As Irene poked at her untouched salad, pondering what to do, she finally gathered the courage to speak as dinner was coming to an end.
“Your Grace.”
The hand lifting the wine glass halted. When his purple eyes met hers, Irene swallowed hard and clenched her skirt tightly.
“I have a favor to ask.”
It was extremely rare for Irene to ask for anything, so Carlos lifted an eyebrow in mild surprise.
“What is it?”
Whatever she asked for, he would grant it.
“I want to learn magic.”
Just as he’d resolved, Carlos frowned deeply at her words.
Clearly displeased, Irene’s gaze naturally fell. Her grip on the hem of her skirt tightened.
“Why do you suddenly want to learn magic?”
“I happened upon a book on magic in the library… and became interested.”
Her interest in magic had been there since the day she first met Carlos and asked him if he knew magic.
Since then, her curiosity about magic had grown.
However, she chose to omit that part.
“So, I was studying alone, and Prince Zerdin saw me and said if I get permission from you, he would teach me…”
Realizing that Zerdin was behind this, Carlos clicked his tongue.
Assuming he was annoyed by her request, Irene shrunk back.
Carlos’s frown deepened further. He would like to grant whatever Irene wanted, within reason, but teaching her magic was problematic.
Because she could use magic to escape. He didn’t want her to learn magic if it could be helped.
But rejecting her now would only deflate her further.
Their relationship would only grow more distant.
Moreover, he had promised to let her do whatever she wanted, aside from escaping.
Sighing internally, Carlos nodded.
“If you want to learn, learn.”
Expecting a definite “no,” Irene was shocked when permission was granted and lifted her head.
Despite its terrifying appearance, Zerdin wasn’t the least bit scared.
“Angeleya. Angeleya.”
Rather, his eyes sparkled as he looked at the monstrous bird.
The creature, seemingly frightened by Zerdin’s predatory gaze, flapped its wings and emitted a ghastly cry.
Carlos soothed its stiff back and then untied the pouch fastened to the bird’s leg.
Inside the pouch, a note was sealed in wax, implying that no one other than the sender had read it.
“…….”
Carlos’s expression gradually darkened as he tore open the wax seal and read the contents.
Crumpling the paper, he looked back at Zerdin.
“So, you were planning to stay at Esper Castle because of the Empress.”
Hitting the nail on the head, Zerdin’s eyes widened.
“The Empress is doing everything she can to prevent me from leaving, so I planned to stay at Esper Castle to stop her.”
“If I stay in Esper Castle for a few days and return without achieving anything, she’ll eventually give up.”
Carlos smirked.
“Do you really think a mother who entrusts her child to a monster will give up easily?”
“…….”
Zerdin lowered his head, at a loss for words.
Carlos, who had been watching Zerdin intently, sighed and slightly lifted his arm. The monstrous bird then flew out of the window, into the distance.
“The Empress plans to invite Irene to the New Year’s party.”
“What?”
What does this mean? Zerdin’s head shot up in surprise. Carlos continued nonchalantly.
“Since we’re now family, she’s making some ridiculous excuse to introduce her to the other royal families and nobles at the New Year’s party.”
That meant Carlos would naturally accompany her as a guardian, and the Empress had counted on that.
He had predicted something like this would happen since Irene was added to the royal family tree, but the timing was much sooner than expected.
Moreover, it wasn’t the temple but the Empress who was pulling such a stunt. He had planned to avoid going to the temple with the royal excuse, but this erases any pretext for avoidance.
“What a hassle.”
Carlos let out an irritated sigh, and Zerdin’s expression darkened sharply.
“I apologize. I should’ve stopped her.”
“It’s fine. There was nothing you could’ve done once you left the palace.”
As Carlos dropped the crumpled note onto the floor, a shadow that had been elongated shot up and devoured it.
“So do what you can here.”
Whether it was for Carlos or for the Empress, that was something to be determined by keeping a close watch.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
