At the same time. The outer fortress of Duke Esper’s territory.

Carlos made a wide circle leaning against the wall.

Duke Esper’s territory served as a passage connecting the human world with the underground world, so it was fortified with a strong barrier to prevent anyone from entering or leaving.

But he had hastily returned upon hearing the news that the barrier’s power had weakened.

“It has definitely weakened.”

Carlos had been absent for a long time, but the more significant reason was the persistent attacks from the outside to break the barrier and enter.

The culprit was probably…

“That guy.”

The identity of the culprit who transformed an ordinary rabbit into a monster to attack Irene was certain.

Carlos persistently pursued the culprit, but the latter had already concealed himself in the underground world.

He knew that Carlos couldn’t go to the underground world, and had taken refuge there.

“Annoying.”

If he wanted to fight with him, he could just challenge him openly, but meddling with strange tricks from behind was more than just irritating.

Regardless, he had to repair the barrier as quickly as possible. He also had to deal with those who loitered around the territory without knowing their place.

Carlos narrowed his eyes, and the long shadow stretching behind him was absorbed into the barrier.

How much time had passed? Carlos, who was focusing on repairing the barrier, suddenly felt a presence and opened his eyes.

Soon, a black curtain covered the sky. The slenderwaisted moon faintly illuminated the world.

“I apologize, my Lord.”

Jessie appeared, hesitating from inside the fortress walls.

“I did not mean to disturb you…”

“It’s fine.”

As Carlos turned around, the shadow that had been absorbed into the barrier revealed itself under the dim moonlight.

The shadow writhed like a living person before disappearing. A long sigh escaped from a beautiful face filled with signs of fatigue.

“What is it?”

“It’s about the young lady.”

As Carlos nodded, Jessie continued.

“I checked the flower branch tattoo you mentioned while attending to the young lady’s bath. There are a total of 7 buds, and 3 of them have blossomed.”

It was exactly as he had seen at the Montro inn.

Nothing had changed?

Well, only ten days had passed, and there had been no special events, so expecting something to change was like hoping for a thief’s change of heart.

“And from what I saw, the young lady seemed completely unaware of the tattoo on her back.”

Jessie’s words continued.

“But just in case, I will go into the young lady’s dreams tonight and check.”

Jessie, a resident of the underground world and one of Carlos’s subordinates, had the ability to delve into someone’s dreams and extract the information he wanted.

Those whose dreams were so disturbed would suffer terrible nightmares for days.

“Forget it. Until I say otherwise, do not delve into her dreams.”

Irene would already be uneasy in a strange place, and having terrible nightmares on top of that would only make her more anxious.

And since she didn’t seem to be lying, Carlos decided not to use Jessie’s ability for the time being.

“The young lady’s body had numerous scars and wounds.”

At Jessie’s next words, Carlos’s brows, which had been relaxed from fatigue, shot up.

Though he had done nothing wrong, Jessie swallowed nervously, feeling guilty.

“Scars and wounds?”

“Yes. I couldn’t bring myself to ask how she got them, but… in my brief opinion, it seemed as if she had suffered abuse for a long time.”

Come to think of it, Sir Silas had said that Irene had set fire to the Silas territory and killed her parents.

Could Irene have killed her parents and set the fire because she couldn’t bear the long abuse?

But why hadn’t I noticed the scars when I saw her naked body?

Carlos immediately knew the reason.

He had been completely captivated by the flower branch tattoo on Irene’s back. Nothing else had caught his eye.

“Shall I ask her in detail how she got hurt?”
Carlos paused to think for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, there’s no need.”

If she had truly been abused, it would be akin to touching a painful wound, so it was right not to ask.

There was no need to know either. What Irene had been like in the past, what she had experienced, was not important at all.

“Treat her so that the wound does not fester.”

Still, he didn’t like the fact that there was a wound, so he had to treat it.

“Can the scar be removed?”

The scar also bothered him. Carlos wished there were no scars on that small body at all. The reason was unknown.

“I’m not sure. I’ve heard a story from a wandering pharmacist a long time ago that there’s a medicine that can remove scars, but I’m not certain.”

“Find out. No matter how much it costs, if there is medicine, get it.”

“Yes.”

Jesse answered nonchalantly, but inside, she was very surprised.

The Carlos she knew was not such a meticulous person.

There were many parts that were implausible to think that Irene was a special existence.

For example, when she was first discovered….

“Do you have anything else to report?”

Male lead is a Divorced Husband

She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”

Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.

After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.

She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.

But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…

Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!

――

This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!

The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.

That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”

Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”

The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”

That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”

Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”

The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.

Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.

“She was originally a ‘she’!”

At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.

The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”

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