Since then, we visited the mansion several times to persuade Clint.
At first, Clint, who would shout at us to leave or get angry, now seemed indifferent, and our visits went unnoticed.
In the meantime, the knights cleaned the mansion little by little every day. They didn’t dare touch the garden, so they only went as far as removing cobwebs from inside the mansion or fixing broken windows.
Even though they only dusted it off, the mansion slowly revealed its former grandeur. The grand mansion resembled a massive, unbreakable mountain.
Just like Clint Tenen, the Count.
“What’s the point of drinking alone? Let’s drink together today, Count.”
“…….”
Clint, who had been sitting on the windowsill shaking an empty bottle, lifted his head. It seemed that the alcohol had just run out.
Jaerim, who had laughed in approval, rushed to Clint with the bottle. Clint, who always chased us away or ignored us, was different today.
Jaerim waved to the knights who had brought food and drink. Then the knights carefully laid a clean carpet on the office floor so as not to stir up the thick dust.
They placed cushions they had brought for each person and set up the food and drink for easy eating.
“Come over here and join us, Count.”
Familiar tastes can be scarier.
A delicious smell wafted. Clint, sitting on the windowsill, seemed to ponder what to do.
But as Levanfell, Jaerim, and I took our seats, Clint gave in, approached, and took his place.
His stilldarkened face looked as if he might die soon. Perhaps sitting with people and doing something together was something he hadn’t done in years?
Jaerim and I quickly exchanged glances. Jaerim filled the glasses, and I raised my full glass high.
“The recent dreadful news weighs heavily on my heart.”
Clint, who was about to tilt the bottle, waited for the rest of my words, holding his drink without sipping.
“On the way here, I was heartbroken by the news of children being sold to pay off debts…… Ha, Jaerim. Did the knights report?”
“A report came a few days ago that they discovered the entrance to the village where the children were sold, so the next report will come soon, Your Majesty.”
“Good. I’ll personally root out whoever did such evil deeds!”
In the heavy conversation, Clint unconsciously nodded, gripping his glass tightly. I reached my hand forward.
“Let’s toast, wishing for the children’s safe return.”
“To good health.”
“The wife is deephearted. Cheers.”
The three of us clinked our glasses and simultaneously turned our heads to the same place. Clint, still holding his drink, was bowing his head.
“Lord Tenen. Won’t you wish with us for the children’s safe return?”
At my question, Clint’s eyes narrowed. I knew that it was like rubbing salt into his bitter scar, but it couldn’t be helped.
People must be saved.
“……I will pray for everyone’s safe return. Cheers.”
Reluctantly, Clint clinked glasses with us. Our four glasses mingled, and the full drink passed between our glasses.
And we tilted our drinks together.
When I turned my head absentmindedly, I saw Clint’s family portraits. Looking at the faintly smiling countess and young lady in the painting, I vowed.
I will surely save Count Tenen. So don’t worry.
(This is a time separator.)
Clint really could drink. While we drank a glass, he had several alone, to the point that Jaerim got drunk first.
Clint really drank too well.
I was starting to think he wasn’t human when I was relieved to see Clint get drunk. If he had gotten drunk a little later, he would have opened his mouth and gulped down the bottle.
“……Where did all the people who used to live in the mansion go?”
The intoxication that hadn’t hit until now hit hard all at once, and Clint’s upper body swayed like a reed.
When a person keeps sorrow bottled up inside for years, it rots and festers. Someone had to forcibly open up those feelings.
Even if it was after drinking.
Levanfell, who had been tilting his glass alone, wondering about my question, suddenly turned his eyes to Clint.
“……I’ve sent them all away…….”
Clint answered quite calmly. His pronunciation was slurred due to his twisted tongue, but it didn’t matter.
It was important what Clint was saying to himself, even if I couldn’t understand him properly.
“There must have been some who were with you for a long time. You must have felt regretful when you sent them away.”
“……Yes. But I just couldn’t bear to see them. The memories we shared, you mean?”
Clint refilled his empty glass with a clatter.
“……Every time I saw those who were with me for a long time, I missed my wife and daughter so much…… and thought about them that I felt like I would die from sorrow.”
Crash!
With a sharp noise, the bottle Clint was holding shattered into pieces. Fortunately, no shards flew out, but the sharp fragments dug into Clint’s palm.
Just like the nightmares that had sharply dug into Clint.
Red blood dripped from his palm, staining the glass.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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