Owen began to think that the Duchess might be a more dangerous presence than he had anticipated.
“All right. Tell me. What is effective for His Majesty?”
Owen tried to remain as calm as possible, but his voice was slightly tense.
Atia noticed this but didn’t reveal it, asking, “If I tell you, what can I gain from it?”
His lips twisted slightly. “If you don’t tell, you might lose even more.”
“It’s an unfair deal.”
Atia shrugged her shoulders, wearing an expression of disbelief. “Funny. Daring to discuss unfairness in front of me.”
Observing Owen carefully, Atia thought, ‘Wait a minute. Since it’s come to this, if I handle it well, I might get what I want faster.’
Atia quickly turned her thoughts. She hadn’t been ignorant of what she saw and heard at the royal palace. Recently, she heard that Owen was implementing a policy for exploring new trade routes. Stories related to that were often heard at the banquets she attended not long ago.
‘That means it’s before Owen fails in exploring the new trade route.’
In the novel, Owen was pushing forward with the exploration of new trade routes with the aim of promoting active trade. However, ships carrying important goods disappeared midway, eventually leading Owen to fail in this business. With substantial funds obtained from another country, he couldn’t afford to invest in something that would cost him even more, especially in the state of financial difficulty after acquiring the Barrel region.
Moreover, if he experienced such a failure while still in the process of acquiring the Barrel region, it would have a significant impact, just like now.
If a ship carrying substantial funds went missing, it was unclear how Owen would recover from it.
Atia was convinced of the connection between Owen and black magic.
‘It seems I glimpsed it.’
Although not directly mentioned in the book, thinking about it now, there was clear evidence that Owen had used black magic.
If she couldn’t find the cause of black magic through Owen, it would be a really troublesome matter.
‘I know where that ship is.’
After finishing her calculations, Atia slowly approached Owen and reached out for the bow he held, dragging it down beneath the ground.
When the word ‘new trade route’ came out of her mouth, Owen’s gaze changed.
Standing next to the two men, Atia spoke, “I heard that His Majesty is putting a lot of effort into developing new trade routes.”
“…….”
After Atia took the bow Owen held and dragged it beneath the ground with her fingertips, his eyes changed.
Atia stood between the two men and spoke slowly.
“It’s good to expedite the development of the route, but I see many problems with it.”
Owen showed great interest. “What problems?”
“Instead of telling you, I have one condition.”
“Tell me.”
Atia slowly opened her mouth.
“Please undo the black magic cast on my body.”
Before anyone realized, the sun had set.
Nobles gathered at the starting point of the hunting competition, making a commotion.
Sitting in various places, they boasted about the animals they had captured.
“Ah, today, I fought with a bear and almost lost one arm… If it weren’t for my fast horse, I might have died.”
“That rabbit is unbelievably fast… If I knew this, I would have caught something else. What a waste of time.”
“Everyone seems to have caught a lot. Still, the high scorer today must be me, right?”
Thud, thud.
Amidst the nobles who were discussing the events of the day, Owen, mounted on a horse, revealed himself.
His hands were empty.
The nobles were perplexed. By now, everyone should have returned with various animals loaded on their horses.
Owen approached the gathering of nobles and dismounted from his horse.
A noble who was examining his complexion asked, “Your Excellency, what happened in the forest?”
Owen remained silent, tilting his head slightly with a vacant expression.
Seeing his absent-minded demeanor, the nobles exchanged glances among themselves.
It seemed like something had happened, but Owen wasn’t speaking about it.
Kasus arrived last, accompanied by Atia.
The nobles, seeing the animal in his hands, were once again agitated.
“Just one?”
“What’s that?”
“A fox…?”
Inside Kasus’s net was a silvery fox.
“!”
“No… What is that…?”
“It can’t be…!”
Gradually, the sun completely set.
The results of the hunting competition were ranked based on the types and quantities of the captured animals.
Each official recorded their scores, and the results were announced.
“The winner of today is…”
“…….”
“The Duke and Duchess of Wellington! Please come forward.”
Kasus walked toward the platform with Atia.
Officials with laurel wreaths and golden chairs handed them a commendation made of gold, saying, “The Duke and Duchess of Wellington captured a rare silver fox, securing the first place in this hunting competition. Congratulations to all.”
Clap, clap.
Clap, clap, clap.
Not everyone, but some nobles applauded. No matter how much they resented the Duke of Wellington in the royal court, catching a silver fox was a remarkable achievement.
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.
