It was Crayton Castle.
As I arrived at the castle and the knight checked the carriage’s family crest, the castle gate opened. Thanks to that, the carriage carrying me could enter swiftly.
After a while, the carriage stood in front of the mansion at the address Adelia had provided.
The imposing door of the mansion, which had been closed, swung wide open, and a person rushed out.
“Harena!”
It was a friend I missed so much and wanted to see.
I quickly stood up from my seat and went out of the carriage.
“Adelia!”
And just as we parted ways, I embraced her unchanged figure in one breath.
“I really missed you!”
“I missed you too!”
For a while, we continuously expressed our longing for each other without separating.
“Harena.”
“Adelia.”
After sharing the deep joy of the reunion, we stood face to face.
“Nothing has changed at all.”
“Adelia is the same.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re exactly as I remembered.”
My friend, who was so beautiful and sparkling.
Adelia was truly standing in front of me.
“Harena, you must have had a hard time coming today.”
“No, it was bearable.”
“You must have. I remember how difficult it was for me to come here. By the way, I was surprised when I heard you were coming. Is everything okay?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah. I just came because I missed you.”
“Well, that’s fortunate. Oh, Harena, say hello.”
Adelia brought Calyx in front of me and said, “Viscount Crayton, long time no see.”
“Welcome, Rosentia Yeongae.”
“Now, wait a moment. You two won’t keep calling each other like that, will you?”
Adelia looked alternately at Calyx and me, her expression filled with amazement.
“Of course, now we should address each other properly. This is no longer the academy.”
“Rosentia Yeongae’s words are right.”
Calyx agreed with me and wrapped his arm around Adelia’s shoulder.
“You two still look good together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Adelia responded to my words with a shy smile, looking at Calyx.
Calyx also smiled lightly as he looked at Adelia.
Seeing them like that, my heart warmed with a pleasant feeling.
“Don’t stay too long in the cold wind; let’s go inside quickly.”
“Harena, let’s go in. I’ve prepared a lot of things for you. I can’t wait to show you.”
“Really? I’m looking forward to it.”
“Come on, just follow me.”
I followed the two of them into the mansion.
A large chandelier hanging from the hall ceiling was adorned with jewels.
Just by looking at one chandelier, it was easy to estimate the wealth of the Crayton family.
Calyx left briefly to handle remaining tasks.
While chatting with Adelia, I followed her upstairs.
And then, we stopped in front of a certain door.
“This is the room you’ll be staying in during your time here, Harena.”
When the door opened, the room was filled with luxurious furniture, carpets, and everything looked exquisite.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
“Oh, really? I put in so much effort because Harena was coming. Come over here, Harena.”
Adelia grabbed my hand and led me toward the window.
“Do you know why I chose this room?”
“No. Why?”
“Come, take a look.”
Adelia pointed outside with her finger.
Following her instructions, I turned my head toward the window, revealing a beautiful garden.
“Wow. It’s truly beautiful.”
“Now you understand why I chose this room for Harena?”
I nodded with a smile.
She took into consideration my love for flowers and gardens.
“I love it. Thank you, Adelia.”
“Don’t mention it. I should do this much for my friend. Are you hungry, Harena?”
“Um, a little?”
“I knew it, so I prepared a meal for your arrival. Since you’re hungry, let’s eat first.”
“Sure.”
We headed straight to the dining room and had a meal together for the first time in a while.
After a short conversation with Adelia, I returned to my room.
I wanted to talk longer, but the fatigue accumulated from the long journey was overwhelming.
There were days ahead to spend with Adelia, so there was no need to rush. I fell asleep feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a while.
The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and cheerful.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked out the window, and the newly risen sun was casting a yellow hue over the surroundings.
I got out of bed and headed straight to the window.
Quietly, I enjoyed the view outside.
“It’s beautiful.”
While the garden landscape I saw right after arriving yesterday was charming, it was exceptionally beautiful with the morning dew shining under the rising sun.
As the sun fully rose, bright sunlight streamed into the room through the window.
Wearing a thick shawl, I stepped out of the room.
I wanted to go to the garden.
As someone who loves flowers and gardens, I couldn’t resist being curious about the plants in the new garden.
When I stepped outside the mansion, the chilly morning air greeted me.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t too cold for a stroll, so I leisurely walked through the garden.
The garden of the Crayton mansion was filled with various flowers I had never seen before.
As I circled the garden for a while, I heard Adelia calling me.
“Harena!”
Adelia approached me.
“Adelia.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“I’m okay. It’s not unbearable.”
“Still, it’s not good if you catch a cold. Wear this.”
Adelia wrapped a cloak around my shoulders.
“Thank you, Adelia. But aren’t you feeling cold?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ve adapted to the cold since living here for a while.”
As I stared at her with a worried expression, Adelia responded with a bright smile.
“How was your impression of the garden up close?”
“It’s so beautiful. There are many flowers I haven’t seen in the capital.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I guess there’s a temperature difference between the capital and the north.”
“Harena, let’s go this way. There’s a flower I really want to show you.”
Saying that, Adelia led me inside the garden.
“This flower.”
Adelia pointed to a flower resembling a white snowflake.
“Huh?”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I know this flower. I’ve seen it before.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. In the palace garden.”
It was a flower Lucas and I stumbled upon during a stroll in the garden at a previous banquet.
“Oh, Lucas mentioned that. He said you could see it if you go north on the continent.”
“Lucas? Are you talking about Lucas Acre?”
“Yeah, Lucas Acre.”
“The one who confessed to me and ended up embarrassed, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
“He didn’t leave the capital after graduating from the academy, did he? That’s what I remember.”
“He left and came back recently.”
“Did you meet him after a long time at the banquet?”
“Yeah.”
As I nodded in response, Adelia frowned as if something didn’t sit well with her.
Seeing her like that, I felt a bit puzzled.
Adelia never had much interest in Lucas from the beginning.
But now, she seemed oddly curious about Lucas and was asking detailed questions.
“Did Lucas Acre say anything weird to you by any chance?”
“Huh?”
Adelia seemed to notice something when I flinched for a moment. She narrowed her eyes as if questioning, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Well, that…”
I briefly hesitated, considering whether it was a good idea to tell Adelia about what happened with him. However, my hesitation didn’t last long. I didn’t want to keep this matter a secret from Adelia, even now that we were apart. I shared with her every detail of the events with Lucas, from his confession at the banquet to the subsequent incidents where he sought me out and then abruptly distanced himself.
“Confession? Seriously, how absurd.”
“I was shocked too. Lucas used to like you, Adelia.”
“No way.”
“Yeah?”
“Lucas liked you, not me.”
“What?”
“At that time, no matter how infatuated I was with Calix, I knew whether someone genuinely liked or disliked me. But Lucas didn’t genuinely like me.”
“He didn’t genuinely like you?”
“No. It was so clear. But it wasn’t the case with you, Harena.”
With a face filled with absolute conviction rather than speculation, Adelia said, “He couldn’t have…”.
Our memories of the same situation and person were so different. After Lucas’s failed confession to Adelia, he had gone through a tough time. But if those feelings weren’t genuine…?
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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