“Are you looking at other men while leaving your fiancé behind?”

“Oh, no.”

Nikolai suppressed his boiling jealousy and offered her a cup of tea, knowing she had a dry throat from eating only snacks.

“Have some black tea.”

“Oh, okay, okay, I know it was wrong, but you’re not going to kill me for it, are you?”

“I don’t know what to say in front of you. Isn’t that a threat?”

“Oh, I got scared for no reason. Whenever the topic of tea comes up from the Duke, I can’t help but get nervous.”

Katya chuckled and accepted the teacup, sipping the lukewarm tea.

As she drank, Nikolai suddenly rested his arm on the back of her chair. At the same time, with his other hand, he gently brushed aside the bangs that fell onto her forehead.

It was a self-assured posture.

The Grand Duke was handsome overall, but his right side, in particular, was radiant, as women praised. There had been moments when people were intoxicated by his beauty.

“I guarantee you, I’ll be the most impressive today.”

He confidently assured her.

“Oh, really?”

The soulless banter struck a nerve with Nikolai.

“I’m also an official knight. If I dress in full plate armor, you’ll probably be completely captivated by my charm, won’t you?”

“Since you have a handsome face, of course, you’ll be the most impressive.”

Katya playfully help up both her thumbs and made an exaggerated compliment.

Nikolai became extremely displeased with her automatic response, aimed at appeasing his whims.

Even compliments about his looks, which always thrilled him, didn’t register in his ears today.

“It’s not just my face. I have no match in martial arts either.”

“I know. Who would be a match for the Grand Duke? You’re the best!”

“You have no sense of respect. You have no talent for flattery either.”

“Grand Duke, what’s the point of competing with the knights? You’re the most powerful person in Hersen.”

“So, literally speaking, I’m also the strongest in terms of physical strength.”

Nikolai suddenly felt ridiculous explaining why he had to say this.

Katya still had an unbelieving expression.

It seemed that she couldn’t imagine a man who was perfect in every way, like himself, could exist.

According to an ancient saying from the East, seeing is believing.

Actions spoke louder than words.

“I’ll show you properly today, so judge with your own eyes.”

***

Unfortunately, despite his confident words, Nikolai couldn’t demonstrate the ‘impressive figure’ of overpowering Katya in a duel.

No, he couldn’t even engage in a duel in the first place.

It was because all the knights of the ducal house exercised their right of refusal.

“Would I like to risk another broken arm in a duel with Your Highness? I refuse.”

“You’re lucky you only have an arm. My leg was fractured to the point where I couldn’t even walk and had to lie motionless until the bones healed. Absolutely not.”

“If I had been protecting Your Highness and got injured, I wouldn’t say a word. But I couldn’t even open my mouth because my jaw was all swollen.”

“The chief physician of the knights is not present. Do you really want to see me get injured in a duel?”

Moreover, since the knights who accompanied him from the Souths were in an even number, one of them would be left unable to train if one faced the Duke.

Nikolai turned his head towards Boris.

“I refuse!”

“But I haven’t said anything yet.”

“I am a literary scholar through and through, it’s not possible.”

“So, you think you know what I was going to say?”

“It’s not possible.”

Nikolai cut Boris off before he could even ask for a duel.

Frustrated by the situation that didn’t go along with his intentions, Nikolai ruffled his hair in exasperation.

Today was supposed to be the day he showed Katya the bravest and strongest knight in Hersen.

It felt like the heavens were not on his side.

As he was lost in thought, someone poked his back with a finger.

“Your Highness.”

“I understand, so you can have a duel amongst yourselves.”

Without even turning around, Nikolai flicked his hand as if he were bothered.

“Your Highness.”

“That’s enough—”

He stopped in surprise when he turned around with an annoyed expression.

Katya was standing there, and it seemed like she had been watching from the shade of a tree, fearing her face would get sunburned.

His mind was so preoccupied that he didn’t catch her voice at all.

“Why are you here? I told you to watch from a cool place.”

“You don’t have anyone to duel with?”

“Oh, yeah. It might be a bit difficult today. I’ll show you next time.”

“Then should I do it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“A duel with Your Highness.”

At that remark, the attention of the knights of the ducal house, who were warming up, suddenly shifted to this fearless woman.

For a moment, Nikolai thought he had misheard, and his brain reacted with a delay, followed by a laugh.

His head and body moved separately like a cursed wooden doll.

“…What?”

“I want to duel with you.”

He hadn’t misheard.

It felt like her dignity was being questioned, and her ears were about to burst.

See, I heard it correctly!

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Why?”

“Well….”

Whether it was a duel or an actual fight, the ‘Grand Duke of Blood’ couldn’t bear to see Katya get hurt, gripping both her arms and sighing unconsciously.

“What can you possibly do with those frail arms and small frame….”

“I think I mentioned it before, but I’m taller than the average person in the South. My weight is also more than you might expect.”

“Tia, you are so precious to me. I can’t bear to see you get hurt again in front of me.”

Nikolai explained as carefully as possible, afraid of upsetting her.

The knights erupted in protest.

“Oh, so we’re not precious children, is that what you’re saying?”

“Are we not precious enough so we’re beaten to a pulp?”

“We’re offended, Your Highness!”

“We’re precious children at home too!”

“Cough–!”

Nikolai, who turned around and gave a warning with his eyes, looked back at Katya with an affectionate gaze.

“It’s because people from the Northern region are all big, and the Grand Duke looks like a giant. I’m also quite strong and muscular. Look.”

Katya rolled up her dress sleeves and showed her fair and smooth forearms.

After she held his hand, she asked him to touch her arm.

“It’s firm, right?”

Although she exerted some strength, to Nikolai, her arm felt incredibly soft, like kneaded dough.

Moreover, it lacked flesh, so even with a little pressure, he could feel the bones.

In comparison to the muscular bodies of the knights he had knocked down during his training, her arms and legs looked like thin branches.

Even with heels on, her head didn’t reach his shoulder, so he had to look down at her for quite a while.

Dueling with such a delicate woman?

“Are you ignoring me because I’m not a knight and unfit to be Your Highness’s sparring partner?”

“I’m not ignoring you–!”

I’m just concerned.

Nikolai felt a pang of sadness as he thought his intentions were being misunderstood.

While he was worried, Katya was happily smiling.

“If that’s not the case, then let’s do it.”

“Ha… Fine, let’s do it.”

With a sense of resistance, Nikolai handed her the sword that he had placed beside him.

Feeling the weight, Katya’s body involuntarily tensed up.

As she tried to draw the sword from its sheath, Nikolai stopped her.

“Don’t take it out in case you get hurt. Just leave it as it is.”

Katya nodded as if she understood.

Although she was confident in her marksmanship, she wasn’t skilled in handling a sword.

The only time she’d ever wielded a real sword was when she’d swung a shamshir at Nikolai, mistakenly thinking he’d been sent by Ivan.

In the meantime, the Grand Duke had fetched a wooden sword from the pile of luggage.

Although it was intended for training, none of the knights used it, claiming that it didn’t feel right in their hands.

“While swinging a real sword at us.”

“Shh.”

Someone silenced the chattering knight.

Everyone watched the two of them in silence.

It was a duel between the Grand Duke and the future Grand Duchess. It was an unprecedented spectacle.

The duel began.

The fight was more intense than expected.

Nikolai was trying his best to hold back his strength, but considering the overwhelming difference in physique, Katya’s skill was surprisingly formidable.

Nikolai noticed that Katya’s breathing had become rough due to facing a burly man under the scorching sun, so he quickly aimed for a decisive blow to end the confrontation.

As Katya stepped back, the necklace she was wearing got caught on the sword Nikolai swung, and it snapped.

It was the pocket watch he had picked up for her during their first encounter.

Her father had given it as a birthday gift, and since she dropped it that day, Katya made it into a necklace and wore it whenever she went out, afraid of losing it again.

Distracted by the necklace that disappeared in an instant, leaving her neck feeling empty, Katya unconsciously looked down at the ground and took a step back.

Due to that, her body stumbled on a tree root that suddenly jutted out from the ground, causing her to lose her balance and sway backward.

Thinking she was about to fall, Katya tightly closed her eyes.

“Tia!”

Nikolai immediately threw the sword aside and rushed towards her.

In the slippery mud after the rain, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

The two bodies intertwined and fell to the ground.

When Katya opened her closed eyes, she found Nikolai right in front of her.

He was lying beneath her, trapped between her arms.

Their gazes met.

Feeling the tense atmosphere, Boris took Laika and the knights who had accompanied Katya and retreated from the scene.

“Are you hurt?”

Nikolai asked gently.

“What about Your Highness?”

“I’m fine. By the way, you should gain some weight. You’ve been feeling it for a while, you’re too light.”

“Are you really not hurt?”

Katya asked in a rhetorical manner, helping Nikolai sit up.

She carefully examined his body, checking for any injuries in every nook and cranny, then shot him an angry look again.

“Why did you do that? What if you hit your head? What would I do then?”

“……”

“Don’t do that next time! It’s truly dangerous!”

Nikolai tightly held her hand, calming her down, and softly called their nickname.

“Tia.”

“Why?”

“You always make me afraid.”

He had never been afraid until he met Katya.

But at some point, everything surrounding her began to frighten him.

Now, every time he saw her, he felt fear in every moment.

“I’m constantly worried that even the wind might harm you.”

You’ll probably never understand these feelings of mine.