From the moment he called her by name instead of ‘Your Highness’, as in the past, this matter became utterly personal.
“I don’t care like this. I care about Shalea politics, I care about Eastern nobles, but not like this.”
Setting down the towel and basin, he came up close to her in a flash. Lu leaned her upper body back, but Hayden didn’t retreat.
He maintained a certain distance but came as close as possible. Watching her eyes dart around, he seemed to consider for a moment before cracking a slight smile.
“If we talk more, you’ll either run away or pretend you didn’t hear. Let’s just leave it at serious interest. That fits within a very general emotional range, doesn’t it?”
“Um, yes, thank you.”
“Let’s think that way for the time being.”
It was clear that he was considering how long that could last. Lu hesitated to speak but eventually opened her mouth.
“Your Majesty, I have my own future to worry about. I can’t afford this.”
“Lu.”
As he always did, he looked straight at her.
“I can’t afford it either. That’s why I’m doing this.”
He didn’t come any closer, saying it wasn’t allowed, but neither did he leave. Hayden stood up, cleaned up, and left the room.
Left behind, Lu stared at the door, then put her hand over her chest.
‘I shouldn’t be doing this.’
Was it because she hadn’t interacted with people for so long? Her heart was beating extremely irregularly.
[Star Icon]That night, an Imperial knight landed on the tower, stayed for about 30 minutes, and then took off again.
The emperor would stay at the tower tonight. He left the ongoing subjugation to the Imperials and had other matters to attend to here.
“How are you feeling, Ophelia?”
Late at night after dinner, Hayden checked on the condition of the tower’s keeper and Western sage. She had lifted a third of a centuries-old curse, so Ophelia also had to assess her condition and adapt well.
“Did you overdo it earlier?”
A few hours ago, Carlos had appeared in the tower and made a commotion. Of course, it wasn’t actually him but an idea with his power. Nonetheless, it was inevitable for the tower’s weakened owner to suffer some impact.
“What are you saying? Your Majesty blocked and endured everything.”
Ophelia closed the book she was reading with a small laugh.
“Was there another book left?”
“The wizards who passed through here did quite a bit while I was being careless. This is a trace of that.”
Hayden sat down beside her.
“Few people stay by my side until their death, but you have stayed for a long time. I didn’t even realize you had left, but you left something like this.”
Depression that consumed a person took away all the energy to look around. Ophelia, who had just managed to get up and look around, encountered traces of people who had passed through the tower for hundreds of years.
“An interesting paper. It’s a shame I couldn’t read it more.”
“I hope you won’t miss out on more talent in the future.”
Ophelia, who had put down the truly knitted paper, looked at Hayden.
“What can I help you with, Your Majesty?”
“I would like to lift some of the curse on Lady Gennes before leaving the tower tomorrow.”
“And you need my help for that.”
“As much as possible is the goal.”
The most wise wizard and owner of the tower, who had been quietly listening, tilted his head.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to go to the Dragon Lord if you need external help? As you know, I haven’t fully recovered yet, so I can’t offer much help.”
Fully lifting the curse was impossible, it meant. The only person who could do that, in Ophelia’s opinion, was Hayden.
“I intend to receive all the help I can get.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
At this, Ophelia thought of Ru, who used to eat enthusiastically during meals.
“Didn’t you bring Carlos’s symbol? With that power…”
Hayden shook his head.
“That object, as the symbol of the Southern Sage, could probably lift your curse a bit more. But there are hundreds of years between the curse you have and the one Lady Gennes has.”
“The curse is more delicate and complicated. When do you think Carlos fully abandoned his original position, Your Majesty?”
Hayden laughed at the cautious question.
“Do you think Carlos had fulfilled his duty as the Southern Sage until Lady Gennes appeared, Ophelia? The rule of a successor inheriting the position hasn’t been broken.”
“But Carlos, who was the Southern Sage, hasn’t been gone for too long. And now a successor appears?”
Ophelia said, as if she couldn’t understand.
“Caleta is originally the central south of Perseta. Successors would have continuously appeared, but Carlos would have exploited and drained their power. Many would have died that way.”
Hayden’s gray eyes were already wandering into an unknown dark past.
“Lady Gennes would have almost ended that way too.”
“Yes.”
Living a lonely life in a cabin built in the most secluded place of a nameless territory, she would have been exploited by Carlos until her dying breath, without even knowing.
A woman who, being terribly lonely, welcomes a stranger of her age but ultimately has to be alone, sharing warmth only for one night.
“How did you find her?”
He finally looked at Ophelia.
“She found me.”
With a face that hadn’t lost its smile back then, she willingly extended her hand to Hayden, who was being tortured in front of that terrible barrier.
“Hi, just call me Ru. Are you hungry?”
It was warmth tasted for the first time in hundreds of years. It was so warm and sparkling that jealousy could arise when one realized that there were many other soldiers who had tasted that warmth.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
