The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

The morning meal at Lockhart Mansion would typically begin at a leisurely pace around 9 o’clock. 

Despite always finding the morning to be a difficult time, To Britia, this particular morning felt a little different.

“How much more did you drink last night that you can’t even open your eyes now?” 

Britia asked Leon, who sat across from her at the table, with a hint of concern in her voice.

“Crave, are you okay?” 

she asked, turning her attention to the Earl who, while not as affected as Leon, was still feeling the effects of a hangover.

“Tia, we’ve got a big problem. It’s a crisis,” 

Leon replied, his words were slurring slightly.

The Earl closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down.

“If you’re feeling that tired, why don’t you go take a rest in your room?”

 said Britia, looking at him with concern.

The Earl lowered his head, “You might not have noticed, but something had shaken up last night.”

“Like an earthquake or something?” 

Britia looked around, but there were no signs of anything like that.

“No, it’s our Lockheart’s reputation that got shaken,” the Earl said with a sigh.

“Reputation?” 

Brittany looked confused.

“Apparently, we were defeated by the mad dog from the north and are now being referred to as the drunkards of the south,” the Earl said with a bitter tone.

Britia couldn’t help but feel her face contort in disgust. 

“I want nothing to do with the Lockheart you’re talking about.”

Britia drew a line to not involving herself with their stupidity.

“Just because you and Leon like to drink, it doesn’t mean he has to. “

“Out of the three of us, two of us like to drink. Why doesn’t he join us and enjoy it too?”

“I am not trying to convince you to like drinking just because Leon and I do. But think about it, we make a perfect trio when we all drink together.”

“Just look at yourselves, do you really think that’s an enjoyable way to drink? “

Britia was furious. Leon didn’t say anything and neither did the Earl.

“Let me tell you something important, Britia Lochart.”

“What is it, Crave Lochart?”

“The Duke-nim was a hypocrite, pretending to be sober while he was actually very drunk.”

As Britia shook her head in disgust, the Earl tightly gripped his fork.

“Don’t try to distract us by saying we can’t handle our alcohol, and don’t try to make fun of us like this.”

The Earl grumbled, his displeasure evident as he let out a sigh.

 “It’s all for personal gain,” he sneered.

Britia, who had been listening to his words, felt her anger rising.

 “It was you all who were pushing alcohol on those who didn’t want it,” she retorted.

The Earl shrugged, a sneer creeping onto his face as he looked at Britia. 

“So, it’s all our fault then?” he asked mockingly.

“If you truly want to enjoy drinking, then do so without trying to compete with others and risking losing,” 

Britia said, her voice taking on a persuasive tone.

“Since when did you become Miss Britia Lockheart to Miss Britia Turas?” the Earl taunted.

The Earl spoke to Leon who was suffering from a hangover, but he only let out a weak groan in response.

“In any case, the conclusion is that we must take revenge on the Duke-nim as soon as possible,” he said.

“We’ll see. What kind of revenge are you proposing?”

“Oh, Miss Britia Turas. Are you now disregarding Lockhart just because you’ve become a Turas?”

“Stop the nonsense,” Britia gritted her teeth as she felt annoyed by his constant use of Turas. 

She knew it was just a joke, but she didn’t want anyone to hear it.

The Earl chuckled and leaned in closer to her.

He presented his plan to the others, “First and foremost, we must become friends with him.”

One of them asked in disbelief, “Will he become friends with you?”

He explained confidently, “We are three and he is one, thus it is only natural for one of us to form a friendship with him.”

Another chimed in, “Your logic seems peculiar.”

But he disregarded her skepticism, “Becoming friends is not a matter of such complexity.”

Britia, however, pointed out, “Your plan is flawed”

but he paid no heed to her words.

He stated confidently, “Now, you possess the most potential, Britia. We shall keep our secrets between just the two of us. Then, tell me what happened inside the room?”

Britia was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise at his unexpected statement.

“Secrets? I was just apologizing.”

“I was going to ask anyway. In the end, what did you do to make that mad dog so angry?”

“…..”

“Tia?”

The Earl called her name, raising his voice as she remained silent. Eventually, she raised her hands.

“I pulled the Duke-nim’s tail.”

“I figured as much.”

“How did you know?”

Britia was surprised, and the Earl raised an eyebrow, speaking confidently, “I have quick instincts.”

Britia wanted to deny it, but couldn’t find the words.

“The tail was wet from the rain, and it was dripping. How could I just leave it be?”

She excused herself and the Earl raised his eyebrows even higher.

“Oh, how terrifying it was last night! When that mad dog was howling after the drinking party!”

“…….”

The news of Lockhart, the noble who was brutally defeated by a mad dog in a drinking competition, spread like wildfire among the nobles this morning.

“It won’t happen again,” Britia said with a quivering voice.

The Earl looked at her with suspicion.

“I’ve already heard you say several times that you’ll act as if you can’t see tail in the future,” said the Earl.

Britia’s heart was filled with both embarrassment and remorse. 

“Nobody could feel their tail, so I did it. If I had known that someone would notice, I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.

Feeling sorry for Britia, the Duchess of Lockhart consoled her. 

“But did you apologise to Duke-nim for it? Since then, you haven’t had any problems, right?”

“Oh, how terrifying it was last night! When that mad dog shouted!” Leon was still slurring his words. 

They had no idea if Sig had actually taken Britia’s apology into consideration. Their discussion had flowed in an odd and circumstantial fashion. Consequently, the Earl lost his composure until he received assurance.

“Hm.”

“How did you apologize?”

“I told the truth. I said I touched his tail and that I was sorry for that.”

“Did Duke-nim believe that?”

“Not at first,” Britia admitted.

“Ah, that’s why he wanted to touch it himself,” the Duke said with a chuckle.

At this, Britia’s expression hardened.

“Crave, where on earth have you been listening from?”

“I didn’t hear much. All I kept hearing was ‘keep touching it’.”

“You heard it all!”

“I didn’t catch much of the conversation.”

“Even still!”

The Earl of Lockhart’s lip curled playfully as he watched the flushing Britia.

“I’m curious to know what you’re secretly talking about.” 

Britia’s face turned red. 

“A secret talking? “

 “What if our sister gets hurt by a mad dog or worse, what if our sister does something to a mad dog!” 

Earl Lockhart covered his face with his hand and opened his fingers to reveal his eyes.

 “Do you know how scared I was?” 

Britia noticed that he was smirking behind his hands.

Was he trying to tease her?

With a raised eyebrow and a cool, skeptical tone, The Earl looked at Britia and said,

“What have you done that you can’t tell me about? Is it something that you’re ashamed of?”

The Earl implored her to come clean, his persuasive tone making it clear that he wouldn’t be easily fooled.

 “If you’re denying so hard, it just makes it look more suspicious,” he said.

 “Stop being stubborn, dear.” The Duchess said, looking at Britia’s blushing face.

The Earl furrowed his brow and shook his head as he spoke. “No, my lady.”

“That man has been giving sign that he wanted to leave as soon as possible since last night, so when I looked for him in the morning he left already left,” the Earl continued, his voice cold and bitter.

Britia’s body tensed up. She knew she had been acting rudely and thoughtlessly the previous night, and was regretting her behavior.

But to be called out on it by her brother was a blow for her.

“Can’t you deny it?” The Earl’s accusing voice grated on Britia’s ears.

“That’s what I really thought,” she replied, her voice low and ashamed.

But she couldn’t deny his words. Britia looked up at him and let out a long sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Make sure not to do it again. It’s disrespectful, you know,” with a paternalistic tone, the Earl scolded her.

Britia couldn’t stand the way he was acting, but she had no choice but to nod her head in agreement.

“Listen, Britia,” the Earl continued.

“Soon, the Duke of Turas will be visiting again. When he does, make sure not to repeat such disrespectful behavior.”

Britia’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him.

“What is the purpose of his visit?”

“I…I have some business to discuss with him,” the Earl hesitated, a hint of guilt creeping into his voice.

Britia couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread wash over her. 

She knew that the Duke of Turas was not to be trifled with and the fact that her brother was meeting with him made her uneasy.

But she knew better than to question him further and instead, nodded her head in understanding.

“I will make sure to be on my best behavior,” she promised with a sincere tone.

The Earl gave her a curt nod.

She couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease and knew that she needed to be extra careful in the days to come.

 She could not afford to make any more mistakes, for the sake of her brother and their relationship.

The Earl laughed when Britia asked him why he desired to become so close with that person.

 “Of course, it’s for the sake of elevating my social status,” he replied. 

“Your intentions are impure,” Britia retorted. 

“That may have been true before, but last night, I saw a glimpse of what it’s like to be consumed by madness after drinking too much and I desire to experience that again,” the Earl explained as he clasped his hands together. 

“The pain I feel now, or even greater pain, would be welcomed,” he continued.

 Britis scorned his words, but the Earl simply shrugged and turned his attention to the chessboard before him. 

“Don’t be jealous just because I am getting closer to him than you, Britia Turas,” he said. 

“I’m not, and stop calling me Turas,” Britia snapped back, trying to hide the concern that was creeping into her mind. 

As she left the room, she couldn’t help but wonder if she would be able to face him again without fear.

* * *

Despite thinking that she still had time to quell her fears until the following weekend, Britia realized that she had been foolish. 

And Sig, it seemed, was even more unpredictable than she had imagined.

“I came here because I have something important to tell you,” Sig said.

Surely, she thought, he couldn’t have come back to Lockhart mansion so soon after leaving.

“What is it that you need to tell me?” Britia asked, looking up at his stony face. It was clear that he was furious, and it was clear to anyone who looked at him.

She tried to steady her nerves, knowing that she couldn’t let him intimidate her. 

Her eyelashes fluttered involuntarily.

Sig thrust out his right fist, which was tightly clenched, towards Britia. 

She flinched in surprise, catching his gaze.

“This is about this,” he said, unfurling his fist to reveal the broken headpiece pin she had thrown at him the previous day.

“Oh!” Brittany exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

 It was the pin that she had thrown at him in her rudeness yesterday.

He had come back because of her disrespectful behavior. She felt a wave of fear wash over her.

As Sig watched Britia, who was staring at the pin and humming to herself, he felt a strange sweat run down his back.

He felt that she couldn’t even express her anger in words, instead she tightly clenched her jaw and her shoulders were even trembling.

“I’m really sorry,” Sig apologized and took a step back.

She was now at a safe distance from his tail.

“What?” Britia quickly blinked.

“Are you apologizing to me right now?” she asked, not understanding.

Sig approached Britia with urgency, his left hand outstretched as he feared her anger was about to boil over. 

Britia froze in place, caught off guard by the sudden movement, as she had thought she was being attacked.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get the exact same thing,” Sig said, observing the disappointment on Britia’s face. 

“I tried my best to get something similar.”

After an hour of searching the store, it was clear that Britia was not satisfied with what Sig had found. 

“Is this why you came back to the store?” Britia asked,and as Sig hesitated, she suddenly sat down, feeling defeated.

“Why are you so surprised, Britia-nim!” 

Britia exclaimed, her voice full of resentment. 

“You really caught me off guard!”

“I apologise,” Sig stammered, trying to apologize while keeping a respectful distance, just in case.

Sig was flustered by Britia’s anger, but he extended his hand anyway, offering his sincerest apologies.

 With a bit of caution, he shifted his weight backwards, not wanting to make any sudden movements.