The Northern Mad Dog Wags It’s Tail

Sig couldn’t help but feel uneasy even after covering Britia with clothes. He recalled Crave’s words from the last hunt that she often gets a fever, which only added to his worry.

“Are you still cold?” Britia laughed as she saw Sig anxiously huddled up. The anger she felt towards Harty slowly dissipated.

“Thank you, Duke-nim,” Britia expressed her gratitude, clutching the clothes Sig had given her tightly.

“Are you okay?” Sig asked, placing his hand on Britia’s forehead. Britia was momentarily surprised, and her lips parted. Though it was just a simple gesture, she felt strangely embarrassed by his touch.

“I think you have a fever.”

Her cheeks turned warmer as she noticed her previously cold cheeks now flushed.

“No, it’s not that. Duke-nim’s hand is warm…” Britia couldn’t meet his gaze and averted her eyes. She then stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. His face looked brighter than usual as if the weather today had brought about a change in him.

Britia, who had always thought of him as stern and menacing, suddenly found him more handsome than Harty.

As they stared at each other, Sig’s hand slowly descended from Britia’s forehead to her cheek. Her previously slightly flushed cheeks turned redder.

“Ahem! Cough! Cough!” Harty’s loud cough interrupted them. Britia, who had been lost in thought, was startled and quickly regained her composure.

“I’m sorry. My body is weak, and my cough, cough! just won’t go away,” Harty said, extending his hand towards them. He coughed repeatedly, and his eyes glared at Britia as if he wanted to kill her.

Britia realized that Harty was not really sick but was intentionally coughing to create a scene.

“Are you okay?” Sig asked, and Harty shed tears and smiled softly.

“Your Grace is truly kind,” Harty said in a hoarse voice, and Britia felt a chill run down her spine. She had never seen such a fake display of emotions.

“I should leave the river first,” Sig said, grabbing the oars and rowing towards the riverbank. Britia and Harty sat facing each other and continued to glare at each other as the sound of the rushing water filled the silence.

“Your complexion doesn’t look good,” Harty said, noticing Britia’s tears welling up.

“How about you, Marquis? Your eyes are bloodshot,” Britia replied.

Britia tried her best not to give in. She didn’t understand why they had to engage in such childish fights, but she didn’t want to lose to that man.

But in the end, as tears welled up in her eyes and she closed them, Britia was defeated.

“Pfft,” she heard Harty chuckle as she held back her tears.

Until now, Britia had thought of Harty Slanford as a handsome man with excellent manners, someone who could be called a dandy. But that idea had been completely turned upside down. Of course, she had been disappointed in him after the incident at the previous banquet, but she never imagined he would be such a childish and rude person.

“Why are you being so stubborn that you’re shedding tears?” Harty asked, smiling with a slight grin on his face, ready to show off his victory to her. But for some reason, his nose started to tickle.

“Achoo!”

He tried to hold it in, but he ended up sneezing. Harty inwardly cursed himself. He didn’t want to sneeze because it made him look a little less handsome. Of course, he was still beautiful, but he didn’t want anyone, especially the woman in front of him and Lord Turas, to see him like that.

“Pfft,” Britia laughed, intentionally mimicking Harty’s sneeze. Harty said nothing, but the muscles in his face twitched with anger, making Britia feel a little better.

“Britia-nim,” Sig called out as he got out of the boat and extended his hand to her. It was an unusually kind gesture, unlike anyone else. Britia felt the burning gaze on her back as she reached out to take his hand.

“Oops!” As she lifted her right foot to step out of the boat, something hit her buttocks. Britia lost her balance and started to fall forward, but Sig caught her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her up with a firm but gentle grip. When she looked up, she saw Sig’s eyes, which had grown slightly larger than before.

“Oops!” Britia realized that the wall she thought she hit was actually his chest. It didn’t take long for her to realize this since a wall wouldn’t suddenly appear in the middle of a riverbank.

“Sorry for touching you so suddenly,” Sig said, backing away. Britia watched him step back with her head down, feeling embarrassed.

“Are you being rude to Duke-nim who just saved you from falling?” Harty rebuked Britia.

“You’re a really rude person,” Britia said, looking at him with wide eyes. Who was being rude to whom here? It was Harty’s tail that had clearly hit her buttocks. But who was he to say that she was rude?

“I’ll say it again, Duke-nim. Thank you for saving my life twice,” Harty said, placing his hand on his chest and bowing his head towards Sig.

“Some people don’t seem to be able to properly express their gratitude,” he added, glancing at Britia.

“Even your clothes, Duke-nim,” Harty said with a sneer, his tail rising up in a despicable manner. Britia felt anger welling up inside her, threatening to spill over.

“Duke-nim,” Britia pushed Harty aside and approached Sig, gently taking his hand.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said quietly.

Harty was shocked and frozen in place. Sig watched silently as Britia held his hand.

“I’m sorry for not finding you sooner,” Sig said, reading Britia’s thoughts.

Britia didn’t say anything, but Sig understood what she meant. He often felt that he could communicate with her through their eyes alone, like when they were children. It brought a warm feeling to his chest.

“Marquis Crave invited me because he said the boat party was too small,” Sig explained.

“Marquis Crave?” Britia’s voice rose in surprise.

“But I think I must have been mistaken about the meeting place, because no one was there when I arrived,” Sig continued.

It finally dawned on Britia why Sig had appeared just in time to save her. And when he had left her with the twins and his wife, calling out for her to wait, perhaps he had meant for her to wait for him to come back.

She should have said so earlier! Britia’s mouth hung open in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, Duke-nim. It’s my fault. I never heard that you were coming. What should I do now?” Britia asked anxiously.

“It’s okay now that we’ve met. But more importantly, the dinner party you invited me to is at three o’clock at the Lockheart mansion, is that correct?” Sig asked, trying to confirm the time and place.

“That’s right, Duke-nim. I’ll make sure I don’t make a mistake like this again,” Britia replied, nodding her head quickly.

“Tia!” The Lockheart couple, who had been looking for Britia, spotted her and approached.

“Sig-nim? You’ve met Tia. But why are you wet, Tia?” Lord Rockheart asked, confused.

Lord Lockheart, who had been furiously angry with her for ruining their plans, was now completely bewildered as he looked at Britia, who was soaking wet from head to toe.

“Did you drop our child into the water?” he asked, scrutinizing her.

Britia was taken aback by his accusing words, but before she could respond, Harty’s wandering eyes flicked from her to Sig.

“What exactly happened?” he asked with uncertainty.

At Lady Lockheart’s question, Britia took a deep breath. It was hard to describe what had happened in one word.

★★★

The following day, Britia had planned to take it easy, after falling into the river the day before. But she couldn’t, because an uninvited guest was confidently occupying her living room sofa.

“What’s the taste of this tea?” he asked.

Britia had not even invited him, yet he seemed to feel right at home in her house.

“Do you not like it?” Britia struggled to maintain her composure as she opened her blurry eyes.

“This tea is too sweet, it makes my tongue uncomfortable.”

Why was Harty Slanford here, and why did she have to serve this rude man tea? Britia couldn’t understand the situation.

“Are you trying to present this kind of tea to Duke Turas?” he continued.

“I’m not that fake,” Britia retorted.

“Of course, I’m talking about you. Your head must be so bad that you can’t even understand that,” Harty sneered.

Britia was stunned.

“I don’t think I’m that fake compared to some people,” she said.

Harty Slanford, who had been so charming and friendly in front of Sig Turas, was now a completely different person. Britia couldn’t find the words to describe him.

“So, Lord Slanford, what brings you here? What business do you have with me?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“I saw how you were sweet-talking Duke Turas yesterday,” he replied.

“Just a moment. Sweet-talking?” Britia asked, confused.

Harty let out a scornful laugh as he looked at Britia, who was fuming with anger.

“I know you won’t fall for such shallow seduction, but he’s such an innocent man that I can’t help but worry.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, still trying to understand.

“I heard about your plan to save him from your clutches. I’m sorry, but it won’t go your way.”

Britia was speechless, stunned by his words.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“I don’t usually stop people from coming near me, but I’ll make an exception for someone like you.”

Harty Slanford was a man who was hard to describe with words, something about him was just strange.