Terunya seemed to chatter away, as if trying to ease my tension, but none of it registered in my ears.
I simply nodded my head awkwardly, like a broken doll.
Soon we arrived at the entrance, and the door opened.
Inside, dozens of lavishly dressed men and women turned their heads toward us in unison. I felt prickling sensations all over my body under their piercing gazes.
Don’t be nervous, Cecilia.
I am now the representative of the extinct hedgehog beast-people, the Erijo clan.
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a wide smile.
“Who do we have here if not Lord Robeiro’s successor?”
Many people approached as soon as they recognized Terminus. They all halted when they saw me, exchanged glances among themselves. I was clearly the new face here.
I stood up straight.
“It’s been a while, Terminus Robeiro. You still look splendid.”
“Thank you. Lord Bueno, your mustache is still magnificent.”
The man contentedly stroked his mustache.
He must be a goat beast-person. The one standing next to him must be a cow beast-person.
Before coming here, Terunya briefed me on the features and information of the leaders, so I remembered them.
“Who is the person standing next to you?”
The question that everyone was curious about. They all looked at me.
“There’s a rule in our leader’s banquet that only direct family members of the leaders can enter. Lord Terminus Robeiro surely hasn’t forgotten… so it must be—”
Must be what!
I gulped nervously.
“Finally getting married!”
The goat leader burst into laughter.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to marry such a beautiful person? But sadly, that’s not the case.”
Terminus chuckled and caressed the back of my hand. He was about to introduce me when I interrupted him.
Because I wanted to present myself confidently.
“Nice to meet you. I am Cecilia Erijo.”
The man’s forehead creased.
“Erijo? If it’s Erijo, then—”
The surrounding area began to buzz.
They couldn’t possibly not know who the Erijo were.
“Yes, I am the sole surviving member and leader of the hedgehog clan.”
The banquet hall stirred.
Some appeared cautious, wondering if I was the real Erijo, while others seemed pleased.
Just then, a melodious voice sounded.
“Nice to meet you, Cecilia Erijo. This is our first encounter.”
I glanced around. I heard the voice, but couldn’t locate its source.
“Down here.”
Someone gently tapped the back of my hand. Only then did I lower my gaze.
She was a petite girl, barely reaching my chest.
“Herons Skiros. Pleased to meet you.”
Ah, Skiros, so she’s a squirrel anthropoid.
They said she ascended to lordship at a young age. Even younger than I thought?
“Likewise, Herons Skiros.”
I extended my hand. She grasped it without hesitation.
Following Heron, a few others approached me. Most were fellow small mammals and herbivores.
“Meeting Erijo again is a thrill. We, the mole anthropoids, also had a close relationship with you. You probably don’t know, but even when you were a baby, our lord had met you.”
Talphinus, the mole anthropoid, was a man with small stature and dark skin. Despite his rugged appearance, he seemed quite sensitive. He even squeezed my hand.
“I appreciate the memory. My late parents, the Erijos, and the hedgehog anthropoids would be pleased.”
“Yes, if you ever need anything, come talk to us, Talphinus.”
“The honor is mine.”
I exchanged pleasantries with them, then scanned the banquet hall.
An invisible line seemed to exist between people.
Carnivores grouped with carnivores, and herbivores had formed their own circles.
Everyone was subtly eyeing me, however.
Among them, a blond man stood out the most.
Ozar Serbian.
As if feeling my gaze, Ozar slowly turned his head and looked at me.
His eyes felt like a snake’s thin tongue, thoroughly licking my face. Then, the corners of his mouth rose.
Now he would know.
That I’m not Rolta, but Erijo—the person he’d been searching for.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I asked for the understanding of the chipmunk anthropoid leader I’d been conversing with and walked toward Ozar.
As I walked, the hem of my skirt scraped the floor, making a swishing sound. Whether it was because of that sensation or tension, chills continually arose on my skin.
I took a handkerchief from my bosom and offered it to him.
“You remember me, don’t you?”
I’ve made good use of your handkerchief all this while.
Ozar grinned.
It was difficult to gauge what emotion his smile carried on his pale face. He was undoubtedly handsome, but there was no warmth to be felt. He seemed like a completely different person from the Ozar who dealt with Silla Rolta before.
“So you are. The dirt-covered young lady. You lied to me.”
His words echoed in the hall, though not loudly. Everyone seemed to focus on our conversation.
They must be curious about the conversation between Erijo, who had suddenly appeared, and me, a person in power called Serbyan.
Ozar’s green eyes scrutinized me.
Ozar took large strides toward me. His movement was as smooth as a snake’s. Unknowingly, I clenched my fist; tension enveloped me.
But there was no reason for me to retreat here.
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.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
