Duke, You're a Bit Stiff (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Artia was in the middle of exercising.
Specifically, she was in the cat pose—arching her back like a bow while lying face down.
Cassus suddenly burst in, yet she didn’t flinch an inch.
Her hair was tightly tied into a single ponytail, giving the impression she was about to embark on something grand.
Staring blankly at Artia, Cassus slowly opened his mouth.
“What are you doing right now?”
“I’m assuming a posture good for back pain, Your Highness.”
“Back pain?”
“Would Your Highness like to try it with me?”
“…Why would I?”
Cassus raised an eyebrow, looking utterly baffled.
“This movement strengthens the spine and loosens the tense muscles around it. If the spine collapses, the whole body collapses—it’s the body’s core.”
“…”
“By the way, it’s also good for menstrual cramps.”
“What…?”
“Oh, right—you wouldn’t have menstrual cramps. You must suffer from a different kind of pain.”
Artia adjusted her posture as she spoke.
“That movement is commonly called the ‘cat pose.’”
She raised one arm and mimicked a cat swiping with claws outstretched, just like a feline baring its talons.
Her tightly bound ponytail swung back and forth as if mocking Cassus.
“Well? Doesn’t the name stick instantly in your mind?”
“…”
“By the way, Your Highness—what brings you to this humble place?”
At Artia’s question, Cassus’s mind went blank for a moment.
Now that he’d actually met Artia, he had no idea what to say.
Why was it that every time he encountered this woman, the situation was never ordinary?
She was the sort of woman whose next move he could never predict.
“Oh, scratch the ‘humble’ part—it is Your Highness’s mansion, after all.”
“The reason I came?”
“Yes.”
Cassus couldn’t think of a proper reply.
He tried stalling for time, but his mental gears had already seized up completely.
“I was…”
Suddenly, a deep, sweet fragrance vibrated through the room.
He didn’t know why, but it stirred a faint flutter in his chest.
Assuming Artia must have brought in some nice incense, Cassus finally managed to speak.
“I happened to pass by and caught a whiff of something, so I came in to investigate.”
“Huh?”
“It started right from the corridor entrance.”
“…”
“I followed the scent to its source, and it led me right here.”
Scent?
A scent?
Artia was utterly confused.
Judging by Cassus’s stiff expression, this was clearly not a compliment.
“Gasp! Do I really smell that badly?!”
Artia shot up her eyebrows in alarm.
For five silent seconds, Artia and Cassus stared at each other wordlessly.
‘Wow… seriously? It carries all the way to the corridor?’
Artia began to wonder if she unknowingly suffered from severe body odor.
Cassus’s sharp, clear eyes seemed to pierce straight through her thoughts.
In the end, Artia was the first to avert her gaze.
“Well… I’m terribly sorry about this.”
She scratched her head, laughing awkwardly in embarrassment.
Whether Cassus had an unusually sensitive nose, or if she truly had serious body odor—
either way, she’d clearly inconvenienced someone else.
And on top of that, while staying in the duke’s residence, no less.
“Well, you don’t need to apologize.”
Overwhelmed by the identity of that deep, sweet scent, Cassus was too flustered to know what to say or how to say it.
So he blurted out those words, though the situation now seemed to be twisting in a strange direction.
Artia, feeling awkward, scrambled in her mind for some excuse.
“No, it’s just… I wiped myself with a towel, but I guess it wasn’t enough if it carried all the way to the corridor…”
Just how strong must it have been for him to track it down here?
Cassus’s tightly pressed lips and furrowed brows—
his entire face was tense and frozen. He was clearly angry.
Artia trailed off and absentmindedly rubbed her nose.
“Uh… um…”
Cassus wanted to say, “That’s not it at all,” but his mouth wouldn’t move.
“My nose must’ve gotten used to it, so I had no idea how it smelled outside. I’m sorry. Thank you for making me see it objectively.”
“Hm-hem.”
Cassus awkwardly cleared his throat and turned his gaze away.
His eyes then fell on the scattered exercise equipment lying around the room—
it looked as if someone had moved an entire outdoor training ground indoors.
Though the room wasn’t especially large, the clutter made it feel even tighter.
Just why did she need so much of it?
Noticing Cassus glancing around the room, Artia spoke up.
“By the way, Your Highness—are you okay with the smell?”
“Hmm?”
“You said it started right from the corridor entrance.”
“Oh…”
“This is the source, after all. Are you sure you’re fine? Or have you already adjusted to it?”
I should’ve just called it a fragrance.
Flustered, Cassus only wrinkled his nose pointlessly.
Of course he’d come because he was curious about Artia—but trusting her was another matter entirely.
If he let his guard down, who knew how suddenly she might change?
“Oh… So you haven’t adjusted yet. I thought so—your complexion looked off.”
“How could it be good?”
“Are you unwell anywhere? Should I take a look? Ah—but not here. Somewhere else, after I’ve washed up…”
Feeling guilty for unintentionally causing him discomfort, Artia wanted to make it up to him somehow.
But Cassus only narrowed his brows and ran a hand through his own hair in exasperation.
“Never mind. Just be more careful next time.”
With that, Cassus quickly left Artia’s room.
In the corridor, there was no scent at all.
Left standing alone, Cassus only now regained his senses—
and immediately, waves of self-reproach crashed over him.
‘What on earth did I just say?’
Though Artia had saved his brother Leo’s life, he’d momentarily doubted her sincerity—and now, he’d gone and said something he absolutely shouldn’t have.
The look on Artia’s face when he mentioned the smell…
It was pure shock, as if she truly had no idea.
‘I should’ve just asked her how to tame Cerberus instead.’
But Cassus’s regret came too late.
***
After Cassus left,
Artia immediately sniffed herself to check if she really smelled.
‘Is it coming from my armpits?’
She did get thoroughly drenched in sweat during workouts—
but she never imagined the smell could permeate throughout the entire duke’s residence.
“Kesha.”
“Yes?”
“Do I really smell that bad? He said it reached all the way to the corridor entrance.”
There were no air purifiers or exhaust fans here—
only a single window, at most.
Even with the window open, if the scent traveled that far outside, just how intense must it have been?
Artia stared at the sweat-soaked towels, now limp as wet rags.
She washed and reset them with fresh ones every single day, after all.
“Kesha, can you smell the top of my head?”
“Huh?”
“Just take a quick whiff. I can’t smell it myself.”
Kesha, startled, cautiously brought her nose close to Artia’s crown—but then—
“Huh?”
Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head in confusion.
“Is it bad?”
“It does smell like sweat, but not unpleasant at all.”
“Really? Then why did His Highness say that?”
“Maybe I’ve just gotten used to it?”
“Hmm… I can’t very well ask someone else to check, either… Maybe we should buy some deodorant at the market.”
“What’s that?”
“Something that removes sweat odor.”
“Won’t washing with a clean towel be enough?”
“I wish it were, but His Grace already gave me a warning yellow card. Honestly, his expression was already a red card—final warning.”
“Oh…”
Artia flung the window wide open and fanned vigorously to purge all the air from the room.
But this was the North, where the weather shifted several times a day.
Instead, wind rushed *into* the room.
Thud.
Artia shut the window and fell into deep thought.
The original story never mentioned Artia having terrible body odor.
If she really did, there would’ve been lines like, “She carried deodorant everywhere.”
‘Or maybe it’s just a romance novel—so they didn’t mention it.’
Was she secretly a terminal patient with severe body odor?
All sorts of wild thoughts flooded her mind.
Then, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Artia’s head.
“Perfect timing.”
“Huh?”
“How about we switch from indoors to outdoors?”
“What, switch what?”
“The location.”
Artia grinned at Kesha, who blinked innocently like a rabbit.
***
Artia decided to change her and Kesha’s training grounds.
If she really did cause a smell—what else could she do?
Leaving was only proper etiquette.
Honestly, it worked out well.
Artia had always preferred outdoor activity over indoor workouts anyway.
Out in the open, her range of motion would be incomparably wider than inside.
Before heading out, Artia soaked in rosewater and washed herself thoroughly with cool water.
Then she changed into freshly laundered clothes—a refreshing blend of ocean blue and clear-sky blue.
Her still-damp silver hair glistened softly.
Kesha looked at her with genuine awe.
“Wow, Mistress—you look absolutely beautiful…”
“Beauty doesn’t matter when exercising.”
“Now I totally understand why that beast Heuk Gu is so fond of you.”
“He just likes my massages.”
“Even if I were a wild snail, I’d fall head over heels for you…”
As she dried Artia’s hair before the mirror, Kesha spoke again.
“Mistress.”
“Hmm?”
“I started exercising to save money on broken toilets, remember?”
“That’s right.”
“And now it’s actually kind of fun. But why do *you* train so hard? What’s your reason?”
“My reason for training hard?”
“Yes.”
“Well… um, because it’s fun?”
“Do you have a final goal or something like that?”
“Hmm.”
Artia blinked her big, doll-like eyes as she thought for a moment. Her damp silver hair and fair skin gave off an ethereal, fresh aura.
“I want a body like Father’s.”
“What? The late Duke?”
“In my whole life, I’ve never seen such a grand and magnificent physique.”
“That’s just too…”
Kesha’s hands, drying Artia’s hair, froze midair.
“Isn’t that too big?”
“It *is* big—that’s exactly why it’s my goal. After all, dreams should be big.”
“No… it’s not that. It’s just—I really don’t understand. And besides, the late Duke was a man…”
Kesha tilted her head, utterly perplexed.
Wanting a body like that massive figure?
But Artia truly envied Heidegger’s physique.
“Nothing’s impossible with effort—that’s my motto. And I genuinely admire that kind of body.”
“…”
“What? Do you think it’d look weird if I had Father’s body attached to my face?”
Kesha glanced at Artia and nodded carefully.
It wasn’t just weird—it was unimaginable.
“On the contrary, I think it’d be a perfect combination: both physical and facial beauty.”
Artia beamed brightly at her reflection in the mirror.
“Mistress…”
Kesha scratched her head.
That doll-like, innocent face paired with a muscular, rugged body…
‘She must be joking.’
Kesha chuckled along with Artia.
“Alright, shall we go out now? Grab this and this.”
Artia and Kesha gathered a few simple exercise tools and headed outside.
‘I don’t need anything big. Just a place for this body to move freely is enough.’
She still had things left to do today, but she’d already showered and freshened up.
Still, his words about the smell kept nagging at her.
The sight of Cassus standing before her door with that utterly furious expression—really was something to behold.
Why did he always seem angry whenever he saw her?
She didn’t know for sure—but perhaps it was only natural, since she was the daughter of the Harad family, his sworn enemies.
‘He’s the kind of man who’ll hate me no matter what I do.’
***
As soon as Artia appeared, Heuk Gu inside the iron bars wagged his tail excitedly.
“Woof!”
“Oh, there you are, our dear Heuk Gu! Have you been well?”
“Woof! Woof!”
Heuk Gu now seemed to have fully adapted to life within the cage.
After all, during their mountain hike, he’d outright rejected freedom and chosen to return to his cage.
When Artia stepped inside and stroked him, his tail spun like a propeller.
“Woof.”
Not only that—he placed his front paws on Artia’s knees, cooing and begging for more pets.
“There, there.”
Heuk Gu truly loved human touch.
More precisely—the touch of *Artia*.
“Kesha, would you like to pet him too?”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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