duke’s Mansion was quiet. A few taciturn servants were assigned to Margaret Chesworth, which was the beginning of the shortage of hands. (TL: not sure if the “bitten” there meant the literal meaning or not, but the translation is really “bitten” or “bite”)
Norman naturally became the person who brought dinner to the Duke’s room.
Knock knock.
“Excuse me, Duke.”
“Come in.”
Norman cleared his throat and entered the room, greeting the Duke politely.
“And Mrs. Wells said the teacher would be a little late.”
At the Duke’s command, he put his effort into entertaining the guests. His order was to make sure they were not disappointed even if they could not see the Duke.
“Please treat the guests well so they won’t be disappointed.”
“I’ll do my best to show my skills.”
Norman confidently answered, beating his chest. The Duke stopped Norman when he heard the clattering sound of the dishes.
“I’ll eat with the teacher.”
“Is that so?”
“…But why is the teacher late?”
It was a valid question.
Mrs. Wells had clearly said that she had gone to bed early. Even if she was a heavy sleeper, it was time for her to be awake by now.
Nor could it be argued that the carriage was inevitably slow due to the outside weather. She had stayed at the Duke’s Mansion yesterday.
The Duke had a restless sleep for the sole reason that Carol had stayed at the mansion.
“Could it be that she’s late because she’s with her lover?”
At Norman’s nonchalant remark, the Duke was quite taken aback.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, he had never talked about love, and he vaguely believed that there would naturally be no one by her side.
Because she was not married.
“A lover?”
“Yes. Well, I don’t know for sure yet.”
Norman shrugged and laughed sheepishly.
“…Is it within the mansion?”
He was able to maintain a calm demeanor, but he couldn’t stop his voice from cracking.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Norman, who didn’t notice the Duke’s flushed demeanor, told the Duke all the stories he knew.
Late at night, in the hallway, the young Duke of Walden led Carol into the room and disappeared.
A passing servant was surprised and listened, and even heard a blatant statement that the sound of clothes being thrown off was heard in the room.
By the time he had heard all the stories, there was a crack in the chair handle the Duke had been holding.
“Are you okay?”
“What?”
“That… the chair… no.”
“Yesterday, a guest came…I didn’t know that Teacher Carol can be so passionate.”
Complex emotions tangled like a thread. The Duke frowned unpleasantly, unable to identify a clear reason for his discomfort.
It’s none of his business who she is with or what she does.
He knew that.
He knew, but…
“Come to think of it, they might have known each other originally.”
“…How did you come to that conclusion?”
“I heard that the young Duke of Walden is originally from the north.”
“I haven’t seen it directly, it’s all speculation.”
“Because the circumstances are too plausible.”
“Even if it’s true, it’s not good to spread other people’s stories here and there.”
At the ominous voice, Norman belatedly realized that he might have made a mistake.
He had been severely scolded before for speaking before thinking. He should have just left the food and left quickly.
“I’m sorry.”
Norman regretted belatedly, but the carriage had already left. The Duke’s expression had already soured to the point where Norman could notice. (TL: “carriage had already left” must be “the words were already spoken”)
Knock knock.
When Mrs. Wells came in a little late, Norman had finished speaking.
Click.
“Excuse me. Miss Chesworth has a message to deliver…”
Mrs. Wells was about to enter the room, but she hesitated at the unusual atmosphere.
Looking at Norman’s complexion, she had a splitting headache at the clear expression of defeat due to a mistake.
‘What’s going on at this time?’
Mrs. Wells gave Norman a glance, and Norman bowed his head and hurriedly left the room.
She could tell what he had done wrong without asking.
“Teacher Carol went to bed early, didn’t she, Jessica?”
“…Yes.”
“I heard that Teacher Carol spent the night with her lover.”
“Where did you hear that…!”
The Duke laughed bitterly at the clearly revealed surprised voice.
“So it’s true.”
Mrs. Wells couldn’t immediately say anything and licked her lips.
Knock knock.
“I’m a bit late. I’m sorry.”
Carol entered the room, apologizing in an awkward voice.
The protagonist of the topic, who was a little late because she went to the bathroom with Mrs. Wells, had a face that knew nothing.
“No, it’s fine.”
Seeing the Duke’s stiff expression, Mrs. Wells put strength into her overlapped hands.
“What’s wrong?”
Carol quickly noticed the awkward air in the room and asked in a cautious voice.
Just in case, Carol glanced at Mrs. Wells.
‘It’s hard to read her expression.’
Carol soon remembered that Mrs. Wells was not the type to spread rumors to the Duke.
It was also not something Mrs. Wells had to tell the Duke.
“It’s just a bit busy because of the guests.”
“Ah.”
Carol sighed in relief. This wasn’t exactly good news either, but it was a relief that it wasn’t about her.
If you had to argue about what happened earlier, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. But Carol hoped that the Duke wouldn’t misunderstand for no reason.
“Everyone should leave. I don’t want the class to be delayed any further.”
Before any more words came out, the Duke issued a dismissal order.
“I have many questions I want to ask the teacher because of my overflowing academic enthusiasm.”
With a meaningful word.
Bang.
The door to the deepest part of the Duke’s Mansion closed.
Leaving only Carol and the Duke.
The rumor that Carol had been with a new guest all night had reached the ears of the owner of the Duke’s Mansion, but Carol, who knew nothing of this fact, worried about the Duke in a helpless voice.
“Are you feeling okay today?”
“Ah, thanks to you. I’m well enough to have a class.”
She wanted to ask how often he was so sick.
The image of having to swallow the pain that was hard to bear with the fading reason at night was still vivid in her brain.
But a mere home tutor couldn’t delve further into the family’s affairs here.
“Today was originally the day to go to the garden…but I think it would be better to rest more.”
Even though you said it was okay to have a class.
Carol shrugged her shoulders and added a postscript.
“And since guests are here, I think it would be better to stay in the room if possible.”
“Yes. They will stay in the main building, not the annex.”
“…I see.”
“Is there a problem?”
There was no problem. It was a matter of course. The annex was almost used as a dormitory for the servants.
Louis’s room was also in the main building.
But for some reason, Carol couldn’t answer that question.
Louis was a trustworthy person, but others were not. Is that why she feels so awkward?
“No, Norman brought the meal early, but you still haven’t eaten.”
“…”
Did she beat around the bush too much? Carol bit her lower lip.
“Shall I heat it up and bring it again?”
“That’s fine.”
It was when Carol moved to sit across from the Duke after placing the food on the table from the trolley.
Thud.
Her foot caught on a slightly bulging rug. She would never have fallen normally, but the problem was that her mind was noisy because of the new guest.
Because of the thought that was close to compulsion to act as usual, Carol’s body was more rigid than usual.
“Ah!”
It was when she closed her eyes tightly, thinking she was going to fall helplessly.
“Ugh…”
But soon, instead of a dull pain, she felt a strong pressure on her waist.
Before Carol fell, the Duke’s solid and thick arm, who was about to sit right next to her, wrapped around Carol’s waist.
“Are you okay…?”
“Really, fortunately.”
Carol was surprised, but so was the Duke. The skin of the weak being that the Duke suddenly wrapped around disturbed him. It was a waist that he had held hundreds of times insensitively when he danced at a social party when he was in the capital.
The Duke, who came to his senses faster than Carol, was about to let her go as it was, but soon frowned and pulled his arm inward.
Almost in a hugging position, the tip of his nose lightly brushed Carol’s neck.
“Smells like a stranger.”
The Duke whispered in a lowered voice. The scandalous rumor that he had momentarily forgotten while meeting Carol and having a small conversation came to mind again.
The smell on the collar of Carol’s dress was clearly a stranger, and also a male.
Carol, who didn’t know the reason, just shrank her body unknowingly when the Duke’s hot breath touched her neck.
“Huh. Yes?”
Before Carol opened her eyes, the Duke’s arm loosened, and he let her go as it was. Carol, who was left standing alone, touched her neck where his breath had touched and asked.
“Just now…what is it?”
“You’d better look around a bit.”
“…”
The Duke dodged the issue and lifted his teacup. Seeing the Duke drinking tea with an incredibly elegant movement, Carol thought she had an overreaction to a trivial matter and shut her mouth tightly.
