Five days ago.
It was just like when he left the Owen family’s mansion. There were no significant results.
While holding the position of husband, Eugene Evergale only seemed to foster doubts.
Yet, Ian breathed a sigh of relief. The anger he felt was more bearable than the day he went to Hyer.
Ian pressed his deeply furrowed brow, recalling what happened five days earlier.
“Looking for Helena? Tch, what a nuisance first thing in the morning. That girl’s long dead.”
It was an unbelievable statement, an utterly unacceptable scenario.
After striking those who dared to utter such lies, Ian left the Owen estate.
He found Dion on the roadside, caught up in a scuffle.
“Spill the truth! Why did you try to steal our master’s horse?”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea it belonged to you…”
“Ah, what kind of excuse is that!”
He saw a man being harshly reprimanded by Dion. Ian intervened, restraining Dion.
“Did I ever give such an order? Since when do we go around grabbing people by the collar?”
“My lord!”
Startled by Ian’s sudden appearance, Dion almost yelped.
For just a moment, Ian had been out of sight, and Dion was shocked to see his master looking so rough. Fresh blood was splattered not only on his forearms and rolled-up sleeves but also on his cheek.
“What have you done now…!”
Dion sighed heavily. He quickly took out a handkerchief and began to wipe Ian’s face.
Ian casually replied while cleaning his face.
“They dared to say Helena was dead. I just gave them a bit of their own medicine.”
“You should have argued with words, not fists!”
“I prefer physical conversations.”
Dion, about to explode in frustration, was hastily interrupted by Ian.
“What’s going on here?”
The man Dion was arguing with stood there, dumbfounded.
“It’s not me you should blame. This guy had the audacity to try and steal your horse!”
The man frantically waved his hands in denial.
“No, my lord! If I had known it was yours, I wouldn’t have touched it… I thought it belonged to this estate, so…”
“Wait. So you’re saying, if it was Owen’s horse, you would have stolen it?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right!”
“……What?”
Why so brazen? Is this place open to theft?
Both Dion and Ian were perplexed. Ian asked the man for an explanation first.
Initially hesitant upon seeing Ian’s attire, the man quickly opened up after Dion offered him a coin.
Here’s the gist: he had been a stableman for the Owen family for many years but was recently kicked out without receiving several months of wages. So he came to see if there was anything he could take as compensation and decided to take the handsome horse he found.
With a twisted face, he lamented his misfortune.
“I know stealing isn’t the right way, but those people deserve it. Imagine, selling their daughter practically into marriage to the Evergale family, and then squandering away on drink and gambling so much that they can’t even pay their servants’ wages. Such a disgraceful household…”
“What did you just say?”
“Uh? That they wasted their fortune on gambling, failing to pay their servants…”
“No, before that.”
“That the Owen family’s daughter was practically sold into marriage to the Evergale family… is that what you’re referring to?”
Marriage to the Evergale family? Ian asked urgently.
“So, Helena Owen’s whereabouts are certain?”
“Yes? Well, I’ve never seen her, but given how those people still live frivolously, she must be fine. Since their daughter took the Evergale name, they’re likely confident. It’s been over five years since she married the Duke.”
“…Married.”
Ian burst into sardonic laughter.
It was one hurdle after another. Still, it was enough to know she was alive. No matter if there were ten or a hundred mountains, as long as Helena was at the end, he was ready to overcome them.
As soon as the man who provided the information left, Ian quickly mounted his horse.
“Sell this estate and drive those people out. And while you’re at it, take command of the knightly order.”
The order dropped as casually as one would decide on a breakfast menu, leaving Dion with his jaw agape, overwhelmed by the sudden workload.
He quickly grabbed the reins of Ian’s horse, hanging on for dear life.
“You can’t seriously be heading to Evergale, can you? She’s married to a duke, living well! Why should we interfere?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“But that’s obsession, my lord!”
Ian responded by kicking away Dion’s hand clinging to the reins.
Dion immediately let go, crying out in pain. Indeed, Ian had unintentionally exerted more force than intended, having been slightly pricked by the truth in Dion’s words.
Maybe it was an obsession.
An obsession that the person who saved his childhood must be happy. An obsession to see her with his own eyes.
‘But I still want to make my existence known to you.’
Before Dion could block his path again, Ian spurred his horse on. A cloud of dust rose in the wake of his departure.
That’s how he arrived at Evergale.
He couldn’t meet her there, and only encountered a haughty fool, but it didn’t matter. Hope surged like never before.
Helena’s whereabouts finally seemed within reach. Her being alive was more certain. Then, they could meet again.
The woman whose husband and family’s whereabouts were unknown, he would find her.
“Round and round… At this rate, I’ll circle the continent.”
Evergale Duke’s mansion was believed to be the final destination.
But even this turned out to be a fruitless endeavor, leaving Dion sighing deeply as he watered the horse. The journey had become longer than expected, exhausting both the horse and himself.
Just then, the cause of this exhaustion approached from afar. Ian had just left the Duke’s mansion, having stopped by a nearby shop.
Dion hurriedly joined him and whispered.
“Your Highness. We’re returning to our warm and cozy homeland now, aren’t we?”
“……Your Highness? Why no response, making your loyal servant anxious here. Your Highness’s noble, uh, benefactor has already been someone else’s for over five years, and we don’t even know where she is, nor do we have any other way to find out. It seems we have no choice but to return.”
“We’re going to Putua.”
“What?”
Dion’s eyes widened in surprise. The knights nearby, who were polishing their swords, perked up at the sound.
Just when it seemed like this journeyor rather, this quest for a first lovewas about to end, it continues. The knights stood up, brushing off their seats, gazing intently at Dion as if expecting him to handle everything.
“What, what. Why?”
“You know why.”
These knights, trained to handle any crisis without faltering, each had their strengths, and Dion, despite his faint-heartedness, bravely stepped forward to address Ian.
“Your Highness? Putua is near Pretterita, where we first went, right? The port city? You’re going back there?”
“It’s really the last stop. If she’s not there, I’ll have to plant someone in the Duke’s mansion to wait.”
Plant what?
“Why, do you think you’re up for it? I can disguise you as a servant and send you in.”
Such a royal waste of words. Of course, even that was to be sweetly received as part of his duties.
Dion hastily reined in his irreverent gaze and pondered.
“I am happiest when I’m right by Your Highness’s side!”
His lips quivered as he forced out the flattery.
What kind of woman is she? So beautiful, so enchanting, that she could make even him, unshaken on countless battlefields, so desperate?
With curiosity about to burst, Dion mounted his horse. Whether to stop or follow him, he had to ride.
“Please, let’s go together!”
His lord, already far gone in his obsession, had long since disappeared.
The crisp sea air tousled Helena’s hair playfully. A few seagull footprints imprinted on the sandy beach were quickly washed away by the white foam.
Helena turned her head. A signpost among the rocks creaked in the wind. The l
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
