Chapter 77
Unfortunately, rather than fortunately, Ruan didn’t have another chance to be kissed by the Grand Duke for quite some time after that.
After the day when the Grand Duke hurriedly returned to the walls, the monsters kept coming back just when everyone thought, “This must be it for today,” and then coming again, over and over.
Even though there was more leeway in battle, there was no force that could replace the Grand Duke, Reinke’s strongest knight. Due to the unrelenting battles, the Grand Duke was inevitably tied to the walls.
He rarely had a chance to meet Ruan, let alone kiss him. As days went by, the Grand Duke’s frustration grew, and consequently, his ferocity in slaughtering monsters intensified.
As rumors spread about the Grand Duke’s ominous mood, Ruan’s worry deepened day by day. Just when the Grand Duke’s nerves, experiencing the feeling of utter frustration for the first time in his life, had worn down to their limit…
Finally, the monster wave ended.
* * *
The Grand Duke, who had been endlessly cutting down the swarming monsters, suddenly realized there were no more monsters left to cut down before him.
Only then did the Grand Duke lower his arm that had been moving non-stop.
A cold wind brushed past his cheek. Having been heated up all day from constant activity, the wind felt even chillier.
Feeling the stark temperature difference between his body and the outside, he raised his head. Not a single monster remained standing on the snow field stretched out before him.
Just silence.
A deep stillness covered the snow field stained with black blood, making it hard to believe that this place had been a roaring battlefield until just recently.
Once it snows again, even these traces of battle will disappear into the snow along with the commotion that left them.
And until that snow melts, no more blood will be sprinkled on the newly accumulated snow.
So this means…
“It’s over!”
“We won!”
“Damn! The monster bastards! They’re all dead!”
“Aaaah! It’s finished!”
“Hah… We survived another year…”
It was a scene announcing that the greatest threat to the Grand Duke’s territory had finally passed.
The Grand Duke looked out over the snow field where the monsters that had threatened his territory now lay as corpses, while behind him knights and soldiers shouted and rioted with a sense of liberation and relief.
In previous winters, the Grand Duke would have felt the same as the humans while looking at this scene. He would have felt satisfied that the threat had passed and been glad for the period of peace to follow.
But after spending this winter, the scene before him evoked slightly different thoughts in the Grand Duke.
Looking at the snow field no longer overshadowed by monsters, the Grand Duke thought:
Finally.
‘I can go court that fellow.’
It had been such a long winter.
Every time he tried to do something, orcs would invade. After cutting them all down and trying again, harpies would invade. After plucking all their wings and returning, this time it would be ogres…
The Grand Duke’s mood suddenly soured, and he struck the nearby ogre corpse with his sword, thinking:
Now that too was over.
The end of the monster wave meant that all the monsters in the area had been completely wiped out. As a result, for a while after the monster wave ended, it was hard to find any monsters. Naturally, there would be no instances of monsters coming down to Reinke’s walls.
So, now.
There would be no more of those infuriating bell sounds interrupting his time with his aide.
The Grand Duke’s shoulders relaxed a bit, having eliminated the biggest threat to his courtship.
Of course, the second biggest threat to the Grand Duke’s courtship still remained. Namely, his aide’s inconsistent reactions.
‘But considering his reaction to the most recent courtship attempt…’
The Grand Duke recalled his aide’s heated body temperature, his flushed eyes, the way he looked at him, and the low moan when the Grand Duke had courted him.
Just thinking about it, a low purr unconsciously escaped from deep in his throat.
Yes. He was someone who had liked the Grand Duke very much from the start. Once the misunderstanding was cleared and the monsters that kept interrupting at crucial moments were gone, wouldn’t this problem be resolved soon too?
If so, there was nothing left to hinder the Grand Duke’s courtship.
Having eliminated all the problems threatening his courtship, the Grand Duke proudly puffed out his chest and shook the blood off his sword. The dark blood droplets scattered from the sword created marks resembling periods on the snow field.
Feeling satisfied for the first time in a while, the Grand Duke sheathed his sword and turned around.
The knights and soldiers were hugging each other and cheering for the end of the harsh winter. Every year after the monster wave ended, the Grand Duke’s castle would provide alcohol and food, so they would probably spend the night eating, drinking, and making noise in high spirits.
The Grand Duke strode past the humans jumping up and down with joy.
While the humans shared their joy, he planned to go to his mate whom he hadn’t seen for a while.
It had been quite some time since he had left his scent, so the pack scent between them must have faded considerably. He wanted to go quickly and leave his scent to his satisfaction, and then his aide, reeking of his scent…
As the Grand Duke was making specific plans, another purr escaped from his throat. It was a plan that couldn’t be more satisfying.
The Grand Duke’s steps quickened at the thought of executing this satisfying plan.
After walking for some time like this.
The Grand Duke suddenly felt a familiar presence approaching. Of course, it was his aide’s presence. The Grand Duke perked up his ears and shifted his gaze towards where his aide should be, though not yet visible.
Just as the Grand Duke was heading towards him, his aide was also coming towards the Grand Duke.
And…
‘He’s running.’
Originally, his frail aide never ran. He was someone who always walked huffing and puffing as if something terrible would happen if he ran.
In fact, even when he did run, it was at a pathetically slow speed, so the Grand Duke had secretly thought it was better for him to walk quietly rather than fall like last time.
But now that fellow. He was running urgently towards the Grand Duke like that.
‘Did he miss me that much?’
The Grand Duke’s shoulders straightened even more with satisfaction and pride.
If his mate missed him so much that he was running so hard despite not being good at it, the Grand Duke couldn’t just walk leisurely. Besides, no matter how urgently his aide ran, he was still slow, so it was more efficient for the much faster Grand Duke to quicken his pace.
The Grand Duke increased his speed towards his aide. The Grand Duke’s footsteps, usually silent, were particularly light. Reading the presence of his aide running hard towards him while heading towards him made him feel quite good.
Soon, the aide running this way came into the Grand Duke’s view.
The aide was running hurriedly, breathing heavily.
How much must he have missed the Grand Duke to be running so urgently like that?
The Grand Duke approached his aide with his mental tail raised high.
As there were no obstacles around, it seemed the aide had spotted the Grand Duke at about the same time. The eyes of the aide, who had been running more enthusiastically than ever before, widened.
“Your Grace!”
Despite being out of breath and not knowing what to do, he called out to him eagerly. The Grand Duke stood beside his aide with a triumphant gait.
And just as he was about to grab his aide to first leave his scent as planned on the way here…
Grab. The aide grabbed his arm first.
“Your Grace! You’ve arrived!”
Holding the Grand Duke tightly as if he would never let go, the aide looked up at the Grand Duke with burning eyes. Watching his aide struggling to catch his breath in that state, the Grand Duke narrowed his eyes.
To be this proactive. He thought he was the only one anxious, but it seems this fellow had also been waiting and expecting a lot…
“A special envoy has arrived from the Imperial Capital! They say they’ve brought an imperial order!”
…Or not?
While the Grand Duke was taken aback, his aide continued speaking.
“It’s Marquis Elenroth, the Imperial Ceremonial Officer! I’ve guided him to the reception room for now!”
Having said that, as if he had accomplished his purpose, the aide immediately began to lead the Grand Duke away. Although his shoulders were still heaving as if his rapid breathing hadn’t fully subsided, his steps were unwavering.
“Considering the timing of this visit, it must be…”
Even while panting, the aide spoke urgently about the Emperor’s schemes. There seemed to be nothing in his aide’s mind about mates, courtship, or mating.
Getting worked up over talk of the Emperor and his lapdog, the aide led the Grand Duke towards the reception hall, in the opposite direction of the bedroom.
As he was weakly pulled along, the Grand Duke suddenly thought:
It felt like the whole world was conspiring to interfere with his courtship.
