Chapter 5

As I stared, the boy turned red and bowed his head.

 

He seemed to be shy. His appearance was so lovely that I almost stroked his head unconsciously.

 

It wasn’t until I reached my hand half way that I regained my senses. While I was in a hurry, the boy slightly raised his head. He gazed upon me with a very careful look.

 

I opened my mouth first because I thought silence would remain if this continued.

 

“Who are you?”

 

That boy flinched at my voice.

 

“…Ta.” He whispered in a rattling voice.

 

I leaned toward him. Then he stepped back in surprise.

 

Why was he so surprised? I was reluctant.

 

No matter what happened, it hurt a bit. When I looked at him with a sullen eye, he got embarrassed and turned his eyes.

 

“…rry.”

 

“What?”

 

“…Sorry.”

 

“Why?”

 

His face was cute, but his voice was so small I didn’t know what he was talking about.

 

He blushed even more.

 

“You’re sick, but I woke you up…”

 

He thought he woke me up.”

 

“I’m not sick. I’m just a little tired.”

 

The boy’s face brightened up when I said I wasn’t sick.

 

“So, who are you?” I asked once again.

 

He glanced at me. And he spoke in a clearer voice than before.

 

“Yuta.”

 

“What…?”

 

Hearing the boy’s name, I stiffened on the spot.

 

Yuta, he said?

 

Really?

 

No, I don’t think so. That couldn’t be true.

 

A boy as gentle as a puppy in front of me couldn’t be the Mad Dog Yuta Barmuth…

 

I wanted to think that he wasn’t, but I asked carefully because I had to knock on the stone bridge before I crossed it.

 

“Yuta… Barmuth?”

 

The boy, Yuta, nodded with innocent eyes.

 

I covered my mouth with both hands.

 

Are you saying that this is really Yuta Barmuth?!

 

He was so different from the one that I knew, though?!

 

Obviously, whom I saw was Yuta Barmuth after he became an adult, but this was still too much.

 

Is it because it was before he got sick?

 

Suddenly, such an idea crossed my mind.

 

As far as I know, Yuta Barmuth suffered greatly from a mysterious disease when he was 16. I was trapped in Lodgemund and rarely heard from outside, but I could often hear news about Yuta Barmuth, as Herbert and Heiner were very interested and talked about it.

 

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It was Yuta’s disease that they talked about most often.

 

[Even the Mad Dog of Barmuth can’t help it.]

 

[I’m relieved that the little Barmuth is destined to die soon.]

 

Didn’t Heiner respond like that to Herbert’s words?

 

However, contrary to the Lodgemund people’s expectations, Yuta Barmuth met the Saintess in the ‘Void’, who miraculously treated him and he became healthy.

 

The Yuta Barmuth that I saw was a knight who got his disease completely healed and displayed his best skills.

 

And he was a mad dog in a different sense from Kellerhan.

 

With a brutal gaze that would cut off everyone who came close, a colder atmosphere than the frozen sea in the far north, a stiff face that was beautiful enough to be mesmerized but difficult to approach, and the story of countless vicious criminals who passed away by his hands…

 

If Kellerhan had a fire-like nature, Yuta was ice.

 

He was the one who attacked the enemy alone and picked the neck of the enemy commander while his father led the great army to the front.

 

His cold eyes warmed only to Ji-Hee.

 

And the two of them even made a fuss in the capital and held an engagement ceremony. I didn’t know what happened after that because I was poisoned a few weeks later.

 

I’m sure they lived a happy life.

 

Wouldn’t they? It was a combination of a warrior (although he was a little crazy) and a saintess. They couldn’t have been not happy.

 

In any case, Yuta Barmuth was so brutal at that time that despite his angel-like handsome face, he was admired by people.

 

But what was in front of me at the moment was…

 

“What’s wrong?” Yuta Barmuth, who has a chubby voice, bit his lips and asked in a small voice. “Are you scared of me too? Because I’m a Barmuth?”

 

“No!” I shook my head.

 

The boy in front of me never looked like the cool-headed mad dog I knew. It is often said that people change after they have suffered greatly.

 

What if Yuta was just a shy boy?

 

Personally, for me… Isn’t that good?

 

I can live with a normal person until I get divorced!

 

Thanks to Herbert and Heiner’s many babbles, I also knew to some extent the identity and treatment of the disease that Yuta Barmuth suffered, so even if it develops when he’s 16, it’ll not ruin his personality.

 

Obviously, it took the strength of Ji-Hee, the Saintess from the ‘Void’, to be completely cured, but just being able to reduce the pain while waiting for her was a big deal.

 

Won’t I be able to play the role of Cupid if Ji-Hee appears? I’m already looking forward to it.

 

I owe Ji-Hee a lot, so I want her to be the Duchess of Barmuth safely.

 

As I came to my senses, I turned around and looked straight at Yuta. Then I bowed my head politely.

 

“I greet the Young Lord of Barmuth.”

 

As long as I knew the boy’s identity, I couldn’t treat him comfortably. I am the daughter of a viscount, and he is the son of a duke, so there is a clear difference in status.

 

But somehow, Yuta Barmuth’s expression was unusual.

 

He pouted his lips and made a sullen look, as if he didn’t like my polite greeting.

 

“Don’t be polite. Just call me Yuta.”

 

“How can I do that? I have to follow the rules.”

 

He lowered his head as if he were dead. Somehow I think I disappointed him, but I didn’t know what made him disappointed.

 

I was thinking of what to talk about as Yuta raised his head. He still looked sullen, but his eyes were full of curiosity that couldn’t be hidden.

 

“What’s… your name?”

 

“I’m Isabella Schwires.”

 

“Isabella, Isabella…”

 

He blushed and muttered my name several times. After he nodded alone as if he had memorized my name completely, he looked at me. The boy’s blue eyes sparkled with strange light.

 

“You, I heard that you might become my bride?.”

 

“Ah, that…”

 

I was flustered. I didn’t know that he already knew the story.

 

Kellerhan, who wanted to kick me out, wouldn’t have let Yuta know about my existence.

 

“I heard what the maids said.”

 

He solved my curiosity.

 

“Are we going to have an engagement ceremony in a month?”

 

I was embarrassed by his question. Obviously, I want to be engaged to this child and stay in Barmuth until I become an adult, but no one knows what will happen.

 

And…

 

“Is it okay for you, Young Lord?”

 

Yuta tilted his head to my question. “What?”

 

“You just saw me for the first time today.”

 

He nodded calmly at what I said. If there was an example of a good boy who listened well, it would be Yuta.

 

“But you’re getting engaged with me… Don’t you hate that you might get married?”

 

He looked puzzled as if he had been asked an unexpected question.

 

“It is said that one’s bride is the only precious thing in the world.” Instead of answering my question, Yuta spoke unusual words. “It’s a being that I have to protect with my life.”

 

He then came close to me. I could see the child’s upright will swaying in those beautiful blue eyes.

 

“If you become my bride, I’ll protect you. Marriage is like that.”

 

At that moment, I realized.

 

This kid… He didn’t know what engagement and marriage were.

 

When I first married Heiner in my previous life, I thought marriage was only romance and good things. Because marriage in fairy tales was like that.

 

Yuta was still young, that’s why he had no specific concept of marriage and seemed to vaguely perceive it only as a ‘good thing’.

 

I thought about how to explain to Yuta what marriage was and immediately gave up/

 

I knew about marriage better than Yuta, but that didn’t mean I was good enough to explain to that child what marriage was.

 

The only marriage I experienced was my life with Heiner, which was marked by tragedy.

 

“I’ll protect you when we get married too, Young Lord.”

 

Therefore, instead of breaking the child’s fantasy, I said that.

 

When the time comes, Yuta will naturally know what marriage is, so I don’t have to go overboard.

 

Yuta’s face turned red after he listened to me. He lowered his head and wiggled his fingers.

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes, really.”

 

“Put your life on line?”

 

“Put your life on line.”

 

Suddenly, his face became more serious.”

 

“I swear,” he said so. “No one can break the oath. Death… Death…”

 

Yuta grumbled as he couldn’t think of the phrase.

 

“Until death separates the two?”

 

“That’s right! That’s it!” He shouted with a bright face. However, the child’s face quickly became serious again.

 

“But don’t die just because you want to split up with me. Don’t die.”

 

“Who wants to die?”

 

I responded like a joke, yet Yuta’s face was still dark.

 

“…There is.”

 

“What?”

 

“People who want to die…”

 

When Yuta said that, the guest room’s door suddenly opened. Yuta and I were surprised as we both turned toward the door at the same time. In the meantime, I was roughly guessing whom I would see.

 

There would be only one person in this mansion who could flip open the door of the guest room without knocking.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

And as I expected, Kellerhan’s voice was heard. He looked at me with absurd eyes and his arms folded as he leaned against the wall.

 

“I think I definitely asked you to come to my study.”

 

His gaze fell on my face and headed for the thick blanket that was covering me.

 

“I didn’t know you were sleeping, ignoring me.”

 

“That…”

 

I was embarrassed, pulled my blanket back, and came straight out of the bed.

 

I had to say, I’m sorry, and bowed my head to apologize first, but something strange happened.

 

“Don’t scold Isabella.” He blocked my front. “Isabella is my bride, so no matter how much Father is, you can’t scold her recklessly.”

 

At Yuta’s words, Kellerhan made a mysterious face.

 

“Hey, Yuta.” He squatted down and made eye contact with his son. “She’s not your bride yet. She’s not even your fiance, let alone your bride.”

 

“But the maids…”

 

“Stop.”

 

When Kellerhan sternly said that, Yuta flinched and shut his mouth.”

 

“You go out.”

 

Yet Yuta didn’t move an inch in front of me.

 

I looked at the two rich men, nervous at the sudden atmosphere.