He Who Covets the Abandoned Bride - Chapter 19

However, the two passed by each other without noticing, and Adrian went to the banquet hall where the two children had slipped out.

While waiting for the servant to open the door, Adrian raised an eyebrow upon noticing the banquet hall door was clumsily closed. The servant gently offered an excuse for someone who might have made a mistake.

“It seems things were a bit chaotic with so many people around.”

“I see.”

If it were Maeve, she wouldn’t make such a mistake.

With that indifferent thought, Adrian stepped through the opening door. He felt almost nauseated by the sight that entered his unobstructed view.

The imperial banquet hall was, of course, a vast space that could accommodate over a hundred people to welcome important guests from foreign countries.

Yet, even though only the Wessex ducal family had been invited, the banquet hall was not so empty.

The atmosphere was reminiscent of a boisterous banquet, and although the chairs were placed sparsely, almost all seats were filled.

There were about seventeen children in total, weren’t there…

Adrian also remembered that the Wessex family had about that many children, though he didn’t know the exact gender distribution.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

As the servant’s voice announced Adrian’s arrival, all eyes, including those of the Emperor and Empress seated at the head table, turned to him for a moment.

Adrian concealed his true feelings and wore a cool smile. He made eye contact with Duke Wessex, today’s main guest, and said as he walked towards him.

“I apologize for being late. My teacher is a very strict person.”

Along the trajectory of his movement, the displeased gazes of the other princes followed. Among them, the 2nd Prince, seated right next to Adrian’s designated seat, sneered.

“We thought we might starve to death waiting for you, since we weren’t supposed to eat anything before you arrived.”

As Adrian sat down in the chair pulled out by the servant, he said dryly to his father, the Emperor.

“That was excessive of you, Your Majesty.”

As he heard the Emperor’s laughter and looked across from him, he saw that child sitting there. The child whose name he had just heard from Maeve, but according to his principle of not even remembering those he wasn’t interested in, he had erased it from his mind.

“Victoria Wessex, Your Highness.”

The young lady seemed to know that Adrian had already forgotten her name.

Adrian thought to himself that it was fortunate she was at least perceptive, and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“It’s been a while, Lady Wessex.”

Whatever he made of this, Emperor Frederick smiled contentedly, and soon the banquet began.

‘You’re not very observant, are you.’

Of all people, Frederick was trying to pair him with Victoria.

Adrian thought Frederick was quite a wise ruler, but not when it came to his attitude towards the Wessex family.

Both Duke Wessex and Victoria Wessex were people who made him somehow wary… but Frederick, perhaps thinking they were ‘necessary’ people for him, was letting his guard down too much.

Though his mouth was formed in a smile, Adrian’s purple eyes remained coolly sunken.

Then, just as the conversation was becoming boring, he began to be subtly bothered by two empty seats that looked like missing teeth among the seats where the Wessex children were sitting.

Could the door have been open earlier because of those empty seats?

“Haha. My daughter is still immature, Your Majesty.”

Whether this should be called good news or bad news, neither Duke Wessex nor Lady Victoria seemed particularly interested in forming an alliance with the imperial family.

Frederick seemed quite flustered upon confirming this intention. This was understandable, as it was a marriage proposal from the imperial family of the Hankin Empire, the hegemonic power of the continent. Normally, there would be no reason to refuse.

Moreover, the Emperor believed that Adrian was the best among his sons, so he seemed to have received quite a shock from the Duke’s polite refusal.

Adrian was equally puzzled by this.

Using the excuse that he was tired and wanted to refresh himself, Adrian went alone to the spacious rear garden of the imperial palace, furrowing his brow as he recalled the conversation from the banquet hall.

‘Do they have some other motive?’

It was around that time.

“Cedric, Cedric… Are you here?”

A voice, lowered as if whispering, came from somewhere. It was clearly the voice of a young girl.

‘What’s this? Cedric?’

Could it be the name of one of the Wessex family children?

Adrian looked around and then realized the sound was coming from inside the building he had his back to, so he turned around.

In the corridor that circled the outside of the building, he saw a girl walking stealthily between the pillars set at regular intervals.

Judging by her dress, which wasn’t overly fancy but still a dress, she was clearly one of the Wessex family children.

‘Is she one of the ones from the empty seats?’

Her long, curly brown hair bobbing as she moved caught his attention. This was because her posture was a bit amusing.

She was in a squatting position with her bottom stuck out, walking like a duck.

Adrian chuckled, remembering how he looked when being punished by his teacher, and followed the girl with his eyes.

“Cedric? Where are you? Answer me…”

But judging by her posture, it was a bit confusing what she was looking for. There was no need to lower her eye level like that if she was looking for a person.

‘Maybe she lost a puppy or something they brought along.’

As Adrian was thinking this, he saw the girl moving further away, so he quietly stepped onto the corridor to follow her.

As the child walked stealthily, he also took care not to make any noise as he followed.

Although they maintained a certain distance in the long, wide corridor, the child was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice him following at all.

He wasn’t quite sure why he was suddenly doing this, but it was a bit more interesting than listening to nonsense in the banquet hall.

The breeze felt cooler in the corridor than completely outside, which also put him in a good mood.

“Cedric, Cedric.”

Finally, as the child turned a corner and the distance between them momentarily shortened, Adrian suddenly spoke.

“Is Cedric the name of a hamster?”

“Eek!”

The scene of the girl flinching and freezing in place was clearly visible, and Adrian also stepped back in surprise at the simultaneous scream.

The girl, her duck walk undone, fell backwards onto her bottom.

Even after that, the child trembled, then turned her head so stiffly it seemed like it might creak, discovered Adrian, and widened her eyes.

“W-who are you?”

Seeing his image fully reflected in her blue eyes, Adrian raised an eyebrow slightly.

“I think that’s what I should be asking. Why is a girl looking for a hamster in the august imperial palace?”

At Adrian’s words, the girl swallowed so hard that the gulping sound was audible.

Adrian looked down at the girl still sitting on her bottom in the corridor, then held out his hand. At first, the girl stared blankly, not understanding the meaning, but after a moment, she placed her hand on top of his.

Even as he pulled her up, the child’s hand trembled. Feeling this through their touching hands, Adrian inwardly smiled slightly.

She must be a very timid child.

Indeed, her large, deer-like eyes were visibly shaking. Yet, as the corridor’s light seeped into those eyes, they seemed quite lovely.

Her spotless eyes showed even the shape of her irises clearly. Adrian felt like he had never seen someone with such clear eyes before in his life.

So he was unconsciously staring intently until he saw her eyelids close, and only then did Adrian finally come to his senses.

Her eyes, soon raised again, still held confusion.

Amidst this, the story that came next was rather absurd.

“I wasn’t looking for a hamster, but for my younger sibling. About this tall… Have you perhaps seen them?”

As she spoke, the child gestured to about her waist level.

…She was crouching around like that to look for a child, not a hamster?

Adrian, dumbfounded, folded his arms and tilted his head.

“More importantly, who are you?”

“Oh! I’m Layla Wessex, I, I was invited to the banquet hall today…”

Layla, seeming nervous, mumbled and lowered her head. Then she fidgeted with the fingers of her clasped hands, unable to keep them still.

‘She seems to be quite shy.’

It was obvious, but apparently not all of Duke Wessex’s many children were as brazen as Victoria.

Thanks to this, Adrian’s wariness eased slightly, and he inwardly laughed again as he looked at her, whose neck had now also turned red.

Then, at that moment, their eyes met again with her clear gaze. The girl, thinking who knows what with her small head, blinked a few times and stared intently at Adrian.

Soon, seeing the girl’s eyes fill with questions, Adrian tilted his head.

“What, do you have something you want to ask?”

“Um, well…”

“…?”

As Adrian made a puzzled expression at her constant hesitation, Layla slowly opened her mouth.

“I don’t know this place well, so…”

Come to think of it, her way of speaking had become a bit more casual.

“Can you help me look for my sibling?”

Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)

One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!

Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.

The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.

The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.

Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.

Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.

…

Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.

Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.

After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!

Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”

The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.

It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.

When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…

Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.

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