The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

“Ah, ah…!” Sig raised Marcus’ wrist, his scream echoing through the air.

“Be quiet. Before I toss you beyond the terrace,” Sig commanded.

In terror, Marcus’ dangling legs twitched, attempting to break free from Sig’s firm grip, but his strong arms remained unyielding.

“Ah, please…!” Marcus groaned.

Sig calmly observed Marcus’ struggling hand. Among his fingers, he saw a few strands of pink hair, and there was no need to ponder whose it was.

“I thought I heard my name while walking down the street, and now I hear your voice,” Sig said.

Being in the cafe for the first time, Sig was unsure of its purpose. He had only come here with the hope of meeting Britia, disregarding Evry’s surprised question about where he was going.

Stepping into the establishment, the scene quickly revealed its nature: tables, tea, and desserts, reminiscent of a tea party.

“Do you have lavender tea?” Sig asked the bewildered employee who was trying to guide him to a seat. After expressing his request, he ascended the stairs, having heard her voice from above during his earlier stroll.

“I’ll arrange a seat on the 3rd floor,” the employee replied, but as Sig reached the second floor, he heard Britia’s voice more clearly from the terrace. Strangely, it sounded angry.

“No, over here…” Sig attempted to say, asking for a seat next to her, but his words were cut short. From the terrace, he saw a man grabbing Britia by the hair.

In that instant, a sinking feeling gripped Sig’s chest. He couldn’t comprehend the man’s actions, and as he drew nearer, Britia’s angry voice became increasingly distinct.

“Apologize for insulting my family!”

Britia, her head lowered while being held by the hair, shouted, and Sig’s spirits were immediately awakened. Anger swelled in his chest.

“Duke Turas, please release him. He’s my nephew.”

Though someone seemed to speak beside him, unfortunately, Sig couldn’t hear it. Even after prying the man’s hand away from Britia and silencing him, the rage didn’t subside.

“Duke Turas, I said let her go!”

Lady Robley, the Duchess, shouted strongly, but her voice trembled and faltered.

“Miss Britia, are you alright?”

Evry, who had been obscured from view behind Sig, stepped forward and approached Britia.

“Ah, my hair got slightly pulled.”

Evry had intended to say it was fortunate that the situation wasn’t too serious, but he refrained from doing so. He keenly sensed the dark aura surrounding Sig, and there was nothing fortunate about this.

“It’s okay.”

Britia looked at Evry and Sig, feeling flustered.

“My lord, the lady is fine.”

Truthfully, Sig was frightened enough of Evry’s current state to avoid touching her. Nevertheless, he had to maintain a semblance of control. Evry gently advised him to calm down.

“Duke Turas!”

Seizing the opportunity, Lady Robley cried out, and Sig caught a glimpse of her. When their eyes met, she gasped in surprise.

“Ugh…”

As Sig released his grip, Marcus crumpled to the ground, clutching his buttocks. He groaned in pain, staggering backward.

“Mo-monster…!”

Marcus murmured, gasping for breath as he wiped his chin, his shoulders twitching at the word “monster,” which narrowed Sig’s eyes.

“Britia-nim.”

Sig slowly turned toward Britia. He reached out to her disheveled hair but stopped himself, holding his breath. He couldn’t know what had happened between them before he arrived, but he understood one thing.

“Does he owe an apology?”

Sig asked Britia, his shadowed expression difficult to read. She lowered her gaze, her tail stiff with tension.

“When you refer to ‘my family,’ are you talking about your brothers from the Lockhart family?”

Britia raised her head, meeting his gaze, and he took it as her answer, nodding slowly as he began to remove his gloves, looking thoughtful.

“Duke Turas, why are you suddenly taking off your gloves…?”

Lady Robley, the Duchess, felt uneasy, her complexion turning pale.

“Duke Turas.”

“It’s for a duel challenge.”

“Duke Turas, I will handle Marcus’s actions earlier.”

Lady Robley, the Duchess, stood in front of Marcus. He was too broken, like a withered plant in a greenhouse, to participate properly in a duel.

“I will talk to Viscount Beaumex too. A duel should be enough to settle things.”

“You haven’t reached an age where you need to duel, have you?”

Kyra interjected, muttering.

“Seeing a grown man trying to resolve things with his fists is laughable.”

Amazed, Kyra raised both hands and gestured with her head, causing Lady Robley, the Duchess, to narrow her eyes.

“If you’re not involved, stay out of it.”

“Excuse me, but you heard whose names were mentioned by your nephew, didn’t you? Do you really want to argue whether it matters or not?”

“Kyra.”

“Harty, will you just stay put? Even after hearing slanderous remarks about your family, the Slandford name, you’re going to let it slide?”

Kyra stood up, placing her hand on her waist and glaring at Lady Robley, the Duchess.

“No matter how broad-minded Marquis Slandford might be, I can’t let such disrespectful remarks about my cousin go unaddressed.”

Lady Robley, the Duchess, and Kyra engaged in a staring contest.

“I, as this child’s guardian, will take responsibility and apologize for that statement.”

Lady Robley’s voice sounded choked with wounded pride. In the meantime, Sig gently pushed aside Lady Robley, who was blocking Marcus, using his black-gloved hand.

“Duke Turas!”

Sig’s black glove fell lightly over Marcus’ chest. Marcus, his heart pounding, looked at the people towering over him.

“Cowardly…”

As he muttered, he suddenly glared at Britia.

“Cowardly to hide behind Sig Turas?”

The tension in the air escalated as Marcus shot an intense gaze at Britia.

“What did you say?”

Britia, who had calmed down for a moment, flared up again at the accusation of cowardice.

“Fine. If you say it like that…!”

Although Sig was the one who issued the duel challenge, if Britia felt strongly about it, she could fight in his place. No, she would even implore Sig to let her fight.

For the honor of her torn hair and her three siblings!

“Britia-nim.”

As Britia tried to step forward, Sig grabbed her shoulder. His face was serious as he firmly believed in keeping her strength a secret. Whenever he asked when she became so strong, she always made a strange expression.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Though he wanted to press her to reveal her secret pleadingly, he realized it would only put her in an awkward position. Still, the question remained.

‘You know my older brother and sister, right? Both of them are weak, so I have to protect them.’

He was taken aback when Lenny made that claim. It was understandable for Crave, but to say that Britia was weak and needed protection was preposterous. She was strong enough to overpower him with just one hand.

But soon, Sig realized.

Perhaps she was also hiding her true strength from her family.

If that were the case, it explained the differing opinions about her identity, including Evry’s.

He didn’t know why she was concealing her abilities, but there must be some reason. As someone like him, a criminal, how could he fully comprehend the perspective of someone who surpassed ordinary abilities like her?

“I will protect you, just as you protect those dear to you.”

Sig nodded his head, assuring her not to worry about keeping the secret.

Britia didn’t have the kind of secret that Sig was imagining. She was simply keeping the fact that she had a tail a secret from people. And all her family members knew about it.

However, Sig, who believed in her strength like steel, felt a kind of sense of duty as if he was the only human who had discovered her secret, perhaps the only one.

“You protecting me?”

Britia blinked her wide eyes slowly. What she wanted to protect at any cost, even sacrificing her own hair, was the honor of her most precious and beloved family.

“To protect that together with you?”

Britia stared at Sig dazedly. Seeing him, who usually had a composed expression, now looking flustered, her heart wavered like someone had shaken the aquarium containing her emotions. Words didn’t come out to say why he wanted to protect it together with her.

“In truth, my humble power might not be of any use, but please allow me to do so anyway.”

Britia tried to answer Sig, but her lips trembled, and no words came out. It felt like someone was holding her emotions-filled aquarium and shaking it uncontrollably. She couldn’t say no to Sig, who shook her emotions-filled aquarium.

“You don’t need to directly deal with that riffraff.”

When the words “no” still didn’t come out of Britia’s mouth, Sig turned to Marcus with relief.

“…Riffraff?”

Marcus thought Sig deliberately said that to insult him in front of Britia.

“Pretentious nonsense!”

“Pretentious?”

As Sig genuinely believed Marcus was just a riffraff, he couldn’t understand his words.

“How dare you treat me as riffraff?”

Sig found Marcus’ outburst puzzling. He had simply called him riffraff, hadn’t he? Or maybe he was also hiding his abilities, like Britia?

“What did you say! Just because you’re the Emperor’s nephew, do you think you’re so great? You’re just a subject wallowing in the northern regions like a dog, thanks to the Emperor’s favor!”

The fear that Marcus sensed, unable to escape the duel with Sig Taurus, had reached its limit.

“Marcus!”

Lady Robley, unable to bear her foolish nephew provoking anger with his own mouth, tried to stop him, but it was too late. Her head was throbbing. Not only was this a problem caused by her foolish nephew, but it was also an unavoidable responsibility as a guardian. Even though she tried to cover it up, the crowd had gathered since the noisy commotion earlier.

“Can’t you shut your mouth right now!”

“You wretched creature, dripping with demon blood!”

Marcus, not in his right mind, continued to spit out the words that he remembered from the stories he heard here and there, not even realizing what he was saying.

“You beastly scum! I didn’t like how you sneaked into high society and muddled the waters, and yet, you dare treat me like riffraff!”

“…I see. You dislike being treated as riffraff.”

Sig, who had been listening silently, grabbed Marcus by the collar, trembling.

“In that case, since you’re not riffraff, there’s no need to be so reserved.”

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