CH 2

The king, who was known to be the epitome of incompetence, bowed his head and trembling, and the queen was no different. Ingrid was the only one who looked up at the Duke with her head and stared at the Duke. Everyone else was drenched in fear.

Luana thought it was not an exaggerated reaction. Duke Legion, who was known as The Emperor’s Dog, was famous and widely known as the Emperor’s sword.

“I-I don’t want to die.”

She heard her sister sitting next to her muttering. She pulled the dress that covered her voluptuous breasts down and tried to make her look as seductive as possible. The beauty showed her willingness to survive by seducing the Duke.

‘But that won’t work. Evy. If you try to seduce him, you’ll die faster.’

I heard that the Duke was not interested in women to the extent that people thought he was an eunuch. He would never touch the princess out of lust.

Luana pursed her lips as she watched her sister struggle to create a sexy pose.

“What are you going to do with us?”

When Ingrid asked the question boldly, the Duke’s gaze turned to her.

‘Is it just me? Even though he was looking at Ingrid, why do I feel like he was looking at me? Ah, no way! Why would he look at this way?’ However, just in case, she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Can’t you imagine what would happen to the royal family of the fallen kingdom?”

As soon as the words fell, the king begged.

“Save me! Please! I’ll give you anything!”

The Duke laughed with a cold look on his face.

‘They’ve got everything you own there, what do you want to give him?’

Whether or not he knew Luana’s thoughts, the king begged desperately. He seemed to want to live, but the more he pleaded, the more likely he would die miserably. Although she didn’t really have any affection for him as a parent, she felt sorry for him. Luana bowed her head and moved her sleeves pretending to wipe her mouth. It seemed that no one had noticed yet. Satisfied with that fact, she raised her head, and the Duke was looking at her.

‘No way, he isn’t looking at me, right?’

‘No, he didn’t look in my direction.’ She thought as she looked around. In the first place, this is a seat for the royal family, there’s no way there will be anyone else sitting here. Luana rubbed her hands in nervousness.

“You.”

A harsh sound was heard, as if nails scratching the chalkboard. Because of the curse, his voice was hard to hear.

“He is talking to you.”

Luana, with her eyes, urged her older sister, who was slightly lowering her collar from the side. The belief that he would never call her out made that action possible. She got up smiling, wondering if the way to live has finally come, but her expectations were quickly broken.

“Not you.”

A finger wrapped in a gauntlet-wrapped pointed at Luana. Then the knights, who had been standing still, moved quickly, picked up Luana and made her stand in front of him.

‘Me? Is it really me?’

Luana was restless, so Ingrid stepped out.

“She is also a member of the royal family! What are you going to do to her? Leave her alone!”

‘It’s good to be bold, but sister, do you even know my name?’ Luana looked at Ingrid with a cold expression on her face.

The Duke with a small smile walked slowly and approached Ingrid. Then, as he grabbed her hair and pulled her back, her face was contorted in pain.

“What does it matter what I do?”

“She is still young! It’d rather be me!”

As Ingrid cried out mournfully, the Duke’s eyes trembled a little. It was surprising for him to see people who were self-sacrificing after seeing only selfish people every time. Yes, this was what made Legion fall for her. How fun it would be to see a cold person like him fall in love.

‘After all, it is the second male lead that can give off such a feeling!’

Luana looked at the two with a pounding heart. It was a pity that there was no popcorn.

“That’s unusual.”

Having said that, the duke let go of the hand that was holding Ingrid’s hair. Had it been for someone else, the skin of his head would have already been removed. After all, this is the power of beauty! It’s a great power to make even the villains soft!

Unknowingly, he looked around when he realized something, and it turns out Luana excitedly gave them a thumbs up, he stared at her. Luana smiled awkwardly and slowly folded her thumb.

“What does that mean?”

“It means the Duke is the best!”

Luana said so and fell flat on her face. She didn’t want to die first, so she sat up on her own.

“The best?”

The Duke grinned. Then he said to Luana.

“Wrist.”

“What?”

“You’ve been doing something. Show me your wrist.”

When the Duke said that, Luana’s complexion turned white in an instant. It almost looked like a corpse.

“I-it’s nothing. I was just scratching my wrist because it was so itchy because a bug bit my wrist. It was so itchy!”

“I don’t understand what you are saying.”

With the Duke’s glance, the knights grabbed Luana’s arm.

‘This can not happen. I could never show him!’

‘Let go, let go!’

Luana struggled as hard as she could, but her strength was incomparable to the knights in the first place. Eventually she was forced to put her wrists forward by the knights.

One of the knights who was looking at the loose hem of his robe slid his hand between them.

“Hehehehe!”

She laughed because it tickled her, and his cold gaze struck me. Luana decided to keep her mouth shut. The knight who was rummaging inside pulled out something. It was like a dark red square stick, with yellow things stuck in between. It looked like it was about one span long.

“What is this?”

The knight held it in front of his nose and questioned Luana.

“What, what could it be?”

She was unable to confess with her own mouth, she turned her gaze away, making her attitude become even worse.

“Is this a weapon? A poison? Say it right now!”

When the knight holding her hands gave strength to it, her arms hurt so bad that she thought she was going to fall.

“Oh, ow! Wait, wait! It’s not a weapon!”

Luana cried desperately.

“Then is it poison?”

“It’s not a poison.”

The knight picked up the item and carefully sniffed it. A sweet and savory scent was coming out from the item. When he pressed the yellow part, it didn’t seem like it was hard. It was unfamiliar, but it felt like he had seen it somewhere. ‘Where was it?’ The knight stood still, pondering, and handed it over to the Duke..

“If you tell the truth, I will kill you with ease.”

It’s the same thing to die one way or another. The only difference is whether it is more painful or less painful. Otherwise, if the Duke said something like that, other people might confess right away, but Luana didn’t believe him. It is said that people who are suspicious live a longer life.

“Would you like to swear on your family?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“We’ve both met for the first time. How can I believe you?”

The words stirred up a commotion.

“All right, I’ll keep my word.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to keep your promise, right?”

The Duke’s hand reached his sword. Only then did Luana reveal the identity of the item he was holding.

“… It’s a Po.”

TL/N: Po (Korean: 포) is thin strips or sheets of dried meat and fish used in Korean cuisine.

“What?”

“…It’s a Po!”

“What?”

‘Aaah…! It’s embarrassing to keep shouting that.’ Luana closed her eyes tightly and cried out in a loud voice.

“It’s cheese jerky!”

The hands of the knights who were holding Luana lost strength. Luana, who was free, quickly backed away.

“That’s mine.”

The Duke tapped his forehead with his finger. Seemed like the Duke was thinking something serious.

‘Do you have anything to worry about?’ Luana tilted her head.

“Did I hear it wrong?”

And when she looked at the stick-like object, she confessed one more time.

“It’s called cheese jerky.”

When he looked at the knight next to him, he opened his mouth in a similar manner.

“A cheese jerky.”

She told the truth, but the Duke didn’t seem to believe her. At that moment, her mind was blank. Whether or not he believed her, Luana rubbed her sore arms.

“It’s just a plain jerky. It’s not dangerous at all, except it has a highly delicious taste. And I made it on my own.”

No, even if she said it was not dangerous, why did she keep it in her sleeve? Besides, after figuring out the situation, it seemed that she was eating it little by little. Even the members of the royal family, including the knights, looked at Luana like she was a madwoman. Fortunately, Ingrid, who was like an angel, tried to understand somehow, but it was too hard for her to understand.

Only the nanny who knew the situation had her head bowed with a sullen face. ‘How can she not give up her cravings in this situation?’ In her heart, she wanted to shout like that.

“Cheese… What were you planning to do with the jerky?”

The knight was skeptical while questioning.

“What could I be doing with it? I was eating it.”

“Now?”

“You didn’t say anything about eating.”

As she answered, she looked at the Duke. There was nothing wrong with what she said, but why would she eat jerky in this situation where her life is at stake. The knight seemed to have a lot to say.

“S-she was abandoned at a young age, so she grew up unwell. S-so she’s a little… dense. But she’s a good kid.”

Ingrid defended her in a small voice. Of course, it was not helping at all.

“I’m not dense!” exclaimed Luana out of frustration.

“It’s all because of the jerky! I am innocent. I just finished the jerky that I had been working hard to make this morning. It tasted unbelievable! It’s so delicious! How do you leave something delicious like that? If I die after eating something good, I would have no regrets, so you should try it on your own!”

Luana confidently uttered those words.

“Really! It looks hard on the outside, but if you take a bite, your teeth will easily sink in. If you tear it up in line with the grains and chew it, you can taste the savory meat and the sweetness wraps around the tip of your tongue. When saliva mixes in, it feels like you are chewing juicy meat. Plus, I added some cheese!”

Before she knew it, Luana got excited and began to talk about beef jerky to the crowd.