“You, Lu, you what, why our Lu, why did you do something wrong, huh? You’re not lacking, growing up so well, so dignified, even though Mom and Dad couldn’t take care of you, you’ve come this far, where are you going!”
The hand, gripping a sword and magically calloused but still warm, stroked Lu’s face. That made Lu turn her gaze back to her mother.
She seemed to have been glaring with her gray eyes, but she was too dazed to notice as her mother’s face turned pale and she screamed.
“You’ve made a wise decision to quit being a knight and come here, Mom, Dad didn’t know how proud we were.”
Mom panted, tears streaming down her face. Ah. Lu discovered the harsh years piled layer upon layer in her mother’s distorted face.
Time had passed for Mom too. She had endured 11 years of pain and hardship, bearing the first child in her bosom. Light wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and eyes that held much deeper than those wrinkles, were filled with those years.
“We’ve come safely so far, that’s enough……, why are you saying that, it hurts Mom’s feelings.”
Milene Gennes, known as the Iron Lady and respected by Westerners, sobbed heavily, constantly stroking her lost daughter’s back and leaning against her cheek.
Lu’s heart became very heavy, and eventually, it was so painfully sweet that she could only hug her mother and cry without saying a word.
That day, in Belfort, the cries of the Gennes women never stopped.
[Star icon]She couldn’t be at the Caleta Company any longer. That was the conclusion Lu reached, watching her mother, who had barely controlled her emotions, fix her face and report the situation to Hayden.
She had never coveted the position at Caleta Company. It was just a position she held, wanting to use it thoroughly to get closer to Carlos.
“Sister.”
Two younger siblings, who had cried together watching their mother and older sister, had momentarily pulled away from Hayden and scurried over here.
“Are you okay?”
Lu wiped her face and nodded. It was fine. She thought she would be going back to having nothing if she quit Caleta Company, but that wasn’t the case either.
The fact that there was a place to return to, that someone was waiting, was comforting and consoling beyond words.
“Sister’s fine. You were surprised, right? Sorry.”
With hair ribbons twisted and half undone from crying, the younger siblings shook their heads and clung to their big sister without a care. They smelled sweet and soft, precious children of the house.
“How did you know I was your sister?”
“Mom and Dad told us! And the Godfather too!”
“Yes! The Godfather!”
Unable to keep up with the talking speed of Siya, who was twice her age, Bella nodded her head earnestly, mumbling about the Godfather. Lu quietly stood and looked at Hayden, who was listening to her mother’s report.
“The Godfather said Sister is so pretty!”
Shia was fluttering around as Riga started to retie her ribbon and soon quietly hugged her sister’s waist. Meanwhile, Bella was whining.
“Yes, they said you were pretty. Just like us, with brown hair, and yes, green eyes, they said you were very, very pretty.”
The youngest laughed with a puffy, swollen face from crying so much, wondering if her older sister liked her.
“Sister pretty.”
“Yes. And Daddy said Sister is very smart. Sister studies well, doesn’t she?”
Riga didn’t think she was that smart, but her younger siblings’ eyes firmly believed so.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Sister didn’t know she had siblings. I’m sorry.”
“No! It’s natural for Sister not to know. We can teach you!”
“Ah, Bella, stop shaking your head for a moment. Let me finish tying this. Right.”
Even with the messy hair, Rustica Gennes, who had finished the report, turned to the children.
“Alexia Gennes.”
Heeik. The time has finally come. The moment Mom calls the full name. Shia ran behind Riga right away.
“Why did you bring your younger sibling all the way here? Mom and Dad told you not to leave the house, didn’t they?”
Shia popped out from behind Riga.
“Yes, they did.”
“Then why did you come out?”
“Well, since Mom and Sister aren’t home, I’m the owner of the palace!”
Shia had her reasons, too. The obnoxious Gronbi Earl’s son was trying to tarnish the palace’s dignity, and this little girl understood it all and couldn’t just stand by and watch. She was babbling in a nineyearold way.
“You came here using that excuse to see Sister, thinking Mom wouldn’t know?”
Heeik. How did she know? Shia looked at Riga desperately.
“Um, Sister.”
“…Sister should listen to Mom, too.”
Riga shook her head awkwardly. Big sister is powerless in front of Mom. Sister was scolded just like you when you were young. Maybe it’s the same now.
“Yes! Big sister should listen to Mom, too!”
“That’s right. Yes. Indeed.”
Riga nodded her head unconditionally to her mother’s words.
In the end, Shia was scolded for recklessly bringing her younger sibling along, and after it was decided that the children would stay here for the day, Milene grabbed Riga’s arm tightly.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
