The child was taciturn. Perhaps due to wariness towards strangers, they kept their mouth tightly shut and only shyly nodded their head.
“Is there anyone you can contact?”
“……”
“If not, you could go to a monastery. Even if you have to live in hiding, it won’t be as painful as here.”
Diana wanted to follow the child’s wishes, but she had no idea what they were thinking.
Just then, footsteps were heard passing by outside the corridor.
“Shh.”
When Diana covered the child’s mouth and shook her head, their eyes with different colored irises widened.
Diana calmed the child with a gentle touch and listened to the sounds coming from outside.
“Isn’t the forest unusually quiet today?”
“Indeed. It’s the time when monsters should be rampaging, but there’s not even a sound. How strange.”
“It’s good, isn’t it? The captain has been on edge because of performance. For lowly soldiers like us, even one quiet day passing by is a blessing.”
One soldier grumbled.
“Hey, you! No matter how much Baron Vihar’s prestige has plummeted, you can’t talk like that. Watch your words. He just returned to the castle.”
“Just now? I think the prison guard mentioned Baron Vihar earlier. Was I mistaken?”
“Did you mishear?”
Soon, their voices grew fainter.
‘He’s already back. I need to hurry.’
Diana embraced the child and headed to the nearest room.
It was a place with a large tree right next to the window.
“Can you climb down by yourself?”
The child nodded without fear.
Clinging like a monkey with skilled movements, the girl swiftly slid down to the base of the tree.
‘Quite the skills. Well, Eledore taught her after all.’
It was the result of long training. Diana also climbed the tree, following the child.
They had to escape as soon as possible before Captain Vihar noticed and pursued them.
Climbing over the castle walls was easier than expected. Sebastian transformed into a large Andean Condor, avoiding the eyes of the sentries.
Riding on the back of the eagle, a huge gust of wind lifted them into the air.
Diana held the child under her arms and lowered her upper body.
As the night wind roughly hit her face, the cloth covering her head slipped off.
Diana covered her face even more meticulously to avoid revealing her identity.
‘Did they see?’
Fortunately, the child, frightened by the flight, couldn’t even lift their head.
‘Seems like they didn’t see.’
Diana lowered her upper body deeper and warmly held the tense back. Just a little more flight and the child would be free.
The northern forest was quiet. As it had always been a remote area infested with monsters, neither soldiers guarding the castle gates nor civilians ever entered.
“Hold my hand.”
“……”
The small hesitant hand reached out to Diana. Wiggle wiggle. The awkward movement seeking warmth was extremely adorable.
“The path is long, so don’t let go of my hand. Understand?”
“……”
Nod nod. Diana knelt down, tidied the child’s hair, and took off the robe she was wearing to drape it over the child’s shoulders.
Perhaps finally feeling a bit more at ease, the child, who had been quiet until now, cautiously opened their lips.
“…It’s dragging on the ground.”
“It’s okay. We can tie it like this.”
Diana tied the ends so it wouldn’t drag on the ground and neatly folded the sleeves three times, making the length roughly fit.
Though it was loose like borrowed clothes, the child didn’t dislike it.
Rather, they were fascinated by their reflection in a puddle.
‘To drive such a pretty child to death…’
Just as Diana was about to leave the forest and head towards the outskirts of the territory where the monastery was located…
Whoosh!
Along with a sharp sound like a whip, a gust of wind blew from afar.
‘What was that?’
It wasn’t a simple wind. Judging by its power and precision, it was close to magic.
Thud thud!
The wind that tore through the air instantly stripped the surrounding forest bare.
The smooth exposed tree trunks looked as if they had been sawed, indicating a considerably skilled individual.
Diana scooped up the child and shouted to Sebastian.
“Run away!”
His reaction speed was tremendous. The small white feet beside his thighs shook incessantly.
‘Who could it be?’
It was too inconsistent in direction to be a sword technique.
The swirling, curving wind. It could be an elf well-versed in natural magic, or perhaps even ancient magic.
Wait a moment… If it’s an elf, could it be family? If they came to find the child…
Just as Diana stopped to catch her breath…
“Ugh…!”
A sharp elbow struck her face. The child knocked Diana over and landed on all fours on the ground.
Lowering their body like a beast, the child held a dagger in one hand and took an offensive stance.
‘When did they get that…!’
Looking down, the pouch bag was wide open. Diana reached out her hand, intending to dissuade the child.
“It’s alright. I’m trying to help you.”
But before her hand could touch, the blade grazed her palm.
“Ugh…!”
It happened in an instant. The child wasn’t just holding the knife to scare. They really intended to harm Diana.
‘Why the sudden change in attitude?’
Ah… A cold breeze was felt on her bare face.
‘They saw.’
The only half-blood living in the castle was Duke Carlyle’s only daughter. There’s no way the rebels infiltrated the castle without knowing this fact.
Diana spoke gently, as if coaxing the child.
“Can you put the knife down for now?”
“…You’re an enemy. A, a noble.”
“Not all nobles are enemies of the rebels. If you have family, it’s okay to go meet them. Please put the knife down for now.”
The eerie standoff continued.
Caw-. Caw-.
The sound of crows echoed through the silent forest, and the sky turned pitch black.
‘The sky darkened…?’
An ominous feeling running down the back of the neck. It was a brief moment of less than 3 seconds when screams were heard and the two bodies were stacked on top of each other.
“Watch out!”
Diana rolled on the ground, holding the child to avoid the attacking monster’s attack.
A sharp blade grazed her cheek, but fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury.
The child was just instinctively swinging the knife, startled by the sudden ambush. Diana grabbed the wrist holding the knife and spoke urgently.
“If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t have freed you! Drop the knife! Quickly!”
But the child didn’t obediently listen. They tried to break free from her arms, twisting the wrist holding the knife and even biting Diana’s shoulder.
It was the first time experiencing such pain, and Diana wanted to push the child away immediately, but the monster was targeting the appetizing elf, not the saint.
Diana hurriedly snatched the knife, pushed the child away, and stepped back.
As expected, the monster started approaching the child.
“Come here! You have to stay with me to be safe.”
“You’re dangerous…! A witch who devours rebels.”
‘What on earth did they say about me?’
The ideology implanted in the rebels’ minds was frighteningly blind.
“Do I really look like a witch to you?”
“That, that’s not important… Humans are different on the inside and outside…”
“What’s important is not race, but the heart. I want to save you from the monsters right now. We’re going to a safe place.”
Just as Diana was soothing the child with a gentle voice and reaching out her hand…
The child ultimately couldn’t trust Diana and ran away in the opposite direction.
Not knowing there was a monster in the tree…!
“No!”
She tried to reach out, but couldn’t touch.
Gurgle gurgle.
That’s when it happened. Light began to spread from Diana’s fingertips.
‘It’s the same as that time…!’
It was the divine power that hadn’t responded no matter what she tried.
Diana widely extended the bright energy emanating from her hand towards the monsters.
Pop!
The brilliant air bubbles that escaped from her fingertips began to spread one by one to the surroundings.
“Oh my…”
Before long, all the nearby monsters disappeared. They were sucked into the bubbles.
Diana helped the child who had fallen while running away and looked around.
‘My ability is to drive away demons.’
Diana, who only realized that fact today, looked down at her palm with a puzzled expression.
‘To think all of that came from my hand…’
It was the moment when the two held their breath, waiting for what would happen next.
Suddenly, the air bubbles began to bubble like water in a laboratory beaker.
Yellow light and black mucus mixed together, and then with a sudden pop! sound, it rained from the sky.
“Yuck… Cough! Cough!”
It was blood. Their entire bodies were covered in blood. Diana instinctively hugged the child and prepared for other dangers.
“Are you okay?”
She thought she had properly acted as an umbrella, but the child was already covered in blood.
‘What a grandiose ability!’
Diana removed the sticky mucus-like substance and helped the child up.
Fortunately, the child no longer resisted or tried to harm Diana.
They just blankly looked up at Diana.
Before long, a whirlwind blew in the distance. As if calling the child.
“Over there…!”
“Roen.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s my name…”
Leaving only those words, the child disappeared into the forest.
Diana no longer held them back and blankly stared at the child’s retreating figure.
‘Roen…’
That child’s name was Roen.
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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