It bothers me.

Frost looked down from the office balcony at Yuriella getting into the carriage with the help of a servant.

[I don’t like it.]

The resolute voice that flatly refused the lifelong companion position of the Grand Duke, coveted by any princess of the Yustera Empire, and declared she would become a fake Grand Duchess instead, keeps bothering him, stuck in his mind.

[Honestly, you’re not my type either.]

To even mention preferences and dare to place the master of the North on the same scale as other men.

[I like gentle men.]

When Yuriella thanked the young servant supporting her with gently curved eyes, the brown-haired servant, barely out of boyhood, couldn’t even meet her gaze and turned bright red.

Our princess laughs too easily.

She said she likes gentle men. Is a gentle younger man her preference?

Feeling the sharp gaze, Yuriella stuck her head out of the carriage window and waved.

How cheerfully you smile after turning people’s insides out.

Frost slammed the study window shut demonstratively, annoyed by the words Yuriella had hesitantly uttered after lingering at the doorknob for a long time before leaving her quarters.

[Um, I’m sure this will never happen, but just in case. Please don’t give me any affection after we’re married. Not even hate. They say even hate can turn into love if it builds up.] [Worry about things worth worrying about. And when hate builds up, it becomes murderous intent that makes you want to stab someone to death.] [Ah. That’s a relief.]

Yuriella nodded vigorously, her face noticeably lighter.

[What’s a relief?] [Even if you build up hate for me, you’ll just kill me and that’s it. That’s fine.] [What?] [I have a lot to do and I’m busy on my path. But if it’s the Grand Duke who blocks my way and beheads me. Yes. That wouldn’t be so bad in its own way.] [You only choose to say incomprehensible things.] [You don’t need to understand that. Just, even if you hate me enough to kill me, I hope it’s after I’ve fully cured you. Please show that much patience towards me.]

Frost was at a loss for words in front of the woman who spoke of being killed as casually as offering a slice of cake.

It should be me begging for my life, so why is she more desperate and full of guilt, as if squirming with remorse for not being able to cure me? As if she owes me a debt that can’t be repaid even with her life.

It didn’t make sense.

He had thought she would be a greedy woman aiming to conquer the Grand Duke’s house, holding a child with Ielheim blood in her arms and using her father’s money and power as backing.

It would have made sense if she was a vulgar woman wishing to take revenge for years of abuse by wearing heavy jewels and trampling the women of high society under her feet.

If not that, then dreaming the vain dream of being the first and last woman to bring to his knees the strong and beautiful Northern Grand Duke that no one had been able to conquer.

She claims it’s none of those things.

She says her one wish is to save the Grand Duke so he can live happily holding hands with a beautiful mistress on one side and a noble Grand Duchess on the other.

And as a bonus, if she’s lucky, to marry a gentle man who is the complete opposite of the Grand Duke.

“Alexis!”

Frost called for the head butler in an uncharacteristically loud voice, instructing him to prepare a carriage immediately as he would be going to the Marquis’s residence.

He was annoyed at the woman who had left after throwing even more incomprehensible questions at him when he had voiced the doubts that remained unresolved even after a night of contemplation.

He didn’t want to go to bed tonight again with curiosity doubled in size.

Alexis, who had rushed out of the quarters at his master’s command, was called back by the Grand Duke before he could even step on the stairs.

“Alexis!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Forget the carriage. Bring out Mars from the stable.”

“If you ride Mars, you’ll arrive at the Marquis’s estate before Lady Grande, won’t you?”

The implication was that it would not only look undignified but also spoil the habits of the haughty prospective father-in-law. However, the Grand Duke, absorbed in his own thoughts today, failed to grasp that deeper meaning.

“That’s exactly what I mean. The carriage is too slow.”

“…The more urgent it is, the more you should take the roundabout way, Your Highness. This marriage is already being rushed, if you show your impatience, Marquis Grande might become arrogant and try to impose unfavorable conditions on you.”

“Do you think I can’t handle a mere marquis and will be led around by him?”

“That’s not what I—”

“The one who should be impatient is him, not me. If I hadn’t protected him, the fertile lands he boasts of and those gold-laying mines would have already fallen into the Emperor’s hands!”

The head butler took a step back, watching the Grand Duke start an unprecedented self-praise. It was unlike his master to ever mention his own merits unless extremely angry.

“Yes, then I’ll have Mars ready right away—”

“He’s the one who should be prostrating himself, begging me to accept his daughter as the Grand Duchess. So why should I be anxious and chase after the Marquis’s estate following in the princess’s footsteps? Why should I be mindful of him? I am the North, and the North is me!”

But today, it was beyond the usual degree. What on earth had made his master’s mood so uncomfortable?

The only one who had ever made him this agitated was Solas Moretti, the owner of the Sword of Fire…

Alexis knew that the reason he had rushed to the battlefield even without the Emperor’s call was to meet the Flame Knight, the protagonist of brilliant martial arts.

He would rush off excitedly, but when he returned, he would invariably be this agitated and irritable, his mood twisted.

During the heat of battle, they would entrust their lives to each other, guarding each other’s backs and fighting as one, but as soon as the victory drums sounded, Commander Solas would return to his own tent without even looking back, causing the Grand Duke to worry considerably.

Those who didn’t know thought that ice and fire were incompatible, that the North’s Frost Grand Duke and the Imperial Knight Commander Solas didn’t exchange a single word and kept each other in check.

But Commander Leo, who had fought alongside the Grand Duke on many battlefields, said differently.

That the Grand Duke revered Solas more than anyone, and was afraid that feeling might turn into love. No, he worried that it might have already happened.

Even when the Grand Duke was struck by Solas’s sword and ended up with a terminal illness, Leo had said that while it was upsetting, at least the last master of the Ielheim Grand Duke family wouldn’t be pointed at as a homosexual in future generations and could be remembered honorably, so there were no absolutely bad things in the world.

Now, thanks to Lady Grande’s mysterious acupuncture, he could fight against the fate of being terminally ill. So why was he fidgeting so anxiously, as if cornered?

“Even a three-year-old child knows. It’s because of Your Highness’s iron-clad protection that today’s North exists—”

“Right! It’s such a weighty position. It can’t be compared to commoners who only need to catch rabbits or deer and care for their small families within their little fences.”

“…? No, who would dare to compare with Your Highness—”

“Then why have you been noisily chattering all this time? We could have already arrived at the Marquis’s mansion by now.”

“Ah… Are you going? I’m sorry. I’ll prepare right away—”

“Forget it. I’m not going.”

“Pardon?”

“The Marquis Grande is already haughty enough. Just imagining him flaring his ugly nostrils and boasting about his iron mines, trying to raise the value of his daughter, makes me uncomfortable.”

“Well, yes. To think that a mere illegitimate child. And from a wandering medicine peddler’s troupe, a mere dancing girl as a daughter—”

Alexis raised his voice to match the Grand Duke’s tone, but.

“Alexis. Have you forgotten my father’s words that while there are differences in status, there is no nobility or baseness among people? Lady Grande is a person before being an illegitimate child, and soon she will ascend to the position of Grand Duchess and rule this family alongside me.”

It was then that it suddenly dawned on Alexis who the culprit in this situation might be.

‘Lady Yuriella Grande!’

It seemed she was the one who had made the Grand Duke uncomfortable.

As the Grand Duke said, he was the North itself. So he shouldn’t be a person.

Because people are easily hurt and broken. If he breaks, the North breaks too.

It was the Grand Duke’s parents who had bequeathed the heavy burden of the North to those young nine-year-old shoulders, but it was he who had raised and comforted him to bear that burden properly.

So he felt… sorry.

He was also grateful to Commander Solas, who was the only one who had made the Grand Duke human-like.

He thought there would be no more instances of such childish self-praise and unreasonable tantrums after Commander Solas was executed…

Alexis wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, his eyes growing hot as he stole glances at the Grand Duke showing a human-like appearance after so long.

Alexis felt grateful to Lady Yuriella and wanted to give her a gift.

Suddenly, he remembered the yellow parrot he had bought when an Eastern merchant had visited a few months ago.

Originally, it was a bird he had intended to have the Grand Duke give as a gift to Commander Solas.

He had hoped that even if just for the strange talent of mimicking human speech perfectly, Commander Solas might open up in friendly conversation with the Grand Duke.

Since the beginning is always important, he had taught the parrot some useful phrases.

‘Lord Solas!’, ‘You’re the best!’, ‘Lord Frost!’, ‘You’re amazing!’

They say praise can make even an ice dragon dance. Wouldn’t it tickle the lips of these two taciturn men who seemed to have glue on their mouths?

But after Commander Solas was executed, the parrot that had lost its destination was locked in the head butler’s room, repeating words with no one to hear while earning fresh treats as a reward.

Alexis neatly tied a blue satin ribbon around the parrot’s neck and headed to the Grand Duke’s office.

“Are you really not going?”

With the parrot perched on his arm, its belly full from snacks, Alexis asked the Grand Duke.

“I’m not going. How many times do I have to say it?”

“Then I’ll send this little one to the lady by messenger. She’ll be very pleased that her future husband is kind and gentle.”

“Are you telling me to make flattery that I don’t mean?”

“Then I’ll say it’s my gift. As a gesture of goodwill for the future—”

Frost frowned deeply.

“A bribe? Are you in your right mind? And does giving a mere parrot make one gentle? This is absurd.”

“…I just thought the lady would be happy. Then, I’ll just keep it in my room.”

As Alexis was about to open the office door and leave, Frost clicked his tongue.

“No. Send it. Say it’s from me. Remove that dull ribbon and use a red one. The color of Colombini mountain red wine would be good.”

“The color of Colombini mountain red wine?”

Alexis was puzzled by the Grand Duke’s picky order and was laying out red satin ribbons to tie around the parrot’s neck when suddenly it dawned on him.

The realization that the lustrous red hue of Colombini mountain red wine was exactly the same color as Yuriella Grande’s red eyes…!

*

− Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Frost! You’re amazing!

“Wow…!”

The gift sent from the Grand Duke’s residence opened its small beak and spoke! Not only was it amazing that it could talk, but this yellow parrot called my name!

− Lord Solas! You’re the best!

“Crazy…”

I looked around the empty room without realizing it.

Is it okay to just call out the name of a criminal who was beheaded for treason like this? Wouldn’t Emperor Justin’s spies have infiltrated the Marquis Grande’s residence…!

− Lord Solas! You’re the best!

Since it’s the Grand Duke’s gift, he must have trained it, but why did he train it like this? Could this be a side effect of the demonic poison too? Is he crazy?

Afraid someone might hear, I gently pinched the small, cute parrot’s beak with my thumb and forefinger.

Having apparently eaten plenty of treats for praising Solas, the parrot broke free from my hand with a flutter and began calling out my name loudly while flapping its wings.

− Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Frost, you’re amazing! Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Solas! You’re the best! Lord Solas! You’re the best!

But why does it call my name ten times for every one time it calls Frost’s name?

“No. Don’t call my name. Don’t praise me either. What if a scary cat comes and eats you?”

Before the scary cat could come, the stone-headed Dolman Grande burst into my room first.

“Hey! It’s noisy! Shut up!”

As Dolman swung his arm fiercely towards the air, the yellow parrot flew out through the open window with a flutter.

− Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Is it a spiritual beast? It immediately recognized that Dolman is stone-headed after seeing him just once?

Dolman ran to the balcony and hurled insults at the parrot. As he trembled unable to contain his anger, the bandage wrapped tightly around his head shook along with it.

The wound from being hit by Commander Leo didn’t seem that severe. The thickly bandaged appearance looked so ridiculous, like he was wearing a white chamber pot on his head, that I burst out laughing.

“You’re laughing?”

His face turning as red as a strawberry, Dolman approached me and swung his long riding glove like a whip.

But before his riding glove could touch my hair, a long black riding boot cracked open the white chamber pot on his stone head.

− Thwack!

“Ugh…”

Letting out a painful groan, Dolman collapsed on the floor.

Slowly raising my head, I saw Frost staring at me with an expressionless face.

His icy blue eyes examined me piece by piece.

“Grand Duke…!”

Kicking away Dolman’s head at his feet like an annoying pebble, Frost walked straight towards me.