The next day.
Atia boarded the carriage with Casus.
Haidegger came to see off his son and daughterinlaw to the capital.
Casus bowed his head in greeting.
“I will return safely.”
“Yes.”
Haidegger originally planned to stay in the duchy for a few days before embarking on his journey.
However, considering the current situation, he gave up the journey to take care of the duchy.
So his son and daughterinlaw could comfortably go to the capital.
Atia energetically waved at the somewhat saddened Haidegger.
“Father, don’t worry! We’ll be back soon. And healthier.”
Haidegger silently grinned.
Numerous emotions flitted through his heart.
‘I couldn’t protect my wife, but you must protect yours.’
The journey was bound to be anything but smooth.
Perhaps, just perhaps.
They might not come back.
Nonetheless, the reason Casus was heading to the capital was to save Atia and the people of the duchy.
“Have the ones with black snake tattoos died? They usually disappear without a trace.”
“Looking for the dark magic tome? It’s in the royal palace. But its exact location is unknown.”
Beginning with the orders to his adjutant, Casus gathered information from various quarters.
The conclusion was one.
To find out the origin of Atia’s illness and the masked men in black, they had to go to the royal palace.
And to immediately confirm the presence of dark magic, they had to go there with Atia, despite the risk.
“Then, let’s go.”
It was when Casus was about to start the carriage.
“Wait!”
Atia halted the departing carriage and stepped down, rushing to Haidegger to grasp both of his hands firmly.
“Father…!”
The strength of Atia’s grip briefly startled Haidegger.
However, he also gently held onto his daughterinlaw’s delicate hands.
“Please stay healthy! And no needless wars!”
Visions of Haidegger meeting a miserable end on the battlefield filled Atia’s mind.
That must never happen.
If someone were to kill Haidegger, Atia would catch that person, even if she had to become a ghost to do it.
“I promise!”
“Heh heh.”
“Quickly, promise!”
“Yes. Heh heh.”
Finally, Atia received the promise.
Haidegger chuckled softly.
Despite her own frail health, Atia was more concerned about the health of the duchy’s family.
As if she feared that her robust frame would be whisked away by the wind.
“Please take good care of the people in the duchy while we’re gone.”
Shortly thereafter, Atia waved her hand for the real last farewell.
“Father! We’ll definitely come back!”
Haidegger watched until the carriage disappeared from sight.
‘Yes, come back safely without any incident.’
(Here’s the time marker.)
Clatter. Clatter.
Atia and Casus listened to the rattling of the carriage as they looked out of the window.
They were the only ones in the spacious carriage.
“……”
Casus looked at Atia with a slight smile.
Today, his wife had put in more effort into her appearance than usual.
Instead of her usual high ponytail, she let her hair down and added a slight wave.
Normally too lazy for makeup, she’d put on some today, matching her skin tone.
Her already pretty features shone even more radiantly.
Atia looked out of the carriage window and thought.
‘What happens to me if I go to the capital and uncover the secret of my body?’
She had been destined to die soon. Would she now survive?
How would they solve the issue of the cursed essence in the royal palace?
What colorful steps would she have to go through to unravel the secret of the dark magic?
‘Sigh…’
Atia was troubled.
Could it be that she was under a dark magic spell?
If so, who had cast it?
‘Ah, whatever it is, I’ll quickly escape this weakening body! It’s not like I’m a body possessed by the soul of an anchovy.’
If the damned dark magic is why my muscle mass has plateaued so far.
‘Dark magic’s father, no, even if I have to find that damned grandfather, I won’t let it go. Dark magic, you bastard!’
Do you know the horror of near extinction?
The feeling of having the most important thing taken away, do you know it?
If dark magic were a person, I would have grabbed it by the collar and made it walk the road to the royal palace barefoot.
Atia shivered with a tremor.
Seeing this, Casus quickly took Atia’s hand.
“Are you alright? Cold?”
“Ah, yes. I mean… I wasn’t saying it’s cold…”
“The capital is much warmer than here, you’ll be fine.”
Casus spread a thick blanket beside him and covered Atia with it.
He tightly knotted the corners to keep the blanket from sliding off.
And he held her hand inside the blanket, fearing it might be cold.
Casus’s large, warm hand melted Atia’s cold hand.
‘It’s warm. Like a heat pack.’
Atia felt a sense of stability in his gentle touch.
“The royal family might misunderstand my purpose for going to the capital.”
“Ah…”
“They might think I’m visiting to investigate the connection between the royal family and those who fired the poison arrows during the festival.”
“Mm.”
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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