He lazily cast his gaze out of the left window, lighting a cigarette he had taken from its case. Between the tall and low hotels, the Leopold Hotel, nearing the end of its construction, was visible.
It’s opening soon, isn’t it?
Its towering figure, arrogantly reaching towards the sky, was very much like Johann Leopold himself. Insufferably arrogant.
Edgar let out a chuckle and was about to open his lighter when the previously rudely shut door cautiously cracked open again. He turned around.
Dressed in a modest blouse buttoned up to the neck and a flared skirt, the woman appeared like a prudish lady, seemingly trying to make amends for her earlier mistake.
“Please forget my earlier rudeness. I was expecting a guest.”
Her voice, desperate to clear any unnecessary misunderstanding, only sounded amusing. After all, they had seen quite a bit of each other already.
“It must be a special guest.”
Edgar asked nonchalantly with a smile.
“She’s a lady I met here.”
The woman, emphasizing the word ‘lady,’ flushed up to her ears and glared with wide eyes.
“What brings you here?”
She didn’t seem to have any intention of inviting Edgar inside. Her timid stance at the barely opened door was as if she was assigned to guard it.
“Let’s talk inside.”
Edgar gently smiled and pushed his well-polished black shoe into the gap of the door. His shoe tip touched the tip of the woman’s slipper, causing her to step back in surprise.
Just this much?
Where had the woman who just previously presented a bold image gone? Edgar suppressed a chuckle and lifted his gaze from her small feet to meet her wary blue eyes.
“Let’s talk here.”
Olivia, quickly regaining her gaze, firmly insisted. Yet, she was anxious, especially about those noble ladies possibly witnessing this absurd situation.
Edgar feigned difficulty.
“It’s about hotel matters.”
Lowering his voice as if it were a crucial matter, the woman hesitated.
The bright blue eyes, like glass beads, deepened in thought. After a few slow blinks, she finally spoke.
“Could you please come back later? My maid is away and—”
She was courteously explaining when the abrupt sound of the elevator ‘ding!’ startled her.
Familiar voices echoed down the long corridor. It was Elaine’s friends.
“Please, come in.”
Startled, Olivia impulsively pulled Edgar’s arm.
Unaware of what she was doing, her only thought was the dreadful rumors that could spread if they were seen.
Edgar, whose wrist was grabbed, swallowed a chuckle. Just moments ago, she was building impenetrable walls, and now.
“Are you sure?”
He almost didn’t want to comply so easily, resisting a bit as he planted his feet firmly.
A scandal with Johann’s former wife. As Edgar’s lips playfully curved up, the chattering noise drew nearer.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Her blue eyes, tense and shaking in confusion, looked appealing.
“Quickly.”
She furrowed her brow slightly, pulling his wrist more firmly. Of course, it was hardly enough to budge Edgar, but he decided to play along and let himself be pulled.
Bang! The door closed.
Her heart raced with the close call as the noise outside passed by the room, gradually fading.
Still holding the door handle, Olivia leaned her forehead against the firmly shut door, exhaling a sigh of relief.
After calming herself, Olivia slowly turned around. The man she had momentarily forgotten was standing right in front of her.
In the room, with Anne absent. Just the two of them.
Suddenly, the air felt insufficient.
Though Olivia hadn’t intended anything disreputable, the presence of the man made it feel as if they had secretly met to do something wrong.
She became fully alert to the tension and discomfort that typically accompanied being in the company of a strange man.
Olivia cautiously moved behind the sofa, placing her hands on the backrest as if it would protect her. Or perhaps, in a moment of emergency, she could lift it and throw it.
Edgar found this quite amusing and ridiculous. Where did she resemble a seductress? He remembered the photo of her in the lounge of the banquet hall, lying on a sofa with Johann.
“Please, speak.”
There was no invitation to sit. Well, considering her current posture.
“I heard you sent our staff away. Did Lady Blanchett find any offense?”
“No, it’s not that. I should apologize for that. I appreciate the hospitality of Lancelot Hotel, but I prefer it this way. Enough.”
A predictably polite thank-you was expected.
“The staff was quite upset. She even cried in front of the general manager.”
A lie.
“What?”
The woman seemed genuinely surprised.
“Cried?”
Her face became more serious than when she was on guard. Edgar found it amusing but couldn’t laugh.
“She’s a veteran employee of thirty years, very proud of her service. She couldn’t contain her emotions, a first-time experience for her.”
“I didn’t mean to cause that.”
“Customer rejection is the clearest feedback.”
“I wasn’t judging her.”
The woman looked uncomfortably apologetic.
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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