The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

   Britia bit her lip as she looked at Sig, who had been moved to the guest bed.

 

   She really never imagined things would turn out like this. She really only put the force of biting and then letting go.

 

   The image of his vice commander, who rushed over when he heard the sound of Sig collapsing, asking what she had done with a pale face.

 

   “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

 

   Britia rubbed his hand vigorously, hoping he would wake up soon. It seemed to work, as Sig’s fingers twitched and then gripped her hand tightly.

 

  “Duke-nim!”

 

   Sig slowly opened his eyes and stared at Britia blankly. Even though Britia called his name several times and waited, he just blinked his eyes blankly.

 

   Is he really mad?

 

   Britia felt downcast. She regretted ruining the  good mood by doing something like that.

 

   “I’m sorry, Duke-nim. I’ll never do that again….”

 

   Britia trailed off as Sig smiled with a scary face.

 

   “It’s good.”

 

   “…Yes?”

 

   “I feel really good. This is a first for me.”

 

   Life was already flowing back into Sig’s pale face.

 

   The moment her lips touched his tail, it felt like he had been struck by lightning, and his body was filled with electricity, and Sig passed out. But now, it was as if something had been blocked and opened up, and his head was clear and all his senses were sharp.

 

   “Britia!”

 

   Sig sat up and looked at Britia. His voice was loud because his body was filled with strength, but Sig himself did not realize this fact. He was too excited to care about such things.

 

   “I thought you were going to run away from me like before. So I tried to catch you, but I couldn’t move a finger.”

 

   “I’m sorry for hurting you. If there’s anywhere that hurts, please tell me. I’ll call the priest or doctor right away.”

 

   “The doctor or priest is fine. More than that…….”

 

   “Yes. If you need anything, please tell me anything.”

 

   Sig hesitated. Apart from the pleasant sensation that flowed through his body, he was ashamed of the fact that he had passed out without resisting when she bit his tail. But it was too embarrassing to ask her for anything like that.

 

   However, he remembered one thing he wanted to ask her.

 

   “Then, please answer my proposal.”

 

   Sig said, looking into Britia’s moist eyes. It was not as difficult as he thought to propose after building up his courage.

 

   “I hope the feeling I’m feeling now, the feeling of my heart being so full that the first person I see when I wake up every day is you, like now.”

 

   Sig pulled Britia’s hand toward him forcefully. He wanted her to accept it quickly, but Britia, as she had been in the carriage all along, just kept her lips moving, waiting.

 

   “…What happens if you can’t stand it?”

 

   Britia asked, tilting her head. A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face.

 

   That was both lovely and frustrating, and Sig was fidgety.

 

   “Britia. Stop teasing me and….”

 

  Sig stopped talking as he remembered something.

 

  “Did you not like the kiss earlier?”

 

  Sig asked carefully. It was his first kiss. He had loved it so much that his heart felt like it was going to burst, but he might have made her feel uncomfortable because he was clumsy.

 

  “No, no, I didn’t hate it, but it was so short that I don’t really know what it was like. If you do it well this time, I’ll think about it.”

 

  Britia deliberately tilted her head and glanced at Sig.

 

  Sig swallowed hard and slowly approached. He couldn’t make an excuse that he was clumsy because it was his first time, so he was even more nervous. He was so nervous that he couldn’t hold her or just stand still, so he fidgeted his hands.

 

  Thinking about how to make her like it was too difficult for Sig. The moment he felt Britia’s soft lips touch his, his heart pounded with excitement. When he took a cautious breath, he smelled a good scent.

 

  “Was I wrong?”

 

  Sig asked with a worried look in his eyes when Britia frowned slightly.

 

  “You’ll have to work hard from now on.”

 

  Britia tried to hold back her laughter and made a stern face.

 

  “Britia Turas sounds awkward. But I guess I’ll get used to it if I keep hearing it.”

 

  Britia said with a playful smile.

 

  “Are you accepting my proposal?”

 

  “If Duke-nim were a little less cute, I would have rejected him. But I’m marrying him because he’s cute.”

 

  Sig couldn’t believe it and didn’t say anything.

 

  “You don’t look very happy.”

 

  “No! I’m so happy, nothing coming out of my mouth. What should I say….”

 

  Sig was frustrated because he couldn’t find the words to express his feelings. He was happy, but that wasn’t enough. So what should he say?

 

  “I’m just kidding. I know you’re happy. You’re wagging your tail so hard, you’re shedding fur.”

 

  Britia laughed as she watched Sig’s tail, which was happily beating against the bed.

 

  “Britia, but one thing….”

 

  The movement of Sig’s tail, which had been wagging excitedly, stopped. He looked at Britia for a clue, his lips twitching.

 

  “You want me to call you Sig instead of….”

 

  Britia asked, knowing what he wanted. Sig’s tail popped up.

 

  “I can call you that, but if you make me feel sad or angry in the future, I’ll go back to calling you Duke-nim.”

 

  “I won’t.”

 

  Sig made a tense face and vowed, feeling the piercing gaze of Britia.

 

  “Sig.”

 

  When Britia called his name softly, Sig’s expression, which had been tense with nervousness, melted away with joy.

 

  “Sig. Do you like that? Should I call you that again?”

 

  Sig’s face flushed. He knew she was enjoying teasing him, but he nodded anyway. His stomach was tickling so much he could barely stand it.

 

  “Britia, can I kiss you again?”

 

  His voice was a little shaky, worried that she would say no. Fortunately, Britia closed her eyes without answering.

 

  Sig realized that this meant she wasn’t mad, but that he was allowed to kiss her. He gently held her cheek and kissed her. His heart pounded even though he had done it several times before.

 

  Because she wasn’t testing him this time, Britia was a little more proactive. Sig was momentarily surprised, but he accepted it. It was so good that his head was spinning.

 

  “Britia, just a little more.”

 

  Sig begged when Britia pulled away.

 

  “Again?”

 

  To tease him, Britia acted like she didn’t want to.

 

  “You said you had to work hard, didn’t you?”

 

  “…I guess I have no choice.”

 

  Britia smiled gently when she saw Sig’s watery eyes, who wanted her to continue.

 

  Meanwhile, at that moment, Crave, who was talking to the vice commander in the living room, was shocked by the proposal and opened his mouth.

 

  “So, you want Lockhart to move to Taraf?”

 

  “It’s just a proposal, and we will never force you to do anything. It’s okay to refuse.”

 

  Of course, that would ruin the plan, but the assistant looked at Crave with a smiling face and said.

 

  “Taraf is in the north, but it’s much warmer than you think. There are also vast plains.”

 

  The vice commander added that the land was not bad for farming.

 

  “Considering our current situation, it would make sense to accept it. But I have a question. Why are you making such a good offer without any demands?”

 

  Crave was initially wary of the unexpected good offer.

 

  “It’s not just that we’re offering you land. We want to invest in Lockhart.”

 

  “Invest?”

 

  “The north doesn’t produce enough grain. There’s not enough farmland. So, we have to import most of our grain from the south. But…”

 

  Crave swallowed his spit when he saw the assistant’s serious expression. He looked just as tough as Sig when he wasn’t smiling.

 

  “This time, they’re charging us an outrageous transportation fee. They say the risk has increased because there are too many bandits.”

 

  The bandits were a pretext for the retaliatory measures taken by the Southern Alliance of Robley.

 

  “I knew this would be a problem eventually, so I tried to increase our farmland. But it wasn’t easy because I didn’t know how to do it.”

 

  No matter how much he said, the stubborn duke had no intention of actively pursuing it, so it always ended in a stalemate.

 

  The vice commander swallowed his anger and smiled as kindly as possible.

 

  “But I heard that Lockhart has a knack for turning barren land into farmland, like magic.”

 

  “It’s not really magic, and it’s not that great.”

 

  Crave blushed a little, and the vice commander waved his hand.

 

  “I’ve tried it myself. I know how difficult it is. You don’t need to be modest at all.”

 

  “Ahem, so let me summarize. Lockheart went to Taraf to work the fields and offer it to Altheim, or rather, hoping for a tribute.”

 

Feeling awkward about the praise, Crave coughed and spoke. The vice commander chuckled at the mention of tribute.

 

  “We’re not bandits like Robley. Would we resort to such robbery? We want to pay and make a deal. If we settle the transportation costs, it’ll be less of a burden for us.”

 

   After some thought, Crave spoke heavily, “But to work the fields, we need labor. From your story, isn’t Taraf completely deserted?”

 

   “No need to worry about that. Eldinos who want to settle, farm, and live there just happened…”

 

  As the butler opened the reception room door and appeared, the deputy chief paused in his speech. The butler whispered something to Crave.

 

  “Duke Turas has awakened,” Crave said, rising from his seat, and the vice commander also stood up.

 

   The fact that Sig was still unconscious was astonishing to the deputy chief. Moreover, the person who brought him down was Britia. Seeing Britia sobbing over Sig’s collapse was unexpected, but it was hard to believe.

 

  “How’s his condition? Is he okay?”

 

   Crave, who had moved to the guest bedroom where Sig was, asked. Sig nodded that he was fine and licked his lips. It seemed like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

 

  “I’m going to marry Duke-nim, no, I’m going to marry Sig.”

 

  Britia spoke on behalf of Sig as he gently held her hand, blushing. Crave teased playfully. It was different from the tense attitude he had in front of the deputy chief.

 

  “Britia, is that true?”

 

  Sig widened his eyes and looked at Britia. Britia didn’t deny it and turned her head modestly.

 

  “Britia.”

 

  “….”

 

  “Britia!”

 

  “What does it matter? You decided to get married in the end. Congratulations to both of you.”

 

  As Crave chuckled, Sig sighed in relief.

 

  “I’m glad I’m cute.”

 

  Sig, struggling with Britia, looked so fresh that the vice commander doubted his ears.

 

  Who’s lucky to be cute?

 

  “If I had been a bit less cute, it could have been dangerous.”

 

  Sig murmured seriously again. The vice commander was so stunned that he couldn’t even congratulate them.