The Duke’s Daughter Trained a Wild Beast (Web Novel) - Chapter 10

Shortly after Lena left, no one found out about her escape, because it was a plan that had been thoroughly prepared.

 

But after Nicholas found Lena’s note in his bedroom, the peaceful stillness in the castle was broken at once.

 

“Father!! It’s a big deal!!”

 

The Duke stared at his eldest son, who ran into his bedroom making a fuss.

 

“……What is it, in the middle of the night……”

“Look at this!!”

 

Swallowing his irritation, he accepted the note Nicholas had handed him abruptly.

 

“……!!”

 

The duke’s eyes, which had been slightly drowsy, immediately became clear.

 

The note, written in Lena’s handwriting, contained something that was hard to believe.

 

“What is this? Is this a new joke?”

“I couldn’t believe it either, so I went to Lena’s room myself…… It was neatly organized.”

“……”

“I also look for all the dresses and jewelries she often wears, and it was all gone.”

 

As soon as he discovers the farewell note left by Lena, Nicholas goes straight to her room.

 

However, all that remained was the coldness of the empty room.

 

After that, another letter from Lena was found on the bed…… He took it to the Duke right away.

 

A heavy sigh escaped the duke’s mouth.

 

“Sigh……”

 

He squeezed the corners of his eyes and soothed the rising headache.

 

‘First of all, the handwriting is no doubt Lena herself. So she definitely wasn’t kidnapped by him.’

 

That fact was reassuring.

 

However, the content of the letter was not pleasant at all.

 

‘You’re beating around the bush, but… In the end, you’re still telling me to mind my own business, afterall?’

 

It didn’t look like a letter from a daughter to her father by any means.

 

Rather, it was a letter that felt cold, like a letter of resignation from an employee to his employer.

 

Meanwhile, Nicholas opened his mouth with a hint of nervousness.

 

“When I checked, it looked like they had just left, so I guess they haven’t gone far yet. As long as you allow me, I’ll follow them right away……”

“No. Leave her alone. She insisted on leaving, and wasn’t kidnapped at all. There’s no need to follow her.”

“……Yes? What does it mean……”

“It means stop thinking about it and just go back to sleep.”

 

Seeing his father waving his hands as if instructing him to leave now, Nicholas stiffened.

 

“Sleep…… Right now, Lena…… Father’s only daughter and my younger sister ran away from home, yet we’re just going to sleep?”

“……”

“How could you say something like that……”

 

Until now, Nicholas has been trying to understand his father somehow.

 

After his mother passed away, he was watching from the side how horribly broken his father was.

 

But……

 

‘How can you be so cold-hearted even in a situation where Lena has completely disappeared… This isn’t it.’

 

He clenched his fists tightly and then walked towards the door.

 

“…… Then I’ll just find her on my own.”

“Nicholas.”

 

Nicholas, who was about to leave, stood tall and stopped.

 

Looking back, he saw his father lowering his head, covering his eyes with his hand.

 

 

Nicholas could not move anymore and stopped when the Duke appealed.

 

“Please. Just leave it alone. That…… will be good for all of us.”

 

After the words were omitted, Nicholas could understand it right away.

 

‘Are you saying that it will only make you suffer to let her stay here?’

 

Just as the Duke grimaced at her, Lena also couldn’t stand her father any longer and left.

 

So, he prefers not to bring her back for the sake of ‘everyone’…

 

…That would be better, not only for the duke, but also for Lena.

 

“My father don’t like me here… It would be good for everyone if I just leave.”

 

Judging from what Lena said to him before, she too seemed to have the same thoughts as the duke.

 

Nicholas clenched his teeth to suppress his emotions.

 

‘It’s all my fault that this happened…… I should’ve been more active in protecting Lena’

 

I worked and studied every day.

 

To comply with his mother’s will to take good care of his younger sister, he must first become a good head of the house.

 

So I was neglectful and indifferent.

 

Even after knowing how Lena is treated by their father, he uses the excuse that he is busy to help her out.

 

And the result was this…… Lena ran way.

 

Soon, the duke reminded him of the dire consequences more clearly.

 

“It’s already too late to follow her. I believe you understand what I mean.”

 

Nicholas chewed his lips and replied with a sigh.

 

“……Okay the, I will not pursue her right now. But—”

“……”

“Once I became the Duke in the future, I will support and protect my sister no matter what father says. I’ll work harder and do the things father has never done before.”

 

Despite the struggle to criticize the duke’s irresponsibility, he wasn’t reckless and did not point it out.

 

“…… Do whatever you want.”

 

Nicholas left the Duke’s bedroom. Then, he stood at the window in the end of the hallway.

 

‘Lena……’

 

He muttered as he looked through the window in the same direction Lena headed out.

 

I will work harder and study harder than I do now.

 

So someday, I will get out of this pitiful situation of not being able to protect my one and only sister.

 

He clenched his fists as he made up his mind.

 

* * *

 

After escaping from the North, Ed assures that we would get into his residence, the Imperial Palace, within a day.

 

His spirit, the Black Horse of Moon Night, was faster than any other spirit in the world.

 

But there was one thing he wasn’t able to calculate, this time he has a rather annoying companion with him.

 

Just then, the annoying companion tapped his arm urgently.

 

“Hey, please stop! Hurry up!!”

“……?!”

 

Ed, who knows what will happen if he doesn’t stop here, hastily landed the spirit on the ground.

 

As soon as he reached the ground, Lena got off the spirit’s back and ran over the bushes.

 

Soon after, a painful sound was heard.

 

“Woohh, ooh, heukkk……!!”

 

Ed didn’t expect Lena’s motion sickness to be this severe.

 

Thanks to her, they had to land like this almost once an hour.

 

He can’t go and pat her on the back since he’s afraid she might get shy, so he just stared from a distance in the direction where she ran.

 

‘Annoying. She was a fiancé who’s a lot more handful than I thought.’

 

Still, considering that she is a precious daughter of the Mont family, he decided to put up with the annoyance.

 

He grimaced as he recall the benefits of marrying her.

 

Lena, who had just finished vomiting, talked over his side.

 

“Ugh……”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…… Fine…… Oh……”

 

Even if she said that, her complexion was obviously pale.

 

Ed patted and swept her back gently.

 

“Sorry. I didn’t know you would suffer so much because of black. I usually ride alone.”

 

His spirit, nicknamed “Black”, also snorted from behind and showed a sorry expression.

 

Ed laid his coat on the body of his horse after patting its nose.

 

Then he carefully placed Lena on top of it.

 

“First, drink water and rest. It looked like there’s a village nearby. I’ll go get some medicine for motion sickness there.”

“Don’t bother… We will arrive soon, so you don’t have to do that… And I… I don’t want to be left here all alone.”

 

Hearing that, Ed looked around.

 

‘Certainly, it’s a dangerous for a woman to be left alone in this place.’

 

There is a dark forest nearby, so if you are unlucky, you can encounter dangerous wild animals, aside from that, she could also be a target for thieves.

 

‘I can’t lose her just because of my carelessness. She’s the daughter of the Mont family that I barely got as my fiancé after all.’

 

Seeing that she was reasonable, he sat on a tree trunk nearby.

 

“Okay then. Let’s rest until you calm down.”

 

He wanted her to get better as soon as possible.

 

It’s not that they stopped because of his consideration of her pain, but rather, because Ed himself wouldn’t be able to stand it if they just go on like this.

 

When we landed for the tenth time a while ago, I did imagine throwing Lena away and going back home alone.

 

Even now, I am imagining that to try soothing my irritation, but suddenly Lena came up to me and spoke.

 

“You are very kind, Your Highness.”

“Yes?”

“We’re late because of me, but you didn’t get annoyed even once, and even offered to buy medicine for me… Really… I think it was a good decision to form a relationship with Your Highness.”

 

She seemed to be completely unaware of the fact that he just imagined to throw her away a little while ago.

 

‘I’m kind? Didn’t she see that I’m simply treating her as a Duke’s daughter?’

 

He guessed that it was perhaps because she grew up being respected and so she had this naive side of her.

 

If she had a childhood plagued with assassination attempts like himself, she would have known right away that there is no such thing as free kindness in this world.

 

He laughed at her, who seemed to grew up in a completely different environment.

 

But at the same time, he was a little worried.

 

‘If you want to earn favor, you have to do lip service…’

 

It seemed necessary for me to warn this innocent fiancé of mine about the reality a little bit, to prevent a situation in which she is bitten by cunning beasts in the imperial palace because she don’t know anything.

 

“I’m trying to be kind because I genuinely care for you as my fiancé, but there is something you need to keep in mind.”

“……”

“If anyone other than me is being overly friendly, atleast suspect their intention for once.”

 

He turned his gaze from far away and looked straight at Lena.

 

“People with ill-intentions usually have a friendly smile. They get close to you hiding their real objective, and later commit a terrible betrayal.”

 

I didn’t mean to, but suddenly, my voice already sounds dark and low.

 

I was caught up in the painful memories of the past, and my emotions were unintentionally revealed.

 

Again, Lena suddenly looked surprised at Ed, who had a dark atmosphere.

 

Thanks to her, I was a little embarrassed and when I want to fix the atmosphere, she opens her mouth first.

 

“Thank you for your concern. But I’m not naïve enough not to distinguish real kindness from fake ones.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Yeah, that’s why nobody compliments with me. I’m only kind to good people like Your Highness.”

“……”

 

She said as if convinced that he’s really a “good person”.

 

As if she had never considered that his smile and kindness would all be lies.

 

A feeling of guilt that he thought already died a long time ago pierced the corner of his heart.

 

“……Are you feeling okay now?”

“Yes. I think I can go now.”

“Then let’s get up.”

 

As always, he lifted Lena and put her on black.

 

‘If you know who I really am, you wouldn’t be able to joke about me being kind.’

 

He laughed again at her innocence.

 

When black set off, he held his innocent fiancé’s waist so that she wouldn’t fall.