Shuher drew his sword, but unlike usual, no black sword energy rose from it.
‘It’s not time yet.’
The Nyabi were tricky to deal with, but they couldn’t be said to be physically strong. Plus, there were only two of them, so he just had to be careful of their attempts to multiply.
As Shuher quickly grasped their movements and blocked their escape route, the monsters hesitated, then promptly hurled themselves at the sword he was holding. But that was exactly what he had been waiting for.
In an instant, black sword energy rose from the blade, and the monsters seemed bewildered by the unexpected situation, but by then it was already too late.
He aimed his sword at the monster that had thrust its own neck forward and stabbed precisely where Ibnel had indicated. Soon the core lost its light, and the Nyabi fell to the ground unceremoniously.
At the same time, Peldin, facing off against the monster, stood without moving a single step, just raising his arm holding the gun to aim at the target. He did not waver at all even as the monster darted back and forth before his eyes.
The gentle smile that usually graced his lips had completely vanished in this moment.
‘This person.’
Just from that appearance, Ibnel could tell. That Peldin was an incredible marksman. Perhaps even far surpassing her own skills.
He did not drop his stance even as the Nyabi approached within arm’s reach. And when it came perfectly within range, the gun he was holding became surrounded by a blue light.
“That’s…”
She could not take her eyes off the mysterious light reminiscent of the sea.
Peldin pulled the trigger just as the monster lunged, and the bullet wrapped in blue light hit precisely where the tail split. Despite the difficult position to hit, there was not even a hair’s breadth of error.
‘So that’s the power bestowed upon the Gaer ducal family.’
That blue light seemed to resemble Peldin as well. Gentle, yet meticulous and fierce when targeting an enemy. Though it might not appear threatening on the surface, it contained explosive power within.
“You’re still wasting energy on unnecessary things.”
“I simply wanted to exercise caution until the very end.”
Ibnel was surprised that the situation ended in just 1 minute, and at the same time felt completely relaxed. As she was looking at the ground and catching her breath, an indifferent voice fell from above.
“Don’t tell me you’ve lost consciousness.”
“It’s not to that exte-”
As Ibnel raised her head indignantly, at that moment two hands were extended before her simultaneously. The owners of those hands were none other than Shuher and Peldin.
Ibnel stared blankly at those hands, bewildered by the unexpected situation. And like her, the two men also stared at each other for having shown the same action.
Among them, the most flustered person would have to be Peldin. Because the Shuher he knew was absolutely not the type of person who would extend a hand to help someone up.
Shuher wiggled his hand, regardless of how Peldin was looking at him. As if to say hurry up and take it to stand. At that gesture, Ibnel hesitantly placed her hand on top of his.
His firm hand enveloped hers and effortlessly pulled Ibnel to her feet.
“Thank you. But how did Duke Peldin come here?”
“When the knight came urgently to report the situation, I happened to be with His Majesty.”
So that was how Peldin ended up coming along with Shuher. It was fortunate they were able to stop things before they escalated further. Moreover, it was clearly thanks to Ibnel that they were able to contain the situation to this extent.
The sword stuck in the ground as if to lure the monsters, and the fact that she had quickly assessed the situation and sent out the knights proved it.
At that moment, the knights and the knight who had gone to call them arrived belatedly.
“Your Majesty, are you alright? We heard the monsters had escaped.”
“It’s already been dealt with.”
Ibnel briefly raised her hand to indicate that she was fine as well.
“Oh? Lady Dabian?”
The knights noticed Dabian still sitting collapsed on the ground and approached her. Dabian stood up with their support. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be seriously injured.
In that short time, word of the monsters’ appearance seemed to have spread, as some servants were observing the situation from a distance.
Only after confirming there was no major problem did Shuher turn his gaze to the two knights who were the root of this whole incident. Due to the urgent situation, he had only heard that the monsters had escaped.
That gaze was cold enough to bring a blizzard, bordering on harsh.
“This seems to be a situation requiring explanation.”
“We apologize.”
The knights hastily bowed their heads, but that wasn’t the answer Shuher wanted to hear.
“I believe I demanded an explanation of the situation, not an apology.”
The two glanced at each other, then the knight who had escorted Ibnel inside spoke first. Honestly, from their perspective, it was an unfair situation. This hadn’t happened due to their fault, after all.
“Someone opened the door where we were confining the monsters.”
“Opened the door? Who on earth-”
Instead of answering, he looked towards Dabian, and following that wordless action, everyone else’s gazes also focused on her.
Dabian couldn’t even lift her head. After all, this whole situation had arisen from her rash actions.
Shuher immediately sensed what had happened. In fact, as soon as he heard the door had been opened, he vaguely suspected it was Dabian. There was no way the knights or Ibnel, who knew something about the monsters, would have done such an absurd thing.
“I warned her of several precautions and emphasized that the door must never be opened. You heard that too, didn’t you, Lady Ibnel?”
When the knight urgently asked Ibnel, she nodded as well. This was clearly a situation where she couldn’t cover for Dabian.
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know something like this would happen…”
At that moment, Dabian spoke with tears in her eyes, and the knights didn’t know how to react to her appearance that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
But Shuher was in a situation where anger had risen to the tip of his chin. Because she had clearly been told not to open the door, yet she disobeyed. It was fortunate it ended like this; if Ibnel hadn’t acted quickly, a great disaster could have occurred.
“This is not a situation where you can make excuses saying you didn’t know. With such a careless attitude-”
At that moment, he felt his clothes being tugged and turned his head to see Ibnel looking at him and gently shaking her head. As if to say that was enough.
Of course, Ibnel had no intention of defending Dabian’s mistake. This incident was clearly her fault, and she deserved to be severely reprimanded.
But not now.
Whether due to the shock from what had just happened, Dabian’s face had turned ashen. She seemed to be regretting her actions, and with many eyes watching, it would be better to address responsibility later.
In the current situation, whatever was said likely wouldn’t even register.
“Dabian is also very shocked, and since no one was seriously hurt, we can talk about today’s incident later. We need to clean up around here too, right?”
Shuher nodded at Ibnel’s earnest gaze and finally sighed.
“Demil, escort her back to the palace. Knights, dispose of the monster corpses, and you two return to your original posts. There will be disciplinary action later.”
With those words, he glanced around, and the gathered servants also tactfully departed. Dabian hesitated, looking at Shuher, then eventually moved away with Demil.
As Ibnel was watching the busily moving knights, Peldin approached her.
“It seems the young lady is in most urgent need of treatment. The wound looks deep.”
When Peldin pointed to the injured area, Ibnel nodded. Now that everything was settled, she finally felt the throbbing pain.
“I should head back to the palace too.”
She limped on her injured left leg with each step. And a trail of blood formed along her path. As Shuher was about to approach, unable to watch any longer, someone blocked Ibnel’s way first.
“Duke?”
“I’m worried you might not make it to the palace today at that pace. Pardon me for a moment.”
“What?”
While Ibnel was wondering what he meant by ‘pardon me’, Peldin easily lifted her in his arms. Ibnel could only be flustered as her body suddenly became airborne.
“W-Wait a moment. I’m fine.”
She belatedly realized she was in his arms and tried to get down, but the more she did so, the more he tightened his hold.
“You injured your leg. It’s dangerous to move like that.”
“But still, how can I-”
Ibnel still spoke as if embarrassed, but he paid no mind and addressed Shuher while holding her.
“I will safely escort the young lady to the palace, Your Majesty. Please focus on handling matters here first.”
Shuher quietly looked at Ibnel in Peldin’s arms, then gazed at her wound and said:
“Do as you see fit.”
“Then we’ll be going.”
Peldin bowed and walked past him, and contrary to his indifferent response, Shuher’s gaze persistently followed behind.
[This is the timeline separator]As Ibnel was being carried to the palace in Peldin’s arms, she could feel people’s gazes sticking to them along the way. Eventually, she covered her face with both hands out of embarrassment.
“Why are you doing that?”
“This just doesn’t seem right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone is staring. Because you’re carrying me, Duke.”
It was clearly even more so because it was Peldin. Not only his position as a duke, but he was someone who exuded presence just by standing still.
Moreover, he was in this state with her, who had no connection to him, so it was natural for people to be surprised. But from his perspective, it seemed like a futile action.
“I don’t think covering up like that will prevent them from recognizing you.”
At those words that seemed to be fanning the flames, Ibnel felt upset but couldn’t deny it, so she slightly lowered her hands that had been covering her face.
“You won’t gain anything good by being associated with me, Duke.”
At those words, Peldin lowered his head to look at Ibnel. Soon discovering her worried and concerned gaze, he ended up laughing. Who was worrying about whom in this situation?
At the same time, he found it strange how her behavior was completely opposite to those who tried to create even the smallest connection to get closer to him. Moreover, considering the circumstances surrounding Ibnel, shouldn’t she rather welcome getting closer to him?
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“Because I’ve come to know for certain through this opportunity that you’re a foolish person.”
“What?”
Of course, from her perspective, there was no way she could feel good about suddenly being called foolish. But before she could argue, Peldin’s voice continued faster.
“Right now, the most important thing is to safely bring you back since you’re injured. And you got hurt like this while trying to stop the monsters. So please allow me to do at least this much.”
After he said that much, Ibnel could no longer insist on going alone. Being human, she was inevitably weak to such a smiling face.
“You really are a good person, Duke.”
Though he hadn’t sought compensation, it was always pleasant to have one’s efforts recognized.
Peldin smiled gently at hearing those words for the second time. Thanks to her, he learned how good it felt to be called a good person by someone.
“Even if you change your mind later and say I’m heavy, it’ll be too late then. I won’t get down.”
Even at Ibnel’s playful words, he nodded with a serious expression.
“That won’t happen. You’re too light for that.”
“I know you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
Seeing that Ibnel didn’t seem to believe him, a strange sense of competitiveness arose, and he tightened his arms holding her and lightly lifted her up. Startled by the sudden movement, Ibnel put her arms around his shoulders.
“What are you suddenly doing…”
But she had to stop speaking when she realized how close her face was to Peldin’s, close enough to feel his breath.
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Daily Life of a Scumbag Man Giving Birth (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The way for a promiscuous scumbag man to atone for his sins is to let him get… pregnant.
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, scammed countless women, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to scam them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.