Today’s newspaper featured several pictures depicting the scene of Her Highness the Princess’s leisurely tea party.
Among them, what particularly stood out were the delicate fingers shyly covering her cheek and the thick diamond ring on her fourth finger.
“That must be worth a whole building……”
Diana was only surprised by the size of the diamond and had no other thoughts.
As she sipped her iced tea to cool off from the heat, Angela standing next to her seemed rather fidgety.
“The Duke is really so indifferent…… How could he not even look at the young lady’s face once……!”
“It’s fine….. It’s not like he’s publicly announced he’s remarrying right away……”
She teared up, saying a father couldn’t do this to his daughter. But Diana, the person in question, felt no emotion.
Rather, she felt extremely fortunate and wanted to offer words of gratitude.
‘Finally, the true nature of our father-daughter relationship has been revealed to the world!’
She lowered her eyes and stroked her chest.
She no longer wanted her life threatened by unjust misunderstandings.
She would have many outings in the future, so she was very grateful that he directly declared they were strangers.
Diana put on an inappropriately refreshing smile and pushed the newspaper far away.
It was truly the start of a pleasant day.
[This is the timeline separator]Paisar’s father was a servant working in the annex where Fenice’s birthday banquet was being held.
On the day of the banquet, Paisar sneaked out to watch the party without his father knowing and ended up injuring the noble Young Sik who was bullying him, revealing the fact that he was a half-elf.
The only elf in the Hyperion family was Aureli, a former slave whom his father had taken as a mistress.
The annex was where Aureli resided to avoid the eyes of the Countess, so no matter how much they pleaded otherwise, no one would believe them.
Paisar and his father were driven out of the castle and became vagrants, and after losing his father early on, he hides his abilities while living in an orphanage.
Diana held a quill pen in her hand, wondering who she should write a letter to.
‘He must have left the Hyperion territory long ago, perhaps I should contact Anthony after all.’
Now there was no choice but to search the orphanages.
As Diana pressed her cheek against the cold wooden desk lost in thought, Angela brought her some iced tea.
“Have some while you work.”
“Thank you.”
It was sweet iced tea flavored with peach. Diana quickly quenched her thirst and cooled off from the heat, but sweat trickled down under her arms.
Even in a sleeveless dress, July in Arnel was unbearably stuffy.
Feeling the increased discomfort index, Diana wrinkled her nose.
Angela, who was fanning her from the side, also had a dazed look on her face from the heat.
Diana quickly noticed and stopped Angela’s hand.
“It’s hot enough without fanning. That’s enough, take a break.”
“No, I’m not hot at all.”
“How can someone with so much body heat not be hot? Your complexion has been bad for a while now. What if you faint?”
“……My complexion looks bad?”
“Yes. Your face has been ashen for a while.”
Having known that face for over a decade, she couldn’t help but notice. Diana was certain.
Angela was not feeling well right now.
She sat Angela down in a simple chair and turned to sit facing her as well.
“If not that, is there something else bothering you?”
When someone usually so full of energy is so deflated, there’s always a reason.
Asked kindly, Angela quickly furrowed her brows and opened up about what was on her mind.
“Actually, it’s because of Vincent……”
“What about Vincent?”
“He recently injured his arm but says he’s going into battle again……”
‘What, since when did they become close enough to worry like this?’
Diana blinked her eyes inquiringly at the pink atmosphere.
“……Oh, it’s not like that! I’m just worried that idiot will come back injured and whine to me.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed about it.”
Diana said with a playful smile.
“Oh my, how embarrassing…… I feel like I brought up an unnecessary topic.”
“I’d be very happy if you and Vincent got along well. Who else treats Angela as well as Vincent does?”
“Young lady……”
Feeling awkward, Diana tugged on her long hair and asked:
“Where did they request reinforcements?”
“The Grand Duchy of Homern……”
Ah. Diana nodded in understanding.
At this time of year, a dispatch to the Grand Duchy of Homern could only mean one thing – Delilah’s kidnapping incident.
Sure enough, Delilah’s name came out of Angela’s mouth.
“It seems a half-elf concealed their identity and got a job under false pretenses. They abducted Princess Delilah and fled to the snowy mountains, but the terrain is so treacherous that they specially invited experienced soldiers from Arnel. They say ordinary knights who enter would lose their lives.”
Diana nodded slightly and thought to herself.
‘Isn’t Delilah the god’s medium who appears in the original story? Did they kidnap her because of her foresight?’
Duke Botiche has a record of mining first-grade magic stones thanks to his daughter Delilah.
For such a precious daughter to be kidnapped, it’s only natural to employ expensive Arnel soldiers.
Diana wasn’t too worried, knowing Delilah’s fate.
The kidnapper has already lost Delilah in a terrible blizzard, and she will be waiting safely under a rock for rescue.
Diana smiled refreshingly and patted Angela’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Angela. Vincent is strong, so he’ll come back safely without incident.”
Even receiving tremendous praise, at that. She had heard that the one who rescued Delilah was a handsome knight with an injured arm.
At the time she didn’t pay much attention to Vincent, but thinking about it now, it could only have been him.
Diana was about to pick up her quill pen again with a slight smile when Angela sighed heavily and apologized.
“I’m sorry for worrying you over something so trivial……”
“How is that trivial? Of course you’d be worried.”
Her slightly crumpled eyes gazed at Angela adorably. Only then did a smile appear on Angela’s lips.
“……Thank you for understanding. You must be feeling even worse, and here I am unable to comfort you……”
Diana burst out laughing and shook her head.
“It’s alright. You’ve been comforting me all day, so I’ve recovered a lot. I guess there were still people who didn’t know that my father and I are worse than strangers…… Haha.”
Her face, like that of a detached Buddha, peacefully wiped the moisture off the surface of the ice glass.
This moment, being able to drink cool and sweet peach juice, is the happiest time.
It’s for such a peaceful future that she’s been working so hard on financial prosperity, so why bother racking her brains over an attempted incident?
No matter how hard she tries, nothing will be resolved anyway.
The assassins are all dead, and the mastermind needs to be revealed, but it’s obvious it will be someone who holds a grudge against her father.
‘If the Crown Princess is the culprit, the situation would get complicated, but would she go that far? It’s not like I personally witnessed the culprit’s face at the ballroom.’
“Benjamin requested cooperation, so results should come out soon.”
Diana was taking another sip of her drink when Angela repeatedly moistened her dry lips and carefully asked.
“Young lady, by any chance…… did that guy not tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Oh my goodness…… what to do……”
Angela fidgeted with her skirt with a troubled expression.
Diana, not knowing what was coming next, asked with a carefree smile.
“What is it, why are you acting like that?”
“Well, you know Raoul, that guy…… I heard he also put his name on the roster for this dispatch…… Oh my, I thought you knew everything……”
“……Huh?”
Diana couldn’t believe Angela’s words and asked several times.
“Raoul?”
“Yes……”
“The Raoul I know?”
“Yes……”
“13-year-old Raoul?”
“Yes……”
Diana was shocked beyond the letter or anything else and roughly pushed her chair back.
Her body, which had suddenly stood up, was trembling.
Diana lifted her dress skirts high and ran straight to the training grounds without taking a single breath.
Angela hurriedly chased after her from behind, but she had already disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Diana threw away all etiquette and decorum. She needed to meet Raoul first and hear a detailed explanation of the situation.
‘When was this decided? Why did you keep it a secret from me?’
Raoul was extremely reluctant to be included in the expeditionary force.
It’s obvious what the army does. They suppress other races or wage wars of conquest to confiscate territory and slaves from other countries.
How much blood had stained his hands in the process? It was something that should be delayed as much as possible.
And now he’s going into battle at 13? It was so absurd she couldn’t even speak.
Diana grabbed a pillar of the training ground and took rough breaths.
Under the shattered sunlight, she saw the young wolf leisurely engrossed in training.
He playfully hit Vincent’s stomach and smirked. Suddenly, something like a fireball rose up inside her.
‘How can you laugh now!’
For the first time in her life, she let out something close to a shout.
“Raoul!”
For the first time, his welcoming smile looked annoying.
‘Not cute at all! Not at all!’
Not knowing Diana’s feelings, Raoul ran over to her side with a bright smile.
It was a cute and lovable sight that would surely have his tail wagging happily if he had one.
But Diana hardened her face severely and grabbed his arm.
“We need to talk for a moment!”
Vincent’s eyes widened in surprise.
Turning around, she saw Angela panting and catching her breath. She was flailing her hands, not knowing what to do.
Diana told Angela not to follow and headed to the library with Raoul.
Diana entered their usual pleasant conversation spot with a crumpled face.
Raoul, being dragged behind, was perplexed, not knowing what was going on.
The door closed and the hot 2 PM sunlight seeped in through the latticed window.
The library was hotter than ever, and Diana’s mood was also uncontrollably agitated.
Raoul looked at Diana with innocent eyes, worried.
He even calmly wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Diana pulled Raoul’s hand down to stop him and said:
“……I heard you’re going into battle. Is it true?”
Raoul raised his eyebrows in surprise and slowly nodded.
Good gracious. It was true.
“But why did you keep it a secret from me……”
Raoul’s lips trembled at the tearful voice.
Raoul sat Diana down on a nearby sofa and made excuses.
“I was planning to go quietly so you wouldn’t worry.”
“You weren’t going to tell me at all? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
“I’m sorry. I was going to tell you as late as possible.”
“It should be the opposite. You should have told me earlier.”
Raoul moved his hand to her finely trembling shoulders and gently patted them.
Her dry eyes like kindling became moist, and the breath escaping between her young lips shook roughly, unable to hide her emotions.
Diana pulled down Raoul’s arm from her shoulder and tried to persuade him.
“I’m not angry at you. You probably don’t want to go into battle either. But you could have asked me to persuade Father. Why did you stay quiet?”
“……That’s why I didn’t say anything. It’s true I was drafted, but I had a choice. I volunteered for the dispatch because I wanted to. There’s nothing to ask, Diana.”
“……What did you say?”
She couldn’t understand this situation at all.
Why on earth did you volunteer?
“Don’t joke around.”
Diana was so flustered she was worried someone might have brainwashed Raoul.
“I’m not joking. I’ve been anxious about not being able to guard you, but I need to go into battle to prove my worth.”
Diana shook her head as she met his determined eyes. What on earth did he want to do? Did he believe Father would lift the curse if he accomplished something?
Diana’s heart ached. She was absolutely against staining his hands with blood and suffering from guilt at such a young age.
“No. I don’t know why you want to accomplish something so badly…… but I’m against it…… How much do you want to suffer from those memories for the rest of your life.”
“It’s just a half-elf acting alone anyway. They say they’ll only use me for tracking because of my good sense of smell. So don’t worry too much.”
Raoul gently raised the corners of his mouth as he met Diana’s eyes.
How did this small boy become so obedient?
Diana could only bite her lip hard.
For some reason, all of this felt like it was her fault.
__________
He Said He’s Pregnant, and It’s My Child (Female-dominant)
Intro 1
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro 2
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.