Duke, You're a Bit Stiff (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2
In the portrait, black hair and piercing eyes.
Just by looking, she seemed like a cold person.
So cold that there was no need for a human refrigerator.
Moreover, his sharp nose bridge looked as if it could cut you just by touching the painting.
‘He looks exactly like the Duke of the North.’
A heartless duke who only realized his wife had died long after the fact.
Unlike the original Artia, Kang Ji Ha knew well the duke’s personality.
Therefore, she naturally held not even a sliver of expectation toward her husband, Cassus.
‘Right. What’s the point of waiting for Cassus forever? Since I’ve reincarnated as a duchess anyway, I might as well enjoy it to the fullest before I die.’
Under the sparkling chandelier, Artia crammed her mouth full of food piled high on her plate, making up her mind.
The ducal estate was vast.
No—“vast” didn’t even begin to describe it; one could ride a carriage for a long while and still not see the whole place.
‘Wow, no matter how wealthy I was in my past life, I’ve never seen such a huge estate before…’
In her previous life, Kang Ji Ha had reached the pinnacle of her field, so money had never been an issue.
Her Pilates studio had been so popular that members flooded in until there were no spots left.
Yet the wealth of the Wellington dukedom was staggering even to her.
The scenery viewed from within the carriage drawn by two white horses was like a painting.
Neatly trimmed green foliage was half-covered with pristine snow, neatly layered.
Seeing the flawless snow, untouched by any footprints, made her want to step on it.
The ducal grounds were so expansive that she even spotted small animals frolicking about.
“Wow, are those deer running around?”
The maid sharing the carriage looked puzzled.
When Artia first entered the ducal manor as the duchess, she hadn’t been this excited.
But today’s Artia felt very different from before.
The woman who had always seemed listless and slumped now looked joyful like a child.
Contrary to expectations that she’d barely pick at her food during meals, she ate heartily—
so much so that even the manor’s staff were astonished.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Huh?”
The maid realized belatedly that Artia was asking for her name and widened her eyes.
“K-Kesha.”
“That’s a nice name.”
“Thank you.”
Kesha stared at Artia for a moment, then tilted her head in confusion.
‘No matter how I think about it, this is strange. Could she be this happy just because she’s outside after so long? Asking my name so earnestly—as if she’d lost her memory…’
Artia’s skin, deprived of sunlight for so long, now looked strikingly pale and white.
Having married into the unfamiliar, frigid North from the warm South and spending every day alone, Artia stirred pity in Kesha’s heart.
“My Lady, aren’t you cold?”
Located on the northern border, the Wellington ducal estate was so cold that snow covered every corner.
Most people struggled to adjust after moving from a warm region to the North.
Especially Artia, who had always been unusually sensitive to the cold.
“Hmm… not really?”
But Artia was so absorbed in taking in this new world that she’d even forgotten how chilly the weather was.
“It’s cold out. Shall we go back inside, My Lady? You might catch a cold…”
“Oh, I think I’d like to look around a bit longer…”
For Artia, it was unthinkable to sit idly after a satisfying meal or laze about comfortably in her room.
It simply didn’t suit her nature. She couldn’t bear staying still even for a moment—she’d go stir-crazy.
To her, anything was a hundred times better than being cooped up indoors, no matter how cold it was.
Thwack!
A sound of impact rang out.
Artia turned toward the noise.
Not far away, a sword practice duel was underway.
She noticed a boy attacking relentlessly while a knight only defended.
The aggressive one was Leo, the Wellington family’s second son.
Thirteen years old this year, Leo—having entered adolescence—had dark brown hair and ashen-gray eyes.
At first glance, he resembled an undergrown wolf from snowy mountains.
Clatter!
The wooden sword of the defending knight fell to the ground.
“I concede.”
The elderly knight, old enough to be the boy’s father, knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully.
Leo then declared proudly,
“Bring on the next! Is there no one else?”
“You’ve improved greatly, Young Master.”
“Tch, boring. There’s no one left worth fighting.”
…
Silence fell around them as Leo tossed his wooden sword carelessly onto the ground and grumbled discontentedly.
“I want to join the Imperial Family’s hunting tournament, but they never invite me.”
“We are ashamed, sir.”
“Why should you be ashamed? It’s all because my brother’s been ostracized among the nobles.”
“Young Master…”
At that defiant age, the boy saw nothing before his eyes.
Few things were as frightening as an adolescent noble who believed himself already a full-grown adult.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
Silence fell once again.
Everyone hastily tried to appease Leo, knowing well that defiance would lead to bloodshed.
“Who’s riding in that carriage?”
The knight who had just dueled with Leo quickly changed the subject while wiping sweat from his brow.
A golden carriage drawn by two white horses moved slowly in the distance.
“What? Has my brother returned already?”
“It doesn’t seem to be His Grace the Duke’s carriage, from what I can tell.”
“Then who on earth could it be?”
In the ducal estate, the only person above Leo was his elder brother, Cassus.
In other words, only Leo himself and Cassus were entitled to roam the estate in a golden carriage.
But then it struck him—
there was exactly one other person besides those two.
Leo frowned.
“That woman… She wouldn’t possibly come outside. Wait—stop that carriage.”
At Leo’s gesture, the golden carriage gradually came to a halt.
Approaching the carriage window, Leo’s ashen eyes widened.
She was really inside?
He couldn’t believe it!
The woman who had come to live in the ducal estate through marriage to his brother.
Even after nearly a year of marriage, they’d barely crossed paths once or twice.
Moreover, she came from a hostile family.
Though married to his brother, to Leo, she was less than nothing.
“I wonder why she’s come out here.”
Leo muttered with a scowl, his expression as sharp as a wolf ready to sink its teeth into someone’s throat.
‘Who is that?’
Dark brown hair, ashen-gray eyes, and an arrogant attitude.
Artia stared intently at the boy standing outside her window, recalling the original story.
Leo disliked the way Artia was looking at him.
He’d assumed she was frail and timid, unable even to meet his gaze—but here she was staring straight at him.
Completely unlike her first impression.
The staff had said she never left her room and barely ate—but this?
“My Lady, that’s Young Master Leo.”
The observant maid, Kesha, whispered softly to Artia.
Artia couldn’t recall much about him, but after some thought, a faint memory surfaced:
Leo Reinhardt of House Wellington—the family’s little rascal.
‘So that’s him?’
A character mentioned only briefly in the original story—
Cassus’s only younger brother, constantly causing trouble.
Having lost his mother at a young age, Leo never opened his heart to anyone.
He locked his emotions away, growing into a prickly and twisted individual.
He looked down on the manor’s staff who trembled at his every word.
If something displeased him or rubbed him the wrong way, he’d immediately nitpick—no matter what it was.
He despised anyone older who, despite their age, knew nothing but groveling for coins at his feet. That was Leo.
That was all Artia knew.
‘And later, only Cassus remains in the family—that much I remember clearly.’
Didn’t he die young?
She remembered his life being cut short—but the details were hazy.
“I don’t like that you’ve entered our family.”
Leo leaned crookedly against the carriage window and spoke.
“Consider this a warning—don’t catch my eye. My sword training ground is right here. So from now on, don’t pass through this area again. Turn around and go back the way you came.”
A threatening declaration.
The title “the duke’s little rascal” was no exaggeration.
Kesha worried that gentle-hearted Artia might be hurt.
“My Lady, please understand—the Young Master is still young.”
Leo, the thirteen-year-old boy, narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Artia, his twenty-one-year-old brother’s wife, and continued,
“When someone speaks to you, you should answer.”
Their gazes clashed up close.
At that moment—
‘Ah!’
It finally came back to her.
This brat’s tragic end—begging to go to war overestimating his own skill, only to lose his life.
‘And in that war, Duke Heidegger also dies.’
Heidegger had assumed the war would end quickly and departed for the battlefield with his son.
But the reality was the opposite.
‘It was a trap laid by the enemy.’
Seeing Leo reminded Artia of her younger brother from her past life.
Her little brother back home was just about Leo’s age.
Similar in head size, height, and build.
The only difference? Her younger brother had never once talked back to her—not even once—despite her being the big, tough sister since childhood.
He’d been so well-behaved they called him “the neighborhood’s good kid”—the very embodiment of the “that guy” you’d point to and say, “Be half as well-behaved as him!”
He was so docile and obedient, you’d think he’d skipped puberty altogether.
Plus, there’d been a big age gap between them.
Not to mention, by the time her younger brother was born, her descent into darkness had already been in full swing.
Anyway—if Leo was still alive, then Heidegger hadn’t died yet either.
They must not be allowed to go to that war.
Artia felt sorry for the still-immature boy.
‘He has his whole life ahead of him—I can’t just let him die. It’d be better to properly discipline him from the start.’
Otherwise, that reckless overconfidence would cost him his life.
First, he needed to accurately assess his own skill.
Having trained in both kendo and fencing in her past life, she could instantly spot what was wrong just by observing his wooden sword grip.
“How can you block someone’s path when you can’t even hold a wooden sword properly?”
“What did you say?”
For a moment, silence fell.
No one present could believe those words had come from Artia’s mouth.
Artia looked at Leo, who stood frozen in bewilderment, and asked,
“Want to make a bet with me?”
“What?”
“How about a sword match? If I lose, I’ll never come here again. But if you lose, what will you wager?”
“Ha—you’re seriously challenging me to a duel?”
Leo was dumbfounded by her words.
“Yes.”
“I don’t fight women.”
“Are you scared you’ll lose?”
“Ha… Hahahaha!”
Amused by Artia’s provocation, Leo scoffed incredulously.
“I’ll bet my life on my victory.”
“Hmm… Don’t you think that’s too big a wager?”
“Shut up.”
Frowning, Leo jerked his chin toward her, signaling her to get out of the carriage.
“M-My Lady…”
Kesha hastily grabbed Artia’s hand.
Artia gave a reassuring smile, quickly winking her left eye as if to say, “Don’t worry.”
Then she stepped down from the carriage and walked into the training ground.
The two faced each other—almost the same height.
Leo sneered,
“Aren’t you going to change out of that cumbersome outfit first?”
But since Artia was already dressed in a simple dress, she figured it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
“This should be fine.”
Swordsmanship wasn’t about brute strength—it was about technique.
Moreover, they weren’t using real swords, only wooden ones.
Even though she’d reincarnated into a frail body, this much should be manageable.
In her previous life, Kang Ji Ha had trained passionately in every sport—kendo, taekwondo, hapkido, fencing—you name it.
She’d excelled in them all.
If she had enough strength to lift a spoon, she could use that spoon to subdue her opponent.
Exactly like now—
Clack!
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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