“What?”
Gerard abruptly pushed Leone off his lap and stood up.
“You say that now?”
For a moment, Leone scowled, but then she smiled and clung to Gerard again.
“Your Majesty. But if we prevent the marriage, the matter will be simple.”
“How?”
Leone’s eyes sparkled.
“Punish Bercheria.”
“What?”
Her bright red lips curved into a sly smile.
“Is she not a sinful goddess? She made the guardians disappear and caused a third of the people of Periat to die in the war.”
“Ha. Yes, the war. It was the first time it was so terrible.”
“Moreover, did she not dare to ruin Princess Kelita, your own sister?”
“Huh? That was Lakrahan…”
“Your Majesty, if you punish Bercheria, it’s only natural that Duke Lakrahan’s turn will follow, won’t it?”
“That is…”
“Execute that detestable goddess of weather.”
Leone’s eyes glittered as if she couldn’t contain her joy.
“Behead her and hang her in the square. Let everyone know that not even gods dare to oppose Gerard, the Emperor who rules the Periat Empire.”
Gerard’s eyes sparkled.
No one knew better than Leone how to sway him.
“Fine.”
Gerard straightened his shoulders and shook his frail head from side to side.
“Where do we get the mana? We have to open the portal quickly, even if it’s just for a few days.”
“Only give the order, Your Majesty. If you wish, those who have mana will soon line up.”
“I’ll have to tell the Captain of the Imperial Guard. Wait here for a moment.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
With a flick of his eyebrows, Gerard exited the room.
As the door closed, Leone dusted off her wrinkled clothes and glanced in the direction Gerard had gone.
“Idiot.”
[Star Icon]Even after Tatiana had left, Lakrahan and Bercheria remained there for a while.
“Do you have any idea who that woman was?”
Both had been shrouded in darkness and hadn’t seen the face of the woman standing with Tatiana.
“Who that woman is doesn’t matter. Ultimately, the final destination of that news is the Emperor.”
“Emperor Gerard?”
“Always has been. He’s a mess of a human. The reason I’ve left the Emperor’s actions alone until now is that I knew nothing else would happen just because of that. But now the situation has changed.”
Bercheria hadn’t been there then, but she was now.
By now, news of that day would have spread throughout Periat.
It would have inevitably reached the Emperor’s ears as well.
Lakrahan was already being checked by the Emperor; now he had to account for Bercheria as well.
Bercheria, who had been unaware of the surrounding circumstances, took a few days to listen to people of the same sex like Mrs. Timothy or Mrs. Morgan and finally realized how significant she was.
If she gains power, she could become a great presence, but if she loses her strength as she is, she could become a tremendous nuisance.
Even so, Lakrahan had never once voiced a complaint to Bercheria or looked at her with eyes of annoyance.
Those who saw Lakrahan’s actions did not dare to take liberties with her.
Even Wyatt, who always grumbled, always kept his manners in check.
“Lakrahan, I have a question.”
“Hm.”
“Why don’t you resent me?”
Lakrahan furrowed his brow as if puzzled by the question.
“Aren’t you angry that the North is a mess because of me, and that more spies are appearing?”
Lakrahan looked at Bercheria’s composed face and spoke.
“I’m not angry.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t we make an agreement the first day we met? You sought power, and I wanted to help my people.”
From the first meeting, Lakrahan had been concerned about his people above all else.
Ever since Bercheria arrived, his people no longer starved to death or committed crimes out of hunger.
However, the border regions that hadn’t received rain were something she might have to address once she regained her strength.
Suddenly, Lakrahan noticed snow falling beside them.
He reached out his hand and caught a snowflake on his palm.
“Don’t worry needlessly. There is no bad weather in the world, Bercheria.”
As she turned her head, her pupils quivered just enough to be almost unnoticeable.
Behind them, white snow was gently falling.
“Did you do this?”
“…No.”
“I see. The snow is particularly beautiful, so I thought you made it snow.”
He couldn’t understand why her cheeks flushed at such a trivial comment.
Bercheria averted her gaze from him.
The feeling right now was perhaps similar to a low voice or the chilly air touching her neck.
It seemed to be one of those moments that made her heart flutter for no exact reason.
[Star Icon]Dylan, the captain of the royal guards, blocked his nose with a handkerchief to avoid the pungent smell that stung his nostrils.
This underground dungeon hidden deep beneath the royal residence was filled entirely with witches and wizards.
From the beginning, Gerard had little interest in any other types of criminals.
Long before the outbreak of war, his sole concern was to eliminate witches and wizards.
He didn’t particularly care about who stole from whom, killed, or raped.
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.”
