Chapter 22
His pride as a man was now standing fully erect, swollen a vivid, vein-popping red as if it might burst at any moment.
The heart of the Clania Empire, the capital Midclium, was a place where desire and intrigue always hid beneath an elegant mask.
In the mansion of Gawain von Arteta, situated in the heart of the capital, three days had already passed since Grand Duke Gareth had taken up residence with his younger brother.
“Haa……”
Grand Duke Gareth sank deep into the reception room sofa, clasped hands pressed to his forehead as he let out a long, heavy sigh.
After reporting the hard-won victory at the Northern Wall to the emperor, he had been locked in endless meetings with the central nobles over postwar arrangements and compensation. The suffocating air of this political arena—where men probed one another with honeyed words—drained him far more than sleepless nights swinging a sword on the battlefield.
And above all else.
“Your Grace, congratulations on your victory. However… is it not a tremendous loss to the empire that the great Arteta family of the North still lacks a sturdy male heir?”
“My second daughter is truly modest and healthy. While it pains me to suggest a concubine, if it would allow her to carry on the Grand Ducal bloodline, it would be my house’s greatest honor…!”
“It has been many years since the Grand Duchess’s frail health prevented her from producing an heir. It is time for Your Grace to make a firm decision.”
For three whole days, every central noble he met—even the emperor’s own ministers—had subtly pressured him to take a concubine, as though they had all agreed on the script in advance.
“……Hyena bastards.”
Gareth spat the curse under his breath now that he was alone in the reception room. Every marriage proposal that left their lips was nothing more than a veiled insult to Rebecca, disguised as concern for the Grand Duchy’s prosperity.
Rebecca’s family, the Northside County. After her father, Count Pirla—the brilliant former chancellor—had suddenly collapsed from overwork and died of a heart attack when Veronica was only five, the Northside house had rapidly lost influence.
With their once-powerful backer gone, the capital nobles had grown bolder, openly and shamelessly suggesting crude marriage alliances to the heirless Grand Duke.
If Rebecca ever heard any of this, how badly would it break her heart…?
Gareth clutched his chest at the thought of his wife waiting in the North. He had never once considered taking a concubine. The very idea of embracing another woman had never even crossed his mind.
Take a concubine? Produce an heir?
A bitter, self-mocking smile slipped from Gareth’s lips. The reason the Arteta Grand Duchy had no son was entirely—
It’s all my fault, so why must Rebecca…
—his own defective masculine function. On the battlefield he was a beast who twisted off enemies’ heads, yet before his beloved wife his body remained coldly unresponsive. It was a private, fatal secret he could never breathe to another soul.
I wonder what faces those bastards would make if they knew I was impotent.
A hopeless condition that neither the capital’s physicians nor the South’s miracle elixirs could cure. Forced to swallow that humiliating truth while listening to nobles insult his wife, Gareth felt as though his chest were being crushed.
Knock, knock—.
Just then, a cautious knock sounded and the reception room door opened.
“Brother, are you resting?”
Gareth’s younger brother, Gawain von Arteta, stepped inside. The same gentle, impeccably polite smile never left his face. Behind him, a young, youthful maid carrying a tea tray entered the room with careful steps.
“Ah, Gawain. Come in.”
Gareth forced his stiff expression to relax and offered his brother a kindly smile. Completely unaware that the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on his life was the very brother smiling before him, he greeted the only blood relative he could lean on during this exhausting stay in the capital.
Gawain signaled the maid with a glance to set the tea on the table, then took a seat on the sofa opposite Gareth. The sound of hot black tea being poured into the cups filled the quiet reception room.
“You look quite dark today. I heard the ministers visited you again this morning and made things rather difficult.”
Gawain lowered his brows in apparent sympathy and offered comfort.
“They are nothing but hyenas trying to latch onto the prestige of our Arteta family and secure themselves a seat at the table. They show no respect for our sister-in-law at all.”
“……Thank you for understanding how I feel.”
Gareth felt a measure of comfort from his brother’s warm words and lifted the teacup the maid had set down. The warm, fragrant tea seemed to wash away some of the frustration clogging his chest.
“Really, I don’t understand why they keep pestering me to take a concubine. If they want a connection to the Arteta family so badly, they have you, Gawain.”
Gareth added with a bitter smile as he sipped his tea.
“Now that I think about it, Gawain, you’re well past the age to marry. I heard the young ladies of every prominent capital family are lining up to win your affection.”
At his brother’s affectionate question, Gawain toyed with his teacup and lowered his gaze with a sorrowful expression.
“I… still have no thoughts of marriage, brother.”
“Why not? Is there truly no one who catches your eye?”
“It is embarrassing to admit… but during a trip to the East some years ago, I happened to pass by a certain foreign woman… and I still cannot erase her from my heart. Unless it is her, I do not wish to keep any other woman by my side.”
“Ah……”
Grand Duke Gareth let out a deep sigh and nodded at his brother’s sad confession. Since he himself loved only one woman—his wife Rebecca—his heart ached to hear that his brother could not forget a single lady and chose to live alone.
“You have always been sensitive and deeply affectionate, Gawain. Yes, I understand. There is no need to rush into marriage before the wound in your heart has healed.”
Gareth smiled warmly and patted his brother’s shoulder.
But.
While receiving his brother’s kind gaze, Gawain’s insides were rotting, icy and pitch-black.
Idiotic brother. As if I would ever become a fool like you, obsessed with a single woman.
A foreign woman from the East? Such a person had never existed. The reason Gawain remained unmarried was to ensure no woman or family could ever tie him down. A wife and children would inevitably create affection, and affection might give rise to even the slightest hesitation in his plan to seize the entire duchy.
“I feel the burden on my heart has grown much lighter now that you understand, brother.”
Gawain mocked his brother inwardly while displaying the most benevolent smile on the surface.
Having emptied his cup, Gareth slowly rose from his seat.
“Thank you for the tea, Gawain. Since I have received His Majesty’s approval on all postwar measures, I should prepare to return to the North the day after tomorrow.”
“You have only been here three days. Must you leave so soon? It has been a long time since you last visited the capital; you could enjoy its comforts a little longer.”
“No. Veronica’s birthday is approaching soon. I have already wandered the battlefield for a full year. I cannot be late for my beloved daughter’s first double-digit birthday party. I must hurry back to the house where my women are waiting.”
Watching the gentle smile that spread across Grand Duke Gareth’s face at the mention of Rebecca and Veronica, Gawain swallowed a laugh.
“I see. My sister-in-law and niece must be waiting eagerly. Then please rest and relieve your fatigue today. I shall take my leave as well.”
Gawain bowed politely and left the reception room.
Gareth stretched with a long yawn and headed toward his temporary bedroom to wash off the sweat that clung to his body.
The moment he opened the bedroom door and moved to remove his coat—
Soft, soft.
He heard faint footsteps following him inside.
“Hm?”
When Gareth turned around in puzzlement, the young, youthful maid who had served tea with Gawain earlier was following him with her head bowed low. In her hands she carried a fresh towel and a thin nightshirt for him to change into.
“Why are you following me in? I require no attendance. Leave the items at the door and go.”
Even at Gareth’s command the maid did not leave. Instead she froze in place, looking flustered, her shoulders beginning to tremble.
“U-um…… Your Grace, that is……”
When the maid lifted her head slightly, her eyes were already glistening with transparent tears. Soon large droplets rolled down her pale cheeks.
“Eh? Ah! W-why are you crying? D-did I raise my voice at you?!”
Grand Duke Gareth was visibly startled and could not hide his panic.
Could she be… the one who has been attending me all this time?
Gareth’s eyes held only his wife Rebecca and daughter Veronica. He had tried so hard not to remember any other woman’s face or scent that he had completely forgotten this maid was the very one who had prepared his meals, tidied his bed, and attended him throughout his three days in the capital mansion.
Yet paradoxically, the Grand Duke—who was kind by nature and possessed a soft heart—became utterly flustered and helpless whenever anyone, especially a frail-looking woman or child, shed tears before him. Only when the other party revealed emotion through tears did the woman’s existence and face finally register and become engraved in his mind.
“Do not cry! I-I am sorry! It is just… I felt embarrassed to have someone present while I wash… Please stop crying!”
The massive Grand Duke fumbled through his excuses in complete disarray.
Just as Gawain had instructed the maid beforehand.
If you follow him into the room, my brother will panic and try to chase you out. At that moment, simply stand there shedding tears. He will never be able to force you out.
And just as Gawain had predicted.
“Haa…… If you truly wish to help that much… then leave the towel and stand there with your back turned. I will wash quickly and come out.”
At a loss, Gareth finally fled into the bathroom, leaving the maid behind in the bedroom.
Bang—.
The moment the bathroom door closed, the maid wiped her tears, lowered her hand, and smiled.
With this, I too will become a member of the Grand Duchy…
Inside the bathroom.
“Huu……”
Gareth exhaled roughly in the tub filled with warm water, trying to release his tension. But the moment the water touched his body, a strange sensation began to overtake him.
Hm……?
As blood circulation quickened in the warm water, the medicine Gawain had secretly mixed into the black tea earlier began to course vigorously through Gareth’s veins.
“Ugh……!”
Sudden dizziness spun his vision. At the same time his mind went blank and his entire body began burning hot. His breath caught in his throat.
And before Gareth could even register what was happening—
“……?!!”
A change came after ten long years.
Gareth looked down at his lower body and his eyes widened dramatically. The place that had remained coldly dead and unmoving for nearly ten years since Veronica’s birth—his pride as a man—was now standing fiercely erect, swollen deep red as if the veins would burst.
“T-this… what is this……!”
A miracle after ten years. The joy and gratitude of having fully regained his lost masculine function flashed through his mind for only a moment.
“Khhk!”
The dizziness and hazy fog that crashed over him like a hammer to the skull were far stronger than the pleasure of restored function. Gareth braced himself against the wall, but strength was rapidly draining from his legs.
“I-I must get out…… Rebecca…… Rebecca……!”
Even as his consciousness faded, Gareth staggered forward, calling only the name of his beloved wife. He hastily wiped himself with a towel and threw on a thick bathrobe. He had to calm this beastly, aroused state somehow and lie down.
Click.
Gareth staggered out of the bathroom after opening the door.
“……!”
Through his blurred vision he saw the young maid he had been unable to send away still standing in the middle of the bedroom, waiting for him.
“H-hurry…… leave……!”
Gareth tried to shout, but his tongue felt paralyzed and only hot, ragged breaths escaped his lips. The world before his eyes spun like a top.
He could not let this maid see the manhood that had surged beyond his control. He had to protect his honor as a husband.
“Ugh……!”
In his haste to hide the change in his body and unable to fight the oncoming drowsiness, Gareth collapsed toward the bed.
Thud—.
He frantically pulled the thick blanket over himself. But that was as far as he got.
“Rebecca……”
Gareth sank into hazy pleasure and endless darkness, losing consciousness completely.
The instant he fainted, the maid who had been standing by the door in the darkened bedroom smiled quietly, untied her apron, and slowly began walking toward the Grand Duke’s bed.