The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

  Sig Turas is cute.

 

  The vice commander thought that was the weirdest sentence he’d ever heard. It even felt like it shouldn’t exist in the world.

 

  “Cute” should mean something small and cuddly that makes you smile. But that crazy dog duke was big and burly, and he was hideous.

 

  “What? Cute?”

 

  He thought Sig might be joking, but he was too serious. He was actually relieved that he was cute.

 

  “That’s right. If he wasn’t cute, I wouldn’t have even considered marrying Sig.”

 

  Britia, who had been ignoring him for a while, said, looking at Sig. She looked at him like he was really cute and lovable.

 

  “So I hope you’ll stay cute even after we get married.”

 

  So that’s why he had the nerve to say he was cute. It was because of that girl.

 

  The vice commander used to jokingly tell Sig that he was okay if he closed his eyes, so he should have some confidence. But when he saw Sig with a strange sense of confidence now, he felt like he was going to puke.

 

  “What about me is especially cute? If you tell me, I’ll keep doing it.”

 

  “That’s a secret. If I told you the answer, you’d do it on purpose, wouldn’t you?”

 

  Sig nodded when Britia raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

 

  “I’ll do it all day. Because I want to keep getting cute.”

 

  What is love that makes Sig Turas, the king of the world, say such things? The vice commander shuddered.

 

  “Everyone seems to have forgotten something important. Britia Lockhart!”

 

  Crave suddenly shouted loudly. He glared at Britia with an angry face.

 

  “If you want to get married, you should ask for my permission. You can’t just announce that you’re getting married on your own! This is ridiculous, I won’t give you permission!”

 

  Sig’s face hardened when he heard that he wouldn’t be given permission. Britia put her hand on his back and said it was okay.

 

  “He’s just kidding.”

 

  “Kidding? I’m really angry!”

 

  Then he laughed at Sig’s expression. Britia   scoffed and said she knew he would do that.

 

  “So, you’ll give us your ‘permission’?”

 

  “If I say no, you won’t do it? You’ll blackmail me to get my permission!”

 

  Crave laughed out loud, saying that the two of them would make a really scary couple. Then he turned to the vice commander and cleared his throat.

 

  “If things are going this way, there’s no reason for Lockhart to not go to Taraf. I was hesitant because I was worried that the two of you would be awkward with each other.”

 

  The vice commander smiled and shook his hand, seeing that he had let down his guard.

 

  “Welcome. We’ll help you with your relocation and your new life as much as we can, so please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any problems.”

 

  He thought that Crave might be opposed to Sig because he didn’t bring up the Taraf issue right away. But it seemed to be a misgiving. The vice commander was very satisfied that things were going according to plan.

 

  Sig, who got on the carriage after leaving the Lockhart mansion, was still in a daze, wondering what he was thinking. Then he slowly raised the corners of his mouth and exhaled deeply.

 

  Was he already so happy about the thought of getting married? The vice commander would have told him to stop because it was creepy, but he kept his mouth shut, considering his feelings.

 

  “Oh no! I completely forgot.”

 

  Then Sig suddenly turned his head to the vice commander and shouted.

 

  “You just remembered now, didn’t you? That you brought me all the way to the capital, even though I told you I didn’t want to leave the north?”

 

  “I completely forgot about the ring.”

 

  “Oh, the ring.”

 

  The vice commander blinked and laughed.

 

  “You’ve progressed by realizing that fact on your own without my help. You’re truly a lover of the century who risked his life to teleport here to stop another man from proposing.”

 

  “I knew I needed a ring…,” Sig said with a frown. But now was not the time to ask him why he had known but hadn’t told him.

 

  “I need to go buy one right now. But I don’t know the size. I need to go back to Lockhart.”

 

  As Sig was about to order the driver, the vice commander stopped him.

 

  “Let’s not rush so much. The proposal was a success. There’s something more important.”

 

  The vice commander took out a knife from his pocket with a serious expression. It was something he had quietly swiped from the people who tried to kidnap Britia at the Stanford mansion.

 

  “I had thought that Britia was just an unlucky passerby who got caught up in Slanford’s personal affairs. But these people clearly targeted the lady.”

 

  In addition to having these magical items, the maid on their side was not to be underestimated, and even Robert had let her go. They were definitely trained individuals with a purpose, not just thugs who kidnapped nobles for ransom.

 

  The problem was, why were they targeting Britia?

 

  “…I guess it’s better to just wipe out the south.”

 

  Sig growled in a low voice. The vice commander then yawned with a bored expression in the cramped carriage.

 

  “If you want to be a husband who gets married and then suddenly starts a war, putting the wedding on the back burner, then go ahead.”

 

  “I’ll get married first then…,”

 

  “Oh, then your sweet honeymoon is out the window.”

 

  Sig glared at the smirking vice commander before he could finish his sentence.

 

  “How happy will our duchess be?”

 

  If it had been anyone else, they would have immediately corrected their words and backed down at the sight of Sig’s gaze, but he just snickered and laughed.

 

  “It’s not like it’s been confirmed to be Robley. For now, Robert will be staying in Slanford to interrogate the knights together, so let’s wait for his report.”

 

  The vice commander shrugged his shoulders, saying that he wouldn’t stop him if it turned out that Robley was the mastermind.

 

✪✪✪✪

 

  After Sig’s proposal, Britia’s days were filled with joy. She even felt good about waking up early in the hot weather.

 

  She even began to think that it was good to start the day early. Then, she received a single invitation.

 

  The sender was Brian Radars. She didn’t have a close relationship with the eastern noble, but she had a good impression of him because he had a gentle appearance and good manners.

 

  That was until she saw him mocking Harty as a “silver bug.” After that, she began to suspect that he might be a different person than she had thought all along.

 

  Why would such a man suddenly send me an invitation to a party?

 

  It wasn’t a time when everyone was vying to invite the Lockharts, as they had been when they were popular. After the rift with Robley and Sig’s sudden departure to the north, she hadn’t received any invitations or even letters for a while.

 

  Britia squinted at the beige envelope with gold lettering.

 

  “This doesn’t seem like a good thing.”

 

  She opened the invitation very carefully.

 

  The content of the invitation was simple.

 

  It included the usual information such as the recipient, the host of the party, the date, and the location. And below that, in thin letters, was a single line.

 

[I heard you’re getting married soon. I’d love to meet you and congratulate you.]

 

  Britia was surprised to hear the invitation. She hadn’t told anyone yet about Sig’s proposal.

 

  Even though the Radars were a family with many informants, how did they know?

 

  Britia felt uneasy. She didn’t think they were inviting her just to congratulate her. She had a feeling there was an ulterior motive, but she couldn’t figure it out, so she was anxious.

 

  On top of that, there had been a lot of strange goings-on lately. The knight who tried to kidnap her was still under interrogation, but no useful information had come out yet.

 

  She decided not to go out at this uncertain time.

 

  Britia politely declined the invitation. But on the day of the party, she received an unexpected offer from someone to go to the party together.

 

  “You got an invitation from Brian Radars, right? Let’s go to the party together.”

 

  Harty, who had called Britia to the Slanford mansion, said.

 

  Britia thought for a moment, wondering if it would be better to go with someone than to go alone to a place where she didn’t know what would happen.

 

  She looked at Harty, who was lying comfortably on a soft bed, looking like he was resting. He didn’t look very reliable. In fact, she might have to protect him if something happened.

 

  “But I already sent a message declining the  invitation.”

 

  “Then let’s just go to the front of the party hall.”

 

  “…Are you doing this because you can’t ride in a carriage, Count-nim?”

 

  Harty averted his gaze from Britia, as if he had been hit by a nail.

 

  “I’ll show you something good. Let’s go.”

 

  “That good thing is not your face, is it?”

 

  “My face is a treasure that can never be found again.”

 

  Harty said, stroking his cheek lovingly. When Britia said it wasn’t a compliment, Harty’s eyes narrowed.

 

  “I was going to show you a precious portrait of the Duke Turas when he was a child, which you can’t see anywhere else!”

 

  Britia, who had not expected this at all, flinched.

 

  “Don’t you want to see it? You’re still holding on to Duke-nim, right?”

 

  Harty asked with a smirk.

 

  Give up?

 

  Britia glared at him for a moment, then smiled brightly.

 

  “Count-nim, you said before that my love was hopeless, didn’t you? You were wrong. Completely wrong.”

 

  “Why are you so confident? Did the duke propose to you?”

 

  Britia was surprised that he didn’t seem to get angry when he heard that Sig had proposed. She thought he would say that it was impossible and get angry, but he seemed to have expected it.

 

  “I already saw it in the way he looked at you when he visited our house last time. Love is always so beautiful.”

 

  Harty said with a blissful smile, then suddenly turned serious and looked at Britia.

 

  “If you betray the duke or cheat on him, I won’t let you go.”

 

  Britia was beyond embarrassed by Harty’s fickle attitude. She had thought he was a jerk for saying her love was hopeless, but now he was acting like he was rooting for her.

 

  “That’s not going to happen. And I don’t want to hear that from Count-nim.”

 

  “So you don’t even want to see duke-nim’s portrait?”

 

  Harty got out of bed when he saw Britia hesitate to answer.

 

  “Come on. I don’t usually show this to anyone, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

 

  Harty led Britia into a room that housed his collection, which was filled with the most precious items he owned. The magic on the doorknob recognized the owner and only allowed him to enter.

 

  “Here it is.”

 

  Harty stopped in front of a painting on the wall and said.

 

  Britia sighed as she looked at the portrait.

 

  The young Sig had long hair that reached down to his waist. Two purple eyes gazed at her. He wore a white cloak over his right shoulder, which looked elegant.

 

  He was probably around 7 years old. His arms and legs, which looked much shorter and frailer than they did now, were cute. And most of all, his slightly chubby cheeks were irresistible.

 

  “This was painted by Elsault, a genius who is said to appear once every 100 years. The value of the painting is needless to say.”

 

  Harty explained as Britia continued to admire the painting. Then he turned to the painting next door. It was a portrait of Sig who looked to be about 10 years old.

 

  Britia glanced at Harty, who was proudly showing off his collection. Harty frowned when he sensed a sinister aura in her gaze.

 

  “You’re going to give me this if I take Duke-nim to the party?”

 

  “I said I’d show it to you, not give it to you. Do you know how hard I had to get this?”

 

  “I have a conscience too, so I won’t ask for both of them.”

 

  Harty’s mouth dropped open as he took a deep breath.

 

  “You have no conscience at all!”