“Near the border?”
“Yeah.”
Lakrahan held Bercheria’s hand.
The warmth felt at the fingertips seemed to calm his heart.
Even now, his body wanted to delve deeper into her.
He wanted to kiss her lips, hug her body, and even touch her in a childish way.
But just by holding hands like this, Bercheria was already shy.
He didn’t want to suddenly reach out and surprise Bercheria.
Today, this was enough for each other.
“Is there a reason?”
Lakrahan refrained from going into details.
“It seems like there’s information there that could help with the trust.”
Words about fate and love that had been intertwined for a long time were too burdensome for the current Bercheria.
It had only been a few hours since she regained her power as the goddess of weather, and she didn’t want to create unnecessary thoughts.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Anyway, there’s a limit to staying here.”
Lakrahan released Bercheria’s hand and stood up.
Just the disappearance of that brief warmth made his chest suddenly empty.
Since admitting to liking Bercheria aloud, whenever he looked back, his feelings grew, and whenever he looked back, his feelings swelled like a snowball.
Never having liked someone before, he couldn’t tell if this was normal or not.
“Shall I get some breakfast? If you wait here for a moment…”
Lakrahan, who was about to go out to check, felt an indescribable strange feeling.
“…?”
When he turned around, he saw Bercheria collapsing to the ground, vomiting blood from her mouth.
“Bercheria!”
Lakrahan rushed over and hugged her body.
The moment he did, a popping sound echoed from his heart.
“I’m a bit worried about the side effects. Is she okay?”
Lauren was nervously trembling.
After Bercheria fell off the cliff and Lakrahan jumped into the sea to save her, Lauren hadn’t seen anything.
The Velophaeye, which had been watching from the nest, might have seen something, but it didn’t tell Lauren what the two had done afterward.
“Well.”
Velophaeye roughly replied and focused on the scenery overlooking from Lakrahan’s castle.
Even though Lakrahan suddenly disappeared, the knights in the north showed no signs of disturbance. They calmly held their positions.
Instead, the shining Emperor and his party were the problem.
Since the protection energy suddenly returned, not only in the north but also in the entire Periat, the atmosphere had changed, and at such times, the role of those who guarded the center became important.
The north was fine, and it was already clear that the Emperor’s capital was in chaos.
“What did you say the side effects were?”
Velophaeye grabbed the windowsill and turned to face Lauren.
“Nothing much. Just vomiting blood, feeling dizzy, and collapsing. If it gets worse, they might die, but surely that won’t happen.”
Lauren’s mouth fell open.
“Does that make sense? If someone vomits blood while being still, huh? That’s a big problem. Especially for someone fragile like Bercheria!”
In reality, the problem wasn’t that Bercheria was fragile, but rather that her attribute was water.
Since all potions were made with a fire attribute from a magician, severe side effects were inevitable.
Most potions were not created for positive effects but rather to inflict revenge or deal damage, so side effects were not considered much of a problem.
“How can you avoid side effects?”
“Lakrahan is the descendant of a family with an ice attribute, so it should be fine. They seem to get along well, so they’ll figure it out on their own. However…”
“However?”
Velophaeye hesitated for a moment and nodded.
“It probably won’t happen, but…”
“What won’t happen?”
“About Lakrahan. Isn’t there a chance that Bercheria’s charm might affect him too much?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“A long time ago, there was a man with an ice attribute who was being paid to treat side effects. Then, a pretty woman came for treatment.”
“And then?”
“Was that woman his style? So, while treating her, this man’s heart pounded too much. Because he liked her.”
“And then?”
Velophaeye recalled the past, stumbling through his thoughts.
“Lauren. Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were hit by Cupid’s arrow?”
“Well, even with a small arrow, I go crazy. If I get hit by that huge one, would there be anything visible in my eyes?”
“Exactly, that’s it.”
Velophaeye flicked his finger into the air.
“The side effect is that nothing is visible in your eyes except the woman in front of you.”
“Gasp.”
Suddenly hit by pain, Lakrahan clutched his heart and gasped for breath.
“Lakrahan, are you okay?”
His heart felt like it had exploded into pieces from within.
Why is this happening?
For a moment, his mind went white, and it felt like his heart was pounding from his throat, beating underneath.
“Lakrahan.”
His eyes, which had been blank, became clear again at the sound of his name.
He had momentarily forgotten about Bercheria.
He needed to check on her, who had just vomited blood and collapsed.
Holding his heart that seemed on the verge of bursting, he looked at Bercheria.
“Bercheria. The blood…”
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.”
