A small space, no bigger than the desk in his office.
Eugene left the garden quickly, finding the small space profoundly unpleasant. It seemed better to bury himself in mountains of paperwork than to linger here.
But Helena’s traces were everywhere he went.
Even in the training yard he visited on his way back to the office, her absence was felt.
A few knights taking a break from training expressed their disappointment.
“When will the lady return? Dueling with her was the only pleasure.”
“Exactly. It feels so empty these days.”
“Right, even practicing feels pointless.”
Eugene’s pupils dilated.
Even if Helena’s taste in dresses and her garden were his misconceptions, this couldn’t be…
In just half a day, he faced too many truths, none of which he could easily get accustomed to.
Or were any of them even true?
He immediately joined the knights.
“What’s this about? Helen sparring?”
“Your Grace!”
The knights were startled and stood up in unison. Eugene, with an angry look in his eyes, pressed them for answers. Finally, one knight stammered out a confession.
“Well, it’s just that… she’s been our sparring partner for quite a while. At first, we couldn’t believe it, but she could easily overpower a novice knight.”
“So, you’re saying Helen wielded a sword?”
“Yes, my lady did…”
“That’s enough.”
Eugene’s brows furrowed noticeably.
Helena’s husband is Eugene Evergale. And she loves him.
Why then did others know her better than he did, and why were there so many aspects of her that he was unaware of?
‘Who are you, the person I thought I knew?’
He was annoyed. Unknowingly, his mood had turned sour.
‘Why did you hide all this from me?’
He resented the time he had arrogantly thought nothing would bother him. Her absence was more irksome than he had anticipated. It was only after she was gone that he realized what was missing.
‘If you weren’t going to share anything with me, at least teach me how to forget you.’
When she got off the last carriage, she had only a few coins left.
Helena spent most of that money in the marketplace, exchanging it not for something to quench her thirst or fill her stomach, but for a bouquet of flowers.
She walked toward the cemetery, clutching the bouquet, much larger than what she paid for. The rich scent of marigolds tickled her nose.
“Do you know the meaning of these flowers? It’s happiness that’s bound to come. Only good things will happen from now on, miss.”
Apparently concerned by her morose appearance, the florist cheerfully wished her good luck.
People here were always kind-hearted. Despite being one of the poorest villages in the north, they always were. It was the place that had helped her endure her childhood.
Her hometown, Pretterita, where she spent her dimly remembered childhood.
The Owen family left Pretterita for the larger village of Hyer as soon as Helena had grown into a proper lady.
‘To sell me for the highest price. Luckily, Eugene noticed me.’
Helena married the following year and soon left for Evergale, where she lived in luxury while Basil died.
She couldn’t leave her brother alone, even in death. She reburied him in Pretterita, where all her loved ones now lay.
Merry Owen and Basil Owen.
Helena slowly knelt in front of the two neatly erected tombstones. Soft sunlight streamed over the white marble.
“Mom, Basil. I’m here.”
Of course, there was no response. Beside the clumsily arranged wildflower bouquet laid by a child, Helena placed her own.
“Mom liked these flowers, right? Just smelling them felt like being buried in a flowerbed. I like them too. They have Mom’s name in them. Basil would have liked them too. He always said he liked whatever I liked.”
That was also his reaction the day she said she was marrying Eugene because she loved him. Basil sincerely congratulated her, happy for her.
Helena gently stroked Basil’s gravestone, as if caressing a memory.
All she felt was the cold touch of stone, but she hoped that somehow, he could feel her touch in his eternal rest.
‘Back then, I thought staying in Evergale was the way to save you.’
In her first life, the last day she visited the Owen family before leaving, Basil’s wheezing breaths still echoed in her ears.
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.
