“Did stealing money from other people’s pockets mean this? Baron Adresa excessively collects taxes and fills his stomach with that money?”
“There’s no other way for the money to come in. Baron Adresa doesn’t run a trading business or have mines. And his territory isn’t vast, so there’s not many people to collect taxes from either.”
“He’s squeezing those who have nothing.”
“The world is full of trash.”
Levanfell stood up with a dry expression.
“I’ll go tell the cook to prepare more food, so wait here. Understand?”
“……I understand.”
I was not in a good mood since morning. Although it’s a fact that the world is full of trash, seeing it right in front of my eyes bothered me.
‘Trash should be cleaned up when seen.’
With that thought, the valuable objects filling the bedroom became distasteful. I turned my head and stared out the window.
Then, an odd scene was captured beyond the window.
‘That is…….’
In a blind spot of the garden, unseen from the outside, the cook who had served us yesterday was being assaulted by Baron Adresa.
“What a mess.”
I closed the window and left the bedroom towards that direction. The best course of action was usually a sudden attack.
I hastened my steps and headed to where I had witnessed the incident. As I approached the spot seen from the window, a dull sound resonated loudly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Yesterday! You dared! In front of His Highness! Disgrace me! And talk back?!”
“Ugh! Sob! Sorry, I’m sorry…….”
Just hearing it made my face involuntarily frown due to the strong cracking sound. I bit my inner lip and revealed myself with the sound of my footsteps.
“What are you doing here?”
The one swinging his fist stopped at my call, surprised, and ceased his assault. His astonished face turned pale as he faced my angry expression.
“Your, Your Majesty.”
“Good morning, Sir.”
I gracefully approached Baron Adresa, holding my dress.
“What are you doing here?”
I very well knew why Baron Adresa was beating someone here without even looking around.
Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about anyone’s eyes. He must have ruled as a king here in this place.
He wouldn’t have needed to worry about someone’s gaze, just as my family in the Kingdom of Lupeon treated me.
“Did, did you sleep well last night, Your Majesty?”
“Baron Adresa.”
“Ye, yes. Your Majesty.”
“How many times do I have to ask you the same question to get an answer?”
Baron Adresa shut his lips with a pale face. I glanced down at the cook who was on the ground with bulging eyes.
“Why is this cook being beaten by you this early in the morning?”
“Tha, that’s…… He made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes, yes. The cook almost caused a delay in serving the Empress due to a big mistake. So, it was something I had to correct.”
Count Adressa bowed, bringing his hands together respectfully.
“A big mistake that led to beating someone, you mean? My.”
“…….”
“Yes.”
When I nodded, Count Adressa sneakily cast a surprised look. He seemed astonished because he expected me to strongly object, but I just accepted it.
“It seems that’s the law in your territory. Since the Lord says so, what can I touch upon?”
“Yes, that’s right. Those who make mistakes must be beaten. That’s the law of my territory.”
I smiled at Count Adressa and then spoke to the fallen cook behind me.
“The Empress is looking for the cook. Get up and go.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
The cook, whose eyes were wide with shock, looked at me with cold, unfeeling eyes and then got up. He bowed to me and Count Adressa and disappeared into the distance.
“The wicked must be controlled by whipping. The Empress is indeed a learned person. I felt it yesterday when you recognized the expensive artwork. If the Empress is alright with it……”
“My.”
After confirming that the cook had safely entered inside, I coldly called Count Adressa.
“Do you know what you’re stepping on right now, My?”
“……Yes?”
Count Adressa looked down at his feet, tilting his head. He spoke with a foolish voice.
“I’m stepping on the grass……?”
“You’re wrong.”
“Yes?”
“My. My, you are stepping on my shadow right now.”
“Ah…… Because the sun rises this way, Your Majesty’s shadow……”
“My. You said it before. If you make a big mistake here, you get beaten.”
“Em, Empress.”
“You said the wicked must be controlled by whipping? Isn’t it a big mistake that you’re stepping on my shadow now?”
Count Adressa, greatly surprised, finally stepped back from my shadow.
“My.”
I raised my hand high in the air. Startled, Count Adressa tightly closed his eyes and hunched his shoulders.
Thud.
“What’s there to be so surprised about? My. Did you think I was going to hit you?”
I lightly tapped Count Adressa’s shoulder with my raised hand. When I smiled brightly, Count Adressa, who had lost his color, managed to smile with a stiff face.
“Ha, haha. Empress. I was……”
“Run.”
I cut off Count Adressa’s words sharply, commanding with a smiling face.
“You said those who make mistakes must be beaten with their bodies? I can’t hit you, so what can I do?”
“Em, Empress.”
I casually pointed to the vast garden with my chin.
“Let’s exercise before breakfast. Run, My.”
“Em, Empress.”
“Run. This is an order. My. There will be more punishment if the Emperor comes, won’t there? It will be better to run before the Emperor arrives.”
With a stern face, I issued the command, and Count Adressa, in confusion, began to run. His running posture was quite odd, as if he had never properly exercised before.
“Empress.”
Jerim, who had been coming in with the knights, approached, looking at the running Count Adressa with strange eyes.
“What is Count Adressa doing?”
“Bullying with bullying.”
“Yes?”
I spoke calmly, adding my thoughts.
“He took someone else’s, so he should pay the price.”
“Oh. It seems that Count Adressa has angered the Empress.”
“Jerim.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“There were many expensive pieces of art at Count Adressa’s residence. Surely this amount of goods would have generated much tax, but I don’t remember ever seeing it on the reports that the Count had submitted.”
Jerim furrowed his brows, trying to recall, then stared intently at Count Adressa, running earnestly in the garden.
“That’s strange. I also don’t remember seeing it. It smells of filthy money.”
“Could you do me a favor?”
“I will report to His Majesty and check right away.”
Jerim murmured about big money coming in and smiled brightly.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
