STVWDTD Chapter 16

I Prefer Predators, Actually.

Whoosh— His sword cut through empty air, raising a vicious wind. The vice-commander meeting the strike head-on had gone pale.

The vice-commander was the only one managing to continue blocking Rodrick's attacks.

"The lady blocked this strike. Is this all you have?"

The elite knights—already beaten to a pulp under the pretense of training—lay sprawled in the dirt with aggrieved expressions.

"Do you realize we almost died back then?!"

"Right. Without landing a single hit on me."

Haaa. That's a demon. An actual demon. These men already ranked among the most skilled in the knight order.

Simply responding to Rodrick's strength pushed to its limits had already elevated them far beyond ordinary knights.

They deserved praise just for blocking Rodrick, but he looked thoroughly displeased.

Rodrick moved his sword while his body operated on autopilot, lost in thought.

Something bothered him, but he couldn't identify what. For the aftertaste to be this unsatisfying—what the hell was it?

As he frowned, a subordinate's voice reached his ears.

"Do you know how much my wife nags me for coming home injured every day? You bastards wouldn't know—none of you have wives."

"Shut up."

"Couples should die."

"Stop bragging and f*ck off."

His movement stopped at one particular word.

The sword blade halted just barely at the man's throat. Daren showed his surrender and collapsed to the ground. The vice-commander, already past his limit, was drenched in sweat.

"My handsome face is covered in bruises every day, you should see how upset she gets. Haha. You guys should hurry up and get yourselves crafty wives like—"

The knight deep in gossip while sacrificing the vice-commander fell silent.

He slowly raised his face toward the shadow that had suddenly fallen.

"C-Commander?"

Flinch. The tip of Rodrick's sword touched the knight's chin.

Rodrick's face, backlit by the sun, showed only darkness. Only his blue eyes were clearly visible.

Unable to read that expression, the knight gulped. Was he slacking off? Would he get punished?

"You're married."

"Yes? Yes. You even attended my wedding."

At the random question, the knight scratched his head.

'What's going on?'

'No idea.'

He glanced at the others beside him, but they just shrugged—no clue.

"Do you have a question, sir?"

"Proposals."

"Pardon?"

"When you proposed, did your wife answer immediately?"

"Yes... of course? Carol was so moved she cried when she accepted."

"I see."

With a suddenly serious expression, Rodrick lowered his sword and left the training grounds.

"..."

"..."

The knights stared dumbfounded at Rodrick's retreating back, then repeated his words and snapped to attention.

"Wait. Hey. Could this be—"

"D-did the lady reject him?!"

"Holy shit. Our commander got turned down!"

Within the knight order, Rodrick became a rejected man in an instant.

That's right. He still hadn't received an answer to his proposal. It had only been an engagement, not even a marriage proposal.

He roughly swept back his sweat-dampened hair and headed straight for Diana.

The study, frozen cold enough to sting, looked like a bomb had gone off.

A lady speaking with such audacity—give me your son—to the Duke of Schwartz, whom even the Emperor treated carefully.

At this thunderbolt spectacle, the aides and attendants couldn't close their mouths. Yet the speaker herself and the target of the bombardment remained utterly calm.

"Lady."

That heavy voice pressed down. As the silence shattered, those around them flinched and hunched their shoulders.

"Are you unaware of the relationship between your house and ours?"

The distance between Diana—who'd struck the desk—and the duke was dangerously close. Even while receiving the duke's pressure, Diana smiled brightly.

"I'm aware. We treat each other like the neighbor's shit-covered dog."

"And yet?"

"You'll profit more from this. My share of the mines and assets is considerable. The dowry will be substantial."

"We have assets of that level as well."

Right. Schwartz's wealth wasn't inferior. But there was one area where Beatus held the advantage.

"You'll gain connections to the capital. Your attempts to plant agents in the imperial court keep failing, don't they?"

And whose fault was that, exactly? It was because of Beatus—tightly controlling central politics and secretly dominating even the underworld.

"..."

Tap tap- The duke drummed his fingers on the desk, eyes thoughtful. The weighing didn't take long.

"What does the lady gain?"

"Your eldest son."

"Not the second?"

Nah, I'll pass.

The sub-male lead had high chances of getting tangled with the protagonist. Besides, his childish aspects were too strong—romantic feelings wouldn't develop anyway.

Felice was also a cure, and if he'd been a taciturn, devastated younger man like in the novel, would she have thought differently?

No, even then—Rodrick's better.

She preferred predators showing teeth over puppies wagging tails. Diana's pink eyes curved prettily as she spoke.

"No, Father. Rodrick."

"He has a fine frame but he's dying. He'll die soon after the second becomes heir. Are you aware?"

The duke spoke with no emotion about his son's death, completely unmoved.

Oh my, Father. That's a really unpleasant way to talk. He's your child. How can you discuss it so casually?

The duke was obliquely referring to Rodrick's curse. A probe. How much do you know?

Pink eyes, having grasped his intention, settled softly.

"I'm aware."

"And yet, Lady, you want such a cursed man? A defective product of the family."

Defective product. Her smiling face froze solid. You lived being treated like this?

"How harsh, Father. To me, he's a very, very precious and valuable jewel."

Who dares insult my cure? Even if it was his father, she couldn't tolerate it. Emotion-laced words flowed out coldly.

"No matter who treats him as worthless."

Your judgment is truly regrettable. At that roundabout statement, the duke's expressionless face twisted slightly.

As the battle of wills stretched taut between them, Felice fidgeted a few steps away.

Should he call his brother right now? But if Rodrick joined this situation, it would obviously become a complete disaster.

'Ugh, what do I do? If she provokes Father more, he won't approve the marriage or anything. Should I step in?'

Contrary to Felice's thoughts, the duke found Diana intriguing.

He'd been sitting upright attending to work, but now leaned back leisurely against the chair.

His children and even his aides couldn't withstand his gaze. Only Rodrick was the exception.

She didn't avoid the duke's gaze that made everyone tremble in fear—she met it head-on.

Those bright, clear eyes meeting his so calmly were almost impudent. A laugh escaped involuntarily.

"Ha. If you wish to become a widow, I won't stop you."

"Oh my, Father. A widow? If you'll just approve the proposal, I'm confident we'll live a hundred years together."

"Remarkable confidence."

I feel like I've heard this somewhere before. The phrasing so identical to Rodrick's made her fear vanish far away.

"Could he even close his eyes properly with a wife as beautiful as me?"

"..."

"Your son seems more jealous than I thought."

Wow. Felice was genuinely impressed. She doesn't back down from Father at all—amazing.

The Duke of Schwartz was someone most people found difficult to even stand before without a steel constitution.

Watching Diana fearlessly face the father he'd never dared defy his entire life, Felice's heart raced.

He clenched his fists and sent silent encouragement. Sister-in-law, fighting!

"Regret will be the lady's burden as well."

"Of course. Responsibility for my choice is entirely mine."

Even at words concluding Rodrick would die, Diana responded without blinking.

The tug-of-war stretched taut briefly before the duke stepped back.

"Fine. I'll have a courtship letter sent to Beatus."

"No. Could you hold off on that courtship letter?"

Why? The duke's eyebrow twitched. Hadn't she been chattering to get approval?

"Right now, I just came to get Father's permission. That way I have justification to stay in this castle with my younger brother."

"And?"

"First, accept me as your prospective daughter-in-law, Father. My status in this castle—something like the Knight Commander's prospective fiancée would be good."

House Beatus's prestige was formidable, but the status of Beatus's youngest daughter was comparatively low.

Little was known about her compared to her three siblings. Houses with ill feelings toward Beatus would feel that way even more strongly.

So to gain speaking rights here, she needed to establish her status before moving. Skinship with her handsome cure was a bonus.

"Then I'll take your approval as granted and withdraw now. Thank you for your valuable time, Your Grace."

As if she'd never argued, Diana stepped back from the desk and curtsied gracefully before leaving the study.

Oh right—as if remembering something she'd forgotten, Diana turned back just before exiting and added:

"But I'm angry that my jewel is being treated like trash, Father."

Thud. The door closed and the study wrapped in cold silence once more.

Diana ultimately didn't explain why she was postponing the courtship letter. That was something the duke could investigate separately.

Only the words she'd uttered before leaving the door had touched the duke's nerves.

At that cunning remark essentially demanding he watch his words in front of her, the duke's face froze solid.

Hah. Leaving the study, Diana exhaled deeply. Was being rude like that okay?

Belated regret washed over her, but what could she do?

She'd needed to say what she wanted to say.

"Did the conversation end well?"

A low voice tickled her ear like a shiver.

Rodrick stood leaning against the wall in light clothing, arms crossed—when had he arrived?

Diana's face brightened with delight.

"When did you get here?"

"When you started talking about jewels."

"Uh, the first jewel? The second jewel?"

If it was the jewel talk at the end, he likely hadn't heard the conversation.

"The first."

Diana's brow furrowed slightly.

"Then you heard everything?"

He touched his rising lips and said:

"Yeah."

"If you heard, you could've come in and backed me up!"

"Kuk. Haha."

He couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

When he'd first gone looking for her and heard she'd gone to meet the duke, his mood had plummeted instantly.

Why on earth would she want to meet the duke? Unable to understand the reason, he'd been about to drag Diana out of the study.

Until he heard those words from outside the door.

'How harsh, Father. To me, he's a very, very precious and valuable jewel. No matter who treats him as worthless.'

With his sharp senses, Rodrick could clearly hear Diana's voice through the well-soundproofed door.

Who existed who would dare speak back to the duke? He should have seen the duke's twisted expression directly.

"Right. I really should've seen that face."

His low laughter echoed pleasantly through the corridor.