After Linking the Villainess and Male Lead (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 35
“Got it. Now, here’s how you do it—you cross the flowers like this…”
I slowly explained at the child’s eye level, showing her how to weave the flowers together.
When I made a little ring and placed it on Catherine’s finger, the child jumped up, clapped her hands, and beamed with delight.
“Wow, it’s so pretty!”
“Right?”
“Yeah! Catherine can do it now. I’ll try by myself.”
“Good. Make one and show your older sister, okay?”
“Okay!”
Confident that she could do it alone, Catherine plopped back down onto the ground.
I watched her with pride for a moment before turning toward the other children.
We were so absorbed in helping the children focus on creating their little crafts that we lost track of time.
Suddenly, Jimmy stood up from his spot and came over to me, holding out his palm.
On it rested a small flower ring.
“For you, Nuna.”
“Oh! You made a flower ring?”
“Yes. I made this for you.”
“You’re giving it to me? Really?”
I asked with a smile, and the child nodded vigorously up and down.
“But you have to promise—when I grow up and become taller than you, you’ll marry me!”
“What?”
Startled by his sudden confession, I stared at Jimmy in surprise.
His face had turned bright red.
“Jimmy, do you really want to marry me?”
“Yes. I mean it.”
His eyes shone with genuine, unwavering determination.
It was incredibly endearing and sweet—a little boy, barely ten years old, making such a bold declaration.
“So you must promise not to marry anyone before then, just like Adelia Nuna! Okay?”
But how should I respond?
Lying to a child who meant every word felt wrong—it would be like deceiving him.
Yet outright refusal might hurt his feelings, making the answer difficult to give.
After a brief moment of thought, I came up with a gentle reply and spoke.
“When you’ve grown this tall and become a full-grown adult—if your heart hasn’t changed, come find me. And if I haven’t married by then, I’ll marry you.”
It was a surprisingly reasonable answer, even if I said so myself.
“Really?”
I looked at him, satisfied with my own response, and Jimmy began hopping with joy.
“I’ll never change! So you have to wait for me, Nuna. Promise?”
Jimmy shouted toward me in a voice full of confidence.
I gently ruffled his hair and smiled softly.
After making various accessories from flowers, we played hide-and-seek together.
Time flew by as we ran around, and before we knew it, the entire sky had turned crimson.
I gathered the children and headed back to the orphanage to go home.
“Don’t go, unnie! Can’t you stay a while longer with us?”
“Yeah, Nuna! Don’t leave!”
As always, the children clung to me, begging for more playtime.
“I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll bring lots of gifts like this and come visit again, okay?”
Truthfully, once I left for my studies abroad, even if I sent gifts or donations, it might be a long time before I could visit in person—my heart ached just thinking about it.
I looked at the children’s small hands reaching out, each making promises with their fingers, and felt a twinge of guilt—but I reassured them repeatedly that I’d return soon.
“Hiiiing… I wanted to play more with unnie.”
“I’m sorry, everyone. Next time, I’ll bring lots of toys, and we’ll play with those.”
I apologized, my face filled with regret.
“Well, I’ll be off now. Take care until we meet again. Stay healthy, and don’t give the Director any trouble.”
By the time I returned from my studies, they’d all have grown so much.
‘Jimmy will probably be so much taller by then too.’
The image of their grown-up selves brought a fond smile to my lips.
“Unnie, go safely! Come back soon!”
“Nuna, take care!”
After exchanging final goodbyes with the children, I boarded the carriage.
A moment later, as the carriage began to move, I opened the window and kept waving until the children disappeared from view.
Then, savoring the joyful and happy moments I’d shared with them today, I headed home.
[This is the timeline separator]A week later, a letter arrived from the academy.
As soon as I received it, I hurried to my study.
Before opening the envelope, I took a long, deep breath to calm my nerves.
“Phew.”
After hearing Blake’s words last time, I wasn’t too anxious.
But still, there was always that tiny chance of something going wrong, so I couldn’t relax completely.
Now, after a week of waiting, the academy had finally sent their decision.
It must have worked out, right?
Holding onto hope, I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Unfolding the paper, I saw written clearly inside:
You have been selected as a candidate for the upcoming overseas study program.
I read the letter over and over as calmly as I could,
just to make sure I hadn’t misread anything.
But indeed, the message was exactly as I’d understood.
It really happened!
I was going abroad for my studies!
“Amy!”
I called out loudly for Amy.
“Yes, Miss!”
Amy, who had been outside the study, rushed in immediately at my call.
“I made it!”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been accepted for the overseas study program!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Wow! Congratulations, Miss!”
“Thank you.”
“Seeing you so happy makes me happy too, as if it were my own joy!”
Amy knew better than anyone just how badly I’d wanted this.
She hugged me tightly, celebrating as if it were her own success.
“There’ll be a lot to do from now on. I’ll take care of all the preparations thoroughly.”
“Okay. I’m counting on you.”
Later, after receiving congratulations from the household staff and enjoying a lovely celebratory dinner, I took a quiet stroll alone through the garden.
“I really won’t be seeing this place for quite a while.”
Although there were people who would manage things in my absence, I still couldn’t help but worry.
But right now, there was something far more urgent I needed to handle first.
‘I should go see Adelia.’
If Adelia could persuade Kaern successfully…
I still hesitated—after all, it felt like intruding on my friend’s honeymoon.
Yet both then and now, Adelia was the only person I could think of who might resolve this situation.
The journey there would take a week, and another week to return—a considerable amount of time.
But since I’d need time to prepare for my studies anyway, it seemed doable to make the trip in between.
‘I’ll leave things here in Amy’s capable hands.’
Having made my decision, I immediately sent a messenger bird to Adelia.
Sending a message by messenger bird was much faster than having someone deliver it in person.
A week later, a reply arrived from Adelia, granting me permission to visit.
She also mentioned that Duke and Duchess Crayton had left the castle on business.
I finished my preparations at once and departed two days later for Lushatra, the Crayton domain where Adelia resided.
[This is the timeline separator]The road to Lushatra proved even more arduous than I’d anticipated.
‘It didn’t feel this hard when I traveled with Adelia before.’
But on second thought, it made perfect sense.
My family’s carriage was neither as large nor as comfortable as the Lavellion family’s.
Moreover, the route to Lushatra itself was rough, and being in the north, the weather grew steadily colder—making the journey all the more grueling.
Especially near the estate, the road grew steeper and more rugged, with fierce winds blowing relentlessly.
It seemed deliberately placed here to deter easy invasions.
“Whew.”
Thus, after a journey that took one day longer than the week I’d expected, I finally arrived in Lushatra.
“So this is the Crayton family’s domain.”
The crisp, cool air—distinct from the capital—sharply reminded me that I’d reached a distant land.
Just imagining how cold it must get here in winter sent shivers through my body.
Curious about this place I’d never visited before, I opened the carriage window and looked around eagerly.
People’s clothing differed slightly from the capital’s, likely due to the lower temperatures.
Where the capital favored bright and ornate styles, the locals here wore more subdued, darker tones.
Yet their expressions were anything but gloomy.
They carried themselves with pride and brightness, as if determined never to be broken by their harsh, barren surroundings.
It’s said that one can judge a lord by the people of their domain.
‘Well, Duke Crayton, Calix’s father, was indeed a highly respected man.’
I gazed at the massive structure now rising before my eyes.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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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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