CH 13

The immense shadow that was large enough to overturn one’s body, the suffocating pressure that could be felt from it, and the jet-black and massive tail – all of it pointed to Sig Turas.

Nevertheless, Britia had doubts whether it was really him.

His tail always remained still or moved only slightly, swaying gently at most even when it did move.

However, that tail was now vigorously shaking, moving forcefully from side to side like Leon, who often hit Britia with great strength.

It was as if he was extremely pleased!

Britia slowly raised her head, thinking that the person standing in front of her might not be Sig. Perhaps her younger brother, who she thought wouldn’t come, had finally caught up.

“Oh, Duke-nim.”

Britia’s mind became jumbled as she confirmed that the owner of the lively tail was indeed Sig.

Their face and tail didn’t match, and it was too apparent.

“I’m glad to see you here.”

Britia forced a full smile to conceal her perplexed emotions.

“I heard that Duke-nim dislikes parties.”

But to run into him at the party… Britia looked at him with suspicion.

“Is it really so strange for me to be at the party?”

“No, it’s not that, but…”

Britia’s voice grew quieter as she saw him slightly grimacing.

“So, what do you mean?”

As Sig tilted his head, a shadow fell over his face.

Britia secretly took a deep breath.

She had thought she would formally apologize to him if she met him.

But now, she couldn’t find the words. She wasn’t prepared to meet him here like this.

Moreover, she was still afraid!

“What do you mean by that?”

Britia forced a smile, barely lifting the corners of her mouth.

Sig gazed firmly at Britia, keeping his lips tightly sealed. Britia wished he would say something, anything at all.

But he continued to maintain his silence. The flicker of his purple eyes, almost angry in their intensity, made her uneasy.

“Well, as I mentioned in my letter…”

“Yes?”

Sig leaned forward slightly, as if struggling to hear.

“What did you say?”

Britia felt a sudden surge of tension and swallowed hard.

“I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I’m sorry.”

She spoke carefully and deliberately, trying to make sure he could hear her clearly. He nodded in response.

“But didn’t you already apologize in your letter?”

He seemed puzzled, as if wondering why she felt the need to apologize again.

“I just wanted to say it in person and make things right.”

She felt like she was babbling, but she couldn’t help herself.

“You’re very courteous,” he remarked dryly.

‘Polite people don’t usually beg for forgiveness like a kicked dog.’

Britia felt as though she could hear the voice of her absent twin, as if she were pouring a bitter tonic down her throat.

“As I said in my letter, I’m fine,” he added.

Sig said, and Britia’s tension instantly dissipated. He was grateful for his broad-mindedness.

“At the time, I was taken aback.”

But with his next words, Britia’s resolve returned.

“It’s okay now.”

“I truly apologise.”

Britia’s shoulders slumped, unsure of what to do.

Sig was slightly taken aback by her reaction, but he did not blame her.

He was surprised and taken aback, but only in the literal sense. He wasn’t angry or ashamed of her.

If she had made a fool of herself in front of others, it would have been embarrassing, but thankfully that hadn’t happened.

“Count-nim says that you become more bold when you drink.”

Sig carefully chose his words to emphasize that he was fine. But Britia made a sudden sound in response.

“I was aware that you possessed a formidable presence that commanded respect.”

She recalled Crave’s excitement when he caught the bear, and how he was so thrilled that he forgot about her injury.

Sig nodded sincerely, and his praise was well-received.

But for some reason, Britia’s expression grew darker and darker.

“Formidable presence…”

Britia muttered, narrowing her eyes as if the word were shocking.

“Was that not a very good thing to hear?”

His tail, which had been wagging vigorously from side to side, gradually slowed and then stopped.

Sig had accepted her apology and said he was fine, but he pondered why wasn’t her face lighting up.

Sig didn’t know what to do and his face stiffened.

“I was a little surprised to hear that you have such great presence.”

Britia was feeling very strange. After all, he was with Sig Turas, a man who seemed to personify the concept of presence.

‘But who would say that someone has an overflow of presence?’

However, she couldn’t express her thoughts to Sig in such a blunt manner.

It was still too intimidating to do so.

“I don’t match up to Duke-nim’s presence.”

She chose the best way to speak carefully and with restraint.

“You’re certainly humble.”

“Oh, really?”

It wasn’t a particularly humble thing to say. Britia tilted her head slightly.

But Sig’s tail, which had stopped moving, began to sway again.

“Oh my, it’s been a while since the last party, huh!”

A young lady who had been approaching Britia, pretending to know her, discovered Sig and stopped in her tracks, holding her breath.

She thought there was a huge wall in front of her, not realizing it was Sig Turas.

When Sig turned towards her, the young lady trembled in surprise.

“Oh, Monaka!”

Then, as if she had not been pretending to know Britia, she called out to someone else and quickly ran away.

As the stranger moved away, the stiffness in Sig’s tail gradually relaxed.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

Sig asked, feeling the weight of Britia’s gaze on him, though she was looking more at his rear end.

“Duke-nim,” Britia began, still feeling intimidated by Sig Turas.

She wanted to end the conversation and part ways with him without causing offense.

However, her eyes kept flickering back to his tail, which had regained its strength and was swaying back and forth.

“I hope this isn’t too forward of a question, but… do you happen to be glad to see me?”

Britia mustered the courage to ask, but Sig’s reaction was as if he had been stabbed by a sword.

“I apologize if I was mistaken,” she quickly added, noticing his tail stiffening up again.

Sig made a painful sound, like a person pierced by a sword. Britia raised both hands in surrender.

“I spoke out of turn,” she said, feeling sweat running down her back as Sig became more rigid.

‘What was I thinking, asking him that?‘ Britia regretted her words, but she noticed Sig’s lips trembling.

“Ta-tail…” he murmured, but she couldn’t hear him clearly.

“Tail?” Britia repeated in confusion.

“Tail!”

Sig repeated, his expression turning fierce.

Britia took a step back in surprise.

“Can you tell from my tail?”

As he lowered his voice and asked urgently,

“Just how far does your ability go?”

‘Not content with just showing a tail that others couldn’t see and manipulating time, now she was resorting to trickery!’

Sig was getting uneasy.

Britia was taken aback.

Sig’s expression didn’t make it clear whether he was surprised or angry.

“So, you were genuinely pleased to see me?”

“Ergh.”

His body twitched noticeably.

Britia’s lips parted slightly. She couldn’t believe he really felt that way.

“Why?”

“…!”

No sound came from Sig’s slightly parted lips.

“Why are you so happy to see me?”

Even now, his tail was wagging furiously.

Looking straight into Britia’s eyes, Sig unknowingly swallowed his saliva.

“As I mentioned before, I find strangers a little difficult to deal with.”

For Britia, who had no memory of that day, it was a new revelation.

“So, at parties full of strangers, I always feel lost and don’t know how to behave.”

Sig was getting frustrated because his words weren’t coming out right. He wasn’t usually the best at expressing himself, but he didn’t think he was this bad.

“Today, too, there weren’t many people with whom I could share a common interest….”

‘There weren’t many, so as soon as you entered the party, I wanted to talk to you.’

Sig was resentful of his uncooperative tongue.

“So, you’re happy to see me, even though I’m just another stranger?”

Sig quickly nodded his head.

But after nodding three times in a row, he began to doubt whether that was true.

If judged solely by appearance, there weren’t many people around him.

However, he never thought of approaching those people first to exchange greetings, nor did he wait for the right moment while observing them.

But Britia, as soon as she was certain that she had recognized them, immediately moved her legs to greet them.

“I apologise,” he said.

Sig knew that the people she was talking to had left because of him.

“Why are you apologizing?” Britia wondered.

“Because I disturbed your enjoyable time.”

“I’m happy to meet Duke-nim too,” Sig tried to bow down, and his tail moved left and right so fast that Britia was worried his fur might fall off.

Britia finally figured out why she had called him cute that night. His tail was undeniably adorable.

“I almost misunderstood you,” she smirked at the Duke.

Despite his tough exterior, there was a pure side to him.

“Misunderstood me?”

For some reason, Britia felt like teasing him.

“Did I make a mistake?”

Sig swallowed nervously.

“You didn’t make a mistake, Duke-nim.”

It was a relief that he hadn’t made a mistake, but he was still uneasy because he didn’t give her a clear answer.

“Just in case, I had a moment of confusion,” she said.

“What about?” Sig’s face gradually stiffened.

It was a habit that showed up more and more when he was deeply contemplating something.

“I thought Duke-nim wanted to see me.”

Britia wanted to see his surprised expression, the one where his eyes widen a bit and his lips slightly part.

“I’m sorry, it was a joke.”

Although she had the desire to tease him a little more, Britia quickly retreated when she saw the face she wanted to see.

“That’s correct.”

Unexpectedly, an answer came from his slightly parted lips.

“I wanted to see you.”

Sig’s voice was quite serious. Britia, who had intended to tease him, was instead taken aback and speechless.

“What do you mean?”

“I was looking forward to meeting you last night and was so excited and nervous that I had trouble sleeping.”

“Really?”

Britia’s voice rose at the end. She was too surprised to ask what he meant.

“It’s embarrassing, but it’s true.”

He said it with a face that didn’t seem embarrassed at all.

Britia tried to calm herself down, thinking that he might be teasing her.

However, her already flushed cheeks wouldn’t calm down easily.

She suspected that he might be planning to retaliate for her attempt to tease him.

But she could see a very subtle change in his cheek, which was so subtle that it could have been an illusion.

“Britia-nim.”

It was a very subtle difference. So small that she thought it might be a mistake.

“I wanted to meet you.”

Was he punishing her for trying to tease him?

Brittia’s heart raced as she wondered.