On the day my confusion began, Sabrina was not in her luxurious room but sprawled on the bed in my humble room in the East Wing.
“Big brother is coming.”
“Really? With the Earl?”
Earl Fennel often sent Justin back to the mansion before he returned himself. When the Earl was at the mansion, it was much easier to protect Justin.
It seemed that the Earl hadn’t specifically ordered Justin to abuse Riccardo but had only asked him to bring back pictures of labyrinths. Justin often visited the East Wing, avoiding the Earl’s eyes.
“No, Father might come a bit later.”
Sabrina and I sighed simultaneously. I understood my reasons, but…
“Why are you sighing?”
“He’s going to stay longer this time.”
“Who?”
“Who else? Father and that Justin.”
Sabrina got up from the bed and approached the table where I was sitting. Sitting opposite me, she aimlessly tapped on a cookie I had saved to give to Riccardo later. Then she rested her chin on the table and let out another deep sigh.
They were staying longer because this time of year, the sea became rough. The Fennel family, mainly involved in trade, would often stay at the mansion longer during this period each year to rest.
“I’m worried Mother will get worse when Father arrives.”
Lately, the countess had been walking in the garden for short periods during the day. She didn’t speak much to us but sometimes watched us play together from afar.
As Sabrina said, the countess might retreat to her room again once the Earl appeared.
“Ah, but you know, I saw him on my way here, and he seemed strange.”
To Sabrina, Riccardo was still just the nameless child of the East Wing.
However, on a bright spring day atop a hill, Riccardo had voluntarily shared his name with me, like someone pointing out the names of flowers in a field.
“What’s strange? He was fine this morning.”
“He seemed to be looking at me but pretended not to notice.”
“He never acknowledges you anyway.”
“No! He greets me now!”
Sabrina started to get angry but then lay down on the desk again.
“It’s not about whether he greets me or not. It’s just… his eyes lacked focus. He looked like he was out of his mind. He kept drawing even when I talked to him. Ugh… It was a bit scary.”
She shivered slightly, but I nonchalantly responded with a “Really?” without taking my eyes off my book.
“The drawing was so weird. It was like an underground dungeon. The paths were all twisted like a maze.”
My hand, turning the page of the book, froze. I looked up to see a gingerbread man cookie in Sabrina’s hand break, scattering crumbs all over the table.
“What?”
“Why are you shouting?”
“Say that again.”
“Why are you getting angry?”
“Just say it again.”
“Well, I mean, he’s drawn mazes before, but they weren’t as dark as this. This one really felt like being trapped in an underground dungeon. Just looking at it made me feel like I was getting sucked in… Anyway, it was creepy, hey! Where are you going?”
I left Sabrina calling after me and ran to find Riccardo.
If what Sabrina said was true, then he was undoubtedly drawing a labyrinth.
The only hope and relief I had was that Riccardo would start drawing the labyrinth map only after leaving the Earl’s house…
‘No, it can’t be.’
Breathless, I finally found Riccardo. He stood in front of the largest window on the first floor of the East Wing, leading to the back garden. In front of his easel, with a deeply furrowed brow, he created an almost surreal landscape with his mere presence.
The day my confusion began, Sabrina was not lounging in her luxurious room but sprawling on the bed in my modest room in the East Wing.
“Brother is coming.”
“Really? With the Earl?”
Earl Fennel often sent Justin back to the mansion before his own return. When the Earl was in the mansion, it was much easier to shield Justin.
Apparently, the Earl only asked Justin to bring back labyrinth drawings, not to abuse him. Justin regularly visited the East Wing, avoiding the Earl’s gaze.
“No, Father might come a bit later.”
Sabrina and I sighed simultaneously. I understood my reasons, but…
“Why are you sighing?”
“He’s going to stay for a while.”
“Who?”
“Who else but Father and that Justin.”
Sabrina sprang up from the bed and approached the table where I sat. She aimlessly poked at a cookie I had saved for Riccardo and then rested her chin on the table, sighing again.
Their prolonged stay was predictable; the sea became rough around this time. The Fennels, being in trade, often took this time to rest at the mansion.
“I’m worried Mother will get worse when Father arrives.”
The countess had been taking short walks in the garden these days. She didn’t engage warmly but sometimes watched us play together from afar.
As Sabrina said, the countess might hide in her room again when the Earl appeared.
“Ah, but listen. I saw him on my way here, and he seemed odd.”
To Sabrina, Riccardo was still the nameless child of the East Wing.
On a bright spring day atop a hill, Riccardo had shared his name with me, like someone naming the flowers in a field.
“What’s odd? He seemed fine this morning.”
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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