What book had I read to him back then? It was probably a mythology that prettily wrapped up how cruelly the gods treated humans.
Now taller, he lay as he did back then, closing his eyes and covering them with his arms. I slowly opened the first page of the book.
“On a deep night when even the evil spirits seemed asleep, in a corner of the silent Emperor’s palace…”
Pushing aside swirling thoughts and vague memories, I read the words in front of me. The witch of Dongguk, who couldn’t even read or write, had only learned to read and write as a change in her future. I thought it was merely a struggle to escape a predestined fate, but now, looking back, it might have been…
I thought it might have been to lull Ricardo to sleep.
He truly fell asleep before I even finished the first page. After covering him with a blanket that Angela brought, I stayed by his side for a long time.
And only in the evening did I leave the library.
Returning early to bed from the library, I was engulfed in a nightmare, as if pressed down by sleep paralysis.
〈You have an opportunity.〉
A voice like a thin groan. The same dream again. I twisted in agony, engulfed in raging flames.
〈The illiterate witch of Dongguk was eventually burned at the stake.〉
People’s murmurs from afar echoed right next to my ears.
〈How audacious, a witch trying to replace the saint’s role is a grave sin.〉
Cruel laughter overlapped the voice, mocking the sight of a person burning to death.
“Give me a chance. Anything, damn it, just give me that chance.”
Again, inevitably, he appeared. A man walking steadily into the immense flames, where flesh melted and blood clotted.
Seeing him, my heart shattered again. Too calm, he moved solely towards me amidst the flames.
This time, he got much closer than in previous dreams. Fear suddenly overtook me.
“Don’t come.”
Whoosh, flames engulfed his body.
“Don’t come, please!”
Please, don’t do this. Even in my dying moments, I wanted to stop him from approaching me. I felt like I could burn my soul to ashes again if I could just stop him.
“Miss.”
“Go away! Please, just go away…”
Jolted back to reality by the shaking of my shoulders, I gasped for air and sat up abruptly in bed.
Oh, it’s my room.
“What sort of nightmare did you have that made you sweat so much?”
I heard Angela’s worried voice, but my ragged breathing didn’t calm easily. The unusually vivid dream left me feeling hollow.
“I’ll go call the physician.”
“No.”
I quickly grabbed her hand as she was about to leave.
“I’m fine, really.”
“But…”
“It’s just a nightmare I often have. Really. Don’t call the physician.”
Angela hesitantly propped a pillow behind me and drew the curtains. Morning light stretched long into the room.
“The Duchess is looking for you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. But I think I should tell her you need to rest.”
“No, it’s just a nightmare, nothing more.”
I couldn’t dare to defy the Duchess of Rochester’s request.
I had to go through the lengthy preparation I did last time to meet her. Despite the daunting task, I hurriedly got up.
Since Ricardo did not wish to be engaged to me, I had to find another way. He mentioned six months yesterday, but the existence of the Penel could be exposed to the Emperor at any time within that period. Falling out of favor with the Duchess was not the right thing to do, especially if I wanted the protection of the Rochester family when I eventually left this house.
“Should I open the window a bit?”
“Yes, please.”
“You need to eat first. People will be here soon.”
Angela opened the window and prepared a simple breakfast on the table. I wanted to wash first, but the situation didn’t allow for choosing the order of things.
“But you really started speaking informally today.”
“Ah… I promised the Lord yesterday.”
“Yes, it’s more comfortable now. But I was really surprised yesterday.”
“Why?”
“It was the first time I heard the Lord laugh so loudly. If I had been closer, I could have seen him too…”
Her genuinely disappointed face made me smile. It reminded me of Ricardo’s breathtakingly handsome face, laughing openly yesterday. How long did he sleep in the library…? It was a bit cold there.
As I was considering asking about Ricardo while barely swallowing a piece of bread, people who came to help with the preparation burst into the room.
I suddenly felt a bit strange. The preparation process was quite different from last time.
Before my first audience, I mostly learned about what was acceptable and what wasn’t in front of the Duchess. But strangely, this time it was all about the dressing.
I whispered so only Angela could hear.
“Are we really going to see the Duchess?”
“Yes, that’s what was said.”
“Who said it?”
“The steward.”
While we talked, the maids brought in a dress for me to wear. Angela also looked puzzled. It was an elaborate, beautiful evening gown I had never seen before, so deep in the front and back that it was hard to tell which was which.
“Are they asking me to wear this?”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
