No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t deny the sense of relief that filled her chest every time she heard the news of his survival in the long war.
After having Eve, she admitted it.
She had left him, but she couldn’t escape him.
It had become impossible to completely forget him, Eve’s biological father.
“Now even the emperor is wary of the duke. Thanks to that, people in the empire who treated Lupus as slaves have completely disappeared. It’s what he accomplished in ten years.”
Egon chattered on about Sched as if wanting her to listen.
As if to let her know how far he had flown.
As if to remind her how different he had become from ‘Riana Serpens’.
“Do you perhaps want to let Eve meet her biological father?”
“…No. That’s not what I meant.”
Shadows fell over Leah’s face as it sank low.
Egon quietly looked at her in silence, then stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go check if Eve is sleeping well.”
Egon went into the room to see Eve, who had fallen asleep a little earlier than usual.
Leah naturally watched his back as he took care of Eve and thought.
He was certainly someone to be grateful for.
Eve liked him too.
Even if he leaves someday, is it right to hold his hand now?
For Eve’s sake, what should I do…?
Just as Leah was pondering, Egon hurriedly came out of the room.
“Leah, something’s wrong with Eve’s condition.”
Leah immediately stood up from her spot and ran to the room, seeing his uncharacteristically flustered expression.
Eve’s body, sleeping in the room, was burning up like a ball of fire.
“Eve, Eve…!”
Leah hugged her, gasping for breath.
Even when called to wake up, the child wouldn’t get up.
Her heart sank.
“I’ll call a doctor.”
Egon hurriedly ran out.
Normally, Eve would have been excited to play with Egon, who had come after a long time, and begged to stay up late.
Leah had thought it was a little strange for such a child to fall asleep early, exhausted.
She thought maybe Eve was a bit tired early today from being overly excited about the gift…
Before she knew it, Eve’s breath was mixed with rough phlegm and shallow coughs.
“Eve, Mommy’s here.”
Leah put Eve down and hastily prepared a wet towel.
As Leah undressed Eve and wiped her body with water, she discovered red rashes rising all over Eve’s body.
Leah grew anxious at the symptoms she had never seen before.
She was afraid this small breath would stop like this.
The anxiety she had been thinking about all along seemed like it would become reality.
If the happiness that wasn’t allowed returned as the face of the greatest misfortune again…
“Please…”
She had no right, but she dared to pray to God despite being a heretic.
Please, just spare this child.
I’ll do anything, so please don’t take this innocent child away.
Aren’t I the one you should punish, not this child?
Just as Leah was praying while holding Eve, Egon brought a man.
He was one of the retired birds, not a proper doctor.
However, he was well-versed in pharmacy and medicine, taking on the role of a doctor on this small island.
He examined Eve’s body and raised his head.
“It’s the poison of the red widow spider.”
The man showed a small wound on Eve’s finger.
It was a bite mark from an insect.
“It’s a curable condition, but an antidote can’t be obtained on Janna Island right away.”
It was an isolated island.
They had some medicinal ingredients in stock, but there was no way they would have the specific medicine to cure this poison.
“The main island should definitely have the ingredients.”
He wrote down a few necessary ingredients and handed them over.
They would be ingredients that could easily be obtained on Sizron Island, where the Bitel family’s Golden Castle was located.
Egon looked at the list, then turned his gaze to Leah.
He could go to the main island to get the ingredients.
But if he were to do that, it would be better to…
“Leah, let’s take Eve and leave.”
It was better to take Eve to the main island.
It would take time to go and get the ingredients, and if the medicine didn’t work right away, time would be wasted finding other alternatives.
Leah nodded without hesitation.
She had never left this island even once after having Eve, but for the child’s treatment, she could go anywhere.
“Please, Egon.”
Leah lifted Eve’s feverish body, wrapping her in her arms.
[This is the timeline separator]Leah stayed by her daughter’s side all night.
Fortunately, there was an antidote on Sizron Island, where all things in the world gathered.
“If she takes the medicine and recovers for about a week, she’ll be fine.”
The pharmacist who made the antidote comforted Leah, who had spent the night worrying, and left.
Leah caressed the cheek of Eve, who had passed the crisis.
“It’s a relief. That it didn’t turn into a major illness.”
At Eclas’ words, Leah threw a glance at him.
While coming from Janna Island to Sizron Island, he had done his best for Eve.
He had his subordinates prepare a boat in advance, clear the dock for mooring, have a carriage waiting, and even found a pharmacist to manufacture an antidote suitable for the symptoms in advance.
Everything flowed smoothly without any hindrance.
Leah realized the power Eclas Bitel held.
Without him, Eve might have lost her life on Janna Island.
“Thank you.”
Once again, she had become indebted to Eclas.
Eclas willingly gave up one of the Golden Castle’s rooms for Eve.
“…And I’m always sorry.”
It felt like her unpayable debt to him was only growing.
But Eclas sat by her side and stared at Eve.
“It’s for Eve.”
Her heart burned hotly at the way he spoke as if it were natural.
In moments difficult to resist, the distance between them narrowed helplessly.
She began to waver at him, who always extended his hand kindly and devotedly in times of crisis like this.
Someone who sincerely cherished Eve.
Someone who would become a reliable support for the child.
For Eve’s sake, wouldn’t he be necessary?
If something like this happens again later, in order to protect Eve…
“Let’s stay here for the time being until Eve fully recovers.”
Eclas’ unique deep and luxurious ocean scent drew closer.
“You should get some rest too. You haven’t slept a wink all night.”
Eclas gently patted the shoulder of Leah, who hadn’t been able to close her eyes worrying about Eve.
Leah quietly nodded.
[This is the timeline separator]“Haah…”
Eclas returned to his office, leaving Eve and Leah to rest.
‘It’s about time you come over, Louise.’
For several years, he had visited her on Janna Island whenever he had a chance, despite his busy schedule.
He provided an environment that wasn’t burdensome but wasn’t lacking, and he did his best for Eve as well.
Still, she never gave more than a certain line.
Sometimes he grew impatient and wanted to bring up all the money and environment he had provided for her.
That since he had done this much for her, shouldn’t she come to him now? Shouldn’t she accept him?
But he, quick-witted, knew.
The moment he uttered such words, she would try to pay off all her debts and leave, even if it meant sacrificing herself.
‘…As if she’ll meet Sched Lester again.’
Eclas placed his palm over his eyes and raised his head as if tired.
“But someday, Baron Sobaek will have a real family too.”
He recalled what Leah had said.
‘I wonder if she really doesn’t know, or if she’s pretending not to know…’
Eclas couldn’t understand Leah’s excuse at all.
He was clearly devoting himself only to her and Eve.
Although he couldn’t be with them often or for long due to business and other eyes watching, he was confident he was pouring out as much affection as a real family.
It was the same for Eve.
At first, he thought of that child as a means to gain Leah.
But at some point, he found himself smiling while looking at Eve.
When Eve was sick, his heart sank for real.
‘Shouldn’t this be enough for you to come over…?’
He thought five years would be enough, but she always seemed to be in the same place.
As the deadline approached, his impatience grew.
So cowardly, he was encouraging Eve to call him daddy and trying to win the child’s favor.
Because then she would waver too.
Because if the child was everything to her, she might come over for Eve’s sake.
But now, he was starting to think he had written the contract wrong from the beginning.
‘I shouldn’t have set an end after all…’
Who knew five years would be this short?
There was only one reason he had handed her a marriage vow with ‘Egon’ written on it instead of ‘Eclas’.
A woman married to Eclas Bitel was bound to receive attention from the world, unable to hide her identity or disappear from the world.
Leah had to hide from the world, and for that, her husband also had to avoid drawing attention from the world.
The identity created for that purpose was ‘Egon’.
But he couldn’t say that it was an identity made for her sake, that he had intended to marry her from the beginning.
“Is my greed too much? Is it?”
Eclas muttered as he gazed at the gold coin he always rubbed, as usual.
At that moment…
“Young Master.”
Bannen came to him with a serious face.
[This is the timeline separator]“Hey! Watch where you’re go…! My apologies…!”
The sailor moving cargo at Sizron Port faltered his words upon seeing the man he had bumped shoulders with.
Wearing a gray robe, he was noticeably tall even among the rough seafaring people.
Moreover, he had fierce eyes that looked like he would rip out someone’s throat at any moment.
‘Lupus…?’
The sailor gulped dry saliva before his sharp violet eyes.
The keen expression under the black robe was exactly like a demon who had risen from hell.
‘He must be crazy.’
The sailor knew it was best not to get involved with such a madman.
As the sailor hastily stepped aside, the sinister-looking man staggered out of the port and headed into the city of Sizron.
“Finally…”
The man in the robe gritted his teeth as he looked at the Bitel family’s Golden Castle in the distance.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
