“There’s none.”
“Is there really none?”
Heidegger asked again.
“Yes.”
In fact, Leo had intended to ask Heidegger, if given the chance, to allow him to go to the battlefield together.
With his skills, he thought he would be able to wipe out the enemies and he wouldn’t have difficulty getting his father’s consent.
However, now, Leo knew best. His current skill level was insufficient for active participation in the war.
“What are you doing with that weak body? Tsk tsk.”
“You aren’t thinking of going to the battlefield without fear, are you?”
“You’ll be the first to die, setting up at the front.”
He lost the courage to say those words since he was beaten up by Atia.
Leo cried so bitterly.
In front of the knights and the servants who were all watching.
He had been taught that a man cried three times in his life.
‘Once when you’re born, once when you lose. Now, I only have one time left.’
As the memories of that day came back, Leo gritted his teeth.
He bit down so hard that he could taste blood in his mouth.
The woman who shattered his dreams and hopes.
He hated that woman as if he wanted to kill her.
A woman brought from an enemy family, no less.
Leo clenched his fist, looking somewhere in the space where Atia lived.
He barely resisted the urge to throw a pebble and smash all the glass windows right away.
‘It’s your turn to shed tears for the last of my tears. I’m sorry, but I only have one time left.’
Even if the longawaited war expedition with his father was delayed, he would surely pay back the humiliation several times over.
Suddenly, it was a cold night in the north, with a cool wind blowing.
[This is the time separator]The day broke in the Duke’s residence.
Heidegger was considering whether to leave at sunrise or stay one more day.
It seemed too short a stay if he left now, but if he stayed another day, he worried it might disturb his sons.
Then.
Suddenly, there was a knock, and a familiar face popped out.
It was Atia, with her silver hair tightly tied back and bright eyes.
As if ready to go somewhere, she was comfortably but actively dressed.
“Father, did you sleep well? How was your bed? Was it comfortable?”
Suddenly visited by Atia, Heidegger was a bit flustered.
“I slept deeply.”
“Oh. Father, you slept so well. I don’t know what you’d do if you slept like that on the battlefield.”
“Hmm.”
Heidegger coughed awkwardly.
The memory of falling asleep after receiving a massage the previous day came back to him.
He, who never slept when others were present, fell asleep in an instant.
Bright sunlight came in through the large bedroom window.
Blending with the white snow outside, it created a beautiful landscape.
“The weather is very good.”
“Hmm…….”
“Nothing beats exercise on an empty stomach in the morning.”
Atia fully opened the curtains by the window, ventilating the room.
The refreshing wind from outside mixed with the warm air inside the room.
“How about a morning exercise?”
“What?”
“The black dog seems to be suffocating, too. I was thinking of going for a hike nearby to take it for a walk.”
“You mean to take a walk with Cerberus?”
Heidegger asked incredulously.
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ve trained it well. As long as it’s not provoked, it’s fine.”
“Do you like to move your body?”
“The black dog? Yes, of course. It’s a wild creature, so it has to.”
“No, I mean you.”
“Oh, me?”
Atia raised her eyebrows.
“Of course, my body is itching to move right now. It seems like your muscles are also crying out for exercise, aren’t they?”
Heidegger looked at Atia with worried eyes.
She looked too frail to even take a few steps, let alone hike.
Her body looked terribly weak.
As if it would break easily if squeezed.
No, as if she would drop dead at a single arrow shot.
Noticing that, Atia smirked teasingly.
“Hey, you saw it. Despite how I look, I’m much stronger than most men.”
Heidegger stared intently at Atia.
The duchy had originally belonged to Heidegger, but several years had passed since he had left it to his son.
Therefore, the geography here must have changed.
Heidegger pondered before he opened his mouth.
“Good. Then it seems best that my close knights accompany us. There could be unforeseen circumstances.”
“Yes, sounds good.”
[This is the time separator]Meanwhile, Casus had been awake since dawn, his mind complicated.
It was because of what Atia had said yesterday.
“There are only two of your sons, and it’s been a long time since you returned home, but what the hell are your sons doing? One doesn’t even come out of his room, and the other one, …….”
“Don’t you feel sorry for your father?”
Who was she to say such a thing?
“Just how much have you seen.”
There was no one who knew Heidegger better than himself, who had spent his whole life with him.
But it was very annoying how she spoke as if she were representing his heart.
It would be just a few words exchanged.
Casus leaned against the office couch and ran his fingers through his hair.
‘Atia Harad.’
She was a woman who didn’t appeal to him from one to ten.
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
