Chapter 35: 35

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She was agonizing about that for a while when she heard the voice of her parents in front of her.

“Our daughter, please work hard today.”

“I’m very proud to see you carrying the role of Duke Hart’s maid so well.”

Lily and Sean looked at Nelia with a proud look on their faces.

Looking at them, she felt a sense of guilt.

‘I crossed the line and did that with His Grace, which was beyond the role of a handmaiden……’

Nelia smiled awkwardly and bid goodbye to her parents. She left her home and headed to the duke’s residence. Nelia, who was in the carriage, stared at the exceptionally blue sky today. The cloud was elongated and its shape was similar to the snake form of the duke.

‘No……. he should be a little shorter than that.’

The duke was around 180 cm in height, which was considered tall enough, so she wondered why his snake form was so short.

Nelia thought about the duke’s snake form and remembered that the duke agreed to stay up all night without taking any medicine.

It was to see whether the duke would turn into a snake again without her presence.

If he hadn’t turned, it would mean that the curse has really been lifted.

The carriage reached the front gate of the duke’s residence, and she felt like her heart raced.

Expecting the duke in his human form to welcome her, she found the butler, Ton, who had a somewhat grim expression on his face.

As soon as the carriage came to a halt, he hurriedly opened the door and welcomed Nelia.

“You’ve come, Lady Nelia.”

“Yes, but……. Is something the matter?”

Ton, who always kept a stern expression on his face, seemed restless. Upon taking a closer look, she could see the flustered look on his face even more clearly.

“I don’t wish to tell you here……… you may go and see for yourself.”

Nelia nodded with a puzzled look and Ton led her.

She had a hard time keeping up with his hasty steps. Ton was heading for the stairs.

As they passed the second and third floors, Nelia finally realized it.

Something happened to the duke.

Nelia hoped it wasn’t a big deal.

“Please enter.”

When she reached the duke’s room, Ton opened the door. It was dark inside.

As she walked nervously, she saw the silver snake curled awkwardly on the bed.

Nelia was a bit relieved.

Nothing bad happened to the duke. There has been the worst scenario in her head, so the duke’s transformation didn’t feel like a big deal to her anymore.

As she walked up and took a seat near him, the snake raised its head to see as if sensing her presence.

“Nelia…….?”

Nelia had a wry smile because she felt sorry for the pitiful and cute snake who appeared to be depressed.

“When did you turn?”

“……..Not long after Nelia went home. Nelia went home and I immediately turned not long after that.”

“That soon……..?”

Apparently, the duke took the medicine that morning. The medicine kept him in human form for as long as twelve hours.

However, it seemed that he turned into a snake less than twelve hours ago.

She didn’t know if it was simply a coincidence, but it wasn’t long after he left.

“Yeah……… It has never happened before.”

The duke paused for a moment before asking, his silver eyes blinking.

“Would you please pet me first? That way, I will return back to my human form.”

Nelia nodded and reached out.

And when she stroked the snake’s head like the last time, the cool and smooth scales felt delicate to the touch.

Her hand, which was on the snake’s head, went up in a flash.

Before she knew it, she felt soft hair instead of the texture of scales brushing against her hand.

“Nelia.”

“Your Grace…….”

As expected, the duke returned to his human form. The duke immediately hugged Nelia.

The hands that gently engulfed her were affectionate.

“Thanks to Nelia, I’m able to keep my human form………”

It was an important fact.

But there was something more important.

Nelia barely spoke, ignoring the vivid touch on her body.

“More than that, Your Grace……. First of all, you have to get dressed………”

Duke Hart was undressed when he returned back to his human form.

But the duke didn’t slip away, instead he hugged Nelia even tighter. The sound of his laugh went into her ears.

“Whatever, You’ve seen all of it anyway.”

Nelia pushed the duke away and hid her red face.

“But you still can’t…….!”

The duke finally let go.

“I understand.”

As soon as the duke slipped away, Nelia turned around. And while he was getting dressed, she secretly attempted to cool down the heat covering her face.

She brought the back of her hand to feel how hot her face was rather than her much colder palm.

“It’s done.”

Nelia turned around when the duke informed her that he was all dressed.

He was able to dress neatly in such a short span of time. Nelia, who was making sure each button of his shirt had been thoroughly attached, spoke up.

“You suddenly turned into a snake……… How did it happen, Your Grace?”

“Yesterday, after Nelia went back home, I was having dinner when I suddenly turned into a snake.”

Oh, my……..

Nelia bit her lip.

That was a bad sign. It seemed that in this current situation, he turned into a snake when their bodies were away from each other.

“I can’t take my medicine when I’m still a snake, so I have to wait until I turn into a human again. If Nelia hadn’t returned early in the morning, I would have wasted a whole day.”

If it was the Imperial Palace… Luckily, he was in his own home, and the employees knew about Duke Hart’s secret. If it were the Imperial Palace………

“Oh, I’m so dead. I have to go back to work at the Imperial Palace tomorrow.”

The duke expressed similar concerns, probably because he also had the same thought as her.

He frowned slightly and wondered, then threw a glance at Nelia with gleaming eyes.

“Nelia, I’ve got a good idea.”

What is it? Nelia asked while attempting to hide her vigilance, because the duke’s good idea usually wasn’t so pleasant.

“…….What is it?”

“We’re going to the Imperial Palace together.”

It wasn’t an embarrassing idea and as nerve-wracking as before, but it was still questionable.

Is it possible for the handmaiden to come to the palace with him? Duke Hart had an important position in the empire, but still, he wasn’t a member of the imperial palace…….

“If Nelia is willing, you can go with me, so there’s no need to worry about anything.”

Whether he had read her thoughts or not, the duke answered right away. Nelia tilted her head.

“Is it really allowed?”

“Yes. Others often bring in employees, and most of all……. For me, there is nothing impossible to do in the palace.”

Such a remark was very arrogant and bold.

However, it wasn’t incomprehensible either, considering the emperor’s endless fondness and trust for the duke.

Because the emperor has been completely hypnotized by Duke Hart.

“Is it alright for Nelia to go to the palace with me?”

“I………”

Nelia agonized for a moment.

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She was actually reluctant to go to the Imperial Palace.

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Although she knew this timeline was already different from the original story, she was still uncomfortable because of Carlos.

He was the one who imposed the death punishment on Nelia for conducting a frivolous behavior in the original story. Even though she wouldn’t be committing such an act, she still felt uncomfortable toward him.

Still, it was hard to ignore Duke Hart, who was overly driven by the critical situation.

It seemed that if he was separated from her, he would turn into a snake. The duke’s situation was more urgent than her personal problem.

Upon deciding, Nelia lifted her head.

“Alright…….. Let’s go to the palace together.”

At that moment, the duke gave a kiss to Nelia on the cheek.

“Thank you, Nelia.”

Nelia rubbed her cheek and looked at the duke, startled by the sudden attack.

She couldn’t even bring herself to be mad at the sight of him smiling gently with his eyes closed. She should have warned him ahead of time.

“You cannot do this at the Imperial Palace.”

“Then can I do it when we’re in the mansion?”

Nelia eventually had no choice but to shout at Duke Hart, who asked with such an innocent face.

“Of course no……..”

“Is that so……….”

What did he mean by that?

Nelia looked at the duke with folded arms.

Contrary to her determination that crumbled every time, she wanted to avoid any physical contact with him as much as possible.

Although they talked about marriage once, her relationship with this man was not clear. Therefore, she didn’t want to keep acting vaguely with him.

However, contrary to her determined thought, when the duke touched her like a flowing water, she would think like a fool, ‘We shouldn’t be doing this……..!’

‘It’s my fault, well.’

No, is it because he charmed people to some extent?

Nelia hummed while looking up at the duke and stared at his pitiful silver eyes.

“I was lonely yesterday because Nelia wasn’t here.”

Seeing the duke pretended to appear pitiful like a puppy caught in the rain, she was displeased but soon inclined her heart.

What did she say so harshly about giving no more than a few kisses………?

“This room felt so spacious and empty. We’re not even apart for a whole day yet.”

His voice was filled with sorrow. At least this one didn’t seem like his way of making her swayed.

‘Yeah……… he turned into a snake yesterday, so the duke must have been scared.’

Nelia, who was moved, eventually extended her hand cautiously. And laid it on the duke’s cheek.

The duke seemed slightly taken aback, but then closed his eyes gently. As if he’s feeling her touch.

“I’m sorry, I went away.”

The duke opened his eyes at Nelia’s tranquil tone.

“No, I’m supposed to apologize here because of my useless complaint. It’s because I get greedy when I see Nelia.”

The duke pulled Nelia’s hand that lingered on his cheek and kissed the back of it.

“Because I want to stick with her and give you many kisses.”

His voice wasn’t seductive. His voice was calm, as if he was telling the truth.

Nelia couldn’t say anything upon seeing the duke’s serious expression.

She thought she would be carried away by the whirlpool of emotion if this kind of conversation between her and the duke lasted longer.

“You may think I’m just being mischievous, but I’m serious to Nelia at every moment.”

Pandora’s box, which she didn’t wish to open, was opened on its own.

The duke smiled softly as if he somehow noticed the anxiousness which came from Nelia.

“Please don’t feel pressured. I’m not demanding anything from Nelia.”

The duke swept her hair back. The gesture showed tenderness.

“It’s quite disappointing that I can’t kiss Nelia……. But if Nelia doesn’t like it, there’s nothing I can do.”

But Nelia knew.

After all, even if she told him not to do it, he’d be brazenly kissing her again at some point.

“I’m just thankful that you stay by my side.”

The duke smiled softly and confessed his true feelings.

When Nelia saw that, she secretly thought perhaps, she didn’t really mind if he kissed her.

However, she hid these feelings deep in her heart and called Duke Hart.

“Your Grace.”

“Yes.”

“You said the day of the total lunar eclipse was the death anniversary of the previous head of the Hart Family.”

The duke blinked slowly.

“That’s right.”

“Will you be able to manage on your own that day?”

Nelia’s cautious question made the duke smile dimly.

“Of course. I experienced it for a long time already, so it doesn’t really matter to me.”

“But……….”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Nelia.”

The duke’s tone was soft, but what he was implying was quite firm.

“Alright, then………”

Nelia bid her farewell to the duke and returned to her room. Since the duke said he was alright, she wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.

However, the duke knocked on her door again in the evening after he finished his work.

“Nelia.”

His expression looked rather serious. Perhaps, he couldn’t tell her earlier, was he going to talk about something related to his father’s death anniversary?

Nelia replied with an equally serious look.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“If there’s no Nelia beside me, won’t I turn into a snake again?”

Oh…….. he’s talking about the curse.

“…….. Perhaps, you will be.”

Nelia, who was almost easily convinced, had a second thought and hurriedly continued.

“But even if you turn into a snake, I can make you return again in the morning.”

It wasn’t a big deal for her because he came back to his human form just by stroking his head.

“I want to remain in my human form.”

“Then you will have to sleep with me.”

The duke stared at Nelia. As if hoping for it.

Nelia gave in resignedly. Even if she refused here, she knew he would convince her by any means.

Maybe, the faster she gave in, the easier it would be to tame the duke.

“Come on in.”

“Thank you, Nelia.”

She was being patient because he was handsome.

Before lying down on the bed, Nelia wanted to make sure of something.

“Your Grace.”

“What?”

Sitting down on the bed, the duke looked up at Nelia. His skin could be seen through his loose gown, making him a dangerous sight to look at.

Nelia tried hard to avert her eyes somewhere else and continued.

“I can help you, but I can’t continue being like this forever.”

The term started when his foot got injured because she stepped on it. And it lasted until his foot healed. But of course, there was an unexpected issue called the aftereffect.

However, there was no definite term for this curse.

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It meant that she had to stick around the duke indefinitely so that he wouldn’t turn into a snake, and it wasn’t easy.

Perhaps the duke thought so since his expression seemed very serious. And he slowly spoke up again.

“Nelia, I am going to lift the curse.”

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