“Rather than entrusting her to a petty man who wouldn’t even extend a hand to an injured woman,I’d rather take her myself. Everyone, step aside.”
Shallen, as if unable to believe the insulting words he had just heard,lost his sociable smile entirely and hardened his expression.
It wasn’t just Shallen who was surprised.
Rose, as well as the escort knights following behind,all showed clear signs of bewilderment.
In truth, it wasn’t particularly surprising that Parnes had spoken insultingly to Shallen.
The real reason for their shock was why Emperor Parneswas protecting a mere maid, of all people.
State affairs and the people.
Wasn’t he a cold man who never meddled or cared about anything else?
“Your Majesty, you really don’t have to do this.”
“Stay quiet.”
As Shallen, Rose, and the attendants hesitantly stepped to the side of the path,Parnes adjusted his hold on Kasallin lightly and hurried toward the nearest palace.
Kasallin, with only her pale ankles dangling below,was carried by Parnes, glancing back over his shoulder.
Whether from humiliation or some other emotion,Shallen’s face was flushed red as he glared fiercely in their direction.
Until he became a distant blur, he stood there without moving.
.
.
.
“Light a fire in the guest room and prepare bathwater,clean clothes, and towels.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Parnes, walking down the corridor, gave curt orders to the maids following behind.
He didn’t seem to find it heavy, carrying her soaked from head to toe.
It felt strange.
If he hadn’t helped, she would’ve fallen embarrassingly multiple times,enduring Shallen’s reprimands.
The fact that his strong arms were firmly holding her at this momentfelt both unbelievable and incredibly reassuring.
‘To feel relieved by the side of an emperor from a neighboring country I barely know… I’m really…’
Parnes entered a spotless, never-used bedroom.
Contrary to her expectation that he’d say something formal,he set Kasallin down on the floor and left without a word, as if his task was done.
That was only natural.
Yet an inexplicable sense of disappointment settled heavily on her shoulders, mingling with the air.
“The bathwater is ready. And this is a new dress.”
The kind maids said as they brought various items.
“Thank you.”
“Anything else you need?”
Wanting to be alone for a while, she said she’d manage the rest herself.
After the maids left the room, Kasallin shed her wet clothesand soaked in a fragrant bathtub.
“Kasallin, it’s your fault. As a maid, you should’ve properly attended to the queen.”
She tried not to think about Shallen and Rose,but the dagger lodged in her heart didn’t fade easily, festering the wound further.
As the water cooled, her body began to shiver.
Climbing out of the tub and changing into new clothes, she let out a dry cough.
“It’s cold…”
Crouching by the fireplace where dry logs crackled as they burned,Kasallin touched her slightly swollen ankle.
With the grand festival ball happening tomorrow,could she wear high heels and attend a social event in this state?
She was sighing her worries into the flames when—
“Hey.”
A large shadow fell over the floor, tinged scarlet by the firelight.
Startled by Parnes’s voice, who had entered without a sound, Kasallin turned around.
“Your Majesty?”
He looked down at her silently, as if displeased,then tossed something he was holding.
A small white medicine jar rolled and bumped against Kasallin’s knee.
“For treating wounds. Aren’t you going to use it?”
“It’s fine. It’s just a scratch from some gravel.”
“Hah…”
He let out a long sigh.
Kasallin fiddled with the sour-smelling jar, glancing up at him.
“Are you… worried about me?”
“Worried about you?”
As if the idea was absurd, he was at a loss for words.
He muttered to himself, “Ridiculous.”
“Then why did you… earlier…”
“Sorry, but I don’t care if you get hurt, fall, or drown.I just can’t stand being indebted.”
“Indebted?”
“Stop with the pointless delusions and listen.”
With a reluctant expression, Parnes knelt on one knee,grabbed Kasallin’s ankle abruptly, and began treating the wound.
His rough hands, calloused from wielding a sword, were surprisingly gentle.
“Under the flowering tree, you went out of your way to wrap my dirty hem around me.As an emperor, my pride wouldn’t allow me to leave that debt unpaid.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure if you’re thanking me or insulting me.”
“And one more thing.”
Parnes continued as he bandaged her ankle.
“I couldn’t stand watching you shrink back without resisting,even as Shallen Riche berated you.”
“It looked like His Majesty was berating me?”
“If that wasn’t berating, then what was it?”
Kasallin’s eyes widened as her lips parted.
No one there seemed to think Shallen’s attitude was a problem.
Why did he think she was being unfairly scolded?
“Since we’re on the topic, let me ask.I’m the monarch of an empire, and you look at me fearlessly with shining eyes.So why do you wear a wounded expression whenever you’re with those two?”
“A wounded… expression?”
“Yes. Every time you’re with Shallen Riche, you look like your heart’s been torn to pieces,enduring pain as if you’re desperately holding it in.”
Watching that makes me so irritated I can’t stand it.
Parnes muttered in a barely audible voice.
Feeling as though her innermost thoughts had been exposed,Kasallin stammered, fumbling with the bandage.
Just moments ago, her heart had been frozen,but now it was melting, and she didn’t know why.
“If you have a mouth, answer. Why did you make that face?”
How could she answer honestly?
That she had been abandoned by Shallen overnight and had no choice but to become her sister’s maid.
He’d surely think it was pathetic. She didn’t want his pity.
“I just didn’t want to cause a fuss over trivial matters in a foreign land. That’s all.”
It sounded like a plausible excuse, even to herself.
Her voice didn’t tremble, and her expression remained calm.
But Parnes seemed to have an uncanny ability to see through people.
“Daring to lie when an emperor questions you?”
His face, visible through her narrowing vision, shimmered with a red glow.
He looked like a greedy demon or tyrant come to claim her heart.
“I beg your pardon, but I don’t understand why Your Majesty asks such questions.Whatever you read in my expression, it’s not something for Your Majesty to worry about.”
Kasallin continued her response as politely as possible.
It was an answer that might feel like building a firm wall to some,but for an emperor and a foreign maid, it was enough.
Someone who happened to wrap cloth around a wound,showing slight kindness because he couldn’t stand being indebted—that was all.
He remained silent for a long time.
She could feel his golden eyes, hidden between long, slender eyelashes,coldly scanning her injured ankle.
“Fine. It’s your business to handle.”
As if he no longer cared or was shaking himself out of a trance,Parnes replied indifferently and stood up.
His tall shadow, cast against the lamp, loomed darkly over Kasallin’s head.
“You’re leaving?”
As Kasallin struggled to stand to see him off, he clicked his tongue.
“Don’t come out. Pointlessly.”
“Thank you.”
He paused, holding the doorknob.
“For bringing me here and treating my wound.I’ll surely repay the kindness you’ve shown me today.”
“I told you not to misunderstand. It wasn’t for you.”
“Even if it wasn’t for me, it was a lifeline to me.So please let me express my gratitude.”
His hand tightened on the doorknob, making a dull metallic sound.
After a long pause, he left the room without a reply.
[This is the timeline separator]“I may be overthinking this, but those three people…Doesn’t the atmosphere between them feel strange?”
On a particularly dark night with no moon,in a dimly lit study with only a few old-fashioned candles,Ludwig began speaking while organizing reports.
Parnes, leaning back in his chair with his eyes gently closed, didn’t respond.
“King Shallen, Queen Rose, and Miss Kasallin Robepon.It doesn’t seem like an ordinary relationship.Perhaps there’s some hidden story not well-known to the public…”
“Why are you so interested in people from a neighboring country?”
Unable to listen any longer, Parnes continued in a low voice.
“It’s irrelevant. An unrelated woman.”
“You say that, but I don’t understand why you went out of your way to carry her and treat her.”
“Mock me one more time, and I’ll personally cut your throat.”
In the darkness, Ludwig gave a sly smile and tidied the remaining documents.
“Ludwig.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“I want to adjust the banquet schedule.Postpone the ball to next week and move the reading session earlier.”
Ludwig tilted his head.
“I’ll follow your orders, but is there a particular reason?”
“…”
“What, are you worried about Miss Kasallin’s ankle?”
Parnes silently narrowed his brow at Ludwig’s hearty laugh.
“There’s just something I want to confirm.”
“Something to confirm?”
Parnes picked up a steaming coffee cup and stood by the window.
Across the forest, he could see the palace where Kasallin was likely sleeping.
“Rose Riche and Shallen Riche. I’m curious about what they’re doing to that maid.”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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