Of course, hearing such talk didn’t mean that someone like me, who was ignorant of swordsmanship, could properly understand it.
“…When the Young Marquis stood still with his sword lowered towards me, even in that natural and light posture, I felt no openings to exploit. How excited I was at that moment…!”
“Moreover, he has remarkable concentration. From the moment he grips the sword, he moves as if he’s become one with it. His body control is very natural. If he had been born in an era rife with war, he would have become a war hero.”
Hmm, it was still difficult to understand the details. But I suppose it means he’s impressive anyway?
That doesn’t mean I’m taking their words at face value though.
Honestly, Raphael, the Imperial descendant, seemed like someone who had etiquette engraved in his cells from the first time I met him.
And Lord Joseph is someone desperate to make a good impression on me.
In other words, the evaluations of these two people lack objectivity. I should filter what I hear.
…It was at that moment I was thinking this.
“But listening to you both, you keep talking only about the Young Marquis’s… that is, my grand-nephew’s talent in swordsmanship.”
Suddenly, Sergei abruptly interjected into this conversation.
“A flawless personality and remarkable concentration are abilities that can be demonstrated not just in swordsmanship, but in academics as well. Just wait and see what results the Young Marquis will achieve in this exam!”
Wait a minute, Sergei. There’s no need to get so worked up about it, is there?
“My grand-nephew, in my view, is someone destined for greatness not in swordsmanship, but in academics. After graduating from the Academy, if he wishes, he will surely receive an offer to enter the Tower of Honor, and even if he refuses that, he could become a scholar who enters the ranks of central nobility and receives His Majesty’s full trust!”
“Lord Sergei, please calm down.”
I’d appreciate it if you could tone down your excitement now that I understand.
“I-I was just focusing on his swordsmanship because the Regent Lord was curious about the Young Marquis’s sword skills.”
“That’s right, Lord Sergei. Of course, I’m well aware of how excellent the Young Marquis’s academic abilities are.”
“…”
Only then did Sergei finally close his mouth. I can say with certainty that this is the first time I’ve seen Sergei get so agitated.
The funny thing is, despite this, as a mother, I couldn’t help but smile at the corners of my mouth hearing praises about my son.
“I apologize. The exam hasn’t even ended yet, but it sounded as if I was saying the Young Marquis has other paths, so don’t dwell on the test results.”
…Well, judging by how sensitive he was acting, it seemed Sergei was the one most nervous about it.
Suddenly, the burn scar on his left eye, which was furrowing, caught my attention.
His left eye, lost at the scene of the fire. Sergei, who already had poor eyesight and always had to wear glasses.
But now he has to read with just one eye.
Every time I saw it, I felt sorry and my heart ached.
Especially after learning that he had thrown himself to save Kardiel and suffered the accident.
So, as soon as I arrived at Castle Daiern, I had not only the castle’s physicians but also skilled doctors from all over the duchy brought in.
And every day, I had them manage his burn scars and assess the possibility of vision regeneration.
Unfortunately, they all shook their heads.
The burn scar, well, as time passes, the wound might heal and the blemish might fade.
But even so, their unanimous opinion was that the area wouldn’t recover to its original skin condition.
It was because the injury had been so severe.
After that, there was no need to even mention his vision.
Unless a miracle occurs, Sergei’s left eye will never see light again.
‘Ha, a miracle.’
I had already confirmed that even Lord Joseph’s magic couldn’t make such a thing possible.
No, it is possible, but it involves applying chronomancy to an individual to turn back the time of the body, was it?
Of course, that’s out of the question too. Lord Joseph must not use chronomancy anymore.
‘At this point, I’d rather just want to remove the scar…’
I can’t use the ointment the children brought from the black market.
That’s what the three of them risked astronomical sums and danger to obtain for Euphemina.
‘Then, is there nothing left but to hope for the legacy of Landgritz that I’ll soon inherit?’
But even that is ambiguous.
If there were new products, they wouldn’t have put a used item with signs of wear on the black market auction.
Sigh, really.
Just one. I wish there was just one more left somewhere…
“Ah…!”
At that moment, something suddenly flashed through my mind.
“My lady?”
“Duchess. Are you alright?”
“Regent Lord. Is there perhaps something…”
Startled gazes poured towards me as I suddenly stood up from my seat.
Oh my, only then did I realize how ill-mannered my behavior just now had been.
Yes, let’s calm down first. I sat back down, saying it was nothing, and calmly smoothed my chest.
I had forgotten.
In fact, until Lord Joseph mentioned the ointment that could erase the congestion in the neck, I couldn’t grasp what he was talking about.
I was only thinking about the mysterious ointment obtained from the black market, given that it had such excellent regenerative effects that it could erase neck congestion in one go.
So, I had completely erased from my mind everything I had said in front of Lord Joseph.
At times like this, I can’t help but envy perfect memory ability.
Anyway.
What flashed through my mind was, yes. The ointment that Lord Joseph had given me as a gift when he came to my husband’s funeral in the past.
‘Certainly, when Lord Joseph came to my husband’s funeral, he gave it to me out of concern for my sprained ankle.’
He even told me it was ‘an effective ointment used in Alperon’ when he gave it to me. In other words…
‘It might be identical to or comparable to what the children bought.’
My heart pounded as if in a rush.
The discovery of an item whose existence I had completely forgotten seemed to instantly wash away all the worries and guilt I had been feeling.
However, there was clearly an element of uncertainty that prevented me from acting rashly here.
The imperial residence in Daiern had completely burned down.
The only items that could be salvaged were those that Loretta had hurriedly gathered when she realized there was a fire.
The chances of it remaining weren’t very high, but…
“My lady, is something the matter?”
Lord Joseph tilted his head slightly towards me as my gaze wandered in thought.
Even Sergei and Imperial descendant Raphael were embarrassingly focused on me.
I was about to open my mouth to make some excuse.
Dong, dong.
At that moment, the clock chimed, signaling the end of the exam time, filling the reception room.
It was perfect timing. Everyone turned their heads and stood up.
I too left the reception room, wrapping my shawl around me.
At the end of the corridor, beyond the large visible door, was the space where Kardiel had been taking his exam for two days.
Ah! Just then, the door opened and the proctors and Kardiel were seen coming out.
“Kardiel!”
The three men and I simultaneously approached Kardiel.
Forgetting the fact that I had always nagged the children not to run in the corridors, my steps were now hurrying towards the child faster than anyone else’s.
Through Kardiel’s characteristic expressionlessness, I thought I glimpsed a gentle smile for a moment.
[This is the timeline separator]The morning after Kardiel’s exam ended.
I saw off the proctors who had been dispatched from the Academy.
I wanted to send them off with a carriage and attendants to ensure a comfortable return, but they adamantly refused, so I had no choice.
As it turned out, it was a principle for dispatched proctors to leave the test site by the morning after the exam ended.
Particularly, they were prohibited from enjoying meals or tea in the same place as the head of the family.
Since all of this was a rule to prevent cheating, I had to send them off cleanly, though regrettably.
“How was the exam?”
Yes, that didn’t really matter. This is what I was really curious about.
Since not only private conversations with the proctors but even the test results would be individually notified from late April, my curiosity could only be directed at Kardiel.
Oh! There was one thing to be careful about. I shouldn’t ask, ‘Did you do well?’ It could pressure Kardiel.
“It was okay, nothing was difficult.”
Kardiel, however, replied nonchalantly, as if indifferent to my anxious state of mind.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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