I Snatched The Duke

Chapter 5. Meeting The Baron Couple(1)

It was a speed battle that minimized complicated procedures.

“Ha.”

Mihalis laughed out loud upon hearing the words of the old duke. Seeing that they were willing to send their daughter to an old man over seventy who was known for being a p*rv*rt, they must have been a crazy family.

“Ha! This isn’t right.”

Mihalis felt a little sorry for the young lady, whom he did not know, and thought that the tyranny of the old duke had gone too far.

“Please rescind it.”

“She’ll rather love it when she arrives and finds out it’s you.’

“It’s treachery.”

“Keurgh! Keugh! A hard-to-find marriage is what it is.”

The old duke really had difficulty finding it.

Thanks to his godd*mn ‘courtesy rejection visits’, there were no longer any families in the South where he could send marriage proposals. This marriage arrangement for his son was found in a remote place, hence it was hard-to-find.

“I understand.” [Duke]

“You understand sh*t!” [Mihalis]

The old duke who tried to soothe his son, seemed more likely to collapse from high blood pressure at Mihalis’ reply, than from his long-standing chronic tuberculosis.

“Is this because of your mother?”

The duke, who had barely calmed his anger, said while firmly straightening his back.

“Was it just Mother?”

He doubted if his father remembered his mother’s name. Mihalis loathed even the mention of his mother in his father’s mouth.

“What are you trying to say?”

“There were four people who died, including my mother. And isn’t that the same as the number of people who didn’t choose to divorce you?!”

Mihalis said, seething in anger.

“I didn’t kill them. They just became ill and died…”

Four dead wives and three divorces. Not wanting to recall his own mistakes, the duke tightly closed his eyes.

“I don’t want to be like father.”

At the words that didn’t sound like an explanation, Mihalis gave up. He was a hero who saved his country, but to him, he was his father—a symbol of disgust.

“This! Ungrateful! Keugh! Keurgh!”

The old duke coughed and vomited a handful of blood yet his son did not bother to hide the look of disgust as he stared at him viciously.

“Keugh! Keurgh! As your father…”

He vomited a concerning amount of blood.

“My last request…”

Covering his mouth with his handkerchief, the old duke sensed that his time was running out.

“Keurgh keurgh! Now…”

The old duke coughed up enough blood to soak his handkerchief and fell, letting go of his cane. There was a loud ‘thud’ as his head hit the floor.

“Father!”

Only when he saw the resentful figure of his son kicking off his chair and standing up, did the old duke’s weak eyes close. His last wish before passing on was to see his own grandchildren—ones that everyone else had—or at least a daughter-in-law. It seems impossible to achieve now.

A few days later, the funeral of the war hero who both had glory and stigma, as if a thief had come and gone ‘secretly’, was held under wraps.

***

It was only 3 weeks before their wedding. At the same time that the death of the former duke was featured in every newspaper, invitations to the wedding arrived to the imperial family, major families, and royal families of neighboring countries, one after another.

The impact of the wedding invitation with the signature ‘Duke Mihalis of Atcher’ was truly amazing. As news of the young duke’s appearance and wedding surfaced, the entire duchy, no, the continent, became feverish with excitement. This was the most prestigious family in the empire and the commander-in-chief of the Southern Navy.

The young duke who had been shrouded in veil. This was the first official appearance of ‘Mihalis Atcher’ after his coming-of-age ceremony.

‘Dream’

[Yes, I am listening. Please select the desired function.]

‘Tell me about the system restore situation.’

[No response has been received from the developers.]

‘Still no response. What the hell are the developers doing?’

As usual, her morning started by checking on the system restoration.

“Haam, let’s move moderately for now.”

Eliana was a bit busy preparing for her wedding, but she was spending peaceful days thanks to the duke who was not interested in his bride-to-be. The staff were friendly and the food was delicious. A dreamlike time with no responsibilities and the convenience of being nobility. This kind of life was not bad if only there wasn’t this vague anxiety about ‘No Log-out’.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

“Yes, come in.”

Eliana, who had been stretching her body as the sound of the light knock was heard, straightened her posture and replied.

“Milady. Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

Amy, who had prepared the water to wash her face with, opened the curtains widely.

“Milady, the baron and her ladyship arrived at the castle early this morning.”

Amy cautiously said after observing Eliana’s reaction.

“Is that so?”

Eliana’s face hardened at the unexpected news. The parents who sold their daughter even though they knew that the other person was a p*rv*rt in their 70s. It seemed that they had arrived a little early for the wedding ceremony.

“They also want to see milady today, what should I do?”

“Amy, the weather seems to be fine today so ask the duchy’s servants to set up a tea table in the garden.”

“Yes milady.”

They weren’t people whom she can blindly avoid. She would have to meet them someday. She also wanted to know what kind of human beings they were in real life.

***

“She’s so pretty.”

“You’re right. It feels like my eyes are being cleansed.”

After his personal training, Mihalis passed by the garden and saw apprentice knights resting in the shade. They were between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. They were newbies. They were at the age where they peeked at the maids working in the castle and chattered like that in the middle of the day.

“Are all Northerners really that pretty?”

“I did hear that there are many beauties in the North.”

Mihalis, who dismissed it as a normal sight and was about to trudge forward, had no choice but to stop at the words that followed.

“Haa, I envy His Excellency for marrying such a beautiful woman.”

“That’s right.”

Five boys dressed as apprentice knights were looking at one side of the garden and talking, unaware that a fearsome superior was approaching behind them.

“By the way. Isn’t her outfit a little pitiful?”

“Right. I noticed that too. Doesn’t it look stuffy?”

“Are Northerners not sensitive to the heat?”

“What are you gentlemen doing right now?”

Mihalis, who had already come close to them, said.

“Yo-Your Excellency!”

“…..”

Silence passed for about two seconds.

“We see you, Y-Your Excellency! Defend!”

The boys who managed to get their acts together saluted. They were in front of a sky-high boss that 1st year apprentices like them could never dare approach within 50 meters.

“Heads on the ground.”

[T/N: Not the literal translation but I feel like this would make the most sense…maybe? Head and feet on the ground, hands on the back, if you’ve seen kdramas before you may already be familiar with this punishment.]

Further explanation was not necessary.

“Yes, we heed your order!”

The juvenile males lined up side by side, banging their heads on the dirt floor, not caring who was first. It was not enough that they dared to gossip about their ‘commander-in-chief’, but they were also caught by that very person. They were dead men now.

‘It’s really unpleasant.’

After one glare at the boys who had driven their heads into the ground, Mihalis turned his attention in the direction they were looking.

‘Them?’

He saw Eliana and a middle-aged couple sitting at a tea table under the shade of a tree in the garden. He had been informed early in the morning that her family had arrived. It seemed that a pleasant meeting between family members was taking place before their official meeting.

“100 laps in the 3rd drill hall.”

Mihalis, who confirmed the identities of those seated at the tea table, said in a cold voice.

“Yes, we heed your order!”

As soon as Mihalis’ orders came out, the boys shouted an answer in a uniform voice and dashed away in a line.

The apprentice knights, who had cowered in fear, were lucky enough that it all ended with a light punishment.

‘Why…’

Mihalis was unconsciously moving his steps towards her.

He was at a distance that was certainly not close in the slightest. Yet why was he able to clearly see Eliana’s expression? He couldn’t understand why she was making such a face when she should be enjoying meeting her parents after a long time.

“…..”

Eliana immediately noticed the baron couple approaching the tea table in the garden.

‘You certainly didn’t come early to help with the wedding arrangements; did you come early to go sightseeing?’

She could see the colorful flowers on the large wide-brimmed hat the baroness was wearing as she approached leisurely. The Hawaiian floral cravat worn around the baron’s neck was in vogue among the Southern trendsetters.

‘I must be right then.’

Eliana was stunned and speechless by the obvious intentions of the baron couple.

The baron and his wife, who had arrived three weeks prior to her wedding, looked like tourists who had come to enjoy sightseeing in the South, enjoying free lodging and free meals provided by the duke’s family.

“Oh my, Ellie. What’s going on here?”

While Eliana, nauseous at the strong ‘scent of the truth’, stiffened in a daze, the baroness approached the tea table and kicked up a fuss first.

“Oh my, oh my! You’re not getting married to the old duke?!”

Because they left so early, they had missed the arrival of the invitation. The baron and his wife, who learned that their daughter’s marriage partner had changed only when they arrived at the duchy, couldn’t hide their excitement.

“How is the young duke? Do you like him?”

Every time the baroness moved, the pink pearl necklace around her neck rattled noisily.

“Long time no see, Mother.”

Eliana tried to maintain her composure as her eyes naturally focused on the baroness’ necklace.

“Ahem, anyway, it’s a good thing.”

The Baron cleared his throat and sat down at the prepared tea table. Even though he pretended to be nonchalant, his face was slightly flushed, and he looked excited.

“Ellie! Since this happened, you should have written a letter earlier! You are being too much.”

Following her husband to the tea table, the baroness furrowed her eyebrows in dismay.

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“You must have been busy preparing for the wedding so I’ll forgive you this time.”

The baron had always been stern in Eliana’s memory but somehow expressed his rare generosity this time.

“Isn’t brother coming?”

Eliana recalled one brother in her memory. If they were visiting to attend her wedding, the family should have gone together.

“Elbaut is busy preparing for a business.”

As Eliana’s gaze lingered on the empty chair, the baroness said in an excited voice.

“Business?”

‘You mean he won’t attend his only sister’s wedding?’

She was prepared for the strange first impression, but Eliana felt her mood sink as the conversation continued.

“He’s thinking of going into the fur and jewelry business for now.”

Opposite of Eliana’s mood, the baroness was pleased when she thought of her son who was planning a new business using the gifts from the duchy.

“Speaking of your older brother…”

The baron, who had been quietly watching his excited wife, opened his mouth.

“Yes.”

Eliana, whose mood had sunk as to the lowest, stared at the baron.

“How about helping him?”