Carol quickly took her share and placed the trolley between the bed and the window. She sat down on the floor and began to do the chore she had become accustomed to.
Thump.
There was a time when she would not move, and he would strike the bed curtain as if to protest until she left.
Glancing over, she saw a furry hand fumbling with the trolley, then disappeared with a tray of quiche.
It was like a teenager, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ha.”
“…Did you laugh?”
His ears are unnecessarily good. It was a stark realization that losing sight made other senses unreasonably sharp.
“There’s no way.”
“You can’t lie.”
“I really wasn’t trying to laugh.”
When Carol answered with a stern face, the Duke fell silent. Not because he was convinced, but because he clearly didn’t believe it, Carol opened her mouth.
She couldn’t keep doing chores to kill time.
“I’ve been sitting on the floor all this time, so I guess I’m going to catch a cold from the cold floor. I was trying to suppress a cough.”
She was scared of him because he killed his fiancée in the future, and because he threw a cup at the first meeting. But she definitely read in the book how much he suffered all his life.
She had intended to completely ignore him, but since he had been her employer for a while, shouldn’t she at least acknowledge him if no one else would?
“Hmm.”
At Carol’s added words, the Duke coughed lowly. It was impossible not to know what that cough meant.
‘It seems he’s bothered to some extent.’
The time she had spent coming here every day for three weeks was finally beginning to shine.
“What would you have taught if I had allowed it?”
It was an arrogant tone of voice saying he would see, but it was a quick progress. Although she knew the curse would be lifted, it was natural for the Duke to feel rebellious because he did not know this fact.
Most of the useless words in this mansion are swallowed. It was for consideration, but the situation could only get worse.
A tutor attached to a beast.
It could be thought of simply, but if thought of complexly, it was an extremely unpleasant thing.
What is there to learn from someone who can’t even go outside? He’s not really a beast that has lost its reason, nor has he completely become an idiot.
It was clear that it would be difficult for the Duke, who had a strong pride and was equally capable, to accept.
‘I have to speak well here.’
It’s good to suck honey, but it shouldn’t last too long. Since entering this castle, Carol had decided to make at least a minimum of money.
Because she too had received the grace bestowed by the Duke Winternox.
“I have a braille certification.”
From the moment she decided to enter the Duke’s Mansion, Carol moved to a house closer to Cardiff, leaving her hometown as an excuse for her siblings’ academy. Fortunately, she had saved enough money to not have to work for a while, so she quickly got a braille certification.
“Braille?”
“It’s almost non-existent in the north, but it’s about reading the characters on the paper with your hands.”
“…”
Feeling that he was listening even though he couldn’t see, Carol immediately added a sentence after.
“You may find it easier to use a servant, but there may be confidential documents.”
He is excluded from all things not only because he cannot show his face.
“…I see.”
“If you can’t see, you can learn to live life without seeing.”
“Do you think I’m pitiful in your eyes?”
Except for one window, all the windows were covered with blackout curtains, so it was dark, and every night he couldn’t beat the stress and broke things, so it seemed like a war had broken out in the room.
“Cardiff is considered advanced even in the north. When it snowed heavily and I couldn’t move at home, I made porridge with tree bark.”
“…”
But the bed curtain was a luxury item made of velvet, the floor was fluffy, and the room was warm with firewood burning without rest.
“I don’t think I’ve lived easily enough to pity anyone.”
If Margaret doesn’t see the Duke’s face, a rampage won’t happen, and each person’s unhappiness will remain, but they will still live.
So don’t pity.
There’s not much she can do for the Duke in less than a year, so she just wanted to prevent the worst situation.
Sometimes you get salvation from a passerby rather than someone who always watches over you.
Just before falling into deep thought.
Clang.
She woke up from her reverie at the sound of a dish breaking. Whether the dish had fallen or not, a broken plate was rolling right next to the bed.
****
He couldn’t hide his flustered voice, wondering if he had intended to break it on purpose. At first, when the curse manifested, such mistakes were frequent, but now it was a mistake he hardly made.
“…I’ll clean it up.”
Before she knew it, it was the time of the deep dawn.
There would be servants working even at dawn, but the Duke did not want to show others that he had dropped the plate.
It would have been better to break it on purpose. It was hardest to endure himself becoming weak and worthless.
“Don’t move. I’ll clean it up.”
Carol got up abruptly. The Duke hesitated at Carol’s fierce momentum.
“That’s enough.”
But soon he drew a line with a firm attitude. As the Duke, who had flatly refused Carol’s favor, tried to get out of bed, Carol spoke in a desperate voice.
“If you get out of bed as you are, you’ll get hurt, so you’ll have no choice but to call someone, right?”
At Carol’s words, the Duke stiffened his body.
Was this the right answer?
The Duke hesitated at the words that he would call someone. As expected, the Duke was reluctant to call someone. The Duke, who had been biting his lower lip as if contemplating for a moment, spat out a declaration of surrender.
“Did you know?”
At the tired voice, Carol answered neither lightly nor heavily.
“I thought it wouldn’t be because the Duke’s financial status has collapsed, and one torn curtain is left as it is.”
She only mentioned the fact that she had learned from seeing the end of the only curtain that had been open since she came, which was frayed with nail marks.
At the mere indifferent voice, the Duke laughed lowly and brushed his face.
“The Duke’s financial status is solid without need for worry.”
“It’s a relief indeed. I was thinking of setting fire if I couldn’t get paid.”
At the words that were aggressive in contrast to the expressionless face, the Duke raised one eyebrow.
“…Then I’ll ask.”
“May I go over there?”
“…Yes.”
The Duke affirmed in a trembling voice. With permission, Carol, who had nothing to avoid, approached the bed in large strides.
What a bedroom, it’s ten times the size of our house.
She felt anew how far apart the two people were in the same room.
‘I need to clean up the big glass pieces first.’
When she approached the bed, suddenly the velvet bed curtain shook violently.
Woosh!
“…?”
“Hurry up and clean it.”
When Carol stopped with a puzzled face, the Duke urged Carol.
“Um…”
“Hmm.”
The Duke’s large hand closed the bed curtain so that not a single gap was visible.
It might be surprising to see it up close, different from what she saw from afar, but Carol was upset. It’s been three weeks. She thought he was a little better now.
“You’re closing the curtain rudely in front of the person who’s trying to clean up.”
“That’s…!”
She understood his feelings, but it would be difficult if he acted like this during lessons.
“No matter how you’ve changed, Duke, I find that attitude more uncomfortable.”
“I thought it would be better to cover it quickly because you would be scared.”
“Have I ever said I was uncomfortable?”
“…”
“Don’t you hate it when other people make assumptions, Duke?”
“…I apologize.”
Despite the polite apology, the curtain was still not drawn. Instead of adding more, Carol picked up a large piece of glass from under the trolley and placed it underneath.
“I had a pretty hard childhood trying to learn perfect manners.”
He sighed as if talking to himself. It seemed to be a great shock to him that he was losing his dignity in both appearance and behavior.
Edward Winternox of the past never lost his nobility and elegance no matter what happened.
He was a ruler who was born to dominate others. Everyone in the North would know how beautiful a ruler he was.
So it was only natural that it was harder to accept reality. The anger justified all the outrageous behavior he had shown since coming here.
Until the female lead affirmed him, it was only natural that he, who had been roaming the empire, was going mad here.
She couldn’t play the role of the female lead, but she didn’t intend to deny it either.
“Aren’t you still the same?”
“Just now…”
“But you apologized right away.”
It was just an apology, but this world is a strict class society. It was not common for a high person to apologize to a commoner.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, as the curtain was drawn, the Duke inside hastily waved in the air.
It seemed like he was trying to hit the curtain, but the curtain was already in Carol’s hands.
“Hey!”
“Are you hurt?”
“No…I’m fine…!”
The Duke tried to cover his face, but it was difficult to cover his enlarged physique with his hands.
“I’ve already seen your face, Duke.”
The Duke forgot even to breathe. The reason why the people of this mansion were okay was because they had already adapted to the appearance of their ancestors.
“…You’re not afraid, teacher.”
“I don’t think it’s worth discussing fear.”
The Duke lowered his hand in disappointment. The two finally faced each other. His appearance was like a mix of a wolf and a human, and there were horns on his head. The threatening appearance was scary but not disgusting.
‘And it’s not the first time I’ve seen it.’
Carol blinked slowly. The Duke, noticing Carol’s calm attitude, thought he had overreacted and turned his head and touched his forehead.
“What are you thinking while looking at me?”
hybrid beastman