The Grand Duke's Crab-Shell-Peeling Kindness
If I kept accepting the Grand Duke's kindness like this—right down to him peeling crab shells for me—my life at the Arteta Grand Duchy Mansion would clearly veer straight into the infant regression route.
“Bale. You may have been wondering this to yourself.”
“Pardon? What do you mean, sir?”
“Why I treat you with such special regard. I know full well that even though you saved my life, bringing a complete stranger into the private quarters of the Grand Duchy, calling him my brother, and seating him at the head of the banquet table defies common sense.”
“.......”
‘You knew that and still did it?’
I kept my mouth shut and waited for the Grand Duke to continue. To be honest, I was dying to know the reason too. Pouring out this much favor just because I’d taken a knife in the back for him was clearly abnormal.
“I have commanded the North for a very long time. In that time… my poor judgment and incompetence led countless innocent young soldiers to their deaths.”
The Grand Duke’s massive fist clenched tightly on the table.
“None of them faced the bitter cold of the North or the axes of the foreign tribes because they wanted to. Every one of them was someone’s beloved son, someone’s husband. As Grand Duke and as their commander, I had a duty to send them all back to their families. But I failed.”
A faint tremor appeared at the corner of the Grand Duke’s eyes.
“Only after losing so many lives and spilling so much blood on the Wall did the war finally end. Yet the one person truly responsible—me—returned alone to this warm Grand Duchy Mansion and embraced my beloved family… To me, it felt like an excessive luxury. An unforgivable sin.”
I had never imagined that such heavy guilt and a sense of debt could be coiled inside Gareth von Arteta, the man who always seemed bold and confident. The Grand Duke turned his head and looked straight at me.
“And then, at the very last moment. When an assassin’s blade aimed for my back, you—a mere nameless soldier—threw away your own life to save me.”
His eyes shimmered deeply with unshed tears.
“The moment I saw you, I felt it was fate.”
“Pardon?”
‘What fate?! I’m glad you’re grateful, but that’s creepy!’
“All those nameless Northern soldiers who perished because of my incompetence… instead of cursing me, they gave me a second chance through you.”
“Brother……”
“Like Goda from the South whom I mentioned earlier, there are a few whose names I happen to remember… but far more were sent away without me ever learning them. So many nameless heroes who vanished into the snow of the Wall.”
The Grand Duke’s thick hand reached out and gripped my shoulder firmly.
“That is why I personally gave you the name Bale. And why I keep you closest to my side—so that I may never forget my shortcomings or the blood they shed, for the rest of my life.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
‘……Yeah. He really is the Grand Duke after all.’
I’d thought he was just a naive pushover. But Gareth von Arteta cared for his soldiers more than anyone, and he carried the heavy responsibility of a true commander. This outrageous treatment toward me was his own chosen method of atonement as the highest authority to survive the war. It even contained political implications as a ruler—comfort for the dead and a vow never to create innocent sacrifices again.
‘I misjudged him. This man is genuinely impressive.’
My emotions, dried up after a year of harsh conditions at the Wall, grew warm for the first time in a long while. Deep admiration and sincere respect for the man named Gareth von Arteta bloomed in my heart. I straightened my collar, prepared to show proper respect, and tried to answer with genuine feeling.
“How could someone like me possibly fathom the profound meaning behind Your Grace’s intentions? I too……”
Crack—Crunch!
Just as I was about to deliver my touching line, the sound of something shattering suddenly rang out right in front of my nose. I flinched and looked up.
“Ah, my story went on too long! I’m sorry for bringing up such gloomy talk while we’re eating. Here, say ‘ah’—ah!”
“.......”
As if he had never been serious, Gareth wore a bright, sunny smile and was twisting off the leg of a massive sea crab the size of a plate with both hands. He even used a fork to neatly scoop out the pure white crab meat into a perfect little mound and held it out toward my plate.
I doubted my own eyes.
‘……He’s just a natural-born pushover who loves taking care of others, isn’t he!!!!’
The respect that had sprouted inside me just a minute ago scattered into dust along with the sound of the crab shell breaking.
He had dressed it up with a long, moving story, but at his core, this man simply found joy in feeding, clothing, and looking after people. He had the innate temperament of a born caretaker.
I decisively pulled my head back.
“I’m sorry, but crab dishes don’t suit my taste, Your Grace.”
Even though I knew it might be disrespectful, I refused in a cold and firm voice. The savory aroma of the crab meat had actually made my mouth water, but if I accepted it now, my future life at the Arteta Grand Duchy Mansion would definitely take the infant regression route.
“Eh? R-really? Sea crab from the South is far more precious and delicious than regular meat……”
At my razor-sharp refusal, Gareth von Arteta’s huge frame visibly shrank. He looked like a large dog who had proudly brought back the ball his owner threw, only to be ignored and left behind—his face utterly dejected. The crab meat dangling pathetically from the fork looked downright pitiful.
The Grand Duke couldn’t hide his disappointment. He smacked his lips, then cleared his throat and subtly reached toward the wine bottle.
“Ahem. Then I suppose I should have another drink. Some wine here……”
Just as the Grand Duke, trying to soothe his gloomy mood, filled his empty glass until it sloshed and brought it to his lips—
Swish.
Lady Rebecca, who had been quietly eating, reached out in a perfectly natural motion and gently covered her husband’s wrist as he held the wine glass.
“Uh…… dear?”
Gareth von Arteta looked at his wife in confusion. Lady Rebecca wore her usual graceful and elegant smile as she leaned her upper body ever so slightly toward her husband. Then she whispered into his ear in a voice so small that no one else should have been able to hear.
But.
“Your Grace. It’s your first night back…… I don’t want to do it if you’re completely drunk.”
“……!!”
She had said it in a voice so quiet it shouldn’t be heard, but unfortunately my ears had been trained to the extreme at the Northern Wall to detect even the slightest rustle of foreign tribesmen’s footsteps.
‘……Guh.’
I nearly spat out the meat I was chewing. What did I just hear? She didn’t want to do it if he was drunk? Do what?
‘Ah…… As a married couple, after a year apart, tonight. That’s what she meant.’
My face instantly flushed bright red. I had traded countless dirty jokes with the rough men at the Wall, but I never expected to hear such explicit and intimate whispering live from the mouth of such a refined and elegant noblewoman.
I twisted my neck so hard I thought my cervical vertebrae might snap, desperately trying to erase myself from this couple’s private life. Then I began staring at a single candlestick at the end of the table with the most serious expression in the world.
‘I didn’t hear anything. I am currently a scholar researching the trajectory of dripping candle wax……’
When I sneaked a glance behind me to see if their conversation had ended—
“.......”
I noticed Veronica’s expression, which had been strange for a while now. The young lady no longer cared about the food on her plate. With her plump lips pursed and fingers idly toying with them, she tilted her head and stared fixedly at me.
From the beginning of the banquet until its end. The scarred stranger who had monopolized her beloved father’s gaze and conversation. Moreover, the shameless freeloader receiving the ultimate VIP treatment of having his crab shells peeled by her father himself.
In Veronica’s large violet eyes swirled the pure jealousy and resentment of a ten-year-old child—along with a hint of sharp hostility.
The future tyrant of high society. Right now, the terrifying glare of the shy villainess young lady stabbed hotly into my cheek.
“Haa……”
A deep sigh escaped my lips without me realizing it.
‘Please, God. Let this kind of treatment end after just today……’
I stared hard at the candlestick again and prayed desperately in my heart.
“Bale, why don’t you head up to your room and rest well for tonight? We can talk again tomorrow morning.”
Once the banquet ended, I quickly rose from my seat. I wanted to escape the dining hall immediately, but to maintain at least minimal courtesy, I deliberately slowed my steps as I walked toward the door.
But just as I was about to leave the dining hall—
Stab.
I felt someone’s sharp gaze pierce the back of my head. I stopped walking and subtly turned my head to check behind me.
“.......”
There was Veronica, still seated in her banquet chair but with her upper body twisted around, glaring at me. Her large violet eyes burned with crystal-clear resentment and jealousy directed straight at me.
The most beloved father she had waited a whole year to see again. The terrifying-looking uninvited guest who had stolen all of her father’s attention, warm conversation, and even the ultimate service of having crab shells peeled for him.
To the eyes of a ten-year-old child, I must have looked exactly like that kind of mortal enemy.
‘……Well, at least it’s a relief. She’s not avoiding eye contact anymore.’
The boldness of her staring directly at me without her beloved rabbit doll to hide behind. She looked far more lively than the timid figure she had shown earlier. Of course, seeing how she had spent the entire banquet sulking, mashing her potatoes and digging through her salad, I got the strong feeling that becoming friends right away was out of the question.
‘It’s unfair, but what can I do? Today’s only the first day.’
Staring contest or not, it would only deepen the villainess young lady’s dislike. I pretended not to notice, withdrew my gaze, gave a light bow, and left the dining hall. I resolved to slowly unravel the tangled misunderstandings with the villainess young lady starting tomorrow.
“……Hmph.”
Only after the dining hall door closed and Bale’s large frame completely disappeared from sight did Veronica finally lower her tightly furrowed brows and pout her lips.
‘I hate Dad. I hate that ugly knight uncle too.’
She had wanted to sit on her father’s lap after his year-long absence, tell him about all the books she had read, and brag about the pretty new dresses she bought. But during tonight’s banquet, her father’s gaze had never turned toward her even once.
As the dejected Veronica stirred the ice in her remaining juice—
“Come now, dear. You should head up and wash as well. I’ll have them prepare warm water in the bedroom.”
“Mm, let’s do that. The fatigue is hitting me now.”
Dad and Mom rose from their seats together. Gareth von Arteta naturally placed his hand on Lady Rebecca’s waist and prepared to escort her affectionately out of the dining hall.
Seeing that, Veronica snapped back to her senses and hurriedly jumped down from her chair.
‘I need to go to bed quickly too!’
The words her elderly nanny maid—who had looked after her for years—had secretly told her flashed through Veronica’s mind.
『Young lady. When His Grace the Grand Duke and the Madam hold hands affectionately and enter the bedroom at night, you must quickly go to your room, close your eyes tight, and sleep early. That way, our young lady won’t be lonely and they’ll give you a pretty little sibling.』
A sibling. One of Veronica’s most earnest wishes, having grown up as an only daughter and grown used to playing alone in the vast Grand Duchy Mansion. She was too shy to make friends, and she hated the fake smiles of noble girls her age. She wanted a blood relative who would trust and follow only her. A real, genuine ally—a pretty little sibling.
Veronica followed closely behind her parents as they headed up to the fifth floor and made a firm resolution in her heart.
‘Tonight I’ll lie down earlier than usual and count a hundred sheep. Then a sibling will appear, right?’
But as she watched her parents’ bedroom door close on the fifth-floor corridor and headed toward her own room, Veronica’s steps suddenly slowed.
‘But……’
Her head tilted slightly as a small question rose in her mind.
Just as her nanny had said, on nights when her parents entered the bedroom together, she would always feel her heart swell with anticipation that a sibling would appear. However—
On those mornings, her parents’ faces at the dining table were always dark. Her father would hang his head like a criminal, sighing heavily, while her mother’s eyes would be puffy as she forced a smile and picked at her food.
Young Veronica could not understand what on earth happened inside the couple’s bedroom.
‘Having a sibling is supposed to be a happy thing, so why do both of them look so sad the next day?’
Veronica stared blankly at the bedroom door for a moment. It felt like some heavy, sad secret that only adults knew lay beyond that door. But it was far too difficult a question for a ten-year-old child to unravel.
“……I really want a sibling.”
Veronica fiddled with the ears of her beloved rabbit doll with both hands and slipped into her room. She quietly prayed that tomorrow morning, her father and mother wouldn’t wear those sad expressions—just for tonight.
Click.