I Stole The Duke - Chapter 11
Since he normally preferred a modest style, there wasn’t much for him to prepare. Duke Ascher simply fastened a leather belt with a buckle to secure his sword and strapped the blade to his waist—that was it.
“The step is high. Please be careful.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Eliana took the hand Duke Ascher offered for her to board and climbed into a nondescript black carriage.
“To the plaza.”
“Yes, Your Grace. We’re departing.”
Once Duke Ascher also got in, Puelini—now disguised as a coachman—flicked the reins.
Clatter. Clatter.
Drawn by two horses, the carriage glided forward.
Eliana took in the sight of Duke Ascher seated across from her. Despite the fine quality of his clothes, the plain white shirt without any decorative embroidery and the well-fitted black trousers gave him the air of a “free knight.” The sword at his waist completed the look.
“Thank you for agreeing to what I wanted.”
“Because what you said made sense, my Lady.”
Thanks to their decision to keep the outing—date—low-profile, the only thing that stood out in their party was the oversized coachman.
“……”
As their conversation paused, Duke Ascher glanced at Eliana seated across from him.
Her lemon-colored dress, adorned with a blue ribbon, was so radiant it naturally drew the eye. He had only intended to preserve the engagement in name by refusing the annulment, and yet here he was, on an outing with her.
The situation, where he’d been helplessly swept along by her pace, was almost amusing—but not unpleasant. Since it had come to this, he resolved to give it his best effort.
“We’ll likely need to eat lunch while we’re out.”
It was nearly noon.
“Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?”
“There is, but…”
Eliana hesitated at his question. Could she allow a bit of Kim Eunchae’s nature—hidden within her—to show?
“Please, go ahead.”
Duke Ascher watched her with interest, surprisingly patient for someone usually so direct.
“……”
“It’s alright. Tell me.”
“…Chi-maek.”
Finally giving in to his expectant gaze, Eliana cautiously voiced Eunchae’s long-suppressed craving.
In this hot climate, the lack of a cold beer straight from the fridge was unbearable! No matter how luxurious the noble lifestyle was, it felt stifling and dull. A life without that bone-chillingly cold beer after a shower felt like missing an essential organ. It was one of the reasons she couldn’t fully abandon the thought of logging out of this world.
“Chi…maek? Pardon?”
The unfamiliar term clearly puzzled Duke Ascher.
“I’ve never heard of it. Is it a northern dish?”
“Um… it’s fried chicken with cold beer.”
Seeing that he didn’t immediately grasp it, Eliana gave a simpler explanation.
“Chicken and beer… That doesn’t sound too hard to get.”
“Oh, really?”
Since alcoholic drinks were never served during meals here, Eliana perked up a bit at his response.
“Still, your tastes are quite unique. Did you enjoy such things in the North?”
Duke Ascher’s brow furrowed slightly in curiosity.
As far as he knew, the North preferred vodka over beer. Chi-maek seemed out of place for that region’s palate.
“No, I read about it once in an adventurer’s book when I was little… I just thought I’d like to try it someday…”
Caught off guard, Eliana trailed off and avoided his gaze.
In front of a carriage depot near the plaza.
“Mind your hat. It may come off.”
As Eliana stepped down from the carriage, Duke Ascher steadied her with his hand, surveying her appearance once more. With her hair pinned up and a wide-brimmed hat shading most of her face and hair, it seemed unlikely she’d draw unnecessary attention.
“Yes.”
“And from now on, call me by my name—or a nickname, if you prefer.”
“Hmm… Michalis? Michal? Mihas?”
Pleased by Duke Ascher’s commitment to their “incognito date” concept, Eliana played along with a smile.
“Call me Mihal.”
“Mihal.”
The way his name rang in her clear voice sent a strange, ticklish sensation through Duke Ascher’s chest. No one, aside from his mother, had ever called him by that nickname.
“Then call me Riana.”
“Understood, Miss Riana.”
“I’ll escort you.”
Just then, Puelini, having completed the formalities at the depot, stepped forward to lead the way.
“Wow, looks like there’s a festival going on.”
After walking about a hundred meters on foot—
Eliana was awestruck by the plaza unfolding before her eyes. It was more than she had imagined.
A grand square centered around a fountain commemorating a war victory. Stalls and tents lined the area, and exotic music drifted through the air.
“This is why I wanted a larger escort.”
Duke Ascher, seeing exactly what he had expected, furrowed his brow slightly.
‘That could’ve been a disaster.’
Eliana let out a quiet sigh of relief, thankful that she hadn’t arrived as the commander of the Smurf army.
The plaza was absolutely packed.
Flencia, the second-largest city of the Wesspera Empire and the central stronghold of Duke Ascher’s domain. The cheerful, passionate, and wealthy citizens of the South loved to find any excuse to throw a festival—eating, drinking, and enjoying life at every turn.
Now, with the perfect excuse in the form of House Ascher’s change of leadership and the Duke’s upcoming marriage, the citizens had launched into a grand celebration of their own accord.
“We’re moving forward.”
Though he was technically part of the group, Puelini moved a few paces ahead, acting as their “path-clearing man” as he began to push through the crowd.
Thud.
“Ow! What the hell, that hurt, damn it!”
“What!?”
The man who had collided with Puelini’s shoulder swore—but, seeing who he’d bumped into, quickly ran off. Thanks to Puelini’s imposing size and intimidating appearance, a miraculous path was forming through the tightly packed crowd.
“Stay close to me.”
“Yes.”
Thanks to their excellent “pathfinder,” Duke Ascher and Eliana were able to blend into the plaza without much difficulty.
‘Wow.’
Eliana couldn’t help but silently marvel as she looked over the goods at the stalls. It felt like visiting a traditional market in a foreign country.
“Huh?”
While browsing the stalls near the entrance of the plaza, Eliana stopped with a curious look on her face. She had seen merchants with exotic appearances before, but this was the first time she had encountered someone with distinctly Eastern features.
“What’s this?”
Feeling a sense of familiarity, Eliana approached the Eastern merchant and asked.
“Kahaha! The young lady has a sharp eye. This, I assure you, is a one-of-a-kind magical artifact!”
The friendly-looking merchant spoke fluent Imperial.
“It’s best not to purchase magical artifacts that haven’t been approved by the Mage Tower.”
Standing beside her, Duke Ascher spoke in a low voice, his expression hardening.
He didn’t like it.
To him, everything displayed by the Eastern merchant appeared to be cheap magical trinkets. Just as poorly crafted as they looked—barely functional and disposable after a single use.
“Ah, Sir Knight, that’s quite hurtful. The East has its own kind of magic, you know, not everything has to go through the Mage Tower.”
The Eastern merchant, apparently having sharp ears, picked up on Duke Ascher’s words and looked wounded.
“Magical artifact? You mean an object imbued with magic?”
Eliana’s curiosity only deepened at their exchange.
“Yes, yes, exactly!”
“And what does this one do?”
Eliana had picked up a locket necklace engraved with intricate patterns.
“Kahaha! That, my lady, is a self-defense necklace imbued with lightning magic.”
“Wow, can I open it?”
“Of course, of course!”
Delighted by Eliana’s interest, the merchant eagerly encouraged her with a bright, businesslike smile.
When she opened the locket, she found a tiny magic stone, no bigger than a fingernail, embedded inside.
‘A low-grade magic stone.’
Duke Ascher, who had looked inside the locket with her, frowned slightly. He had hoped for better, but his expectations had been right.
“It holds enough charge for three uses. You can replace the magic stone and continue using it, making it quite cost-effective.”
To Duke Ascher, it looked like it wouldn’t even work once.
“How is the magic activated?”
“Kahaha, may I demonstrate?”
“Here you go.”
Receiving the necklace from Eliana, the Eastern merchant closed the locket and wound a knob on its side—similar to setting the time on a wristwatch.
Click. Click.
The poorly-oiled mechanism made a faint noise as it turned.
After about five full turns, the engraved patterns—seemingly just decorative—shifted into a precise magical circle.
“Once the pattern changes into this magic circle, you recite the activation phrase.”
“What’s the phrase?”
“Just a moment. First, we must scatter the circle…”
As Eliana’s questions continued, the merchant disrupted the pattern on the necklace and muttered quietly.
“Lightning.”
“Wow.”
“And with that, a single bolt of lightning will shoot out, strong enough to knock out an adult man.”
“That’s amazing.”
Eliana’s eyes sparkled with genuine wonder at the merchant’s dramatic demonstration.
She wanted to applaud. It was the kind of fantastical item you’d only see in a fantasy novel.
“One word of caution: this amount of power may not work on those with Sword Expert-level skills or higher.”
“Ah, I see.”
“And, it’s dangerous to keep it in magic-circle mode, so it should be worn with the mechanism disengaged like this.”
“Yes, that makes sense.”
“I’ll buy you something better.”
Unable to watch Eliana being conned any longer, Duke Ascher finally stepped in. If she truly needed a self-defense artifact, she should have one from the Mage Tower, not a flimsy trinket that might not even work.
“Mihal, I like this one.”
“Kahaha! The young lady really has an eye for quality. Look at that radiant silver sheen! It’s made of mithril…”
‘It’s silver.’
Duke Ascher could only sigh at the outrageous scam unfolding before him.
“So how much does it cost?”
If the merchant was telling the truth, Eliana was genuinely interested in the item.
“Only 20 million reums!”
“…Hah.”
At the merchant’s words, Duke Ascher let out a hollow laugh. The item was strange enough, but the price was even more absurd.
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