T/N: I’m revising this novel for better translations so updates will be added gradually.
1. The Crazy Xs of This Area
“What, what did you just say?”
Katya asked with a face of disbelief.
‘Did I suddenly go deaf without realizing it?’
Recently, she had been practicing shooting so much that her ears were buzzing, and she was sure something was wrong with her hearing.
Otherwise, there was no way the man sitting across the table could have said such a thing to her.
The man who had dropped such a bombshell was, instead, smiling leisurely.
“I said I want to marry you.”
The man kindly reminded her of what he had just said.
“Why?”
“Why would I want to get married? Because I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“No, I mean, when did you fall in love with me?”
Katya asked, feeling absurd.
She could understand if it were her beautiful and gentle younger sister Bianca, but she couldn’t believe he had fallen for her.
After witnessing her behavior, did he really want to marry her?
The man looked at her with eyes that seemed unable to resist how lovable she was.
“The moment you treated me roughly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”
“It must have been serious if you almost stopped breathing. Then maybe you should see a doctor instead of doing this, huh?”
“I’ve been to the doctor. They said there’s nothing wrong with my respiratory system or heart. Only you can heal me. It’s lovesickness.”
Even though they were speaking the same language, they couldn’t communicate.
He was bombarding Katya with a series of confessions.
Other men who approached her for her substantial dowry usually withdrew their proposals and left by this point.
But the man in question was Grand Duke Nikolai de Vasily, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Hersen. Compared to the rulers of neighboring countries, he was known for his wealth, so he certainly didn’t need money.
Moreover, he was infamous in the north as a mad tyrant who killed many people as soon as he ascended to the position of Grand Duke.
‘I have a bad temper, but at least I haven’t killed anyone!’
Of course, she often threatened to kill, but still.
Now that she knew his identity, she couldn’t behave rudely like before.
If she upset him any further, her trip to the afterlife was guaranteed.
To think she was the first woman to treat the man known as the ‘Bloody Grand Duke’ roughly. It was a wonder she was still alive.
“I’m the notorious madwoman… no, tomboy of this area. Do you really think I’m fit to be a Grand Duchess?”
Katya asked as politely as possible, suppressing her frustration.
“I’m not second to anyone in that area either. The madman of the north and the villainess of the south, don’t we make a good pair?”
No, where are you comparing yourself? Your Grace, you’ve killed people!
Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud.
“You’ve seen how it is. A madman like me needs someone like you to keep me in check. You make me want to be gentle.”
“Are you looking for… a bride or a handler?”
“I think you could be both. I assure you, you have a talent for it.”
This man had no intention of listening to her, and he was even discovering her talents.
“But why haven’t you taken a sip since earlier? It’s tea from the north, and it tastes good.”
Nikolai said, offering the tea.
At his words, Katya looked at the teacup in front of her and shivered.
She also liked tea. There was nothing happier than dipping cookies in milk tea.
The tea itself was innocent. The man who brought it was the problem.
There were rumors that he sent poisoned tea to his enemies or those who displeased him.
“Are you worried it’s poisoned?”
Nikolai asked, pretending to be serious.
“No! That’s not it—cough, cough!”
Startled by his accurate guess, Katya began coughing, and he burst into laughter.
“Is it true then? Why would I come to propose and then kill you?”
“You might kill me because you’re angry I rejected you.”
“Are you going to reject me?”
One of his eyebrows raised in dissatisfaction.
Katya was scared, but she decided to make her position clear, fearing she might really end up marrying him.
Whether she died now or later, it was all the same–dying.
“Let’s say I marry you, Your Grace. But we might not get along, and if I ask for a divorce, you’ll kill me, won’t you?”
“What do I gain from that?”
“I don’t know… a sense of conquest?”
“I’d like you to conquer me a bit instead.”
This frightening man skillfully countered her words like a sly snake.
“Your Grace, people can’t be fixed.”
“That’s why I came to you, the only one who can.”
“No, I mean me. You won’t be able to fix me.”
“Why should I fix you? What’s wrong with you?”
“Are you saying that because you really don’t know? A dutiful wife, a kind mother, those things are completely out of reach for me in this life.”
Katya had no intention of becoming the ideal wife and mother that others expected.
That was not her calling.
But strangely, Nikolai seemed satisfied with her answer.
“If you don’t change, I’d be grateful. I don’t need a dutiful wife or a kind mother. I fell for you as you are now.”
“What?”
“I like you just the way you are. Does that answer your question?”
Nikolai, with his handsome face, smiled brightly.
Nikolai and Katya. Truly a combination of madness.
Having lived as the ‘madwoman of this area,’ no, a tomboy, for 12 years, a major trial had come to Katya’s single life.
***
Why did Katya become a tomboy?
This story goes back 12 years.
Padovangrad, a large city located in the south of the Grand Duchy of Hersen.
Duke Baptiski Smirnov, the wealthiest man in the southern region, had two famous daughters.
Unlike the beautiful and gentle younger sister Bianca, the eldest, Katya, made a name for herself in a different way.
The event that led to her being called the ‘Villainess of the South’ happened when Katya was nine years old.
That day, northern nobles seeking investment from the Smirnov family visited the Duke’s residence.
“Greetings to Your Grace the Duke.”
“You’ve worked hard to come all this way.”
“The Duchess seems to be becoming more beautiful by the day.”
Even before taking out their business plans, the nobles began flattering them.
“Haha, I agree! That’s why the young ladies are so stunning as well.”
“Indeed. Even in the north, families with sons are already lining up.”
“Our children have met the young ladies before. Kids, what are you doing? Hurry up and greet Their Graces!”
The noblewomen who accompanied their husbands called out to their young sons dawdling in the garden.
The boys, around Katya’s age, stood in front of their parents with disgruntled expressions.
“Oh, now that I think about it, I remember seeing them when we went to the north for a vacation.”
The Duchess of Smirnov smiled warmly at the children.
“They were so young then that the young ladies might not remember.”
At that moment, the Duke’s daughters came running down the stairs.
Katya, with her strawberry blonde hair, and Bianca, with her platinum blonde hair, looked like small, pretty dolls.
At the appearance of the sisters, the boys, who had been pouting with swollen faces, noticeably brightened.
“Katya, Bianca. How many times have I told you not to run?”
The Duke called out to his daughters with a stern face.
The northern nobles assumed the sisters were about to be scolded.
Even though the Duke adored his daughters, it was against etiquette for young ladies to run around boisterously.
“You might get hurt if you run.”
Contrary to the nobles’ expectations, the Duke added with eyes that seemed to drip honey.
He was indeed a notorious doting father.
“Father, Mother! Laika had puppies!”
Katya looked up at her parents with sparkling eyes. Laika was the borzoi hunting dog the Duke kept.
For safety reasons, the Duke and Duchess had kept the news of the newborn puppies from the sisters until they grew a bit.
The sisters were excited at the thought of seeing the adorable puppies.
“Greet the guests and then go see them.”
At the Duchess’s words, Katya firmly grabbed her skirt with both hands and bowed.
“I am Katarina Smirnov.”
Bianca, who had come down the stairs later, following her quick-footed sister, saw the boys and hid behind the Duchess.
“Oh my, it seems Lady Bianca is quite shy.”
“It’s a virtue for a young lady to be bashful, hahaha!”
Under the laughing nobles, Katya looked back and forth between the boys and her sister.
While the boys were trying to make a good impression on the sisters by paying attention to their appearance, Bianca retreated further into hiding.
Something definitely felt off.
“Then we’ll be going.”
Katya took her sister’s hand and headed outside, brushing past the boys.
The ignored boys quickly transformed their expressions into malicious ones. The tallest among them asked the Duke.
“Where’s Laika? We want to go see her too.”
It was Ivan, the second son of Count Petrovsky. After getting the answer he wanted from the Duke, Ivan giggled as if mischief had been activated.
***
“I knew it.”
Katya nodded as Bianca explained everything to her.
“Sister, I don’t want to play with them…”
“Don’t worry, I deliberately took a route they can’t follow.”
If they got lost in the vast duke’s residence, it would serve them right.
“My lady, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
The Duchess’s and the ladies’ maid, Alyona, came running breathlessly carrying the sisters’ coats.
If even she, who knew the sisters’ movements well, took this long, it would be nearly impossible for the boys.
Nasty little brats. Katya swallowed those words to maintain her dignity.
***
When Katya arrived at the backyard later, she was horrified. And she regretted.
Regretted calling them just nasty little brats. They were demons.
Led by Ivan, the boys had cornered the mother dog Laika and were shooting toy guns at her.
Laika was enduring it silently. Probably thinking if she just endured it until the end, they wouldn’t harm her puppies.
Bianca burst into tears as soon as she witnessed this atrocity.
“Waaahh–”
Katya, snapping to her senses, immediately charged at the little demons.
The young masters toppled like dominoes from her elbow push.
