The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

Evry’s voice pierced through the air as she called out, 

“Your Highness?”

 However, Sig was so deep in his thoughts that he failed to hear him.

“The world is indeed vast,” Sig muttered to himself, still in a daze.

At times, Evry found it challenging to keep up with Sig’s quick thinking, but today was a day he couldn’t comprehend his thoughts no matter how hard he tried.

He couldn’t help but think why Sig had such a thought. 

“Why did you suddenly have that thought?” 

Evry asked, trying to understand what was going through Sig’s mind.

Despite his fear, he boldly asked to understand the intention behind his words. 

“Britia is really a frightening person,” Sig said.

“Really?”

Britia outburst towards Lord Lockhart was quite intimidating. But Evry couldn’t bear the thought of hearing the word “frightening” applied to Sig Turas himself.

Evry was struggling to find the right words to interject when Sig turned to him.

 “The more you know her, the more amazed you’ll be,” said Sig.

Evry was taken aback by Sig’s sudden confession.

“Is she, um, so amazing that it brings you joy?”

“Evry, you’re talking about the obvious.”

 Finding someone with that kind of talent, even Sig found it hard to understand her, wasn’t that something to be happy about?

“Ah, sigh. That’s a matter of course, isn’t it? Yes, I’ve been impolite.”

Evry tried hard to surpass the corners of his lips, trying to stifle a laugh that could burst out if he was too relaxed.

“Hey, mad dog!”

Leon pointed at Sig and called him.

“You’ve shown yourself to be worthy of your name once more!”

“Lenny!”

Britia smacked her brother’s mouth, making a loud noise.

“Being disrespectful to Duke-nim again!”

“It’s a habit. This time I’m not doing it on purpose, really.”

Leon made excuses, mumbling and glancing at Britia’s feet.

“Before you talk to me, look at your feet first. Why are you barefoot?”

Britia’s feet were bare and she was wearing a nightgown. If she was talking about Leon being so rude, wasn’t her appearance somewhat similar?

“Didn’t you just go to the garden barefoot?”

Britia sighed as she exclaimed, “I didn’t even have time to do anything, Crave forced me to come out.”

“I barely managed to get some sleep, and now my fever is about to rise again,” Britia grumbled, putting her hand on the hip.

“Why is he so excited, when it’s not even his catch?”

“Mad… His Excellency Duke Sig Turas!” Leo called out, almost habitually referring to the man as a mad dog, before correcting himself.

“I have no idea where the Earl and Countess are fighting their hearts out, but come on up,” he said, leading the two men inside the mansion.

It was unclear how much of a fight they had been in, but the Countess of Lochheart, walked into the dining room with eyes swollen and red from crying. However, her husband, Earl Lockhart, still had her waist gently cradled in his arms.

 Leon pointed to his injured arm and chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter who caught it, the fact is that it was caught.”

The Earl, Lockhart, sneered at Leon before turning to give a smile towards the proud Sig, the Duke of Turas.

“In any case, today’s hero is my friend and the one who beautifully caught the bear, Duke Sig Turas.”

With his hurt hand, he clapped awkwardly.

“What are you doing, Lockhart second and third?”

He made a face towards his lanky siblings.

“This is the person who saved the life of the first. Come on, let’s give him a round of applause.”

His command was unreasonable, but Britia clapped quietly.

It was true that she was grateful to Sig.

Cravw summoned even the busy servants who were moving the food and dishes around.

Suddenly, Sig felt his cheeks flush in the situation where he was cheered on. It wasn’t that he felt bad, but he was flustered.

“Thank you so much for saving my husband, Duke-nim,” Crave’s wife said as she held his hand and expressed her gratitude, her eyes teary and red.

Sig just dropped the hand she was holding.

He didn’t feel the weird sensation like when Britia had held his hand, as if time was flowing slowly.

“I’m glad Earl-nim isn’t badly hurt,” Sig said.

As he thought, there was something special about Britia. Sig looked back at her with conviction.

Britia couldn’t help but notice how intense his gaze was. 

But she couldn’t understand why he was looking at her, so she tried to brush it off as just her imagination.

However, she could no longer pretend not to notice as the man sitting right next to him at the table completely turned his head and gazed intently at her.

“Excuse me, Duke-nim, is there something on my face?” Britia asked, her voice laced with confusion.

“The ability to control time is a remarkable gift,” Sig said in a deep voice.

Britia blinked slowly, trying to understand what Sig meant.

“Is that a Northern joke?”

 she wondered, thinking maybe she couldn’t comprehend Sig’s words because she was from the South.

“If one could slow down the flow of time, there would be many things one could do,” 

Sig said with a slight smile.

“Ah, I see,” 

Britia said, not sure how to respond to such a strange statement.

“If I had such a gift, I would have used it last night,” 

Sig added with a chuckle.

Why was he speaking so ominously, Britia wondered. What had happened last night?

As Sig spoke seriously, Britia’s face also became serious.

“I knew I would meet you today, but I failed to prepare a handkerchief,” Sig said with a hint of regret.

Sig thought time was precious, but he still thought he could make one. But he was too late.

Sig clutched his fist tightly on top of his leg. 

“A handkerchief?”

Britia’s tense expression relaxed, 

“Goodness, were you worried about that? I’m sorry.”

The beautiful handkerchief seemed tempting, but the fact that Sig was made so miserable by not yet making one, made Britia hesitate.

“And the handkerchief… “

But as she was about to say it was okay, Britia’s words got caught in her throat upon seeing Sig’s expression.

His tail that had been swaying gently from side to side stiffened.

“Is it not necessary after all? Because I’m taking too long?”

Britia could sense that she must have said something wrong, judging by the look of hurt on Sig’s face.

“No, I was going to say that I can wait patiently even if you make it slowly.”

Sig’s eyes brightened.

 “It’s necessary then.”

Britia was relieved to see Sig’s tail stop swaying upon realizing she had been worried for nothing.

His face was impenetrable, revealing nothing of what he was thinking. But his wagging tail was an open book, revealing his emotions. Britia couldn’t help but smile a little at the sight.

“You used your abilities again, I see.”

Sig raised his eyebrows and gazed at her. The noise around them faded away and only her gentle smile shone.

“You can tell?”

Britia chuckled, understanding the meaning behind his wagging tail.

Sig’s suspicions were confirmed at that moment. He balled his hand into a fist and nodded his head, looking slightly ashamed.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize.”

She could actually control time! The realization of this truth was growing in Sig’s mind, growing into something beyond his control. Britia never could have imagined this in her wildest dreams.

“Don’t let the two of them talk secretly there.”

Crave swirled his glass of wine and cast a warning glance. 

“Today is a good day. Let’s enjoy each other’s company over food and drink.”

At his signal, the servants began to lay out the food in front of the guests.

“Duke-nim, is there any food you don’t eat?” asked Britia.

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Crave was astonished at her question.

“Even if you’re the Duke Turas who can eat anything, there must be some food that you wouldn’t eat,” Britia pressed on.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but don’t you think your words are rude?” Crave retorted.

Britia rolled her eyes at Crave. He was strange to begin with, but today he seemed particularly agitated and loud.

“I don’t eat stones, but I don’t care if I can.” 

said Sig, to which Crave easily changed the subject and yelled loudly.

“It’s annoying,” Britia grumbled.

Crave, hearing Britia’s response, slammed his wrist snap on the dining table, making it shake.

“Don’t be rude, Tia. This brother of yours is sad,” said Crave with a pout.

“What do you mean, brother?”

Crave chuckled as Britia snorted softly.

“Be honest with yourself. In your heart, you always think of me as your brother, don’t you?”

Britia didn’t respond, instead she drank her wine. She hated how arrogant he was being.

But this wine tasted good.

Britia didn’t want to be rude like a typical sibling, so she didn’t drink much, but in reality, she didn’t dislike alcohol. The problem was that she was too weak in drinking.

Maybe she should drink a little more. At least until she doesn’t get drunk.

She beckoned to the maid, and soon the cup was filled.

On the night of the party, Britia looked intently at the wagging tail of Sig. Unlike the previous night, she felt an urge to reach out and touch the soft fur between his moving tail hairs.

Leon approached Sig and gestured with him arms.

“Excuse me, Duke-nim. May I ask you a question?”

“What is the reason for your acceptance of our invitation?”

He pointed towards her brother with his eyes.

“I’m sure it’s not just because you find it fun to be with that man,” she added.

As Crave signaled for a servant to pour him another drink, the drinks and plates were promptly served.

“I’m going to die now.I should have told my wife I love her one last time!I regretted it, here comes the Duke Turas!”

“You’ve always been a heavy drinker, but you seem especially bad today,” said Leon.

Crave continued his rant, not noticing that Leon was conversing with Sig.

Despite the fact that dessert had not yet arrived, Crave was already repeating the same story for the fifth time, causing Leon to roll his eyes.

“And it seems that my brother’s eyes are getting more blurred,” he added, without paying attention to his brother’s mumbling.

“Leon, what does that mean? Give me a kiss!”

“Never. Do it to the wife next to you.”

“…that’s a good idea!”

Crave tightly gripped his wife’s face and smacked his lips against hers, her protests of what was going on ringing out as she tried to push him away but to no avail.

“I’m curious too.”

Britia, her face flushed with wine, and she smiled.

“I thought Duke-nim hates parties,” she added.

“I do not hate them,” replied Sig.

Leon chuckled as he leaned back.

“I thought you were the type of wolf who enjoys solitude.”

“There are too many strangers at parties,” 

replied Sig, who had never wished for solitude, but circumstances often led him down that path.

When they saw him, the majority of people fled. Some people didn’t, but they were comparatively infrequent.

“I don’t know how to handle this,” he thought to himself.

He didn’t know what to say, so most of the time he just stared at the other person, making them fear and run away.

In that sense, the Earl of Lockhart, who stood in front of him with no sign of tension, was a refreshing man.

 He wondered if the Earl was a hidden expert, a member of the prestigious family of Britia’s. Although his hunting skills were lacking.

Sig continued to calmly answer his questions and Britia couldn’t help but to chuckle.

“Are you trying to hide your nervousness?” she asked.

He was trying to hide his nervousness at the party when a picture of a black and fluffy tail, tense and fidgeting, flashed through her mind.

“Duke-nim is cuter than I thought,” she laughed.

Leon placed a hand on Britia’s forehead and neck, feeling her temperature.

“Or are you just talking nonsense because you’re drunk? Look me in the eyes.”

“Why? Because he’s cute.”

Britia half-closed her woozy eyes while smiling serenely with her lips curled.