Edric exerted force on the hands he held. Like a child who doesn’t want to be deprived of candy, he openly revealed his desperate longing.
“If you want to stay, what should I do? What do I have to do for you to stay? I, I can’t let you go. I won’t let you go.”
Edric stammered in a way that was unlike him. He seemed out of his mind.
To see the mighty and awe-inspiring White Tiger crumble like this, anyone who witnessed it would be truly surprised.
I felt affectionate and hurt seeing him like that.
“No, of course, it’s sad right now, but when you think about the distant future, this is the right thing. I have to go to lift the curse. Edric has to become a king, and living with such a big weakness like a curse isn’t an option.”
“If not going will solve the curse, then maybe the curse doesn’t matter at all.”
“It does matter, Edric. You need to stop being in pain now. The curse has tormented you all this time.”
“Cecilia, instead of losing you, I’d rather live with the curse for a lifetime. That’s nothing; please…”
Edric’s head drooped abruptly. His forehead touched my shoulder. His carefully leaned head lightly shook.
“Please don’t say you’re leaving.”
Edric tightly grasped my clothing as if the blood vessels were about to burst on the back of his hand.
A voice that seemed to sob flowed beneath his disheveled hair.
“For the long time you didn’t wake up, it was hell for me. I thought I shouldn’t have caused all this. If I hadn’t aspired to be king from the beginning, if I had just lived with you in the White Tiger Mansion, making wine… I wish it were like that.”
My eye sockets were hot. Tears I had been holding back until now flowed uncontrollably outside Edric’s field of vision. I pressed my hands to my mouth as if to prevent the sobbing sounds. But it was useless. Whether Edric heard me crying or not, he lifted his head. His face, like mine, was thoroughly soaked.
The strong heart that had endured so much finally crumbled.
Beneath my feet, I sank into the ground, into the darkness.
My innermost feelings kept popping out.
But I can’t.
I forcefully swallowed them, along with tears. I lifted my head. Tears streamed down my face.
“The curse is too dangerous, and it could eventually kill you. I keep thinking about the day when Perkop died. If you think you might die so horribly because of the curse… And if that means I have to stay here… ”
Half of my words, soaked in tears, burst out honestly. Edric pulled my shoulders towards him and hugged me.
“But without you, I’m nothing. I wanted to be a king for you, and I wanted to love the world you love. Without you, the world has no reason for me to exist. Please, Cecilia. Don’t leave. Please, the curse is not a problem at all, so please…”
Everything inside me collapsed. My heart, remaining emotions, and reason. Like a sandcastle in front of the waves, emotions and reason broke and gathered in one place.
The ninety-sixth dilemma.
What if I just stay? What if, just like I don’t want to live in a world without Edric, what if Edric suffers too much after I leave? What if it hurts more than the curse?
The clear decision became gradually blurry.
The ninety-seventh dilemma.
“But Edric…”
“Just stay by my side like you have been doing. I won’t feel pain when you’re by my side. So, stay by my side.”
“What if I’m not by your side?”
“Always stay by my side. Don’t go away from me. Not for a day, not even for an hour.”
If I truly stay with Edric all the time, if I continue weakening the curse as I have done so far… Wouldn’t it be okay to stay?
The ninety-eighth…
Edric pulled my waist and buried his face. His shoulders trembled intensely.
“Would you be okay without me? Living in a world where I don’t exist? No, tell me it’s not okay. Please, Cecilia.”
Edric lifted his head. Possession and obsession boiled in his flickering eyes.
The ninety-eighth dilemma tangled in my mind. Whether overpowering emotions triumph over reason or if this is truly a rational judgment is indistinguishable.
I don’t know anything. What should I do now?
The ninety-ninth.
“I… I don’t want to go either.”
Edric’s labored breath touched my face.
“I don’t want to live where you’re not.”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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