Roselia visited the Crown Princess to deliver Abel’s painting and, at the same time, to convey the news of Nadia’s death, whom the Crown Princess had been sponsoring.
As always, she was escorted to the reception room by the palace servant as the Duke’s maid.
After exchanging familiar greetings and sitting across the table, Roselia briefly informed the Crown Princess of the recent events.
“I see… Lugveljet has lost an excellent painter.”
The Crown Princess, who showed a sad expression as if here, cautiously asked, “Antonio, are you okay?”
“Huh?”
“During all this time, delivering sponsorship funds and building affection with supported artists must not have been just a job for Antonio. Maybe… you were close, like friends.”
The Crown Princess, who said so, looked into Roselia’s eyes with a sincere expression, speaking affectionately.
“So, I’m worried about Antonio.”
The comfort that she had been giving herself all this time seemed to be swept away in a moment by the Crown Princess’s consolation.
Roselia, trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes, smiled bitterly.
“I… I’m okay.”
As if understanding her feelings, the Crown Princess simply smiled warmly at her.
“You must have had a lot of concerns before coming. Thank you for taking the difficult steps. This is a gift in return for presenting a good painting today.”
Saying so, the Crown Princess took out a check for a thousand verans.
The moment Roselia received the check, her emotions felt strangely confused.
If she brought this amount to the Duke, all debts would be resolved now… Yet, she felt oddly embarrassed and troubled.
Leaving the Crown Princess’s reception room with this mixed feeling, Roselia suddenly raised her head to a stranger blocking her way.
A man who appeared to be a palace servant stared at her gruffly.
“Are you Mr. Antonio?”
“Yes, but what is this about…”
“The Crown Prince requests your presence.”
Roselia’s eyes widened for a moment.
At first, she was suspicious, but since the Crown Prince had mentioned directly to her that he would receive a report as a reward for supporting the Duke’s business, she could guess to some extent what this was about.
Since almost all the reports were being handled by the Duke, the Crown Prince’s patience must have run out.
Since there was nothing good in disturbing the Crown Prince’s mood, Roselia followed the servant.
Soon, the servant, who stopped in front of a room with intricate patterns, turned around to face her and nonchalantly opened his mouth.
“Before meeting the Crown Prince, we will conduct a possession inspection.”
“Possession inspection?”
Seeing the servant check her bag again, Roselia tilted her head in puzzlement.
She had already undergone the possession inspection at the entrance of the palace, so conducting it again…
When visiting the Crown Prince, Roselia, thinking it required extra thoroughness, handed her bag to the servant. The servant, who opened the bag and searched through it, closed it without a word and opened the door for her.
“If you enter, the Crown Prince will be here soon.”
“Yes.”
Stepping cautiously inside after the servant opened the door, Roselia looked around with a puzzled gaze. Perhaps because it was the Crown Prince’s reception room, the room adorned with various jewels and gold exuded elegance and pressure.
Standing in the middle of the room, she suddenly thought of the Crown Prince. After giving it some thought, although he was the one who killed Roselia in the original work, there hadn’t been any direct harm done to her in the current situation. On the contrary, he had even been helpful, providing hints about fragrances.
Thinking that she should properly apologize for not coming to report when they met, Roselia suddenly wore a puzzled expression, wondering why he hadn’t come yet.
Why hasn’t he come?
Planning to ask the servant, Roselia turned the doorknob after opening the door, but it suddenly stiffened.
Creak, creak.
The door was locked. No matter how much she turned it, the doorknob didn’t budge, and Roselia’s expression froze in confusion.
Then, at that moment, the sound of many footsteps approached beyond the door.
Along with the footsteps stopping in front of the door, the sharp voice of the Crown Prince echoed.
“Antonio, open the door.”
At the sharp tone, Roselia, thinking that the Crown Prince was angry, misunderstanding that she had locked the door, quickly spoke.
“Your Highness, I apologize, but the door is not opening right now.”
“Did someone lock the door from the inside?”
“Well, I…”
After a brief moment of silence, the Crown Prince addressed someone.
“Break the door.”
“Yes!”
With the response of the strong men, a cracking sound as if striking the doorknob with an iron rod resounded.
Surprised, Roselia quickly stepped back from the door, looking bewildered.
Soon, with the tumultuous noise, the broken door opened, and the Crown Prince, accompanied by the imperial guards, entered the room.
In the midst of the incomprehensible situation, while Roselia wore a dazed expression, the scrutinizing gaze of the composed Crown Prince fell upon her.
“Your Highness…?”
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.”
