After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
Several days had passed since I returned from the banquet.
As he had informed me beforehand, Kaern left the capital in a hurry that very night after escorting me home following the banquet.
Yesterday, I went to view the garden of the Lavellion ducal residence and heard this from the butler.
‘If he was that busy, he didn’t have to attend the banquet at all.’
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed he had gone out of his way for me, and I felt both gratitude and guilt toward him.
At the same time, Kaern’s words from the banquet echoed in my mind once again.
‘He mentioned marriage.’
He said we would marry soon.
Him and me.
It was the first time he had directly brought up marriage himself.
And it seemed he truly was considering marrying me.
Engagement naturally led to marriage, after all.
Kaern probably thought so too.
But I couldn’t marry him.
Suppressing the slight flutter in my chest, I firmly reaffirmed my wavering resolve to break off the engagement.
‘If I stay idle like this, something terrible is bound to happen.’
I must speak to him the moment he returns.
Otherwise, we might really end up getting married….
“No.”
“My lady, what did you say?”
“Hm? Oh, nothing at all.”
It seemed my thoughts had slipped out of my mouth unconsciously.
Amy, my maid, looked at me curiously and asked, puzzled by my muttering.
I brushed it off vaguely and returned my focus to my work.
While working in my study and spending the morning hours, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
“My lady. It’s the butler.”
“Come in.”
Upon my permission, the butler opened the door and entered the study.
“What is it?”
“A letter of invitation has just arrived for you, my lady.”
“An invitation?”
“Yes. Here it is.”
First, I checked the seal on the letter handed to me by the butler.
It bore the seal of the Melison earldom.
‘Melison…’
Countess Charlotte Melison of House Melison was one of the prominent socialites in high society.
She frequently hosted gatherings and loved to gossip about the latest happenings in noble circles.
Since I had never received an invitation from Countess Melison before, curiosity mingled with suspicion as I broke the seal.
To the esteemed Lady Helena Rosentia.
The letter began with my name elegantly inscribed in graceful handwriting.
The reason I write so abruptly is that I have heard joyful news—similar to the recent celebration at the last banquet—that another happy event may soon occur.
I have long wished to discuss gardens with you and tried reaching out several times, but due to the whims of timing, the moments never aligned, and I ended up eating cake alone in melancholy.
Though this sudden invitation may startle you, I would be delighted if you could join me and my friends for tea with a relaxed mind.
I shall eagerly await your kind acceptance of my invitation.
From Charlotte Melison, Countess Melison, who loves gardens
After reading the letter, I instantly understood why she had invited me to her tea party.
‘What should I do?’
Although she claimed it was about gardens and the rest was mere formality, tea parties among nobles typically focused less on gardens and more on gossip.
Thus, I suspected she wanted to inquire about Kaern and me appearing together at the banquet.
However, outright declining a personally addressed tea party invitation would be impolite for a noble.
Moreover, she held considerable influence in high society.
If it concerned only me, I would have attended without worry, but since Kaern was also involved, I felt burdened.
‘I suppose I have to go?’
I hadn’t even drafted my acceptance yet, yet a heavy sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Picking up the pen that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, I slowly and carefully wrote a reply accepting her invitation.
Several days later, the day of the tea party arrived.
Having finished my preparations, I boarded a carriage bound for the Melison earldom and reached my destination after about an hour’s ride.
As I stepped down from the carriage, Countess Melison herself came out to greet me warmly.
“Welcome, Lady Rosentia.”
“Thank you for the invitation, Countess Melison.”
“You must have been surprised by such a sudden request—I’m truly grateful you came.”
Countess Melison was far more amiable toward me than I had imagined.
Feeling slightly relieved, I was about to enter the mansion where the tea party would be held when the countess called out to me.
“Oh, Lady Rosentia, just a moment.”
I halted mid-step and turned to look at the countess.
“In fact, today’s tea party isn’t scheduled to begin until two hours from now.”
“What?”
What was this?
Momentarily flustered, I gave her a questioning look, demanding an explanation.
“Well… the truth is, I had a favor to ask of you, so I arranged the appointment earlier than planned. Would you mind listening to my request for a moment?”
I briefly wondered what kind of favor would prompt her to invite me so early, but realized it was pointless to speculate without hearing her out, so I agreed to listen first before deciding.
“Alright. I’ll hear you out, and if it’s something I can help with, I’ll try.”
“Oh, thank you! You see, I’d like you to take a look at our family’s garden. No one matches your expertise in horticulture. Even these flowers—I planted them following your magazine articles…”
Throughout her speech, the countess displayed remarkable skill in flattery, subtly weaving in exactly what she knew I’d want to hear—an ability that fully justified her reputation as a socialite.
“I made a few changes to the garden while preparing for today’s tea party, but something feels off. Of course, with limited time, I couldn’t redo everything, but I thought perhaps you might have some ideas.”
Realizing her request was genuinely about the garden, my wariness gradually dissipated.
“I’ll take a look.”
After all, it felt gratifying that she acknowledged my skills and sought my help.
“Thank you. The garden is this way.”
I followed Countess Melison to the greenhouse garden she had arranged.
After surveying the garden thoroughly, I immediately understood why she had spoken as she did.
The garden was filled with colorful, beautiful flowers.
However, since they had been planted without regard to their placement, orientation, or color harmony, each flower unintentionally diminished the others’ beauty.
“Countess Melison, may I and your staff make a few adjustments to the garden?”
Although she had approached me first, I asked again to confirm before undertaking any major changes.
“Oh my, of course! Whatever you do will be perfectly fine—I trust you completely.”
“Then, I’ll proceed.”
With her permission, I immediately rolled up my sleeves, put on gloves, and began rearranging the flowers. I also directed the staff to prepare the necessary groundwork for relocating certain blooms.
‘Since time is short, instead of aiming for long-term harmony, I’ll emphasize a dazzling impression fitting for a tea party.’
Moreover, to avoid damaging roots while transplanting, I had to pay extra attention, making the task even more time-sensitive.
Despite focusing intently and giving precise instructions to prevent overlapping efforts, only about thirty minutes remained until the tea party began.
Fortunately, the garden now looked far more sophisticated than when I first saw it, perfectly matching the elegant atmosphere of the event.
“Wow—your skill truly lives up to the rumors. To achieve such a stunning arrangement in such a short time…”
“I worked rather hastily, so there are a few flaws here and there—it’s a bit embarrassing.”
“Not at all! I’m absolutely delighted.”
Countess Melison gazed at me with admiration and handed me a cup of tea, urging me to sit and rest.
I accepted the seat she offered and handed my borrowed gloves to a servant.
“Might I commission you occasionally for garden-related work in the future? Of course, I’ll compensate you generously for today’s efforts as well.”
“Yes. Fortunately, I’ve only recently graduated from the academy, so my schedule remains quite open. Please take your time deciding on preferred dates and send me a letter—I’ll visit again then. As for today’s compensation…”
“Name your price. Thanks to you, the tea party’s ambiance has been elevated immensely—I’m happy to grant any request.”
“Consider this my way of repaying your kind invitation to the tea party.”
“Oh my, really? I truly owe you so much today. I’ll carefully note down this debt and repay it little by little.”
“Please don’t worry about it at all. I also benefited greatly today—it was excellent practice to see such a variety of vibrant flowers.”
While chatting with Countess Melison over tea, the preparations for the tea party and its surroundings were quietly completed.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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If there is a person checking these comments. Can you please add a word/letter count to the bottom. Also sometimes the comments don’t stay within the chapter you read but throughout the whole book, please fix that glitch. Another, per book- hour limited to how many comments can earn cookies – it’s better you write that somewhere or give a notification to the commenter about that. The notification about the 3/3 free reads glitch too, sometimes it says 3/1,1/3,1/1 or not work. The cookies glitch sometimes too, id have 10 but when I try to unlock chapter it keeps saying I have none. Love yalls work!
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