Don’t Tame the Tomboy

“I see, you’ve become quite the joker. Haha…”

Luka forced a smile, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Nikolai, who had been as unyielding as a rock when it came to meeting women, and there were even rumors that he and Luka were actually together.

He constantly denied it for fear that it would hinder his prosperous marriage prospects, but Nikolai allowed people to think that way.

Some influential nobles from the northern regions, despite the nickname ‘Grand Duke of Blood,’ still tried to arrange marriages for their daughters and pursued noble ladies who were captivated by his charm at every party.

As if that weren’t annoying enough, the rumor that the Grand Duke enjoyed homosexuality put a stop to all of that.

Luka, who was the only friend the Grand Duke kept by his side, felt unjustly used.

Nikolai was someone who was distant from love and marriage.

So, it was inconceivable for him to make a clumsy confession about falling in love.

It was an event that would never occur, no matter how the heavens and earth changed.

“Why do you think I called you all the way to the south?”

“Did you get into some kind of accident, something Boris can’t handle?”

Luka asked cautiously, lowering his voice.

It felt like he could hear Boris crying from afar, as if it were an auditory hallucination.

“I’m getting married soon.”

“With Boris?”

“I’m getting married.”

“Oh, really? Why is it such a big deal that you…… What?”

Did I hear it wrong?

Luka, who replied nonchalantly, realized the meaning of the words a little late and asked again.

“Your Highness, are you getting married? Why so suddenly?”

“Why are you so surprised? I’ve reached the age to get married, so I should.”

“What about the other party? Are you planning to marry the bride chosen by Her Highness, the former Grand Duchess?”

“No, she’s from the south.”

“The south? Who on earth is she?”

Nikolai had no connection whatsoever with the southern regions.

He had lived his whole life in the north, mostly confined to the capital.

So, this was the first time Luka had traveled south.

Except for the Council of Elders’ meetings of the southern nobles and the Boyanin elite, he rarely ventured beyond their territories.

How long had it been since he came down to the south? How had the marriage progressed so quickly, like frying beans in a pan?

“Katarina Smirnov.”

“Is she the daughter of Duke Smirnov?”

Luka was familiar with the name Smirnov.

They were the wealthiest Boyanin family in the south and had a good reputation.

But he heard that they didn’t like forming factions and quietly avoided showing off their power in southern social circles.

The Hersen Grand Duchy had long been plagued by factional struggles between the old and new nobles, but Duke Smirnov had never taken a side.

Naturally, they had not shown any interest in the former Grand Duchess, Oksana.

It was a very rare characteristic among the Boyanin elite.

“Does Her Highness, the former Grand Duchess, know…?”

“Of course, she doesn’t. That’s why I secretly called you here.”

“Even without that, I had a hard time keeping it a secret, since I was supposed to be traveling home. What made you summon me?”

“I want you to be a witness at the wedding. You’re the only friend I can trust.”

Upon hearing those words, Luka’s nostrils flared.

He had earned an astonishing level of trust from Nikolai, who had lived his life distrusting everyone.

His father, Duke Obolonsky, was a follower of the former Grand Duchess Oksana and stood in opposition to Nikolai.

During the time when Nikolai suffered the most from persecution, Luka could only stand by and watch, unable to protect his friend.

Thinking back to those days, he still felt a deep sense of admiration and anguish in his bones.

Yet, despite everything, the Duke remembered the time when they were friends and studied together under the same mentor when they were young, and he trusted Luka.

“Why do you keep me close to you? I am a coward who couldn’t do anything while watching you suffer. Don’t trust me. Don’t reach out your hand!”

“Back then, neither you nor I had the strength, and we were too young. Now that I’ve become stronger, I promise that I won’t put you in such a painful situation again.”

Luka looked at the person who had opened his heart to him and thought.

If the day ever came when he had to choose between his father and his friend, he would definitely stand by his friend.

To do that, he had to grow stronger.

So he was walking a fine line, teetering on the edge, in order to deceive his father.

From Oksana and Duke Obolonsky’s perspective, they thought they had placed Luka as a mere pawn next to the Grand Duke.

They had no idea that Luka had pledged a lifelong loyalty to Nikolai.

He was a kind of double agent.

“Are you really getting married? Then what you said about falling in love earlier…”

“I’m not cut out for jokes.”

Nikolai smirked.

He was not one to easily open up to others, and Katya was the only one he played pranks on.

He enjoyed seeing her constantly changing expressions.

“You said you needed a woman who would stand by your side until everything was over. Why did you fall in love?”

When he went to the south, he needed to find a suitable ally in a place where Oksana’s influence couldn’t reach.

That was Nikolai’s intention when he left the capital.

He thought that marrying for love was impossible.

He didn’t need a wife, he needed someone to play the role of Grand Duchess.

But then, Katya appeared before him.

Falling in love with her was not part of the plan.

Before he knew it, he was deeply captivated by her.

It was like falling into a pit from which he could never escape.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do either.”

“……”

“But I always keep in mind not to be greedy. I will give her everything I can while I’m alive and let her go.”

Marrying Katya was partly because he loved her, but ultimately, there was another reason.

“I wish I had muscles and immense strength like you.”

“What?”

“If I were strong, no one would dare to ignore me.”

When Nikolai realized that she was a victim of an unwanted marriage and that Ivan had practically starved her at the villa, he felt his blood boil.

He wanted to ensure that no one would ever mistreat her again.

He had the power to make Katya the most esteemed woman in the Grand Duchy, the one everyone looked up to.

He believed he could do it.

For the first time, he thought it was fortunate that he was born into the Grand Duke’s family and became the Grand Duke after enduring those trials.

Even if there came a time when he wasn’t by her side anymore, by then she would have become the Grand Duchess.

In Hersen, there was no one who could disregard the Grand Duchess and her household.

“Your Highness…”

“As you know, I am not allowed to have a happy family.”

“Could it be because of the divine oracle.”

The Grand Duke had the power to defy the divine oracle and claim the woman he desired.

But he seemed to have no intention of doing so.

There was a reason why Nikolai had set a one-year deadline for this marriage from the beginning.

Even Luka could see that he didn’t want to make her sad.

“You genuinely love that woman, don’t you?”

“I have no choice but to love her.”

“Even though you’re getting married, will you continue with your original plan? It’s not too late to stop now…”

“If I were going to stop, I wouldn’t have started in the first place. That’s the reason why I’m still alive.”

All that remained in Nikolai after years of persecution was a thirst for revenge.

The late Grand Duke Yuri de Vasily had four children, including himself.

His first wife, Yevgeniya, gave birth to a set of twins, but she died from puerperal fever soon after giving birth to their daughter.

His second wife, Tatiana, raised the stepchildren left behind by the previous wife as her own and gave birth to his second son, Nikolai. But she was unjustly accused, divorced, and died in an accident 13 years ago.

Grand Duchess Oksana, his third wife, gave birth to a lovely youngest son for Yuri.

Everyone, including Yuri, unanimously believed that Ruslan, the eldest son born to Yevgeniya, would succeed the Grand Duke.

However, Ruslan died in an unfortunate accident, and Yuri lost his sanity and lived out his final years without designating a successor before passing away.

“A lowly useless bastard.”

Yuri, his deceased father, was not the only one who spoke such cruel words to Nikolai.

His entire family had been exterminated for treason, pushing the young Nikolai over the edge with the nobles and courtiers.

The boyanins, a group of nobles from Hersen, and the clergy, led by the archbishop, were pushing the youngest, Mihail, to become the next grand duke.

However, it was Nikolai, the son of the despised late wife, who seized the Grand Duchy with the support of emerging nobles, as well as the backing of the knights and officers of the Guard.

The arrested assassins always took their lives without revealing their backers, but Nikolai knew.

He knew that the seemingly compassionate consort, Oksana, and the influential noble faction were covertly plotting against him.

In the treacherous capital of Sankt Peterburg, Nikolai had very few people he could trust.

Luka was one of them.

“Since you bought me a gift, it would be polite to accept it. I know it must have been hard for you to carry it all the way here.”

“Why are you saying such irritating words?”

Luka got goosebumps at his unusually kind attitude and brushed his arm.

“I’m trying to be a better person from now on.”

“Is that possible?”

“Regardless of the outcome, I think it’s better than being a fearsome person.”

It bothered Nikolai that Katya had whispered to Laika that he was a terrifying person.

From now on, Nikolai decided to speak kind words, noble words, and have good intentions.

As he opened the box with a smile, he took out the perfume and his expression hardened.

“I take back what I said about you being the only friend I can trust, starting from today.”

“What? Why?”

Luka shouted in frustration, not realizing that Bianca had accidentally put the cheap perfume inside.