Blackening the Affectionate Male Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
“What do you mean, ‘look into her’?”
Chester asked the figure who had secretly revealed himself. The masked man knelt and bowed his head to Chester in a gesture of submission.
“Aaron, I have completed my mission and returned.”
“Skip the greetings and get straight to the point.”
“They say it’s a rare herb, difficult to obtain. Its name is ‘Bellonia,’ and though it’s said to neutralize poison, it’s hard to cultivate and so few seek it that hardly anyone even knows it exists.”
Chester stared intently at the herb called Bellonia.
“Aaron, what do you think? About using this herb for Mother.”
“If I may speak my mind… I believe it would be rash. Perhaps you should learn more about Princess Whitney Orleans first.”
Chester understood why Aaron had said that. He fiddled with the herb and recalled those green eyes.
“It feels strangely familiar.”
She was a princess he had never seen before. He’d sensed she was hiding something, but this was the first time he’d felt such curiosity about someone.
“Your Highness.”
“I know. I understand your concerns. She might be one of the Queen’s people, so we must be careful.”
Chester ran a hand through his hair, remembering the countless times he had narrowly escaped death. The Queen had first threatened his life when he was only five years old.
Just five years old. To an innocent child who knew nothing, the Queen had smiled brightly and handed him tea laced with poison. Every day, she summoned him and made him drink it consistently.
Not knowing whether it would end his life, young Chester kept obediently attending her summons without refusing—he didn’t want to risk the King’s suspicion. To avoid suspicion, the Queen had carefully built up a lethal dose over the course of an entire month.
Fortunately, Chester survived thanks to the aura within his body, and due to the Queen’s scheme, he awakened his powers. From that day onward, the Queen sent assassins daily, determined to kill the little boy.
Servants, maids, even his knights—none were spared. Everyone tried to take his life.
The only one who remained by his side was Aaron, whom he had discovered by chance and taken in. Unable to abandon Aaron, a slave with no title or status, Chester brought him along despite his mother’s protests. He simply couldn’t turn away from Aaron, battered and covered in wounds.
Of course, after bringing him in, Chester ensured Aaron’s presence stayed hidden. The King favored Chester and granted his request.
Thus, Aaron became Chester’s shadow and his personal guard. Though they endured many hardships together, their bond only grew stronger.
By age ten, Chester—perhaps guided by sheer survival instinct—had mastered his inner aura and became a Sword Master, the youngest in the kingdom to achieve such a feat. As a result, the Queen grew frantic, unable to kill him.
Even if he tried to understand it as a mother’s desperate love to protect her own son Karl, it still felt unjust. His mother was constantly summoned by the Queen, returning home battered or humiliated. Though the King claimed to love her, he never stepped in to help.
The Queen grew even more vicious, knowing full well the King was aware that provoking her would jeopardize diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Karulo. Realizing this, Chester hardened his resolve and trained relentlessly to protect himself and his mother.
At the hunting tournament when he was twelve, Chester felt as though he himself had become the hunted. He would never forget the Queen’s words as she smiled at him after he survived the rain of arrows aimed at him.
“The more you shine, the more your mother will suffer. Don’t draw others’ attention away from my son. If you threaten my son’s position, I’ll threaten what you cherish most. That’s the heavy burden of enjoying the King’s favor.”
Chester tried to hide his abilities and live quietly in the secondary palace. Yet, because the King continued to dote on him, even that proved difficult. The King kept offering him opportunities, fully aware of the Queen’s schemes.
At eighteen, Chester was falsely accused of murdering the Queen’s cousin, her close aide. And not only that—when he was twenty, just as his engagement was being arranged to Roxana Pavelom, the daughter of a marquis family chosen by the King to bolster Chester’s influence, she nearly died from an assassin sent by the Queen.
The King, full of regret, called off the engagement, while the Queen smiled at Chester with an innocent expression, as if she knew nothing. After that, no woman dared approach him again.
He realized that as long as the Queen was watching, no one would ever stand by his side.
“Was Mother summoned by the Queen again today?”
“…Yes, Your Highness. I told her not to drink the tea, but she only replied it would be fine.”
Chester clenched his fist. There was nothing he could do. No one in the palace offered support or stepped forward to correct the injustice.
Even his father, hiding behind declarations of love for his mother, merely kept her confined in the palace without offering any real help—fearing the backing the Queen received from the Kingdom of Karulo.
‘This can’t go on. Things must change.’
With firm resolve, Chester spoke to Aaron.
“Bring me Bellonia. I’ll take it first myself.”
“Your Highness… must you really test it yourself?”
“I can’t give something unverified to Mother. It’ll be safest if I try it.”
“But…”
Aaron quickly lowered his head and nodded. Chester let out a low hum as he gazed at the beautifully landscaped garden of the secondary palace.
[This is the timeline separator]Whitney, having completed her period of seclusion, finally left the Ducal Mansion after a long while. Her steps felt light as she boarded a carriage heading into the city.
Perhaps because of the recent incident, Cecilia had assigned her a rather capable guard knight—likely worried she might encounter the royal knights.
Her itinerary included only a bookstore and two salons. She visited the bookstore out of faint hope.
Whitney entered the same bookstore again, but as expected, he wasn’t there. Since she’d anticipated this, she simply selected a few books to read at home and arranged for delivery. Then she directed the carriage toward her true destination—the salon.
Jingle—
With a cheerful ring, Monsieur Lebelom greeted her with a wide smile. Though surprised by her unannounced visit—she hadn’t sent word ahead—he quickly ushered her inside, excitedly explaining that he’d just finalized a design.
“I came by suddenly today to pay your fee. Has the estimate been prepared?”
“Lady Orleans, I ask for nothing in return. It’s been so long since I’ve had the pleasure of working with such exquisite fabric—I’ve enjoyed every moment of this project. Besides, your timing couldn’t be better.”
Monsieur Lebelom’s eyes quickly scanned Whitney’s figure.
“We’ll need to take your measurements again.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I’ve been eating a bit more lately… Will it take much extra work?”
“You have no idea how lovely you look now. You’ve gained just enough to look even more beautiful than before. Fittings can be done anytime—don’t worry.”
“Thank you for saying that. It really puts my mind at ease.”
Whitney pulled a check from her pocket. When she offered it to him, he firmly refused to accept it. But she didn’t feel right receiving his kindness without giving something in return.
“Please, just take it. I can’t use it anywhere else anyway. It’s only fair payment for your work.”
“Since you insist so strongly, I’ll accept it. But since the amount is considerable, I’ll also make you a simple dress you can wear anytime.”
Seeing Monsieur Lebelom’s delighted expression, Whitney had no choice but to nod. With such a generous spirit, he was surely destined for success.
“I must make my debutante ball an absolute triumph.”
If things went according to Whitney’s plan, it might even make headlines. Lebelom brought out the dress he’d been crafting and showed it to her.
Its beauty was so overwhelming that she barely remembered her mother’s ruined gown.
“Is this really made from Mother’s dress?”
“It still needs some finishing touches, but this is the direction it’s taking. Without a doubt, you’ll be the star of the evening. I’ll make sure of it.”
Charmed by his passion, Whitney beamed. Imagining herself wearing her mother’s heirloom to her debutante ball made her nose tingle.
“I’ll trust you completely. Please keep my dress a secret from others. If anyone asks, show them something else.”
“Don’t worry. Someone already came from the Ducal Mansion earlier. At that time, I was still mending the damaged fabric, so I had nothing to show.”
Monsieur Lebelom winked playfully to reassure Whitney. He declared he would do whatever it took to protect her debutante gown—after all, he could never bear to see his creation reduced to rags.
Whitney stepped out of the salon with noticeably lighter steps.
“Hm?”
Before boarding her carriage, she turned at the feeling of someone watching her and scanned her surroundings. Though the persistent gaze bothered her, whoever it was seemed unwilling to reveal themselves, so she soon climbed into the carriage.
A soft smile spread gently across her lips.
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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Chapter Comments (1)
Inline Comments (9)
Cecilia hosted parties every two weeks, inviting guests to the Ducal Mansion—lik
What if it was Prince Carl? Or the man who brought them from the countryside and helped them?
“Meeting someone privately?”
I think she dyes her hair, or that she’s an illegitimate daughter of another man.
Mother would surely be furious, so it remained to be seen how she’d react. Judgi
I hope Cecile gets a very gentle punishment that cuts her down 🙂🔪
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This is the first time I’ve seen a good aunt help the heroine; I think this novel is different.