6. Taming the Tomboy

“I heard he has almost cut ties with the Count’s family and lives separately.”

“Still, if they’re brothers, they must look alike.”

Katya retorted petulantly.

Imagining a man who looked like Ivan made her feel nauseous.

She still regretted not beating him more thoroughly back then.

“They look so different you wouldn’t even know they’re brothers. This time, he’ll definitely meet your standards. Your ideal type is a handsome man skilled in martial arts, isn’t it?”

“Why are you leaving out personality?”

“Right. According to your ideal type, he also has a gentle and quiet personality.”

A handsome man who fights well and is gentle and quiet. Furthermore, as a soldier and jousting champion, he was sure to have a solid physique.

If her father, who had an excellent sense of aesthetics, guaranteed it, he must have an extraordinary appearance.

Imagining the face of a beautiful young man, Katya couldn’t stop her heart from swaying like a reed.

For a moment, she recalled the face of the man she saw at the market, who resembled a temple mural.

‘Well, if he looks like that…’

Seeing his daughter’s brightening expression, the Duke smiled and began writing a reply.

“Then I’ll send a response accepting the invitation.”

“Father, I haven’t answered yet.”

“Your face already says you want to meet him.”

At those words, Katya, who was about to soar with excitement at the thought of meeting the object of her admiration, lowered her head.

To Katya, this was no longer a matchmaking meeting.

It was a fan meeting.

***

The anticipated day of the matchmaking arrived. The carriage carrying Katya arrived at Petrovsky’s villa around noon.

“Welcome, Lady.”

Katya, who got off the carriage, was guided to the drawing room by the butler managing the villa.

The building was vast and splendid, almost too grand to be used solely as a villa.

They said their fortune had declined due to successive business failures, but they seemed to have enough money to maintain such a villa.

Katya clicked her tongue inwardly.

‘With such lavish spending, who knows if they’ll end up begging the eldest son they cut ties with?’

She had already made up her mind before coming here.

She had no intention of accepting the proposal. No matter how estranged he was, it was inevitable that he would return to the Count’s family if the Count died.

With Ivan as the second son, there were practically no alternatives.

That would mean she would have to see Ivan eventually.

Imagining him smirking and calling her ‘sister-in-law’ made her want to kick him.

‘That must never happen, not even in dreams.’

She came here today solely for the purpose of a fan meeting. After a friendly chat, she planned to politely decline.

She was curious about what kind of sword and firearms he preferred. The thought of having a long chat about modern weapons, swordsmanship, and shooting excited her.

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

“May I come in?”

It was a very low and calm voice, like an echo in a cave.

The image of a polite, quiet handsome man naturally formed in her mind.

“Come in.”

And as soon as the door opened, the imagination that filled her head shattered.

Ivan, mimicking his brother’s voice, entered with a snicker.

“Did you expect my brother? Katya, that polite tone doesn’t suit you at all.”

“Where’s your brother?”

“He’s in the North, of course. He cut ties with our family, so why would he come if I called?”

“Then what about the proposal?”

“I can steal the family seal, and an expert did a great job imitating his handwriting.”

Both her father and she had been completely fooled by Ivan’s trick.

Grinding her teeth, Katya pondered how to deal with this man who had ruined everything.

He had crossed a line that should not be crossed.

Tampering with a marriage proposal sent in the family’s name was indefensible, especially if the Duke’s side decided to take legal action.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m deciding whether to beat you personally or leave it to the law.”

“The latter seems unlikely, doesn’t it? It would be ridiculous for a wife to sue her husband.”

“Hah, husband? You must still be drunk.”

“A letter written in your handwriting will be sent to the Duke tonight.”

“In my handwriting?”

“It wasn’t hard to find. I traced that unique sword you were holding and found the shop.”

Katya didn’t need to hear more to understand. He must have stolen the documents she signed when placing the deposit.

“Since the older brother couldn’t come because he’s busy, Ivan came out to greet you personally. He had matured and become polite, and after a chat, misunderstandings were cleared, and you fell in love with each other.”

“……”

“Well, since it’s a letter from a daughter to her father, I left out the part about matching bodies, as it seemed indecent.”

“You have a knack for expressing a death wish in a unique way.”

When she stood up to slap him, Ivan grabbed her.

“Don’t you get it yet? You’re trapped here until the day before the wedding.”

“What?”

“The carriage you came in has already been sent back, and officially, you’re resting at the groom’s house due to a cold caught during a night walk. The letter will say you’re receiving bridal training and wedding preparation help from the Countess, in place of your late mother.”

As the furious Katya struggled, Ivan released her wrist, which had turned white from lack of circulation.

She began throwing whatever she could grab at him. The teacup and vase that grazed his cheek shattered against the wall.

The fragments shattered.

“You’d better skip dinner today. The butler will show you to your room, so get some rest.”

“Do you really think I’ll marry someone like you after all this?”

“If not, I’ll reveal the secret you’ve been hiding all this time. Are you okay with that?”

Ivan said nonchalantly, rubbing his scratched cheek with the back of his hand.

“A secret… What are you talking about?”

He whispered something softly into Katya’s ear. Hearing Ivan’s words, Katya’s hand fell helplessly to the floor.

“How do you know that…?”

“Did you think I’d jump into marrying you without any background check?”

As expected, Ivan’s threat was effective. It was a critical weakness that no one should ever know.

“Now do you understand why you have to marry me? Of course, if you marry me, I’ll take it to the grave.”

Shocked, Katya seemed at a loss for words and couldn’t respond further.

For now, there was no choice but to accept the marriage.

***

As Ivan had anticipated, the Duke of Smirnov was overjoyed at his daughter’s engagement.

He wasn’t fond of Ivan himself, but if his daughter loved him so much, he was willing to accept him as family.

For several days, Katya smashed household items and slapped Ivan every time she saw him, but after a week, she was too exhausted to continue.

Ivan began taming the tomboy. When she acted out, he subdued her with force and locked her in her room without food for the day.

Throughout the wedding preparations, he tormented Katya.

The news of Katya’s marriage made the men of Padovangrad rejoice, and the rumor quickly spread to neighboring cities in the southern region.

The Duke of Smirnov was so delighted by his daughter’s joyous occasion that he donated large sums to each city, and the southern region was in a festive mood day after day.

Unaware of Katya’s confinement, the people of the Duke’s household were also happy, making Katya the only unhappy person in Padovangrad.

“It’s burnt, isn’t it? I should just fire the cook. There’s no way such lowly food would suit our lady’s taste.”

Whenever she reached for food out of hunger, Ivan would snatch the plate away and mock her like that.

When Katya cooperated with the wedding preparations, thinking she could secretly escape the villa, Ivan became even more malicious, dissatisfied with her compliance.

Even the Petrovsky family, who had no expectations for their disreputable son, sent a famous tailor from the capital when he brought the Smirnov family as in-laws.

When Katya chose a wedding dress, Ivan would tear it apart, saying it couldn’t possibly suit the lady’s taste, leaving the tailor aghast.

“You must not have met northern men. Compared to them, I’m quite kind.”

Whenever Ivan spouted such nonsense, Katya pretended to agree, listening with one ear and letting it out the other.

“Northern men are generally gruff and blunt. Just look at the Grand Duke. What good is being handsome if everyone shudders at the mere mention of his name?”

“……”

“Oh, you probably don’t know about the newly enthroned Grand Duke, do you? Well, even in the North, it’s kept hush-hush. He hasn’t married yet. To be precise, he can’t.”

“Is that so?”

Katya mechanically replied with a soulless answer.

“Northern families with daughters of marriageable age are desperate to marry them off quickly. Families with daughters before their coming-of-age ceremony are trembling, fearing a marriage proposal from the Grand Duke.”

“I see.”

“Haven’t you heard of the Bloody Grand Duke? Right after ascending, he killed the tutor from the Grand Duke’s household who taught him. The professor, retired from the academy in the capital, caused a huge uproar in academic circles. After that, he sent many others he disliked to the afterlife.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Do you know how the Grand Duke kills people? According to rumors, he invites them over and serves them tea.”

“Tea?”

For the first time, Katya asked a question, breaking her pattern of similar responses.

“In the Eastern Continent, they give a deadly tea to criminals during executions. The tea served by the Grand Duke is a kind of deadly tea. But strangely, even after an autopsy, no poison is found, so it’s ruled as a mysterious death. That’s why they call it the Tea of Death.”

“……”

“If you step into the Grand Duke’s household, trusting only in a handsome face, you won’t even retrieve a body.”

“Why can’t they retrieve the body?”

“In case they cause a fuss about a re-autopsy, the Grand Duke would dispose of it. The disposal of the body is entirely at the husband’s discretion. A wife is her husband’s property. Does that fact change even in death?”

A wife is her husband’s property.

That was a common saying in the western continent. It was no exaggeration to say that family laws were based on that notion.

Although there were men like Katya’s father, who loved and treated their wives equally regardless of such sentiments, they were extremely rare.

Though the situation was better than the polygamous eastern continent, Katya found the world where such sentiments prevailed to be horrifying.

Feeling uneasy, she looked down at the tea in her cup.

Seeing Katya’s reaction, Ivan laughed as if he found it cute.

“I don’t know how to get such poison. And why would I kill you? You’re a treasure that’s rolled in like a vine.”

Katya muttered to herself, feeling a chill down her spine at his greasy remark.

“Consider yourself lucky that you’re marrying me and not the Grand Duke.”