What’s Wrong with You, Duke?!

Chapter 2

Spring Ushered in by a Skylark

“Hm… He said he wouldn’t eat?” Noël’s head tilted as she listened to the maid. I wonder if I should go interrupt him, or just wait for him like a proper wife? Her hesitation was short-lived. The duke had been busy to the point that he hadn’t eaten much for the last three days, so she could not wait for him anymore.

“Please ask him to join—” The maid’s face turned pale with horror as soon as Noël told her to ask the duke. The duke never liked to be interrupted and showed no mercy to those who didn’t comply. Noël paused and rephrased herself, “Never mind, I’ll ask him myself.”

Only then did the maid’s horrified expression return to normal. I seem to keep forgetting, Noël thought to herself. The duke was always so sweet and affectionate with her that she would often forget what he could be like to everyone else.

She took the maids with her and headed to the duke’s office. The duke’s advisors, as well as his butler, were lined up in the hallway waiting for their turns to, but they looked like despairing convicts who had just been sentenced to death.

“Your Grace!” When the advisors saw her walk toward them, they looked very relieved, as if they had just experienced a miracle. Noël smiled back and listened to their joyful greetings without saying a word. She could hear the duke’s low, indifferent voice through the doors. She tiptoed toward the doors and peered inside through a small opening.

“So, are you saying I should rewrite the report for the emperor because the situation has changed? I think fixing your head would be much faster.”

The duke was leaning back on his chair with a frown on his face, but his ice-cold manners had frozen the atmosphere of the office. Noël was a bit shaken by his unfamiliar side and turned to his butler.

“May I interrupt my husband?” Noël asked.

“Your Grace, the duke has said that he will not eat,” the butler whispered softly.

Feeling sorry for them, she put her hand on her chest and spoke in a louder tone, hoping the duke could hear her. “Is that true? Well then, I’ll just have to go back feeling lonely—”

“Darling!” The doors burst open before Noël could finish her sentence, and a large shadow sprang out to hug her. “Where are you off to, leaving me all alone like this, my little skylark?”

Everyone present cringed when they saw the duke suddenly turn so sweet. They managed, however, to not let their expressions show as they were all used to this type of behavior from the duke. Noël smiled at the handsome man who held her in his arms. His sparkling blue eyes gazed into hers and he kissed her on her forehead. She shyly shrugged her shoulders and cautiously explained herself.

“I’ve come to ask you to eat dinner with me, but you seem quite busy.”

“Busy? How could you think I would be too busy for you? You know the sole purpose of my life is to spend time with you?”

“Will you dine with me then? Eating by myself for three days in a row is making me feel lonely.”

“Have I made you feel lonely? I must be a really bad husband. I’ll do better. I’ll put my heart and soul into it.”

She gazed into his beautiful eyes. Coming from a man who forgot about her existence if she wasn’t right in front of him, this was impressive lip service. She could be gone for three days—even a week maybe—and he wouldn’t bother to look for her.

He sounds pretty natural now, though. Like he really means it. She didn’t let her feelings show though, and just shook her head.

“You’d be the best husband I could ever have if only you would dine with me.”

“That’s very nice of you. Shall we eat then? I get full just thinking about you, but I wouldn’t miss our time together for the world.” The duke kept whispering into Noël’s ear and gently took her hand as they headed to the dining hall. His men, who were spared thanks to the duchess, gladly saw the couple off. There was not a single person there who wouldn’t appreciate the skylark that ushered in the spring on the heels of the brutal winter.

* * *

“I know you’re busy. So, I should let you get back to work now.” Noël tried to get the duke to leave after finishing their meal together, but he would not let go of her hand.

“Why do you keep telling me to go? I want to stay.”

“Aren’t you very busy with the quarterly reports that need to be revised for the emperor?”

“Oh yes, you’re right.” The duke frowned, and Noël gently caressed the tip of his left brow with her fingertip. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. “If you insist, let me join you in drinking hot cocoa before I go.”

He set her down on the sofa of the living room and signaled a maid to bring their drinks. Noël leaned over, placing her head on his chest and smelled him. She loved the cool and refreshing scent that was uniquely his. They used the same soap every day, and yet he smelled so different.

“Does the hot cocoa turn into your blood? How is it that you smell so sweet?” Whispering to her as if he could read her mind, the duke put his arm around her shoulders as she was sniffing him like a puppy.

Noël stared at him with her eyes wide open. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely. Let me find out by tasting it.” He looked at her with a loving smile and leaned his head forward. The way he moved and went for her lips was as smooth as it could get. His kiss felt like a melting cake. His tongue slipped past her lips and naturally moved deeper inside to explore her mouth. His kiss felt like it was licking her entire soul.

Ah, I love how this feels. She never once thought she had sexual desires, but it all changed after she met him. Flowers of pleasure bloomed everywhere he touched. Now she understood why all those romance novels depicted making love in bed so much. It just goes to show how amazing works of fiction can be. They are full of truths about human nature!

Noël’s hobby was reading romance novels. Books that had to be transcribed were hard to come by in Saboulin, but now she could read them to her heart’s content. She faithfully read novels and shared some of the memorable scenes with the duke, only to see them happen in real life the following day.

Skylark was a nickname for the female protagonist from a novel she loved. When she heard the duke call her “skylark”, however, it didn’t feel the same as in the novel. She felt she shared more resemblance to four-legged animals than little birds. She wanted to let the duke know she preferred “kitty” for her nickname.

“Ru.” The duke’s smile grew wider when she called him by the childhood nickname that had been used by his mother. “Would you mind if I visit the village this afternoon?”

“Why?”

For a quick moment, Noël felt she could push the matter further because the way he asked her could not have been sweeter. She wanted to ask him to join her. She knew he would say yes if only she asked. But then, she changed her mind because she didn’t want to develop a habit of hoping to get something from him. It hurt Noël to not invite him, but she had to draw the line somewhere, for both their sakes.

“I just want to gaze around outside the castle. Now that spring is here,” she said.

“But of course, you can. Just be careful out there, my beloved skylark.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll be back with a gift for you as well.”

Noël just wasn’t used to hearing “skylark” yet. It instantly gave her goosebumps, enough to make her feel embarrassed and look away with a grin. The duke smiled back and closed his eyes. He touched her swollen lips with his long, slender finger, sending a chill down her spine as her mouth had become quite sensitive after their passionate kisses.

After letting the duke cuddle and caress her endlessly, Noël slowly got up. The duke continued to hold her hand obsessively, but he released it once she shook her head. “I think it’s time for me to let you go. Advisor Cecil has been waiting for you nervously for quite some time.”

When the duke got a glimpse of Cecil outside the living room, he cursed himself quietly so that Noël couldn’t hear him. This unfamiliar, rough side of him made her heart pound. Male protagonists in novels were the nicest guys to the ladies, but they would also occasionally show hints of their wild side like that. No matter how gorgeous those fictional characters may be, they all paled in comparison to her duke.

With her sparkling green eyes, she uttered impulsively and bravely, “I’ll wait for you in my bedroom tonight.”

“Really? Would you do that for me? Argh, how could I wait till night when time is ticking so slowly?”

The duke—still reluctant to leave—kissed and hugged her goodbye a number of times before actually going on his way with Cecil. Noël looked at the duke’s tall stature, broad shoulders, long legs, and nice rear, all of which were enough to make a lady’s heart melt. She felt a little bitter and thought to herself, You find it hard to leave me, but when I’m not around you, you may never think about me.

The duke was her sorcerer. Her exclusive sorcerer, who could turn the world into a beautiful, brilliant place. He helped her with everything and made her otherwise tragic life become as happy as it could be. But there was one small flaw that was hard to dismiss: The duke was in love with her because he was under a spell.

If only it had been true love. When their wedding announcement had shaken the empire one year ago, it was actually Noël who was most opposed to their marriage. It wasn’t because she resented the country that treated her like dirt or the man who obliterated a noble house. She had no other choice if she wanted to stay alive, but what continued to bother her was the unidentified magic spell.

The spellbound duke poured his heart into caring for her and brought her to his own castle. Then every day, he presented her with many varieties of delicacies and mounds of jewelry. He recited countless love poems during the day and he serenaded under her bedroom window during the night.

Noël had always been wary of the unknown magic spell and tried to stay away from the bewitched man. She tried everything to escape, but grew weary of the duke, who never lost sight of her. It eventually got to the point that the duke fell to his knees in front of her bedroom door and went on a hunger strike. This forced her hand and made her accept his marriage proposal.

At first, she was thankful that he let her live. Next, she was awestruck by all the jewelry and dresses she was getting for the first time in her life. She also found that all of the delicacies she was served suited her tastes perfectly. It was as if she had been born again as a princess because all her life, she’d had to scavenge for food and wear patched-up rags handed down to her from the maids.

While she knew he didn’t mean any of what he said, it was nice to hear the duke always tell her how beautiful and lovely she was. She always felt left out and was used to having a frozen heart because no one had ever talked to her or cared about her. But all these troubles melted away like magic thanks to the duke. Warmth came back to her upper and lower extremities as if blood was flowing through them again. Through all these events, she finally acknowledged the duke’s existence. She began to have a place in her heart for the man who had given her his everything. Then, it wasn’t long before he was everywhere in her heart.

It might as well have been a sweet dream she had right before her death. She knew this love was a fantasy. But who wouldn’t fall in love with a guy as sweet as he was? With the man who unconditionally gave her the love she always longed for. The deeper she fell in love with him, the more she agonized over the feeling that her soul was being cut in half.

Wouldn’t it be all right to stay this way if the two of us were happy? No, this isn’t real. It is bound to shatter someday. I must leave at once.

She questioned herself for over a year, but she had no answer, no matter how hard she tried. Could it be that the deeper she fell in love, the more ingrained her pain became, because that was the price she had to pay for a love she had never worked for?