The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

  Sig revealed that he had figured out the trick of slightly exerting force on his lower lip, causing it to pout. Even so, the Crown Prince stifled his laughter as he looked at his clever brother, wondering if he wanted to hear his advice.

 

  “Next time we invite you to a place like this, I want to give you a dress as a gift. I would love it if you wore it and came,” he said.

 

  The Crown Prince shook his head, saying that there aren’t many things as dreadful as seeing a woman dressed according to another man’s taste. Sig pursed his lips.

 

  “Is it perhaps something that Harty Slanford gave her?”

 

  The Crown Prince nodded slowly without saying a word.

 

  “I thought she looked beautiful in the dress she wore today. But to think that Harty Slanford gave it to her…”

 

  “To think?”

 

  “It sets me on fire inside.”

 

  Yeah, I guess that’s understandable.

 

  The Crown Prince chuckled, resting his chin on his hand.

 

  “I feel like I’ve spent less time talking to her today than the time she spent talking to that man.”

 

  Thanks to his brother’s errands during the rare break time, he had gone somewhere and missed each other. Even now, he had gone somewhere, causing a mix-up.

 

  “If it continues like this, my plan to read the ‘Cutie Pie’ book and practice diligently for several days just to hear her say I’m cute will be a failure.”

 

  “Pfft!”

 

  As the Crown Prince tried to take a sip of wine after Sig’s remark, he ended up swallowing too much and choked, spitting it out.

 

  “Brother, are you okay?”

 

  “Cough, ha. Ah, my pants! Never mind that, Sig. What are you talking about? Practice?”

 

  Due to spitting out the wine, red wine splattered on his white pants. However, what worried him more at the moment was what Sig had just said.

 

  “What on earth is this ‘Cutie Pie’ book?”

 

  “It’s a book that contains how to make oneself endearing to an older woman. My subordinates said they obtained it with difficulty.”

 

  Is Sig saying that he obtained such a book and even practiced diligently? 

 

  The Crown Prince felt a complex mix of pain in his heart, as his efforts seemed both virtual and extreme.

 

  “Even though I couldn’t create a weapon that could match her cuteness no matter how hard I tried, I still did my best.”

 

  The Crown Prince was left speechless as he looked at Sig, who seemed genuinely sad. He had only heard him talk about having a fateful love, but he had never seen him make an effort.

 

  So even though he fell in love with Britia for the first time and even felt jealous of another man this time, he couldn’t imagine her putting in any effort.

 

  “You’re more desperate than I thought. What kind of practice did you do? Can you show me?”

 

  “Are you asking me, brother?”

 

  Unable to contain his curiosity, the Crown Prince asked to see what he had practiced. But just then, Britia returned. The Crown Prince had a good idea and calmly said, stifling his laughter inwardly.

 

  “No, it would be better to show it to Britia.”

 

  Britia’s head tilted as she suddenly felt his gaze on her.

 

   What was he going to do to me? 

 

  He had been looking at her as if he had something to say, but she probably didn’t know why he had done that.

 

  In order to listen more attentively, Sig opened his eyes a little wider and sat down, waiting for her to speak.

 

  Although Sig complained that he couldn’t do anything with this kind of practice, he felt nervous once the stage was set. For no reason, he found himself modulating his voice and keeping an eye on her reactions.

 

  The truth was, he hadn’t studied the adorable little book for more than a few days.

 

  One, discreetly looking at her until she turned around.

 

  One, smiling happily when she looked back.

 

  One, calling out her name with emotions.

 

  First, Sig practiced looking at her discreetly in front of the mirror without glaring. And he thought that he could now look at her discreetly enough, feeling a sense of pride in his own way.

 

  So throughout the play, he continued to watch her from the side. Of course, unlike his practice, he looked at her with too much jealousy and resentment, but still.

 

  As a result, even though Britia noticed Sig’s  gaze, instead of being excited, he had to endure an uncomfortable feeling of what he had done wrong. If he looked at it closely, his heart did flutter in a certain sense.

 

  “Do you have something to say to me?”

 

  Fortunately, the venom seemed to have subsided a bit, and Britia properly looked into his eyes and asked what was going on. Thanks to that, Sig moved on to the next step.

 

  But this step was very difficult. While it was pleasant to feel happy when their eyes met, it was hard to express it with a smile. No matter how hard he tried, his facial muscles moved awkwardly, making his reflection in the mirror unpleasant even to his own eyes. Even Evry said,

 

   “Let’s just not do this.”

 

  However, Sig secretly continued to practice. Although he didn’t succeed until the end, he felt that he was gradually improving little by little. And now was the time to demonstrate the results of that practice.

 

  “Duke-nim?”

 

  Britia tilted her head curiously as she watched Sig, who seemed to be making a subtle expression that was difficult to interpret as a smile.

 

  Sig couldn’t quite judge whether he had succeeded or not, but he couldn’t just stay still, so he moved on to the next step.

 

  “Britia-nim.”

 

  This time, he tried calling her name with his own emotions. He had practiced with the thought of wanting to be adored by her, but now the situation had become slightly more complicated than before.

 

  I hope you look at me. I want to have a conversation with you. Like what you had with Harty. I hope you enjoy the conversation with me more than the conversation you had with him.

 

  “Britia-nim.”

 

Although your appearance is certainly beautiful, I want to take back the words I said about you being beautiful. I hope you didn’t wear the dress he gave you. Instead, if it’s possible.

 

  Sig had one wish for her.

 

  Strangely, Britia felt embarrassed. It felt like she had heard a confession of affection just by being called by her name. She could sense the emotions in his eyes and voice.

 

  “If I were to give you a dress as a gift, would you wear it?”

 

  Sig’s heart trembled, afraid that she might reject it.

 

  “Suddenly, what are you saying….”

 

  Britia trailed off.

 

 Did he misunderstand that this dress was a gift from Harty? 

 

  Of course, Harty may have paid for it, but it was simply a dress she received through a deal with Kyra. It was never a gift from him.

 

  “I will make an effort to prepare a dress that will captivate your eyes. So, I hope you will wear it someday.”

 

  Seeing Sig’s gloomy tail and expression, Britia bit her lower lip tightly. It was all because of Kyra, who didn’t properly explain the origin of Harty and the dress.

 

  Blaming the two people who were not present here, Britia glanced at Sig and then tightly closed her eyes. She wanted to touch his tail. 

 

  No, she wanted to embrace it.

 

  She clenched her fists to restrain that intense desire. The Crown Prince was also present in this place. 

 

  She couldn’t suddenly do such a thing. 

 

  Even if he wasn’t here, she shouldn’t do such a thing without permission. 

 

  But if it was Sig, would he allow it?

 

  Britia sincerely felt sorry that the Crown Prince was here, but at the same time, she considered it fortunate.

 

   The thought of wanting to hold his tail tightly filled her head to the point of being dangerous.

 

  If she were to embrace him in this state, she doubted if she could let go even if he struggled.

 

  There would be a big accident.

 

  “Britia-nim.”

 

  Looking at Sig calling her name, Britia exhaled slightly with a flushed face.

 

  “I will gladly wear it.”

 

  Then Sig’s face brightened up instantly. His tail regained its liveliness and moved energetically. 

 

  Although his attempt to smile had failed before, this time it went smoothly, but Sig didn’t realize his own success as it happened unconsciously.

 

  The Crown Prince, who had been watching with interest, wondering what Sig had prepared to become an adorable little one, quietly widened his eyes.

 

  Sig wasn’t the type of person to hide his true feelings, but he also didn’t easily show his emotions on the surface. 

 

  Especially when it came to positive emotions like happiness or joy, it was even more so.

 

  When he said he was happy with a calm expression, it meant that he was actually overjoyed to the point where he wanted to shout for joy inwardly.

 

   If we were to quantify it, the difference between his outward appearance and his true feelings would be about five times, the Crown Prince thought about Sig.

 

  But now, he even smiled a little. Inside, he must be so happy that he didn’t know what to do. The Crown Prince kept getting excited because it seemed like he was watching a cute prank.

 

  The sound that signaled the start of the play rang out, and the Crown Prince almost stopped it for a moment, wanting to savor this sweet and slightly thrilling feeling.

 

  The second act of the play began, but neither Britia, Sig, nor the Crown Prince could fully concentrate on the performance.

 

  Until the play ended, Britia felt that Sig kept glancing at her side profile.

 

  Unlike the uneasiness she felt in the first act, wondering if she had done something wrong, Britia now knew that he was continuously watching over him with kindness, and it was incredibly embarrassing to describe. Her face continued to flush, and this place, which had felt cool when she entered, now felt hot.

 

  She wanted to quickly go outside to cool down, but even after the curtain fell and the actors took their final bows, Sig and the Crown Prince didn’t show any signs of getting up from their seats.

 

  “Britia.”

 

  As she anxiously watched their reactions, hoping for her flushed face to return to normal quickly, the Crown Prince called out to her.

 

  “I hope we can meet again soon. We couldn’t talk much today, you know.”

 

  At his words, inviting her to the palace later, Britia’s mind suddenly snapped back to reality, as if someone had poured cold water on her. This wasn’t the time to have such peaceful thoughts of wanting to hold Sig’s tail.

 

  If things continued like this, they might naturally progress to marriage, just like water flowing. The thought of stealing glances at Sig’s face and thinking that it might be okay was too dangerous.

 

  Marrying into the royal family and becoming a daughter-in-law was something she couldn’t handle!

 

  “I hope you bring the portrait that your friend drew and show it to me.”

 

  The Crown Prince’s request was the best favor he could offer, but to Britia, it was also a terrifying request.

 

  Bring a non-existent portrait.

 

 How on earth was I supposed to do that?

 

  “Then, both of you should go back carefully and slowly.”

 

  The Crown Prince made way for them, saying that they could stay here as long as they wanted. However, Britia was in a hurry because she was faced with the crisis of having to bring a deceitful portrait to him.

 

  “We should also get up, Duke-nim.”

 

  She had to go out and find Kyra quickly. But it seemed that the three of them had delayed too much time, as inside the palace, she could only see the busy maidservants tidying up. She looked around, standing on the stairs outside, but there was no carriage in sight, as if they had all already left.

 

  Sig’s jealousy, which had momentarily subsided as he thought she was looking for Harty, flared up again. Even if it wasn’t for that, he couldn’t let her go like this. His goal for today was to hear her say that he was cute, and he hadn’t heard it yet.

 

  If it came to this, he had no choice but to use that super-secret technique that was introduced in the book.

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