10 p.m. The time when the official duties of Asphayren, Loarkin’s lord, came to an end.
Having reviewed even the last document, Asphayren stood up from his seat.
“Let’s call it a day.”
“Yes, my lord.”
With Chief Aide Kiara leading, the aides began to organize the documents.
The attendants waiting by the door came in, draped Asphayren’s coat over his shoulders, and adjusted his clothes.
“Please go in, my lord. I will see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. You’ve all worked hard.”
With only his closest bodyguard, Canis, Asphayren left the Princhia Palace where the politics took place.
A step behind, Canis spoke.
“You seem in good spirits tonight, my lord.”
“Hm. There were several satisfying matters.”
The pestering monster problem had been resolved, and he had acquired a talent to his liking.
Now, all he had to do was return to his chamber, take care of personal business, and go to bed to end the eventful day.
But the world did not seem to allow him to end the day so peacefully.
Asphayren fixed his gaze on a black shadow staggering from a distance.
“……What could that be? A monster?”
Canis squinted his eyes and asked. Feeling its magic for a moment, Asphayren shook his head.
“It’s not a monster.”
“Then what is it? Perhaps, a ghost!?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
After reprimanding him, Asphayren briefly fell silent and then answered.
“It’s Prom.”
“What?”
Canis, startled, stretched his neck and observed the black shadow. Indeed, the approaching figure was Prom, the head of the Beltrawm Research Institute.
The two’s excellent hearing caught Prom’s panting breath and his cries of “My lord, my lord.”
Asphayren frowned. A wave of fatigue rushed over him.
The footsteps of the exercisedeprived researcher were slow. Eventually, Asphayren used spatial magic to transport Prom to his side.
Looking down at the collapsed Prom, Asphayren sarcastically remarked in an icecold voice.
“Do you have a new hobby of wandering around the castle like a drunkard at night?”
Prom kept his head on the ground and made no reply. Asphayren, with arms folded and head tilted, continued to prod.
“Why don’t you say anything, Prom? If you mean to say that you no longer need your tongue, I can remove it for you. Just say the word.”
At that moment, Prom abruptly grabbed Asphayren’s hem and clung to it.
Asphayren grimaced. When he finally saw Prom’s face, it was covered in tears and mucus.
Prom wailed loudly.
“My lord! My lord―!”
“What is it?”
“That woman, that woman is a devil! A devil!”
Please send her away― please save me―.
Asphayren coldly shoved Prom away and then raised an eyebrow.
“That woman? Are you talking about Shuria?”
Prom didn’t answer but continued to scream to leave the castle.
Asphayren and Canis exchanged puzzled glances. The researchers often behaved strangely, but this situation was a first.
‘……I should go check it out.’
Asphayren sighed and rubbed his forehead.
The young lord’s furrowed brows deepened due to this unexpected incident.
(This is a time separator.)
Asphayren, still holding the sobbing Prom, headed immediately to the research institute.
As soon as he entered the room that Prom guided him to, he encountered a very bizarre scene.
“It’s too hard, so hard. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“This is all…… because I’m trash…….”
“I want to sleep…….”
‘That’ researchers, who were lazy about anything other than research, were sweeping and mopping the room, each holding a cleaning tool.
Moreover.
“Stop whining! The more you do, the less time you’ll have to sleep, to research! Understand!”
“Sniff, sob”
“Stop crying! The more you do, the more strength you’ll lose. Use that energy to mop the floor diligently!”
“Sniff, yes…….”
“Good. Now, Sek, finish mopping the floor, and Titi, clean the puppy’s cage! Kiri, wash the puppy’s food bowls! Let’s finish quickly!”
“Yes, yep……!”
Even those who wouldn’t bat an eye without the lord’s command were now scurrying about, scrambling to follow someone’s yelling.
Asphayren looked at the small washing place attached to the room, where charismatic commands and directives were flowing out, with a stunned expression.
Soon, someone popped out from the washing place. Asphayren doubted his eyes for a moment.
It was none other than Shuria, the new servant Asphayren had taken in today.
What the hell, how did a newbie researcher who was greeting people with a shy smile just a few hours ago come to boss around the senior researchers?
What about those rolling around on the ground without a word?
“I only have one more to wash! So until then…… Gasp, my lord?”
Shuria, holding a soaking wet dog wrapped in a towel, discovered Asphayren and jumped up.
At Shuria’s shout, the researchers crawling on the floor suddenly looked up. They all cried out at once.
“Lord, save us!”
“Quiet.”
Asphayren brushed off the researchers clinging to his feet. It was a heartless kick.
He asked Shuria,
“What’s all this? Why are they like this?”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
