A comfortable bed without a single sway,waking up to the sound of birds in the morning,warm meals served at every sitting,indulging in water infused with fragrant oils…Living as the daughter of the empire’s most powerful manwas, quite frankly, an utterly enchanting affair.
For exactly three days.
From the day after the Duke ordered her to prepare for marriage,under the pretext of correcting her disheveled manners and deportment,all sorts of people came to see her.Rosetta had to rise at dawn,balance a book on her head to learn graceful walking,master the art of holding a teacup,elegantly fanning or folding a fan,and even how to dance the waltz.
“Right there, precisely, turn, turn—oh no, not like that, milady!”
The woman keeping time with sharp claps folded her fan with a snap.Sweat poured profusely from Rosetta’s forehead.Just a slight movement in place,and her head spun dizzily, her feet throbbed as if swollen,her limbs trembling uncontrollably.
Rosetta chewed on curses under her breath.Damn it. Even a caged canary would be healthier than this.She’d sworn to escape within three months,but with stamina this pathetic, she might need to revise her plan.Three months? Hah. Climbing a wall might take six.
“Now, again, relax your waist a bit more gracefully.Lift your chin more elegantly, more refined!”
…Someone, please, explain what it means to lift one’s chin“elegantly” and “refinedly.”When she roughly jerked her head up,Madame Balmont’s eyes narrowed.
“You mustn’t strain your neck like that!”
“…”
“And if you bend your waist like that,it’ll make your partner uncomfortable!”
“…”
“Wonderful! Now it’s perfect!”
That insufferable Madame Balmont.Her name alone reeked of bad luck,and as expected, she wasn’t even an imperial but a Langtian.If only she’d do something about that infuriating singsong tone.Rosetta roughly wiped the sweat trickling down her chin.
Madame Balmont, not missing the venom in her eyes,raised her fan again.
“Shall we start from the beginning?From the first step. One, two, two, one!Good! Raise your arms a bit higher!”
“Ugh… huff…”
This wretched body.She’d rather die than show weakness,but she was already at her limit.Her vision flickered white, then black, over and over.The last time she’d felt like thiswas when she was locked in Kirgos’s prison for a week without water.
She couldn’t take it anymore.She’d keel over for real at this rate.
To hell with it.Rosetta flung her limbs out and collapsed onto the floor.The nearby ladies screamed at her scandalous posture.These pampered noble girls—they act like lying on the ground would end the world.Madame Balmont, making a fuss, placed a damp cloth on her forehead.
“Oh my…! The lady…!”
“…”
“The lady has fainted!”
The Langtian accent made her cry sound even more theatrical.Rosetta, eyes half-lidded, gently closed them.
Fine, let’s say I fainted.
“No way.”
“It’ll work.”
“I’m telling you, it really won’t!”
“I’m telling you, it will!”
Despite Rosetta’s sharp tone, the maid didn’t back down an inch.Rosetta was the one who flinched at her defiance.Something was off.Just days ago, a growl would’ve made her comply instantly.Was she being underestimated?
But this time, Rosetta couldn’t yield either.With trembling fingers, she pointed at the lace-laden corset dress.
“How is this supposed to fit a human body?!This is for a ten-year-old!”
“You wore it just fine before!Trust me, you’ll look beautiful.”
“No, I’m saying I can’t wear it!”
Unable to hold back, Rosetta jerked her chin up and growled menacingly.She felt the maid, who’d been fussing with her hair, pause.
…Did I sound too much like my old self?Feeling a pang of guilt, Rosetta scratched her cheek.Even burly pirates would shrink when Rosetta acted like this.A maid in a grand mansion like thiswould hardly be used to such treatment…
Suddenly, something thin and long slid into her mouth.She instinctively closed it—a thermometer.The maid tilted her head and said,
“Is your temperature high?Your voice sounds unusually low…”
“…”
She had the audacity to act like Rosetta was some purring cat.Utterly absurd.
In the empire, Rosetta’s name was synonymous with nightmares.They said she skinned people alive,made necklaces from their toes,changed men every three days—all sorts of sordid rumors trailed her.Most were near-slander, of course.Her life hadn’t been so sloppy as to deserve this treatment.
Rosetta glumly chewed on the thermometer the maid handed her,muttering dejectedly,
“I’m telling you, I’m not someone who deserves this kind of treatment…”
“Yes, yes, we know, our dear lady.”
“…”
“Now, be good and raise your arms.”
…Now she was being treated like a child.As Rosetta dazedly lifted her arms,the maid swiftly brought the corset to her waist.The stiff fabric wrapped from her ribs to her hips.Then, an immense force began to squeeze her waist and ribs.
“Huh… ugh…”
Rosetta barely clung to a pillar.This maid, who looked like she’d topple with a nudge,where was she hiding such monstrous strength?Panting, she glanced at the mirror and understood.If the maid looked like she’d fall over with a tap,Rosetta’s body looked like it’d die with one.
“Still okay?”
“Urk, w-wait a second…”
“This is two levels looser than what you usually wear.Just hold on a bit longer.”
…This was two levels looser?In that moment, Rosetta realized why this womanwas frailer than a starved horse.Wearing this every day must’ve mangled her organs.Even as her mind wandered, the undergarment kept tightening.God, I’m going to die.
“Hup, I c-can’t… breathe…!”
It was a dying scream.Her vision spun, and she felt herself sinking endlessly into the floor.A real faint this time.
The maid, realizing her mistake,hurriedly began loosening her clothes with a panicked expression.
“M-Milady!”
Even as her consciousness faded, Rosetta ground her teeth.
When I wake up… you’re dead.
“Get out here.”
Soaking in the lake,Rosetta spat the words toward the bushes like a curse.
The rustling stopped abruptly.Idiot. If you’re going to hide, don’t get caught.No courage to spy properly, yet creeping this close—what a joke.Not even a loyal puppy blindly following its master.
“Want to die, or want to come out?”
Rosetta wiped the bloodstain from her cheek,spitting the words like venom.A handsome young man sprang from the bushes.A perfectly balanced, statuesque face,innocent eyes like a fine retriever,disheveled blond hair near perfection.He looked utterly flustered, as if he hadn’t expected her to call him out.
Rosetta clicked her tongue in regret.If there was such a thing as her type in looks,this young man was it.If only he weren’t eight years younger,she’d have devoured him already.Sadly, for a pirate, her conscience was annoyingly intact.
“You mangy mutt, why do you keep following me?”
“I like you.”
“Bullshit.”
She sneered.His sincerity crashed into the mud,but he picked it up like it was nothing.
“Will you go out with me?”
“Crazy bastard.”
“I’ll do well.”
Rosetta snorted.“Do well”?This punk clearly had no idea what he was saying.Pirates always had a way with words, especially with kids.She crooked her finger from the water.
“Hey, you little shit. Come here.”
He obeyed like a dog on a leash.As she stood up from the water,his face flushed bright red.His trembling gaze didn’t dare dip below her neck,fixing desperately on her forehead.Rosetta stepped toward the frozen young man.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance.Calling himself a man,he’d shot up again in the months since she last saw him.As she grabbed his nape and pulled him down,their eyes met, his brimming with panic.In a trembling voice, he called her name.
“Ro…”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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