“Helena!”
As soon as I entered the drawing room, Lucas, who had been sitting on the sofa, got up with a happy expression and quickly approached me.
“……Lucas.”
Trying my best to hide my unease, I greeted him with a forced smile.
After all, he was a guest who came to see me, so I had to be polite.
“Have you been well?”
“Uh-huh. Same old, same old.”
“That’s good. I felt so bad about how we parted at the party.”
“Oh? Uh, please have a seat.”
Not wanting to recall that event, I casually asked him to sit down.
We took our seats facing each other with the table in between.
“I really wanted to apologize to you. I think I was too self-centered and pressured you at that time. I’m sorry, Helena.”
However, Lucas continued to bring up the incident at the party.
“Ah, okay.”
“I think I was too harsh. I’m sorry.”
Lucas repeatedly apologized, seemingly genuinely remorseful.
Seeing him like this softened my heart a bit.
“I accept your apology.”
“Really? Truly?”
Lucas asked, his face lighting up like a child’s.
“Yes.”
“Thank you. Really, thank you. I was so worried that you wouldn’t accept my apology. I was dying just thinking about it. Really…”
Lucas sighed heavily, visibly relieved.
It was good to see him back to his usual self.
“So… we’re still friends, right?”
“Huh?”
“…We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
“Yes, we’re friends.”
I smiled broadly and nodded at Lucas’s cautious query, happy that he seemed genuinely interested in making amends and maintaining our friendship.
“That’s such a relief. Truly a relief.”
“Helena.”
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Lucas called out to me with a serious look.
Wait. That expression is…
I tensed up, feeling a wave of anxiety.
“I got accepted into the Imperial Guard!”
“The Imperial Guard?”
But contrary to my worries, his news was unexpected.
“Yes. I’ll be staying in the capital from now on.”
“That’s great. Congratulations!”
I sincerely congratulated him, truly happy for his achievement.
“So, can we meet like this in the future?”
“Hmm?”
“Since we’re both in the capital, I thought maybe we could spend time together occasionally… Is that okay?”
“Uh, that’s…”
I hesitated, not sure how to respond to Lucas’s proposal.
Meeting Lucas occasionally as a friend didn’t seem like a bad idea, as long as incidents like the party didn’t happen again.
The problem was that I might be leaving the capital.
However, Lucas was under the impression that I would continue to stay in the capital.
I felt it was only right to clarify that I might not always be in the capital.
But I didn’t want to discuss such matters with Lucas before Kae-earn.
Kae-earn deserved to be the first to hear about the decision I was harboring.
“It’s settled then. We can meet anytime if I’m in the capital.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
I agreed without revealing any of my thoughts.
Lucas clapped his hands in joy, and I just looked at him with a slightly heavy heart.
“Do you have time for lunch before you go?”
“Of course!”
Feeling a bit guilty, I offered to have lunch together, and Lucas readily agreed.
“Do you have any favorite dishes?”
“I’m not picky.”
“Alright. Then I’ll tell them to prepare something special.”
“Sounds good.”
So, we had lunch together and then took a short walk in the garden.
It was only proper to entertain a guest who had come to my house, and I had no other intentions.
However, contrary to his promise to visit occasionally, Lucas started coming to my house almost every day.
He excused his frequent visits by saying he had nothing else to do while waiting for his deployment in the Imperial Guard.
Moreover, on days when I was out, he would wait for me to return.
Although I felt a bit uneasy about it, I had no reason to turn away a guest.
Today, after finishing my errands and returning home, Lucas was waiting for me in the drawing room.
“Lucas?”
“Helena!”
As soon as he saw me, Lucas stood up abruptly from his seat.
“How long have you been here?”
“Just got here.”
“Just now? But the butler said you’ve been here for hours.”
“Oh, I just feel more at ease being here. So, haha.”
Lucas awkwardly laughed, caught in his lie.
“Is the Imperial Guard still not assigning you?”
“Yeah. They said it would be quick, but it’s taking a while.”
“I see.”
“Where have you been?”
“I went to the store. Needed to buy something.”
“Haven’t had dinner yet, right?”
“No, I was planning to eat at home.”
“Then… can I join you for dinner tonight?”
Lucas asked hopefully.
Truthfully, I wanted to dine alone tonight.
But I found it difficult to refuse him, as he had come to see me, so I eventually nodded and agreed.
“Alright. Let’s do that.”
“Wow, thank you, Helena.”
As usual, we had dinner together and then enjoyed some tea and dessert while chatting.
“So I told that person. I mean…”
Our conversation mostly consisted of Lucas talking and me just listening.
Regrettably, I wasn’t particularly interested in what he was saying.
So, feeling sorry, I just mechanically responded while my thoughts were elsewhere.
To the point that after Lucas left, I couldn’t remember a single thing he talked about.
But today, maybe because I had been out for so long, I felt quite exhausted.
No, it was probably because spending time with Lucas was mentally draining.
‘When will Kae-earn come back?’
Is he really that busy?
I didn’t expect his absence to last this long, but it’s becoming prolonged.
‘Will he come tomorrow?’
I hoped so.
I missed him terribly.
“Helena?”
Lost in thoughts of Kae-earn, I was startled when Lucas called my name.
“……Yes?”
Barely concealing my surprise, I looked at him.
“Are you listening to me? Is it boring? Shall we talk about something else?”
“No, I’m listening.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Oh, the tea has cooled down. I’ll get some hot ones.”
” No, it’s fine.”
“But hot tea tastes better…”
I was about to get up from the sofa, using the tea as an excuse to get away from Lucas for a moment.
Knock knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
I said, expecting Amy to enter, but was shocked when the door opened.
Instead of Amy, a much taller and larger man entered.
It was Kae-earn.
“……Duke?”
Surprised to see the last person I expected, I just stared at him, speechless.
Kae-earn fixed his sharp gaze on me, then shifted his eyes away.
He strode over with long steps, quickly closing the distance to where I was.
“How did you… Duke, why are you here…”
I wasn’t sure if he heard me, as he kept his mouth shut and turned his gaze back to me.
For some reason, there seemed to be a chilly aura surrounding him.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Duke of Raverion.”
Breaking the momentary silence, Lucas was the first to greet Kae-earn.
However, Kae-earn didn’t spare Lucas a glance and kept his eyes fixed solely on me.
Despite not having a formal title, Lucas was from a ducal family just like the Raverions.
Kae-earn’s demeanor caused the atmosphere to become even more frosty compared to before.
“Duke of Raverion.”
Undeterred, Lucas called out to Kae-earn again.
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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