Then, he picked off the sleep from her eyelashes and opened his mouth.
“You had some sleep in your eyes.”
“Hick!”
Yeonu was startled and stepped back, but it was already too late.
“How… how dare you! What are you doing right now?!”
“It’s not dirty at all.”
Flustered and with her face turning red, Yeonu stammered.
Whether it was her just waking up or her surprised appearance, it was so charming.
When a thin smile appeared on Geon’s lips, Su-a’s cheerful voice could be heard from outside.
“DaeBok, Brother, wake up!”
“!”
Upon hearing the news that DaeBok had awakened, Yeonu quickly got up from her seat.
When Yeonu and others entered the main room, DaeBok, who had somehow regained his strength, was visible.
Beside him sat Choa, looking exhausted as if she had been nursing him all night.
DaeBok greeted those entering the main room with a bright face.
“Nari, you’re here! Oh, and you too, Awoo? Even Su-a Miss is here with my mother!”
DaeBok’s condition had improved so much that it was hard to believe he had been seriously ill until yesterday.
As if waiting for DaeBok, Yeonu rushed toward him.
“Brother!”
Then, she warmly embraced him.
“It’s fortunate that you woke up! Really fortunate!”
DaeBok, with a pale face, stammered as he spoke.
“Oh, Awoo…!”
“Add some emotion to it!”
“N-No, it’s not that…!”
Avoiding DaeBok’s gaze, which seemed to say he couldn’t stand it, Yeonu spoke to Myeongok for no apparent reason.
“D-DaeBok, are you okay now?”
“Yes. The urgent situation has passed, and now I just need to recover.”
Myeongok nodded calmly in response.
Then she bowed to DaeBok.
“It’s fortunate that you woke up. How can I repay this kindness…”
“Haha. I didn’t ask for a reward, so don’t feel burdened.”
Unlike when dealing with Yeonu, DaeBok spoke with a polite tone.
“By the way, I heard that my mother saved me. Thank you. I survived thanks to you.”
“I only provided first aid. The injuries weren’t deep, but there was a small amount of poison. My daughter helped with detoxification all night.”
“Miss Choa?”
Just mentioning Choa’s name made DaeBok’s face turn red.
DaeBok, who seemed to be embarrassed like a broken person, stared stiffly at Choa.
“Now that I think about it, it seems like Awoo was determined to kill me. Did you have ill feelings toward me all along?”
Feeling embarrassed, Yeonu turned away from DaeBok’s gaze and, just to make conversation, spoke to Myeongok.
“Th-Thank you, Miss Choa. I am truly gra…grateful.”
“…How can someone be so reckless?”
“Huh?”
Was there something to resent in Choa’s actions? Bewildered by Choa’s voice mixed with resentment, DaeBok turned his head.
Then, tears welled up in Choa’s teary face.
“There could have been significant consequences. Why did you do that?”
“No, if I hadn’t stopped her, Miss’s mother would have…”
“Why would you act so recklessly?!”
Eventually, Choa, who had been raising her voice, abruptly got up and went out to the backyard.
“Uh…!”
Watching Choa leave, DaeBok, not knowing what to do, wore a bewildered expression.
“W-What did I do wrong…?!”
At that moment, Yeonu pushed DaeBok from behind.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to chase after her?”
“Chase her? Now?”
“Yes! Now!”
Taken by surprise, DaeBok, who had just stood up from his seat, was forced out of the room by Yeonu.
As he came out to the backyard, he saw Choa’s back as she turned away.
Baffled, DaeBok stood in place for a moment, then cautiously approached Choa.
“Ch-Choa Miss. Are you alright?”
Upon hearing DaeBok’s call, Choa turned around.
Then, DaeBok faced Choa’s pearl-like face, streaming with tears.
“S-Sorry, Miss Choa.”
DaeBok started with an apology. Although he didn’t know the details, it was evident that Choa was crying because of him.
Choa opened her tearful voice.
“Do you know how shocked I was because of you, DaeBok Nari? If you, if you had gone back like that, how could I live with guilt for the rest of my life…!”
“Ah, Miss…!”
Instead of her family, Choa felt guilty for DaeBok’s injury.
In the end, Choa burst into tears that she had been holding back.
DaeBok wanted to gently embrace Choa’s trembling shoulders, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch her and stood there, helpless.
Then, DaeBok pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Choa.
“I just… didn’t want to see someone lose their loved one.”
“…?”
“Such a sense of loss is not a pleasant experience.”
Unknowingly, Choa, who had stopped crying, wiped away the remaining tears with the handkerchief DaeBok gave her.
Although there seemed to be deep personal reasons that he couldn’t express, DaeBok’s face looked too bitter to ask what had happened.
In the sympathetic gaze of Choa, DaeBok awkwardly scratched his head.
“I didn’t want Miss Choa to go through the same experience. Such a thing is enough for one person.”
“…….”
“Even if I go back in time, I would make the same choice as yesterday.”
DaeBok’s appearance was more sincere and dignified than ever.
However, Choa still opened her mouth as if she couldn’t understand.
“How can you do that for a complete stranger? Nari and my family are no different from others….”
“Others, you say.”
At Choa’s mention of “others,” DaeBok’s gaze became slightly sadder.
“I don’t want to be just another person to Miss Choa.”
DaeBok, staring directly at Choa, spoke with a solemn voice.
“So, please refrain from using the word ‘others.'”
“…!”
In an instant, Choa’s heart fluttered at DaeBok’s words.
If he doesn’t want to be another person, what does he want to be?
Choa wanted to ask about the hidden meaning behind DaeBok’s words, but the tingling sensation from toe to chest made it unfamiliar, preventing her from asking.
DaeBok and Choa’s gazes intertwined in the air.
Then, a fresh breeze-like current circled between the two.
Between DaeBok and Choa, Myeongok politely greeted Yeonu.
“I haven’t greeted Lord Yeonu yet. Thank you for your help.”
“No, it was something I had to do.”
Yeonu extended a hand, pointing to Gun.
“It would be better to greet Lord Gwangho than me. If it weren’t for Lord, I would have been in big trouble.”
“Gwangho… Lord…?”
Myeongok’s gaze reached Gun. Then her face gradually stiffened.
“Gwangho, Lord, you say…”
“That’s right.”
“…!”
When Gun revealed his status, Myeongok gasped.
At first, she thought she might have misheard, doubting her ears.
However, looking at the dignity and vigor emanating from Gun, it was clear that he was Prince Gwangho.
Myeongok’s hands began to tremble, and cold sweat formed on her body.
Her initially rigid face turned so pale that it almost seemed bluish.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
