My Disfigured Duke Husband Helps Me Plot My Revenge
Chapter 127: Begrudgingly Accepting Help

Chapter 127: Begrudgingly Accepting Help

At the Magic Academy, every mage was instilled with the value that depleting oneself of mana was a way to show irresponsibility. Those with such a lack of control were looked down upon.

Stephano walked into the duke’s chambers expecting to feel that way. He even wore a frown.

However, as he saw Leonor resting amongst soft pillows, he softened his heart.

She was in a place she had been dying to get to. Even if it wasn’t under the right circumstances, she was as close to Desmond as she would ever be without knowing the truth.

He felt as sorry as he felt envious. The past month of talking to Leonor made him wish there was room in his life for the curse of love.

Since he couldn’t pursue it himself, he would do anything to push the two people who meant the most to him together. It was frustrating that one of them hadn’t cracked yet. He was mostly upset at Desmond for making the situation so complicated.

The duke placed the tray of food down on the bedside table. He sat on the edge of the bed and touched Leonor’s hand where it rested on the pillow next to her head.

"Stephano is here to give you something," Desmond said gently.

A maid soon followed the king into the room with a rolling tray with boiling water in a kettle and a teacup. She eagerly volunteered to do it for His Majesty because she wanted to see what had caused the duchess to sleep in the duke’s room for once.

The gossip around the estate had become stale and she was eager for more.

After gleaning enough from the situation as she could, the maid left with a bow to all nobles present and quickly went to where she was working in the kitchen.

Leonor was starting to stir and her eyebrows knit together. She heard was Desmond said but the short nap she had taken made her feel heavier.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

As she sat up with Desmond’s help, the blankets fell from her body.

The thin nightgown didn’t leave enough to one’s imagination, in Desmond’s opinion. He quickly pulled the blankets back over her. He then glared at Stephano who was pointedly averting his eyes.

Leonor was none the wiser and settled into the pillows sitting up higher than before as directed.

"You’ll take it like tea," Stephano explained. "It will be a bit bitter but there’s honey on the tray."

"Thank you," Leonor responded lightly, rubbing one of her eyes as she did.

"How did you end up in this state?" Stephano asked. "I didn’t allow you in here thinking you would do something so unbelievably irresponsible. Even if it was a secondary mana source it still isn’t a good thing."

Leonor crossed her arms over herself and the blankets.

"I didn’t come in here thinking I would do that," she admitted.

"You let her in here?" Desmond asked, his voice slowly raising.

"I would have come in anyway," Leonor defended the king even though her voice sounded weak. "With or without his help I would have wound up in the same place no matter what."

Desmond wanted to be angry but didn’t want to see her flinch again like before. He found a way to blame himself for the whole ordeal, saying it was his fault for deciding to fight in the first place.

"Please drink the tea so you can eat," Desmond urged, trying to move past what he wanted to dwell on.

No one would believe Leonor if she told them about the sight in front of her. She thought the situation was quite amusing despite how she felt.

The duke sat on the edge of the bed she occupied, fretting over her while the king stood over a tray of tea, dropping herbs in and adjusting the flavor with honey. He stirred it gently and brought it to her.

"It will make it easier to eat food in a while," Stephano explained.

Leonor thanked him quietly before bringing the teacup to her lips. The scent was better than it tasted. Even with honey, the herb inside had a bitter flavor. Despite cringing, she managed to drink down half of it since the maids knew not to boil the water too hot.

"The herbs will be good to put in a bath later," he said. "Although you should sleep for one more night before attempting to do anything much. Mana takes a long time to restore itself. Even if you’ve been depleted before, I imagine what you did was far more than anything you’ve experienced."

She didn’t know if she agreed, but she certainly hadn’t ever slept an entire 24 hours after depleting herself.

"I will keep that in mind," Leonor said. "Thank you for the advice."

Considering it was dark outside and candles were lighting up the room by that point, the king turned towards the door but glanced over his shoulder at the pair.

"I’m retiring for the evening," he said. "It was a pain having to calm this beast down all day."

Stephano referred to the duke and it caused Desmond to "tch" in disapproval but Desmond didn’t leave Leonor’s side.

He turned towards her and brought the tray of food to his lap.

"Now you need to eat," he said.

Leonor allowed him to move the tray to her legs once she straightened them out underneath the blankets. When she went to grab the spoon with a shaky hand, Desmond beat her to it.

"Let me," he said. "Your hands are shaking."

Leonor’s sapphire eyes narrowed.

"I don’t need your help," she said.

"If you don’t let me, I won’t know how much you eat," Desmond said. "Just as the night before, if you don’t eat I won’t either and I’m very hungry."

"I’ll eat if you promise not to willingly put yourself in harm’s way again for no reason," Leonor responded stubbornly. "You have nothing left to prove to anyone."

Desmond wanted to sigh but managed to hold it back. Instead, he nodded.

"I promise."

He then held up the spoon higher and Leonor finally willingly leaned forward and allowed him to feed her the stew. It was herbed perfectly and delicious. She was starving enough to shamelessly let him feed her the entire bowl.

Little did she know, he was being less helpful than simply wanting to do something he had daydreamed for a while. The woman of his dreams lying in his bed wearing a nightgown while he spoon-fed her meals.

The only thing that was missing was affection. If he couldn’t kiss the mouth that haunted years of his life so far, he would have to settle with putting a spoon in it.

Once the food was cleaned up and Leonor was cuddled up to a pillow once again, Desmond stood up and started moving to the door.

"Do you need anything else before I settle in for the night?" he asked.

"Where will you be sleeping?" she responded with another question.

"There are plenty of guest rooms," he said.

Leonor sat up again and the blanket fell off of her, pooling at her waist. She glared at the duke even though such sudden movements made her feel dizzy.

"If you don’t sleep in your bed, I’m going to my room," she said. "It isn’t the first time we’ve shared a bed."

There was a look of determination in her eyes.