After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 22
“Isn’t that Lucas?”
I was certain our eyes had met.
If it had been him, he would have recognized me and come over—but that man didn’t.
“Guess not, then.”
I must have misseen him from a distance.
I wiped the incident from my mind and immediately boarded the carriage.
Then, with the gift I’d prepared for him, I headed toward the Duke of Lavellion’s estate.
[This is the timeline separator]The carriage, which hadn’t stopped once since then and had been racing swiftly, arrived at the Lavellion estate before long.
Before stepping down from the carriage, I straightened my clothes and quickly rehearsed in my mind what I needed to say to Kaern.
‘I can do this, right?’
But as I drew near, a wave of tension crashed over me like someone facing a momentous task.
No, I can do it.
If I explain calmly, Kaern will surely respect my wishes.
With that resolve renewed, I picked up the gift I’d brought for him.
But the moment I opened the door, someone entirely unexpected stood before me.
“Your Grace?”
Surprised, I stared at Kaern—and saw him extending his hand toward me.
Still unable to grasp the situation, I looked back and forth between his face and his hand.
“Your chin’s too high—take my hand and step down slowly.”
“Huh? Oh—thank you.”
At Kaern’s words, I quickly collected myself and took the hand he offered.
I felt his large, warm hand envelop mine.
Thump-thump.
Against my will to stay composed, my heart began beating faster and faster.
‘Please, just be quiet.’
I did my best to hide this inner turmoil as I stepped down from the carriage.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, unlike last time, he immediately let go of my hand.
For a fleeting moment, I felt a pang of disappointment and hastily tucked my now-empty hand into my dress.
It was a strange feeling indeed.
Back then, I’d wanted nothing more than to put distance between us—but now, the moment he let go, I missed the warmth I’d just felt.
Foolishly, I found myself staring blankly at his hand.
“Helena.”
Hearing my name called, I looked up and met Kaern’s gaze.
“Yes?”
“What are you looking at?”
Kaern’s eyes followed the spot I’d just been staring at.
“Oh—nothing! It’s just… your hand seems unusually large and beautiful.”
“My hand is beautiful?”
“Yes. It’s long, straight, and fair—my eyes keep drifting to it.”
When I said this with a small smile, I sensed Kaern studying me with an unreadable expression.
His gaze made me want to look away, but I quickly changed my mind.
I might never see him again after today.
So I wanted to etch his image deeply into my memory.
As we stood there, eyes locked, I suddenly realized he’d just called me by name again.
“Oh—now that I think of it, you called me by my name again.”
At my words, Kaern’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
Afraid he might misunderstand again, I hurried to add:
“Truthfully, I’ve always been a little envious.”
Now that it felt like an ending, courage somehow welled up inside me.
I couldn’t confess, but I wanted him to see at least a fragment of my feelings.
Somehow, that might help me loosen the weight of these emotions, even just a little.
“Envious of what?”
Kaern asked, his eyes seeking clarification.
“When you call Adelia, your close bond always shines through—it sounds so nice, and I’ve envied that. After all, you’ve always addressed me as Lady Rosentia. Of course, I’m not your sister…”
Kaern must have been a truly kind older brother even as a child. Despite always being busy with imperial orders and battles, he still made time to visit Adelia.
〈I guess calling Helena “Your Grace” really was the right move to meet my brother.〉
〈Ugh, what a hopeless man… What will he do once I’m married?〉
Adelia had occasionally said odd things like that—but surely, she’d meant them out of concern for me, her only friend who had no siblings.
Anyway, because of that, every time I met Kaern, I’d secretly hoped:
That the day would come when he’d call me by name, just as he did Adelia.
But my wish had always ended in beautiful disappointment.
Not once had he called me “Helena” in front of Adelia.
It hurt and disappointed me, but I’d accepted it as inevitable.
Yet on the day of Adelia’s wedding, for the first time, he spoke my name.
What had that felt like?
“Happy” didn’t even begin to describe it.
I’d tried so hard not to show my joy—but my lips kept curling upward no matter what.
“You’re not Adelia.”
“Oh… right.”
Adelia is your sister—you and I are strangers.
Interpreting his words that way, I forced down the bitterness and answered quietly.
Even though I’d known this truth all along, my soaring heart plummeted straight to the ground.
“Adelia is your sister, but I’m as good as a stranger—”
“A stranger?”
He cut in, sounding almost offended by my words.
Why?
Did I say something wrong?
It didn’t seem so.
Cautiously, I glanced at his expression.
“How could you and I be strangers?”
“Huh? Because I’m not family to you like Adelia…”
I trailed off, my voice faltering as I tried to cover up.
“Family… you say.”
Kaern murmured the word thoughtfully, as if tasting it, then fell silent for a moment.
Then, suddenly, he looked intently at me and spoke.
“From now on, let’s call each other by name.”
“Huh? By name?”
I didn’t mind him using my name.
After all, he was older and held a higher title than I did.
But for me to use his name felt a bit…
Caught off guard, I reflexively questioned him—and once again, his brows furrowed slightly, just as before.
“You dislike it?”
“No, no—not at all! I like it.”
Trying to emphasize that I truly didn’t mind, I unexpectedly found myself nodding and saying “I like it.”
I immediately regretted it—but the words were already out.
Since he’d given permission, there was nothing I could do.
Not that I expected to actually use his name anytime soon.
Still, for some reason, I felt a little closer to Kaern now—and it made me happy.
Unable to fully hide this feeling, I beamed at him and said once more:
“I like it. I really do.”
But he just stared at me silently for a moment, his gaze piercing.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No. Let’s go inside now.”
Puzzled, I asked Kaern—but he just turned and started walking ahead.
“Yes.”
As I followed him into the mansion, the garden caught my eye.
The space I’d tended with my own hands still shone beautifully.
Just as I was about to pass it by, filled with quiet pride—
“Oh!”
I almost forgot—it had slipped my mind while talking with Kaern.
I stopped and called out to him.
“Your Grace.”
Kaern turned and looked back at me.
“May I tend to the garden for a moment before we go in? I brought some flowers to plant.”
I pointed toward the carriage I’d arrived in, and Kaern’s gaze followed.
“Flowers?”
“Yes—I brought new ones to plant. May I go ahead and put them in before we go inside?”
Fortunately, Kaern remembered even the casual remark I’d made earlier and calmly nodded.
“I’ll finish quickly and come in. It might take a little while, so please go ahead without me.”
The moment I got his permission, I immediately turned and headed back to the carriage.
“Please take the flowers from the cargo hold and bring them to the garden.”
“Yes, of course.”
I called Amy, who’d accompanied me, and asked her and the coachman to carry the flowers from the hold.
Inside were white and pink blooms, their roots carefully wrapped.
But among them, a single red flower sat neatly potted.
That pot was one I’d specially prepared myself.
So, I bent down carefully to carry the potted red flower myself.
Just as I was about to cradle it in my arms—
“I’ll do it.”
Kaern’s voice came from right behind me—though I’d assumed he’d already gone inside.
Startled, I turned around instantly.
Kaern, standing closer than I’d expected, swiftly took the pot I’d been reaching for.
“Your Grace—oh, you hadn’t gone in yet?”
His scent, so close now, sent my heart racing wildly once again.
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.”
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!
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!
Thanks for your feedback—we really appreciate it. We’ll review your suggestions to improve the comment feature so it works more smoothly and conveniently. We’ll also look into the issues you mentioned and fix them as soon as possible.