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Chapter 21
My Hero, Our Mad Dog
He blocked her by the wall, trapping her in his arms. Frida, who was already small, looked even smaller now. Her white head was so tiny that one of his hands could easily cover it. Such a small woman, with such a delicate body, was worried about him—even though he was twice her size. And not just anyone, but Daniel Richard, a man who was sometimes called a mad dog or a hunting dog, more beast than human.
“Today’s Frida is confessing to today’s Duke. I like you.”
He remembered the confession he hadn’t taken seriously at first, and only now did he understand why he’d been so annoyed the last few days—at his wife or maybe at something he couldn’t even see.
“I like the Duchess. I like her a lot. More than Leopold.”
He realized he was afraid of remembering these damned words. Maybe that’s why he’d tried to brush it off, talking about duties or other useless things. He didn’t like how her clear, honest eyes reminded him of his own childish, innocent self from the past. Facing his own weak and narrow-minded side through someone else felt much worse than he thought. And it was pathetic. He didn’t know what was worse—loving someone and not having your feelings returned, or seeing the real side of the person you loved. Poor Frida had to go through both. His fist, which he’d been clenching tightly, lost all its strength. At the same time, he got angry. Damn that Empress Dowager. Wasn’t it enough to ruin his and his mother’s life? Why did she have to drag someone else into it, too? Daniel’s reddish-brown eyes started to look even more bloodshot.
‘Wow… He’s big.’
The first thing Frida thought when her husband got close was that he was just huge. The man’s big body completely filled her vision. She was surprised by the strong smell of sweat coming from him. His shirt was soaked and stuck to his chest—just how much did he exercise? Frida had never done anything very active in her life, so she didn’t know what it was like to sweat this much. That’s why Daniel’s heartbeat, so strong and fast, amazed her. Everything about him felt so alive and new. It hadn’t even been a month since he woke up, and he was already riding horses and training every day. He was really strong, she thought. Now she could believe he was a real swordsman, like Ricardo or Muriel.
She still remembered how shocked she was when she first helped him change clothes. His body was so hard it felt like stone. His face looked gentle, but his body was so tough and rough. She’d never seen such thick arms before. She couldn’t believe a man this strong could just lie in bed, unmoving. When they finally sold her bed and started sharing a room, she was scared to sleep beside him. But his body was warm. On cold winter nights, when she was too lazy to fix the fire or wolves howled loudly or the wind shook the windows, just having him beside her made her feel warm and safe. She never wished those days would last forever, but she also never thought she’d end up so close, smelling his sweat.
A drop of sweat on his sharp jaw was about to fall. Frida quickly lifted her sleeve to wipe it. Like an eagle catching its prey, Daniel grabbed her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“Y-You’re sweating so much. Oh, your eyes…”
Daniel let go of her arm, turned away, and covered his face. He walked over to get a drink of water, and Frida tilted her head.
‘That’s strange. I thought his eyes looked red.’
Ricardo and Dominic had warned her many times: If you see the Duke’s eyes turn red, you must run away. Don’t ask questions. Don’t say a word. Just run.
‘What do I do? Should I run?’
If her tutor from House Harkbourne saw her thinking like this, he would faint in shock. Frida reached for the doorknob behind her, just in case. Daniel gulped down his water and put the cup on the table.
“If you have nothing more to say, you can leave now.”
‘Nothing more to say?’ Frida suddenly remembered why she’d come and let go of the doorknob.
“Oh, right. Are you really going to duel Muriel tomorrow?”
“Yes, just like you heard.”
“Are you serious? The bet is huge now.”
“The bet?”
Daniel’s eyes, luckily, were their usual dark red. Feeling safer, Frida walked into the room.
“Everyone’s making bets on who will win tomorrow’s duel. The whole castle is excited. Even Adele says all the servants and mercenaries are betting money.”
In the kitchen, people were so busy putting down coins that she almost wanted to tell them to stop wasting their hard-earned money. Dominic told her to let them have fun.
“Let them be. It’s been a long time since we had something fun happen here. You should place a bet too, Duchess. Though, I think everyone already knows who will win.”
Since coming to the duchy, Frida had never seen people look so happy.
“Tomorrow, everyone will stop working and watch the duel.”
Daniel, sitting on the edge of the table, lifted his glass to drink. Through the half-full glass, he could see her worried purple eyes looking at him. He tried to remember the last time anyone had worried so much about him. Besides his mother, nobody ever seemed to care if he went to battle. Even when his mother was dying, she pretended to be calm. Now, his wife was showing all her feelings openly.
“So?”
“You should cancel the duel. If you wait too long, you won’t be able to back out. You’re not fully recovered yet. Fighting Muriel like this—if you get hurt, it will be terrible.”
Daniel couldn’t help but laugh. He wasn’t going to die or anything. But he could see she truly thought he would lose. He remembered, even before joining the mercenaries, he beat Dominic, who was two years older, when he was thirteen. At seventeen, he broke Ricardo’s sword. Since age nineteen, he fought in hundreds of battles for the Empress Dowager, never losing once. Frida’s innocent worry came from not knowing any of this.
“Then you should bet on Sir Rosivalt. Since the bet is so big, maybe you’ll make good money.”
“Well…”
The way she looked away told him everyone had probably bet on Muriel. Even as the undefeated Duke, people thought his skills must be rusty after not holding a sword for three years.
Daniel clenched and opened his fists, feeling the strength come back to his arm. When Frida found him behind the bookshelf, he had to block Muriel’s attack—back then, it felt different. He didn’t know how much of Muriel’s famous strength he could block. But defeating someone with a sword wasn’t just about strength. He was never the type to fight battles he couldn’t win. Most people didn’t realize his undefeated record came from his clever planning, not just power. And this time, the duel was for Muriel’s family sword, Koldar. Daniel was determined to win.
He stood up and stretched his stiff shoulders, walking to the window. The cool evening breeze helped dry his sweat. Frida followed him anxiously.
“Muriel trains every day. She never slacks off. You know her sword, right? It’s famous for cutting even thick trees in one swing…”
“Wife.”
Daniel turned to look at her, his short black hair blowing in the wind. He closed his eyes for a moment, then spoke softly.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“What?”
“I suddenly felt unwell and couldn’t do my duty as your wife. I’m sorry.”
He repeated the exact words from the note she’d sent before. Then he asked calmly,
“You look perfectly healthy now. I think you’re well enough to do your wifely duty.”
Her chatter suddenly stopped. Daniel waited for her answer. Even if she said yes, he didn’t plan to sleep with her tonight—he just wanted to end this talk and get back to training. He needed all his strength for tomorrow’s duel.
“Ah, I think you should wait a few more days…”
“What’s the reason this time?”
He hadn’t really cared, but his question slipped out before he could stop it. Frida hesitated, embarrassed.
“Um… I still… I’m not finished with my period yet.”
“…”
Daniel had never heard that word before, but he didn’t ask what it meant. Somehow, he felt he shouldn’t.
Thud thud, bang bang. Noisy footsteps echoed through Neuban Castle, where Marquis Updyke of Svergen’s border was staying. A blond young man slid down the stairs and ran toward a knight at the entrance.
“Is it true? Really? Has my hero, our mad dog Daniel, really woken up?”
