Duke, You're a Bit Stiff (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“It’s okay, go ahead and say it.”
Kesha, who had been hesitating, bit her lip slightly.
“I’m a little uncomfortable when I go to the bathroom.”
“The bathroom?”
“Yes. Um….”
“Hmm?”
“I’m constipated.”
Kesha’s face turned red as she spoke frankly.
“What am I saying to you, madam….”
Suddenly, Kesha pressed her palms to her flushed cheeks, trying to cool the burning heat.
“It’s a common issue for many women.”
Artia shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “Why are you suddenly so shy about this?”
“What’s your usual diet like?”
“Well… um… I mean… what have I even been eating all this time?”
After exchanging a few words with Kesha, Artia nodded while jotting notes on a piece of paper.
“No wonder you’re constipated.”
“R-really?”
“At this rate, the toilet won’t last long without getting clogged.”
Struck right at the core, Kesha lowered her gaze.
In truth, the toilet had recently failed to flush, leaving her in an awkward situation—but she’d been too embarrassed to tell anyone.
“Oh….”
“I’ll adjust your meal plan. Can you follow it?”
“Yes, yes!”
Kesha was puzzled.
Had she ever seen Artia’s eyes so clear and sparkling before?
It was the kind of look that only appeared when someone was truly excited.
Ever since yesterday, the Duchess—who’d previously looked like a lifeless corpse—had been acting strangely, and today she was saying even more bizarre things.
But soon, after seeing the meticulously organized diet and exercise plan Artia had written out, Kesha’s mouth fell open.
“Wow….”
“I kept it manageable so you won’t struggle too much to stick with it.”
“I-it feels plenty tough already….”
“Hmm.”
“…….”
“If you fail to stick with it, your entire monthly salary will go straight toward paying for a new toilet. Is that fine with you?”
At those words, Kesha fanned her crimson face with her hands.
“N-no!”
“Then starting today, you’ll follow this. Understood?”
“Yes, yes!”
Strangely enough, each word Artia spoke carried weight.
Feeling compelled to obey, Kesha nodded vigorously.
“It’s still before breakfast, right?”
“Yes.”
“Exercising on an empty stomach is best—like now.”
“Right?”
“Since it’s morning anyway, let’s exercise now.”
“Now? Here?”
“Yes. I need to exercise too.”
There was almost nothing her frail body could do.
Even the slightest movement exhausted her, so right now she had to focus entirely on building stamina.
Who knew?
Maybe she could even live a little longer than in the original story?
“Just follow me.”
Artia smiled gently, her expression radiating kindness as she looked at Kesha.
A moment later.
“How is it? Easy, right?”
“Haa… haa….”
Kesha collapsed onto the plush rug, gasping for breath.
“Haa… ha….”
“Already tired?”
“…….”
The brown-tinged rug was thoroughly soaked with Kesha’s sweat.
Outside the window, snow fell heavily, yet both of them were drenched in sweat.
‘What’s wrong? Why am I suddenly so dizzy?’
Artia felt her head spinning.
‘The rug looks like it’s doubled. I need to regain more strength.’
No matter how capable she’d been in her previous life, right now she was practically a walking corpse who could die at any moment.
Perhaps her eagerness to fill every gap was pushing her too hard.
If she kept going like this, the rug beneath her feet might as well become her grave.
“I’m done, so now I’ll watch you.”
“Haa… Ma…dam… spare… me…”
Kesha pleaded with a deathly expression.
Suddenly, Artia’s face turned frighteningly stern.
“One more set.”
“…….”
Seeing her 180-degree personality shift, Kesha felt as if she’d die if she didn’t move—so she found herself moving without even realizing it.
The Duke of Wellington’s study.
Cassus, who had dozed off on the study sofa, opened the remaining letter.
The red-sealed envelope bore Heidegger’s name.
‘So Father has gone to war.’
Cassus wasn’t overly concerned.
The unit led by Heidegger, the former Duke, had never lost a battle.
Though he’d suffered minor injuries a few times, Heidegger was considered a legend of the Felln Empire.
After all, there was even a saying: “If Heidegger appears, running away is your best option.”
He was that quick-witted and strategic.
He was also the one who elevated the Wellington name to great heights.
Now, of course, he’d passed the dukedom to his son and lived alone in another estate.
‘I’m sure he’ll handle this one well too.’
Cassus set aside the letter detailing his father’s deployment.
His lower back ached.
After pushing his body relentlessly all day, it was no surprise.
The pain had been there for so long it had almost dulled.
Even though those around him urged him to rest, Cassus ignored them.
Moreover, he disliked delegating tasks to others.
There was simply no one he trusted enough.
Zen, his bodyguard knight, was skilled only in physical matters.
He lacked the attention to detail needed for handling minor incidents and paperwork.
As Cassus reviewed documents again, back pain surged once more.
Suddenly, Artia came to mind.
The pain itself was nothing, but last night, Artia had precisely identified his condition—
And for that reason, she kept resurfacing in his thoughts whenever he tried to forget her.
“This is truly distracting.”
To clear his mind of useless thoughts, Cassus turned back to the letter from the Imperial Family.
“The tribute maidens system.”
After reading it, Cassus immediately clenched his teeth and tore the letter to shreds.
Torn pieces scattered across the floor.
‘I’ll absolutely stop this.’
A system requiring every commoner household to offer one daughter to a foreign nation.
He was appalled that such an inhumane proposal had even passed.
He couldn’t stand by while the Imperial Family treated people like objects.
“Young Master.”
“No, I don’t want it. I won’t eat.”
“Young Master, please….”
“Stop coming to me. It’s annoying.”
Leo, the Wellington estate’s troublemaker, had spent the entire day neither eating nor drinking—not even a sip of water—as he furiously swung his training sword at a straw dummy.
Swish!
His well-sharpened blade slashed the dummy diagonally.
Still unsatisfied, Leo proceeded to chop the split straw into tiny pieces.
After venting like this for a while, he turned to the knights in the training yard.
“You’ve all been going easy on me, haven’t you?”
“…….”
“That woman—I won’t let her off lightly. How dare she humiliate me.”
Leo imagined the dummy was Artia and hacked away mercilessly.
How much time had passed?
All 1,500 straw dummies in the training yard were now shredded.
Whoosh!
Straw pieces scattered and swirled violently across the ground.
The knights blinked, watching the airborne straw silently.
They felt utterly overwhelmed.
After all, cleaning up the straw piled across the quiet training yard fell entirely to them.
Leo, however, didn’t care at all—he simply wiped the sweat from his brow with one hand.
“I’ll definitely make her kneel before me and beg for forgiveness.”
Even after slicing every dummy, Leo shouted for more training equipment.
The knights didn’t know what to do with their childish, furious young master. They feared stepping in might draw his wrath.
The cold northern wind blew in.
But Leo merely clenched his teeth and returned to training, unfazed.
“My ultimate goal is for her to bow her head and cry before me. Heh heh.”
He engraved this goal deep into his heart.
Night fell.
Heidegger, who was on campaign, pulled his horse to a stop.
“Let’s rest briefly.”
“My lord, the snowstorm is worsening.”
His escorting knight spoke up.
“That’s not a problem.”
Heidegger loosened his reins and surveyed the surroundings.
After riding nonstop, everyone except him showed clear signs of exhaustion.
“Hmm.”
“We’ll likely arrive earlier than expected. According to the route, we’re near the Wellington estate. What should we do?”
Having already received a message via carrier pigeon about the Wellington household’s situation, Heidegger pondered.
Heidegger, the former Duke of Wellington, was fifty years old.
Yet everyone who saw him found it hard to believe his age.
His smooth, wrinkle-free skin and thick, jet-black hair gave him an overall refined appearance that clearly didn’t match his years.
His genetics—blessed by the gods with youth—had been fully passed down to his sons.
Especially his eldest son, Cassus, who inherited his father’s striking sea-blue eyes.
Heidegger slowly turned his horse’s reins and said,
“It wouldn’t be bad to drop by after so long.”
“Madam, did you hear the news?”
Kesha rushed in, flustered from being outside.
But Artia didn’t move a muscle, remaining exactly as she was—prone on the floor.
She’d been completely focused on exercising since morning, and now night was nearly upon them.
“……Madam?”
“Just a moment. Five seconds left.”
“…….”
“Five.”
“…….”
“Four.”
“…….”
“Three, two, one.”
Artia exhaled slowly and shifted from a plank position to sitting upright.
“That’s enough planking for now.”
“Madam… Aren’t you tired?”
Wiping her sweat with a towel, Artia replied indifferently,
“Not really.”
Though her words sounded casual, her arms—which had likely never lifted anything over a kilogram—were trembling slightly.
Yet Artia held her posture through sheer willpower.
Her face felt hot enough to burst, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she’d finished everything planned for the day.
Any fatigue from exercising could be recovered later at night with a massage.
“Whoa….”
Kesha’s jaw dropped involuntarily.
Artia, who hadn’t stopped moving even for a moment, now seemed truly admirable.
Her stamina was genuinely impressive.
How could such strength come from such a frail body?
Her pale, slender limbs looked like they’d snap with the slightest pressure.
Kesha couldn’t fathom what kind of technique allowed her madam to do this.
“Phew… What is it?”
“Oh—Former Duke Heidegger is coming to visit soon.”
“Former Duke Heidegger?”
Artia paused briefly, and memories of the original story flashed through her mind.
‘That’s Heidegger Wellington, isn’t it?’
He was Cassus’s father.
She didn’t recall reading that he’d ever visit the ducal estate.
He probably wouldn’t stay long then.
He must just be passing by and decided to drop in.
“When will he arrive?”
“Likely before dawn.”
“I see. By the way….”
Artia, having finished wiping her sweat, gave Kesha a meaningful smile.
Kesha tilted her head, puzzled by their eye contact.
“We haven’t finished yet, right?”
“Huh?”
“You.”
“…….”
“As far as I know, you still have a few sets left. Let me check the workout schedule again.”
“Heh heh….”
Feeling an ominous chill, Kesha stepped backward with an awkward laugh.
“We should sleep at night, Madam….”
“You can sleep plenty when you’re dead. But postponing today’s plan to tomorrow is worse than never making one at all.”
“…….”
“Besides, if you form that habit from the start, you’ll mess up the very first button—and everything after will get even harder.”
Like a cornered mouse, Kesha bit her lip and sent a pleading look.
Artia’s obsidian-like black eyes curved beautifully.
“You still have more.”
Despite her doll-like features—long lashes and delicate beauty—her words were utterly merciless.
“Ugh… hic….”
Creeeak—
The sound of the Duchess’s door closing echoed softly through the estate, muffling a faint sob.
It was a quiet night, snowstorm howling outside.
Since early morning, the Wellington estate’s staff had finished perfect preparations to ensure Heidegger’s visit was comfortable.
They now stood in a neat line at the estate’s entrance, ready to perform the welcoming ceremony.
Soon, Heidegger arrived, riding a magnificent horse and leading his knightly escort.
“Former Duke, you’ve arrived!”
“You’ve arrived!”
The staff’s loud, unified welcome rang out.
Simultaneously, jaws dropped inside the mansion.
Artia was among them.
‘Wow… So that’s the former Duke of House Wellington….’
The moment she saw Heidegger—who looked exactly like her husband—Artia felt her heart race violently.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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