Dusk settled over the evening.
Atia wandered near the palace with Cascus in comfortable attire.
The purpose was to see how much progress had been made on the indoor gym, which they had discussed as a condition for winning the hunting competition.
“Is this the place?”
Construction was underway on the first floor of the detached building, not too far or close from where they originally stayed.
Looking at the still under-construction gym from outside, Atia clenched her chin with a satisfied expression.
“Well, it looks good. Is it progressing well?”
Although not yet completed, it seemed like there would soon be vigorous activities happening there.
‘Creating a center in another world was one of my bucket list items…’
The Crown Prince did it on behalf of her.
‘Of course, it’s not entirely mine, but where is this?’
The interior also looked spacious enough, and now it only remained to install the equipment.
Atia’s chest swelled with excitement at the thought of properly shaping her body in a larger gym.
The arrangement of various equipment and how to place them already made her eyes shine.
Was this the feeling of finding an oasis in the desert?
Walking around the still-under-construction gym, Atia met eyes with a construction worker.
“When will the construction be finished by any chance?”
The worker building the structure looked into Atia’s sparkling pupils, which seemed to twinkle like stars.
“It’ll be done soon. It should be completed by tomorrow or the day after.”
“Good. I’ll look forward to it!”
Atia said with a bright smile.
Cascus found Atia adorable, being so excited like a child.
She was a woman who enjoyed such active things.
“So, was that why you used a dragon to go to the training ground?”
Cascus said, wrapping his arm around Atia’s waist. His thin arm wrapped entirely around her slender waist.
But Atia’s attention was entirely focused on the gym in front of her.
Without realizing that Cascus had put his arm around her waist, Atia, with her fists clenched, looked at the almost completed gym.
“Ha, it feels like my heart is about to burst already. Are you looking forward to it in many ways?”
“I’m excited too because you like it.”
Cascus remembered the time when Atia couldn’t come to the training ground when he was in the North, thinking she was a concubine.
Despite resorting to drawing lots to decide the course or showing off his arrogance in various ways, the result was Atia’s victory.
Cascus felt too sorry for Atia.
He regretted that he didn’t know she liked it this much.
Atia, who was staring at the building under construction in real-time, spoke.
“I didn’t know that His Highness the Crown Prince would give me the first floor. I expected him to give me the second floor or above. Well, it’s more accessible and nice. Once it’s completed, I’ll have to bring Kesha and Harri too.”
“Are you planning to settle down here?”
Cascus whispered in Atia’s ear with a low voice.
“Oh~ No, not like that. We can create a better center in the North. A temporary center? Well, that’s the concept.”
At that time, the nobles strolling around noticed a seemingly affectionate duke and duchess.
The sight of the duke tenderly wrapping his arm around his wife’s waist was the epitome of a lovely couple.
The nobles, with raised corners of their mouths, passed by slowly.
“When we were in the North, you should have told me earlier. I would have built it for you.”
“Oh, when you were in the North?”
Atia asked with a light smile, but her gaze remained fixed on the gym.
At that time, the duke had not considered building a gym inside the manor.
So, they mainly focused on training with Kesha and home workouts.
Moreover, it seemed difficult to speak hastily since Cascus didn’t seem to like her, and being a terminally ill patient, she had to be cautious.
Because she didn’t know if someone else would use it after she died.
“They say it will be completed by tomorrow or the day after. If we just fill it with training equipment inside, we can use it right away.”
Atia sang a little tune while looking forward to filling the gym with various equipment.
Atia called Kesha, Harri, and Leo, who were staying in nearby rooms.
“Hey, guys, can you tell what’s changed about me?”
Atia blinked her eyes and asked them to guess what had changed about her.
Kesha, who had been observing her closely, narrowed her eyes and made a sound by pointing her finger.
“Hmm… the direction of your parting!”
Atia tilted her head.
“Wrong. The direction of the parting is always the same.”
Harri said, widening her eyes.
“Did your eyelashes get longer? Like Napoleonic?”
“Huh? That could be right… since it grows every day. But no, that’s not it.”
Leo pointed confidently, gesturing towards Atia’s hair.
“Your hair looks more like a grandmother’s!”
“Ha, a grandmother…? No, that’s not it either.”
“Huh?”
No matter how they looked, Kesha, Harri, and Leo found it challenging to figure out what had changed.
“Oh… your complexion has improved. Now that I look closely, your face has definitely changed.”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
