Asti had left a while ago with the other maids to go to the sauna in the harem, and Latifa sat leaning against the large window frame, closing her eyes.
‘Ah, it’s been a while since I went to the sauna. I want to relax. It’s been a long time since I visited the harem due to my shoulder injury.’
As she thought of the harem filled with aromatic scents and hot steam, her body began to relax.
Although hearing about General Hades’ efforts made her feel somewhat relieved, a part of her was still uneasy.
‘Half of the month has already passed.’
What would happen if they failed to persuade Karina in the remaining fortnight?
[Dash] Keeing!“Huh? What’s that noise? A fox?”
Hearing an animal’s cry from somewhere, Latifa opened her eyes and looked out the window. Something yellow swiftly passed below. It was a familiar furred creature.
“That’s the desert fox from Caleb’s territory! How did it get here? Come here! Over here!”
As Latifa shouted and waved her hand, the yellow thing that had been hiding in the small bushes below jumped out. With a few leaps, it reached near the window and nuzzled its head against her.
“Is it you?”
The creature, sniffing here and there with its black nose, jumped into her arms as she extended her hand.
The fox seemed so happy that without concentrating, a silver spirit spontaneously arose and spoke cheerfully to her.
[Latifa! Where have you been! I smelled you here!]“I’m here because of some circumstances! What happened to you?”
[That scary man! He threw me! I flew!]The desert fox rubbed its face and wagged its tail continuously.
“A scary man? Are you talking about General Hades? He can’t come here.”
[No. He’s there! He threw me!]“That’s impossible. From where exactly?”
Latifa stood up, jumped over the window frame and went outside.
“Can you show me where he threw you from?”
Latifa set the desert fox down, and it immediately darted off.
It made no sense for Hades to be in the harem palace, but then again, nothing about Hades made sense to her so far.
Flooded with the premonition that Hades might truly appear even in this heavily guarded, menprohibited area, Latifa wasted no time and chased after the fox.
‘If it’s General Hades… he might actually be here…!’
Running too quickly, her hands and feet oddly heated up, and her heart pounded, making her feel dizzy.
Soon, the desert fox stopped in front of the seventh white fence surrounding the harem and wagged its tail.
[Here, thump!]“Here? No one’s around?”
Upon hearing Latifa’s voice, a familiar voice rang out from beyond the tall white fence.
“Latifa!”
“…Is it really General Hades?!”
His voice was filled with a mocking laughter that shouldn’t be heard here. Initially, it was a voice she feared, but now it was familiar.
A voice she doubted would ever come but had waited for.
The voice, identical to her memories, resounded deeply as if echoing from a large resonance chamber.
“That foolish voice could only be yours.”
At Hades’ sarcastic tone, Latifa felt something hot surge within her chest as she clung to the wall.
“That condescending tone is truly fitting for the general!”
“Condescending, you say? There’s nothing you can’t say, is there?”
Latifa scanned the white wall with her hands, searching for any cracks, but found none.
“What’s going on? This is the harem palace! Men can’t enter.”
“I cut it.”
You cut it?! Could it be, that part of a man?!
“What?! What did you say?! You cut it?! Are you insane?!”
Latifa’s startled voice prompted laughter from beyond the fence.
“Ha ha ha! You believe that? Ah ha ha! Oh, my stomach! Guardians of the desert, what shall we do with this foolish woman? Ahaha!”
“Be quiet! If we get caught, it’s execution for men who’ve entered the harem!”
Latifa snapped, feeling frustrated.
‘I’m always the serious one here!’
“Being in the harem for a few days has already given you the air of scolding men. I’ll need to get you out of there soon.”
Hades continued to speak in a voice that could no longer hold back laughter.
“I heard you’re having a tough time with Luhan. Are you okay?”
Silence fell on the other side of the wall for a moment before his unique mocking voice returned.
“Men only know how to say ‘I’m fine.'”
“Pfft. Really, what’s that about?”
Unable to withstand Hades’ nonsensical boasting, Latifa chuckled.
“Why are you here? It’s too dangerous and reckless! But then again, has the general ever done anything that isn’t?”
“What about your shoulder…?”
The ambiguous question hung in the air, crossing the fence.
“Women only know how to say ‘I’m fine,’ too.”
Upon mimicking his tone, laughter erupted from the other side.
“Yes. I was a fool to think that a goddess would suffer from a mere human’s wound.”
“It did hurt! Who just throws a spear like that?!”
Latifa retorted with a grumble, receiving no response from the other side.
‘Shouldn’t you apologize for causing injury first?’
It seemed very like Hades to offer no apologies for causing harm.
“I came because I have something to give you. Ready to catch it?”
Hades, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke and tossed something over the fence.
Upon hearing the sound of it hitting the ground, a slightly flustered voice came from the other side.
“It’s your fault for not catching it; I did say I was throwing it.”
Latifa, bewildered by such childish evasion of responsibility, picked up the fallen object.
“I couldn’t catch it because I can’t move my shoulder yet.”
Grumbling, she picked up the purple leather pouch that had fallen to the ground. It felt full.
‘What’s inside?’
When Latifa opened it, a burst of white and pink peony petals came out, and deep inside was Latifa’s jewel box.
Despite having fallen from quite a height, it looked perfectly fine, probably cushioned by the petals.
“I’m pretty confident you won’t dislike it.”
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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