Duke, This Will Sting for a Moment (30 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 10

Annoying.

Frost stood on the balcony of his study, watching Yuriella climb into the carriage with the help of a servant.

[“I dislike it.”]

Her resolute voice rejecting the lifelong companionship of the Grand Duke—a position every noble lady in Justera Empire coveted—kept grating on his nerves, along with her firm declaration that she’d rather become a false grand duchess.

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

How dare she place the master of the North on equal footing with common men, even bringing up personal preference.

[“I prefer kind men.”]

When Yuriella sweetly thanked the young servant assisting her, the brown-haired boy—barely past adolescence—couldn’t even meet her eyes, his ears turning bright red.

Our young lady is far too generous with her smiles.

She claimed to like kind men—perhaps her true taste lies in gentle younger men.

As if sensing his sharp gaze, Yuriella stuck her head out the carriage window and waved.

She truly has a talent for turning people’s insides upside down while beaming so innocently.

Earlier, before Yuriella left her chambers, Frost had hesitated for a long while, hand on the doorknob, before reluctantly blurting out something that had irritated her—so now he resolutely slammed his study window shut, as if to spite her.

[“Now, I’m sure it’ll never happen, but just in case… please don’t give me your affection after we marry. Even if it’s hatred. They say affection grows from accumulated resentment, after all.”] [“You worry about things that shouldn’t trouble you. And if resentment builds up, it turns into the urge to stab someone to death.”] [“Ah… that’s a relief.”]

Yuriella nodded earnestly, her expression noticeably lighter.

[“What’s so relieving?”] [“Even if you grow to resent me, you can just kill me—that’s fine by me.”] [“What?”] [“I’m busy and have my own path to walk. But if the one blocking my way and taking my life happens to be you, Your Grace… well, that wouldn’t be so bad either.”] [“You only ever pick the most incomprehensible things to say.”] [“You don’t need to understand that. Just please bear with me long enough for me to fix everything about you—even if I end up hating you to death.”]

Faced with a woman who spoke of being killed as lightly as offering a slice of cake, Frost found himself utterly speechless.

It should be him begging for his life—so why was she fretting over her inability to “fix” him, wearing a guilty expression as if she owed him an unpayable debt?

He couldn’t understand.

He’d assumed she was a greedy woman, intent on using her child—bearing the blood of Eelheim—to seize the Grand Ducal House, backed by her father’s wealth and power.

It would’ve made more sense if she were a woman bent on avenging years of mistreatment by adorning herself in heavy jewels and trampling noblewomen beneath her feet.

Or, at the very least, if she harbored the delusional dream of becoming the first and last woman to subdue the formidable and beautiful Grand Duke of the North—whom no one had ever conquered.

Yet none of that was true.

Her sole wish, apparently, was to heal the Grand Duke so he could live happily ever after—holding a beautiful mistress in one hand and a noble grand duchess in the other.

And, as a bonus, if fortune favored her, to marry a kind man who was the complete opposite of the Grand Duke.

“Alexis!”

Uncharacteristically raising his voice, Frost summoned the head butler and ordered a carriage prepared immediately—he intended to visit the Marquis’s estate.

After a sleepless night spent pondering unanswered questions, the woman had left him with even more inexplicable curiosities, and it irked him.

He refused to go to bed tonight burdened by even more unanswered questions.

Alexis, having hurried out of the chambers at his master’s command, was summoned again by the Grand Duke before even reaching the stairs.

“Alexis!”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Forget the carriage. Bring Mars from the stables.”

“But if you ride Mars, you’ll arrive at the Marquis’s estate before Lady Grande does.”

His meaning was clear: acting so eagerly would only make him look desperate and spoil the pride of his haughty future father-in-law. Yet today, lost entirely in his own thoughts, the Grand Duke failed to grasp the deeper implication.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Carriages are too slow.”

“…The more urgent the matter, the more one should take the long way, Your Grace. Given how rushed this marriage already is, if you display impatience, Marquis Grande may exploit your eagerness and demand unfavorable terms.”

“Do you really think I’d be so weak as to be dragged along by a mere marquis?”

“That’s not what I meant—”

“The one who should be rushing is him! If I hadn’t intervened, his so-called fertile lands and gold-producing mines would’ve already fallen into the Emperor’s hands!”

Seeing his master launch into unprecedented self-praise, the head butler took a cautious step back. His lord never spoke of his own merits unless truly enraged.

“Yes, then I’ll have Mars ready—”

“It’s him who should be groveling at my feet, begging me to accept his daughter as my grand duchess! Why should I chase after the girl like some anxious fool, tailing her all the way to the Marquis’s estate? Why should I care what he thinks? I am the North, and the North is me!”

Yet today, his agitation was more pronounced than ever. What on earth had so thoroughly unsettled his lord?

Only one person could possibly have driven him to such distraction—the wielder of the Blade of Flame, Solace Moretti…

Alexis knew his master had rushed to the battlefield—even though the Emperor hadn’t summoned him—specifically to meet the famed Flame Knight, the celebrated heroine of glorious exploits.

And every time he returned from such trips, exhilarated yet frustrated, he’d behave exactly like this—petulant and irritable.

During battle, they’d risked their lives for each other, fighting as one; but the moment victory was declared, Solace would march straight back to her tent without even a backward glance—and it had weighed heavily on his master’s heart.

Outsiders assumed Frost, the icy Grand Duke of the North, and Solace, the fiery Captain of the Imperial Knights, were natural enemies who barely exchanged words and constantly watched each other warily.

But Captain Leo—who had fought alongside the Grand Duke across countless battlefields—told a different story.

His Grace admired Solace above all else but feared his admiration might turn into love—or perhaps it already had—and worried constantly about it.

Even after Solace’s blade had left him with a terminal fate, Leo had insisted there was some good in it: at least the last heir of House Eelheim would be remembered honorably, never mocked as a “bluish” stain on the family’s legacy.

Now, thanks to Lady Grande’s miraculous acupuncture, his Grace could even defy that terminal fate—yet why was he acting like a cornered man, so restless and tense?

“Even a three-year-old knows the North exists today only because Your Grace has guarded it like an iron fortress—”

“Exactly! It’s a position of immense weight. I can’t be compared to common folk who merely hunt rabbits or deer to feed their little families within their own fences.”

“…? No one would dare compare themselves to Your Grace—”

“Then why have you been chattering so noisily since earlier? By now, I could’ve already arrived at the Marquis’s estate—and with time to spare.”

“Oh… You’re still going? My apologies—I’ll prepare it right away—”

“Never mind. I won’t go.”

“Your Grace?”

“Just imagining that arrogant Marquis Grande flaring his ugly nostrils while bragging about his iron mines and putting on airs to inflate his daughter’s worth makes me so irritated I can’t stand it.”

“Indeed. Daring to present a mere bastard—and not just any bastard, but a rootless wandering street performer—as his daughter…”

Alexis eagerly echoed his master’s disdain.

“Alexis. Have you forgotten Father’s words—that though status may differ, no person is inherently above or below another? Before being a bastard, Lady Grande is a human being—and soon, she’ll stand beside me as Grand Duchess, ruling this house together.”

Only then did Alexis suddenly realize who had caused this whole ruckus.

‘Lady Yuriella Grande!’

It was undoubtedly her who had unsettled the Grand Duke.

As his Grace himself said, he was the North itself—and therefore, he couldn’t afford to be merely human.

Because humans break too easily. And if he fell, the North would fall with him.

Though it was the Grand Duke’s parents who had placed the heavy burden of the North upon his nine-year-old shoulders, it was Alexis himself who had helped him rise, steadied him, and soothed him through the weight.

And so… he truly had felt sorry.

He’d even been grateful to Captain Solace—the only one who had ever made the Grand Duke feel truly human.

He’d assumed that after Solace’s execution, his Grace would never again indulge in such childish self-praise or throw such nonsensical tantrums…

Wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Alexis stole a glance at his master—so refreshingly human after so long—and felt his eyes grow warm.

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

Suddenly, he remembered the yellow parrot he’d bought months ago from a merchant of the Eastern Continent.

Originally, he’d meant to present it to Captain Solace as a gift from the Grand Duke.

He’d hoped its uncanny ability to mimic human speech might help the famously taciturn captain open up warmly to His Grace.

After all, first impressions mattered—so he’d even taught the parrot useful phrases:

‘Lady Solace!’, ‘You’re the best!’, ‘Lord Frost!’, ‘You’re so cool!’

Praise can make even an ice dragon dance—surely it could coax a word or two from two men whose lips seemed glued shut.

But after Captain Solace’s execution, the parrot—now without a destination—had been confined to the head butler’s room, repeating unheard words in exchange for tasty treats.

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

“Are you really not going?”

Holding the parrot—now plump from its treats—on his arm, Alexis asked his master once more.

“No. How many times must I say it?”

“Then I’ll send this little one to the young lady as your messenger. She’ll surely be delighted to learn her future husband is kind and gentle.”

“Are you telling me to offer insincere flattery?”

“Then I’ll say it’s my gift—a token of goodwill for our future cooperation.”

Frost’s brows furrowed sharply.

“Goodwill? Are you in your right mind? And do you really think giving her some parrot makes me ‘gentle’? That’s absurd.”

“…I only thought the young lady might enjoy it. Then I’ll just keep it in my room.”

As Alexis reached for the study door, Frost clicked his tongue.

“No. Send it. Tell her it’s from me. Remove that dull ribbon and replace it with a red one—something the color of Colombini mountain red wine.”

“Colombini mountain red wine?”

Puzzled by his master’s exacting instruction, Alexis lined up red satin ribbons for the parrot’s neck—and suddenly, it struck him.

The luminous crimson of Colombini mountain red wine… matched Lady Yuriella Grande’s red eyes perfectly!

*

—Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lord Frost! You’re so cool!

“Wow…!”

The gift from the Grand Duke’s estate actually spoke—opening its tiny beak to address me! It was miraculous enough that it could talk—but this yellow parrot even called my name!

—Lady Solace! You’re the best!

“Crap…”

I instinctively scanned the empty room.

Was it even safe to shout the name of a traitor executed for treason so openly? Did Emperor Justin think his spies hadn’t infiltrated Marquis Grande’s estate?!

—Lady Solace! You’re the best!

Since it was the Grand Duke’s gift, he must have trained it himself—but why on earth would he teach it such things? Could this be another side effect of that magic poison? Had he gone mad?

Fearing someone might overhear, I gently pinched the parrot’s cute little beak between my thumb and forefinger.

But the parrot—accustomed to earning treats by praising Solace—flapped free from my hand and loudly chirped my name over and over.

—Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lord Frost, you’re so cool! Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lady Solace! You’re the best! Lady Solace! You’re the best!

But why does it call my name ten times for every single mention of Frost?

“No! Don’t say my name. Don’t praise me either—or a scary cat will come and eat you!”

Before the scary cat could arrive, thick-headed Dolman Grande burst into my room.

“Hey! Shut up! Be quiet!”

Dolman wildly swung his arm at the air, and the yellow parrot fluttered out the open window.

—Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!

Is it a divine creature? It figured out Dolman was a blockhead after just one look?

Dolman dashed to the balcony, hurling curses at the bird. His fury made him tremble so violently that the thick bandages wrapped around his head shook along with him.

His injury from Captain Leo hadn’t seemed that bad—but wrapped so heavily, his head looked like a ridiculous white chamber pot, and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“You’re laughing?”

His face flushed crimson like wild strawberries, Dolman stormed toward me, swinging his long riding glove like a whip.

But before the glove could even graze my hair, a tall black riding boot kicked off his white “chamber pot.”

—Thud!

“Ugh…!”

Groaning in pain, Dolman collapsed onto the floor.

Slowly lifting my gaze, I found Frost staring at me with an expressionless face.

His icy blue eyes examined me, piece by piece.

“Your Grace…!”

With an annoyed flick of his foot, Frost kicked Dolman’s head aside like a bothersome pebble and strode straight toward me.