Under the splendid chandeliers of the palace banquet hall, a subtle classical melody echoed. Cascus’s large hand gently swept through Artia’s silver hair. The hand caressing her head was as tender as the spring sunlight.
“Hmm, hmm…”
Originally, if it were the typical Cascus, he would never engage in such awkward behavior in a place with many onlookers. However, things were different now. Artia, conscious of everyone’s gaze, shyly lowered her head, and all of these were intentional actions.
Artia covered her lips with a champagne glass and spoke in a very soft voice, “More.”
“Khem…”
“Hug me more.”
After a short fake cough, Cascus embraced Artia tightly. As Artia’s dress touched Cascus’s formal attire, a warm feeling was sensed.
The nobles who witnessed the passionate scene between Cascus and Artia let out sighs here and there.
“Wow!”
“Wow…”
A lady with a fan covering her mouth whispered to the woman next to her, “That girl, a daughter of the Harad family. Married for political purposes, they say. I thought they were enemies, but they seem to get along well.”
“That’s true.”
“Could it be that she’s changed for the better in the North?”
“It’s possible. Look at that.”
Now, as if to be embraced by Cascus, Artia, who had picked up a cherry from the plate, placed it near his lips.
“Ah.”
Unexpectedly, Cascus was momentarily embarrassed by her coquetry but kept his composure and opened his mouth. Artia then smiled with satisfaction at his unexpected reaction. The red cherry softly broke in Cascus’s mouth. Artia, still smiling, picked up another cherry and fed it to him.
Cascus continued to gaze at her as if expressing his affection.
Meanwhile, the knights who accompanied the nobles at the party were waiting behind, having disarmed themselves. Only one knight could accompany a noble into the palace banquet hall. Unbeknownst to Jen, who was waiting with other knights, his brows unconsciously furrowed.
‘Why is he like that?’
To Jen, who was unaware of Artia and Cascus’s intentions, it just looked like a cute affectionate gesture. In his memories, his lord was far from having such an amiable personality.
The unfamiliarity of the scene made Jen briefly shift his gaze elsewhere, calming his emotions.
“Huuu.”
The cheers of the nobles subsided for a moment. Even the nobles who had been admiring the Wellington Duke and Duchess froze. The expressions on the faces of the nobles also stiffened.
“Haha…”
“What a spectacle.”
“They look so good together.”
“That’s why they brought it to the palace?”
“You know how to put on a show…”
While there were grumbles, there was an unavoidable envy in their hearts. Such a well-matched couple of elegance and charm.
In fact, the noblewomen couldn’t help but feel envy for Artia. ‘If I had known, I would have gone to the North.’
‘I thought they were barbarians, but they’re lovebirds.’
Despite the grumbling, it was inevitable that there was a secretly envious heart.
A couple that matched so well.
In reality, the noblewomen seemed to be insanely jealous of Artia.
“I knew it; I should have gone to the North.”
“I thought they were barbarians, but he’s a true lover.”
“I want to be that cherry. No, I want to be the champagne glass in front of them.”
However, next to them, instead of a lover and a handsome noble from the North and a champagne glass, there was only a husband with a bare head and a protruding belly.
The noblewomen also wanted to abandon their husbands, but they carefully smoothed their expressions, pretending to be unaffected, and smiled.
As time passed, almost all the vacant seats in the banquet hall were filled.
And someone sat next to Artia.
“Hello?”
A high and sharp voice reached Artia’s ears.
Turning her head to look at the owner of the voice, a woman with elegant black hair and red lips came into view.
It was Bianca, the Duchess of Turc, from the Southern Ducal family.
She first smiled politely at Cascus.
“I’m Bianca, the Duchess of Turc. As rumored, both of you are dazzlingly beautiful.”
Then, very politely, Bianca asked for permission from Cascus.
“May we have a moment of the ladies’ time?”
Artia gestured to Cascus.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Over here.”
Bianca led Artia to a round table.
Already, noblewomen were seated all around it, including Lady Madrid, the wife of Viscount Harad.
‘No, how can that be!’
Madrid, seeing Artia, narrowed her eyes, showing discomfort.
The illegitimate child of the Harad family, whom they had sent to the North with the hope that she would die quietly, appeared so splendidly at the royal palace banquet.
At that moment, a noblewoman next to her, with a teasing smile, spoke to Madrid.
“Can’t you recognize her?”
“What?”
Then, she pointed to the silver-haired woman in the sky-blue dress.
Madrid looked at Artia with an expression that seemed like she was seeing her for the first time.
After a moment, her face turned red as if she remembered something.
“Artia?”
It was an obvious act.
With an enraged voice and even a snort, the noblewomen at the same table had to shake their heads to hold back laughter.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
