Evenel stepped back a pace from Shuher, as she hadn’t intended to hear his response anyway. It wasn’t unpleasant to watch him fluster, seemingly unaware of his own confusion.
“Then I’ll leave the nobles’ complaints to His Majesty. Even if I offer my help, he won’t pay it any mind. I’ll go now.”
As Evenel turned to take a step away, Shuher quickly grasped her hand he had been keeping behind her back.
Stopping in her tracks at his touch, Evenel looked at the hand that held her and asked him,
“Do you have anything else to say?”
Caught off guard by his own impulsive action, Shuher scrambled for a plausible explanation.
“Let’s… go together. The work is done.”
“Yes, of course.”
As their destination was the same anyway, Evenel readily nodded her head. Then, pointing to her hand that he was still holding, she spoke.
“I understand, so would you release my hand now?”
Upon hearing this, Shuher hastily let go of her hand and, setting aside the mountain of remaining tasks, left the office with Evenel.
“The air certainly feels colder than when I first came to Cariath.”
She felt that the air touching her skin was noticeably chillier than before. It seemed winter would arrive in no time.
Observing Evenel’s attire, Shuher spoke in his curt, maybe somewhat concerned voice.
“If you walk around dressed like that, you won’t survive Cariath’s winter.”
“Seems like the things I brought from Aodin to prepare won’t be of much use.”
“Emil must have prepared clothes for you.”
“Yes, he brought so many that they fill the dressing room and then some.”
Just as he had ordered before, Emil had brought everything from casual clothes to training outfits, shoes, and even accessories, filling the dressing room to the brim.
The amount was so overwhelming that Evenel was only bewildered. She had questioned multiple times whether all these things were really hers. On the other hand, Lia was only too happy to see it.
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that. It’s just overwhelming, and they’re so nice that I hesitate to put them on. But I should wear them to appreciate Emil’s effort.”
Shuher was about to say that he should be the one to appreciate Emil’s effort, but he held his tongue, thinking it was inappropriate.
“Ah, I met Davian earlier today. He was at the training ground with Count Demil. After watching them train, I went with Davian to his palace.”
At that moment, Evenel burst into laughter. His gaze turned towards her at the sound.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, I just remembered something Davian said. He called you affectionate. Honestly, that’s a first for you, isn’t it?”
Shuher’s silence spoke volumes. Affection was a word that could never suit him. He must know this himself, but oddly, her laughter felt like mockery.
“You seem to like that.”
“No, when I think about it, it’s not incomprehensible. You did embrace barefoot Davian back then. Honestly, seeing that made me…”
“No.”
Her steps halted abruptly at his overly stern voice. Shuher, who had also stopped, looked down at her for a while, even showing a somewhat uncomfortable expression.
Their conversation having come to a halt, she broke the ensuing silence with a question tinged with curiosity. What did he mean by ‘no,’ when she had seen it with her own eyes?
“You definitely took Davian in your arms and brought him to the carriage. Wasn’t it because you were worried he would get hurt walking barefoot?”
“I already said no.”
“Then it’s no, but why are you angry?”
She had only asked out of mild curiosity, but he got so serious that she had to probe further. Only then did Shuher seem to become aware of his own reaction and hurriedly moved on.
Still not having received an answer, Evenel quickly followed him and threw another question.
“So why did you do it back then? If it’s not that, then there’s no reason. Ah!”
Suddenly Shuher stopped, causing Evenel to bump her face into his back. Realizing she was too close to him, she took a step back.
“It’s your fault for stopping so suddenly…”
“Is it that important?”
“It’s not about being important, I’m just curious. Are you perhaps embarrassed?”
The conclusion Evenel reached seemed utterly ridiculous from Shuher’s perspective. Embarrassed, as if that word could ever apply to him.
She spoke as if she had already reached her conclusion.
“Why would you be embarrassed over that? If I could, I would’ve done the same. When I look at Davian, my protective instincts kick in. I want to keep him safe. But after talking with him, he’s not as weak as he seems. Despite facing monsters, he’s committed to doing his best in his role.”
“Stop there.”
Shuher abruptly cut off Evenel’s endless praise of Davian. For some reason, he didn’t want to hear any more. Despite being outside, he felt as though he were confined in a tight space.
“Ah, I’ve been talking too much.”
Sensing his annoyance, Evenel tactfully closed her mouth. When she fell silent, Shuher resumed his pace.
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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