Nightmare Came to The Place I Escaped - Chapter 53

The Duke carefully asked Rachel about the trip with the Emperor, anxious that she was only waiting for him to return to the territory. He was worried that Rachel might not have been meeting with Ian because of him, or that she delayed her trip because of him.

 

“No, that’s not it.”

 

Rachel shook her head vigorously.

 

However, Duke Oates wasn’t relieved by Rachel’s answer that it wasn’t because of him. He knew that Rachel would have answered him the same way even if she’d really delayed the appointment because of him.

 

She wouldn’t say anything that would make him uncomfortable.

 

The Duke smiled quietly, and held Rachel’s hand.

 

“Then that’s a good thing.”

 

Rachel stiffened uncomfortably, but didn’t take her hand away.

 

“Does this make you uncomfortable?”

 

The Duke raised Rachel’s hand slightly, and asked.

 

“No, it’s not uncomfortable.”

 

Again, Rachel shook her head saying it was okay.

 

“It will take a while to get to the exhibition hall. You should close your eyes for a bit.”

 

While the Duke was at it, he leaned Rachel’s head on his shoulder. Rachel stiffened again, surprised and uncomfortable by the unexpected situation.

 

Nevertheless, Rachel simply followed the Duke’s instructions.

 

Like a child who has never been loved, Rachel endured all the inconveniences alone. Whether she knew it or not, she ended up getting tired because of it.

 

Rachel had it pretty hard these days. She seemed to be trying not to be obvious about it, but she often seemed worried about something with a blank face.

 

She wasn’t going to tell him yet. Duke Oates felt a little bitter that he could not be of any help to Rachel.

 

He wanted to wait until Rachel slowly opened her heart, but it felt a little difficult right now.

 

***

 

“Are you having fun?”

“Yes, it’s fun.”

 

Rachel couldn’t think of Ian while she was looking at the paintings in the exhibition hall.

 

“Monte. He is my favorite painter.”

 

Of course, it wasn’t because she was so focused on Monte’s paintings that she couldn’t think of anything else.

 

It was because her hand was on the Duke’s arm.

 

“There is a good gelato shop nearby, so let’s go there.”

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

 

Rachel nodded and moved along with the Duke.

 

Her hand was wrapped around the Duke’s arm, and she couldn’t move more than two steps away from him.

 

She didn’t even know how much time had passed in this awkward and uncomfortable position, but her shoulders and arms ached from tension.

 

However, Duke Oates didn’t seem to have any intention of releasing her hand anytime soon.

 

She thought this uncomfortable position would end when they got out of the exhibition hall and got in the carriage, but she felt like she had to walk to the gelato shop with him.

 

Rachel tried to hold back her sigh, and adjusted to the Duke’s pace.

 

She’d been hanging out with the Duke of Oates a lot over the past few days, but it was really her first time doing this kind of physical contact. Rachel was sweating over a touch that would only be done between people who were very close or affectionate.

 

The muscles near her shoulder were stiff, and the pain gradually increased over time.

 

“Ah!”

 

Rachel let out a small moan after the cramp became too much.

 

“Dang, it hurts.”

 

Rachel stopped and grabbed her shoulder. She frowned in pain, but she bit her lip hard as if to stop herself from groaning.

 

“Tsk Tsk.”

 

Duke Oates clicked his tongue at Rachel, released her hand, and rubbed her shoulders a few times instead.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Rachel made a pained sound once again.

 

“Are you okay now?”

“…Yes.”

 

Rachel blushed in embarrassment.

 

“I’m sorry.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, you have to say that you’re uncomfortable. Do you think I’ll get angry at you for doing that?”

“It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s that I got a cramp…”

“Rachel, I think you have a lot more to learn from now on.”

 

The Duke patted Rachel on the head.

 

“You have to be able to speak your mind in any situation.”

 

The Duke smiled faintly.

 

“That’s why I wanted to give you the family name of Oates.”

 

Duke Oates knew Rachel was uncomfortable. He knew she was in pain, but he tried to ignore it until Rachel told him that she was uncomfortable.

 

He thought she would say it herself if she couldn’t bear it any longer. Unfortunately, Rachel was much more stubborn than he had expected.

 

“And I will always be your father no matter what you say.”

 

It was sad to see her endure it until she burst because she didn’t know how to express herself, even when it was difficult.

 

Patient thing, too much of anything wasn’t good. It was like poison to Rachel, who was hurting herself.

 

It was only after she was covered in wounds that she realized she was injured.

 

“Wasn’t it really uncomfortable?”
“….”

 

Rachel hesitated for a moment in the Duke’s downturned eyes. She thought she shouldn’t lie.

 

“It was uncomfortable. But it wasn’t because I didn’t like you, it was because I was a little tense.”

 

Rachel hurriedly added an excuse for fear that the Duke might have been offended by her words.

 

“Yes, that’s how you say your thoughts. If you want or need something, you say so. I’m not putting up with anything else.”
“Yes.”

 

The Duke smiled brightly again.

 

“Yes, that’s nice. I’d never get mad at a legitimate request. Even if you do meet someone who is offended, it’s not your fault. They’re just crazy.”

 

Rachel felt somehow strange at the sound of his gentle voice, and the friendly patting on her head. It was a little rough, but she felt like tears might flow from that careful touch.

 

“Do you want to eat gelato? Or should we just go back?”

“I want to eat it.”

 

Duke Oates nodded, and walked toward the store.

 

“And Rachel, I want you to call me Father, not Duke.”

 

Rachel rolled her eyes in embarrassment at the Duke’s words.

 

Father, it was something she’d never said before.

 

He thought they’d really be a family if she called him Father. The Duke of Oates and Mike, she felt like they were really going to be a family.

 

So, it was hard for Rachel to call him Father. She was afraid that she’d be greedy and begin to expect things from them. She was afraid that she would be hurt when she realized that she was the only one who felt that way.

 

She was afraid that the Duke and Mike would think she was an odd girl. She was afraid that all the favoritism they showed her was false.

 

‘Father.’

 

Rachel rolled that word on her tongue a little. It was a word that she wasn’t used to by any means.

 

Rachel shook her head, then dropped it. It was the Duke’s order, so she should’ve just followed it, but for some reason it was too difficult.

 

Did he really think she was something now that she was dressed up, eating well, and everyone called her a lady?

 

Although it was a little silly of her, Rachel still didn’t want to call the Duke her Father.

 

“Sorry, please wait a little bit.”
“Yes, I understand. I’ll wait.”

 

The Duke grinned, and patted Rachel on the head. The gesture was still soft and warm, so Rachel somehow felt a little relieved.

 

***

 

“Father, get home safely.”

“Yeah, I’ll send a message when I get there.”

 

The Duke patted Mike on the shoulder.

 

“I noticed that Rachel has received a lot of invitations. Everything is still awkward and unfamiliar to her, so don’t let her go alone and make sure to accompany her.”

“I understand.”

 

Then they heard footsteps coming down the stairs in a hurry.

 

The Duke turned his gaze away from Mike, and looked at the front door.

 

“Rachel, it’s dangerous. Don’t run.”

 

Rachel, who’d woken up late, was rushing down the stairs.

 

She chewed her lips as if she were sorry for sleeping late on the day the Duke was leaving.

 

“I’m sorry.”

“You seem to have slept well last night. I thought I would have to leave without seeing your face, but now that I’ve seen it, I feel better.”

 

The Duke gave a small laugh, as if to say that she shouldn’t worry.

 

“Rachel, if you’re having a hard time, or something’s difficult, don’t deal with it alone and tell Mike. Or you can come see me.”

“Yes.”
“I’ll be waiting for you. So, whenever you want to learn how to ride, come to the Oates territory.”

“Yes, I will.”

 

The Duke seemed to have something more to say, but he hesitated for a moment, unable to speak the words so easily.

 

“Could you write to me?”

“Write?”

“There is no need to feel burdened or uncomfortable, if you could just write to me once a month. I’m far away, so I just want to make sure that you’re okay.”

 

The Duke asked this carefully, as he looked at Rachel. His face showed that he was worried that his request might be a burden to Rachel, or that he would be rejected again.

 

“Alright.”

 

However, contrary to the Duke’s concerns, Rachel smiled and nodded. The sight of her nodding her head with her eyes folded beautifully was very childlike.

 

“I love the idea.”

“Thank you.”

 

Duke Oates patted Rachel on the head.

 

Rachel couldn’t understand why he was saying thank you to her, but she just left her head under the Duke’s hand.

 

“Your Grace, you must go now.”

“Oh, then take care of yourselves. I’m going to get going.”
“Umm…”

 

At the servant’s call, the Duke took his hand off Rachel’s head and took a step back.

 

As Duke Oates was saying his final goodbye and was about to turn his back, Rachel hesitated and called out to him. For some reason, her face was red.

 

“Here.”

“Hmm?”

 

Rachel handed over what she had in her hand since she rushed down the stairs.

 

“You seem to use a lot of handkerchiefs.”

 

It was a handkerchief embroidered with the Oates coat of arms.

 

The Duke peered at it, then looked up at Rachel.

 

“Did you embroider it yourself?”

“Yes.”

 

Rachel nervously fiddled with her fingers.

 

“When did you have time to do this? Thank you.”

Rachel, who glanced up at the Duke, carefully opened her mouth.

 

For some reason, her face looked a little stiff.

 

***