The triangular ears stood straight up towards the sky and Diana lost her words at the sight.
The fluffy animal ears that looked like they belonged at an amusement park stall were definitely Ru’s.
They were not hairpins or anything of the sort.
The child innocently stuck out her pointed ears forward.
“Mommy likes ears!”
As the child leaned forward while holding the basin, a protruding gray tail could also be seen above her bottom.
The tail, drenched with water, was constantly making ripples on the water’s surface, expressing the excitement of its owner.
Startled by the fur tickling her cheeks, Diana came to her senses with a jolt.
She sat the child down by holding her small, round shoulders and tried pulling on the ears several times, but they wouldn’t come off.
The part connecting the ears to the head was seamlessly smooth.
‘No way…’
Unable to believe reality, she rubbed her eyes with her arm.
“Ru… these are fake, right? They’re not real, are they?”
“…They’re real…”
“No way… You’re saying these are real…?”
Surprised by the unexpected reaction, Ru folded her ears dejectedly and mumbled timidly.
The tail that had been actively wagging also sank below the water’s surface along with the child’s mood.
Seeing the flesh moving freely, Diana had no choice but to accept that it was real.
“Real… Mommy always does this. Ru not pretty…?”
Ru lifted Diana’s hand and placed it on her cheek. The baby’s skin felt soft and warm like rice cake in her palm.
As the small hand pressed down on the back of her hand, the flesh pushed up and Ru’s lips pursed into a circle.
After repeating the cute action several times, Ru finally burst into tears at Diana who was only watching.
“…Uh…uuu… Mommy, why…?”
“…Ru?”
“Uwaaa mommy… uuu… hwaaa…!”
Soon, the jewel-like eyes clouded and large teardrops began flowing down her cheeks.
Not even noticing her apron getting wet, Diana tightly hugged the child’s back.
As the small living being nestled into her arms, her heart ached sharply for a moment.
After sobbing for a while, the child finally caught her breath from the comforting touch and pulled her face away.
As the nose resting on the shoulder separated, a string of clear snot stretched out.
‘Eww…’
She quickly pinched the soft nose with her index finger and thumb.
“Blow!”
“Hng!”
She washed away the sticky snot and rinsed the flushed red face.
Drained from crying, Ru sat down in the water, holding onto Diana’s long apron.
She had the dejected face of a middle-aged CEO who had failed in business and was left with a mountain of debt, not a penny to his name.
“I’m sorry for startling you… no, startling the teacher. Of course Ru’s ears are real, but why did the teacher react that way…?”
“Yeah… they’re real. Don’t tease me…”
“I’m sorry…”
“Ru… is a lycan! A real wolf! With ears right here!”
“…Yeah. They’re unbelievably attached… They really are.”
“Yeah! I’m a lycan! Proud of it! Waah!”
Even Diana, who had been denying reality, had to acknowledge it. Ru was a lycan.
It was the children’s nap time, so the monastery was quiet.
Fortunately, no one would come barging in here at this hour.
Diana dried the child’s body with a towel, changed her clothes, and sat on a bench to talk with Ru.
Ru, who had been excited since earlier, couldn’t keep her ears and tail still for a moment.
Just like now, the tail of Ru sitting on Diana’s lap kept fluttering over the dress.
‘They say young lycans can’t hide their true forms, and that’s really true.’
Even though they were both lycans, Raoul and Ru were very different.
Only their appearance was similar, but Ru’s personality was extremely affectionate.
‘Cute…’
Partially exposing one’s true form, especially showing the ears or tail, was considered an infantile and shameful act for grown lycans.
Diana’s lips naturally curved into a smile at the sight she hadn’t seen from Raoul.
‘Adorable…’
Having finished admiring someone else’s child as cute as her own, Diana stroked the fluffy hair and asked.
“How did Ru end up here…?”
“Bad man did this to me!”
Ru completely erased her smile and imitated the expression of an unfamiliar person.
“Lycans… get caught… outside dangerous… take care!”
“Is that man Ru’s father?”
“No! I hate him!”
Ru made a digging motion and pointed at Diana with her finger. Soon after, she made a sobbing sound again.
“I… alone… Mommy don’t become dirt…”
“…Okay, okay. I understand.”
“Ru, don’t leave… I don’t wanna eat fish alone… Fruits yucky too… Don’t go.”
The child mumbled incomprehensible words and burrowed deeper into Diana’s arms.
Her heart fluttered at the pitiful gestures, even though she had never nursed before.
‘Ah… I shouldn’t think of the past…’
Seeing Ru naturally reminded her of her own child who had become her karma.
The child who had become a star in the sky without even being able to announce its existence to the father.
Diana wiped the dew gathered in the jewel-like eyes and held her for a long time. Until Ru was satisfied.
[This is the timeline separator]“Mommy, bye…”
“Okay.”
Ru, who had been slowly waving her small hand, eventually ran back and hugged her.
“Why can’t I go with mommy…?”
As they walked through the courtyard, she explained several times. That she was not a mom but a teacher at the monastery, and that she understood Ru’s pain and sorrow.
Ru, who had been answering eagerly as if she understood, became sullen when she stood in front of the chapel door.
Diana grabbed the shoulders of Ru who didn’t want to go back and scolded her.
“Ru, I told you earlier, right? The teacher is not mommy, but a kind teacher like mommy.”
“…I don’t know. Mommy is mommy…”
Seeing the sorrowful face, Diana’s heart also wavered.
She wanted to take Ru up to the shared bedroom where the children would be sleeping, even now.
However, for the sake of both the nun teacher and Ru, rash actions were forbidden.
‘They must be secretly hiding her.’
The image of the nun concealing Ru’s existence as a gray puppy came to mind.
The words of the head nun ordering to fill the hole leading to the cemetery also added certainty to her deduction.
‘Arnel Monastery supports the prophecy of Saint Bersein.’
In short, they were a rebel faction that opposed the royalty and aimed for a new world – in other words, reformists.
They cherished Diana like family, but they clearly recognized her bloodline. Diana, ‘the daughter of Duke Carlyle,’ also understood.
‘Even if it’s not me, it’s not something to carelessly talk about. Non-humans in the territory have no choice but to become slaves. I’m also in the position of making Raoul my slave…’
There was no reason to feel hurt even if they couldn’t trust Diana.
Because if this fact became known, even a monastery couldn’t guarantee safety.
‘We could be expelled from the territory and return to the Holy Nation, or in the worst case… branded as rebels and sent to the execution platform.’
Instead of deliberately uncovering the secret and making people anxious, she decided to keep her mouth shut.
Diana held the child’s hand and acted out a sad face.
“Ru, the teacher has to go far away for work. So I can’t come to the monastery often. I secretly came today too.”
“…Can’t come often…?”
“Yeah… So I’d appreciate it if Ru could keep today’s meeting a secret. The other kids might get jealous and ask why I only play with Ru.”
“…Okay. Then when will you come again?”
“I don’t know.”
Although her heart wavered at the tearful eyes, making promises for the next meeting here would only be giving false hope.
‘What if we get caught meeting secretly? I have to cut ties here coldly…’
She thought Ru would cling to her crying and whining, but Ru nodded her head more easily than expected.
Ru, who reluctantly let go of the tightly gripped sleeve, glanced at Diana’s expression and mumbled.
“Okay… Ru won’t throw a fit…”
“…Thank you, Ru.”
“If Ru makes trouble, mommy… might never come… Ru will be good…”
“…”
“Have a safe trip.”
At the heartbreaking words, Diana’s eyes squeezed shut.
She quickly gave Ru a big hug and rubbed her fluffy cheeks.
“Stay well, Ru.”
“Okay…”
The tiny body headed back towards the cemetery.
Diana watched the large door close with her eyes tightly shut. Somehow, she felt heavy-hearted as if she was abandoning the child and leaving.
[This is the timeline separator]Returning to the castle, Diana silently drank her tea.
The afterimage of Ru she had seen during the day remained deeply imprinted on her retina and wouldn’t fade.
‘Ru…’
She had once read in a book that ‘ru’ was a word ancient people used when calling the moon.
It was a name that perfectly suited a lycan. Come to think of it, Raoul means the howling sound of a wolf crying at the moon.
Diana closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of the child who had left without a name.
‘What would have been that child’s name…?’
She felt sorry for the child she had sent away without even a prenatal name.
Raoul was an unwanted imprint, and the very fact that she was pregnant made her feel so guilty that she didn’t dare give the child a name.
‘I’m sorry… You did nothing wrong…’
As if amplifying the bitter memories, rain fell outside the window.
Diana forcibly lifted her body, which felt stuffy as if soaked in salt, from the bed and pulled the bell rope.
It was the day Paisar was visiting the castle for the final coloring work.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
