The Northern Mad Dog Wags It’s Tail

Lord Slanford’s eyes glinted with jealousy so intense that it was frightening. Britia couldn’t help but be silenced by his gaze. She felt a different kind of fear from Sig Turas.

“I’ll never forgive him.”

Sig was much scarier in appearance, but his eyes were pure, like a newborn puppy, compared to the man in front of her.

“Sig Turas is the perfect man. Got it?”

The lord sharply questioned her, causing Britia to shift uncomfortably.

“N-no, I don’t know!”

If only she had said she didn’t know. Britia was now extremely flustered.

“You said you were friends with him!”

His eyes became even more hostile than before.

Britia was bewildered. If it wasn’t this or that, what did he want? Did he just want her to stay silent and listen to him?

“Why are you staying silent? Did someone sew your mouth shut?”

But that wasn’t it either. Britia looked at him with frightened eyes, as the charming man of high society had disappeared long ago, replaced by a rough and venomous man.

“Listen well. He is a man who can rival me.”

The Marquis suddenly began to speak.

“Harty Slanford, the only heir of the Slanford family, was born with a brilliant mind and a face so beautiful that even angels would go blind.”

Britia’s expression grew narrow. Harty Slanford was the man he was referring to. If that was the case, his evaluation of himself was even worse than Crave’s.

“But beauty is always fragile. That was Harty’s fate, which he couldn’t escape.”

“Are you referring to yourself as if you were someone else, calling yourself Harty?”

Britia asked, doubting her own ears. The Marquis’s expression darkened in response.

“I said no one is allowed to interrupt me, didn’t I?”

Under his fierce gaze, Britia had no choice but to remain silent.

“Harty’s parents, who were worried about his health, prohibited him from sailing. The sun was too harsh for the delicate skin of a beauty.”

He sighed heavily, placing his hand on his forehead.

“But one day, Harty’s cousin made an arrogant comment. He said that Harty’s arms were too thin to even row a boat.”

His brow furrowed slowly.

“Harty sailed alone to flatten his cousin’s nose who boasted so much.”

Britia listened to his story in confusion. She wondered how long this story would go on and why he suddenly started talking about it.

“That little boy went all the way to the middle of the river by himself.”

Could she jump into the river and swim to the riverbank? The Marquis clapped his hands together sharply, noticing Britia’s different thoughts.

“How dare you think differently while I’m speaking?”

“No, I was listening. You said he rowed alone,” Britia replied, looking at the man with wandering eyes.

“But that was his limit. He was too weak to hold onto the oars, so he collapsed on the bottom of the boat.”

In fact, he had thrown up and collapsed, but the viscount left that part out.

“Oh dear, what happened?”

Britia tried to show that she was listening, but Slanford’s face twisted.

“Don’t interrupt my story.”

“The sun was like a knife scraping Harty’s skin. He was so dehydrated that he couldn’t even move a finger.”

A tear glistened in the viscount’s eyes.

“Poor Harty cursed his cousin who made him that way and struggled through his hardships. But then, Sig Turas suddenly appeared!”

His cold gaze softened momentarily.

“Sig protected Harty from the scorching sun that was hurting him and found him when he collapsed.”

Britia finally realized why the Marquis suddenly switched from talking about the perfect man, Sig Turas, to his childhood story. In short, Sig was his savior. 

“He didn’t even care about getting his clothes dirty and helped me move Harty to safety.”

“Dirty?” 

“…Of course, the bottom of the boat was covered in dust. I told you not to interrupt me.”

When Slanford opened his triangular eyes and glared at her, Britia shut her mouth and nodded.

“If Harty had died then, oh, how great a loss it would have been for the world.”

Britia couldn’t figure out what to say while looking at him with relief. She thought it was better that he didn’t want a response and had asked her to be quiet.

“I may not have the same bond with him, but Sig Turas did something good for society that will never be seen again in his physique, his dominance, and his young age. He’s perfect in every way.”

The Marquis spoke ecstatically. Britia slowly nodded her head as she felt like she knew something. She wondered if he had feelings for Sig.

“Hey, that look in your eyes feels very disrespectful. You don’t think I like him, right?”

Britia was taken aback. She hadn’t said a word, so how did he know?

“I recognize and respect him as a human who has reached the same level of perfection as me.”

He stated bluntly.

“Besides, I’m not someone who loves anyone. I’m someone who is loved regardless of gender.”

He lifted his chin.

“For someone like me to love someone? Where is such a waste in the world?”

Britia couldn’t understand what the man in front of her was saying, and her lips hung open in surprise.

“Don’t you understand? Of course not. A woman like you, who is far from perfection, would never understand even if she died and came back to life.”

He smirked.

“A perfect person cannot be connected to anyone in particular. That’s fate.”

He sighed, holding his right cheek.

“Sig Turas was really a flawless man, like a fresh white snow. But then, impure beings like you dared to interfere and tarnished his honor!”

His tail slammed against the bottom of the boat. Britia was startled and moved away from him.

“There is a rumor in society that he has rejected you. Such an insult!”

“I told you it’s not true!”

Britia shouted loudly.

“Of course, it’s nonsense! Do you think I would believe such ridiculous rumors? It’s obviously baseless gossip!”

“Then why are you doing this to me?”

“The problem is that his reputation has been tarnished because of these false rumors!”

“I didn’t spread any of those rumors!”

The golden tail moved threateningly, as if he would attack Britia at any moment.

“If it was you who spread them, do you think I would have left you alone until now?”

“Then go find the person who spread the rumors and talk to them!”

Slanford grabbed Britia’s arm, despite her asking him not to.

“I’ll deal with you first, the person who caused the rumors!”

“What are you saying?”

“I’ll tear you apart!”

Britia’s mouth hung open in shock.

This man is definitely not in his right mind! Even if his clothes are heavy, it might be safer to just jump into the river.

Feeling threatened, Britia thought she had to get away from him first.

“Let go of me.”

As Britia became more desperate and tried to stand up, the Marques grabbed her shoulder.

“I said let go!”

As they struggled, they both fell into the river in an instant.

“Save me!”

Britia desperately tried to stay afloat, but her dress was too heavy. She realized that jumping into the river and trying to swim to the shore was a foolish idea.

Then, she saw the Marquis’s hand holding onto the hem of her dress. She realized that it was his grip that made the dress so heavy.

“Help me!”

Because of the Marquis’s attempt to drag her into the river, Britia couldn’t swim. The more she struggled to breathe, the more exhausted she became.

Suddenly, a tremendous force pulled her up to the surface.

It was Sig!

At that moment, Britia felt as though she was about to die for real. She had thought that she would become a cursed ghost, doomed to haunt the riverbed for all eternity. But now, overwhelmed with relief and gratitude, tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

“Thank you so much.”

“I’ve been searching for you,” Sig said, pulling a leaf from Britia’s forehead.

“You’ve been looking for me?” Britia asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Turas-nim!” Slanford exclaimed, but he had been bested by Sig.

“You saved my life not once, but twice,” Slanford said.

Sig was taken aback by the passion in the man’s voice, and he narrowed his eyes in response.

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude. My heart feels like it’s going to burst with it.”

“Well, I couldn’t just leave someone drowning, could I?” 

Sig removed his hand from the marquis’s grip, and the marquis bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the ground.

“You are so humble…truly a perfect lord,” Slanford breathed, his voice trembling.

Sig blinked slowly as he looked at him. He felt like he should remember this blond man, but he couldn’t recall anything about him.

“Britia, you’re safe.”

Slanford, who had been wiping his face with both hands, suddenly noticed Britia and narrowed his eyes.

“I told you it was dangerous to stand up so suddenly on a boat. I almost died too,” he said.

Britia was speechless. She had almost died herself when the boat overturned and she was caught by the ankle. Was he blaming her for what happened?

“Are you cold?”

Britia shuddered at the sight of his smile, but Sig thought she was shivering from the cold and hurriedly fussed over her.

“Here, take this,” Sig said, draping his coat over her shoulders.