“Ludwig.”
“Ah… Yes! Your Majesty. Your command, please.”
Ludwig, who had been frozen in shock, nearly turning to stone, snapped back to attention and hurriedly approached.
Parnes tossed the menacing sword he was still holding and said,
“Training ends early today. Go to the kitchen and order a hearty breakfast prepared.”
“That’s unusual. Don’t you usually skip breakfast with just coffee, torturing your poor stomach?”
Duke Ludwig, maintaining decorum while subtly speaking his mind, asked in surprise.
Parnes clenched his teeth and glared at his aging aide.
“When did I say I was eating?”
“Pardon? Then who is it for…?”
Duke Ludwig turned his head, following his lord’s gaze.
Parnes, unable to tear his eyes from Kasallin’s pale face, and Kasallin, looking up at Parnes with a puzzled expression.
Duke Ludwig, slowly glancing between the two, soon gave a knowing smile and bowed.
“I understand perfectly, Your Majesty. I’ll ensure a cozy meal is arranged at once.”
“…I should’ve had that fool’s head long ago.”
Parnes clicked his tongue, watching Ludwig’s slightly excited steps disappear somewhere.
“What were you two talking about just now?”
“What do you think?”
Parnes replied in a voice so curt it bordered on cold, gently grasping Kasallin’s slender wrist.
“I’m trying to get you to eat. Your pale face, scurrying around everywhere, is getting on my nerves.”
“Why would you bother with someone like me…?”
Indeed.
Whether you starved in the streets or collapsed from nerves, it shouldn’t matter.
But if those white cheeks could fill out, regain color, and bloom with a healthy smile.
And if he could see that up close.
That must be proof his mind’s gone astray.
.
.
.
Kasallin silently followed Parnes.
As they entered a path lined with sparse olive trees, the surroundings grew quiet.
The only sounds were their footsteps and the rustling of lush leaves in the breeze.
“By the way, didn’t you come to see me about something?”
Parnes, who had been silent, spoke as if it suddenly occurred to him.
His face remained forward, his expression unreadable.
“No. I just heard the excited voices of some ladies nearby and stopped without thinking.”
Kasallin decided not to mention the strange gazes she’d felt lately.
It might just be her imagination, and besides, he was an emperor with much to do and worry about.
“Someone’s been sneaking into my room, doing suspicious things, but I have no proof, just unease,” wasn’t something she could burden his already heavy shoulders with.
“Nothing’s wrong?”
“Yes.”
Parnes, who had been walking unusually slowly today, suddenly stopped.
Kasallin, following his large feet—twice the size of hers—bumped her forehead against his back.
As she steadied herself and looked up, Parnes was staring down at her, his expression faintly displeased.
“You’re lying again.”
“Pardon?”
“You look at the ground when you lie. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Did I do that?”
How did he know a habit even she wasn’t aware of?
Feeling awkward, she fidgeted with her hair.
Parnes slowly reached out, hesitating as if wrestling with something, then touched her cheek.
As if her cheek were a sacred treasure not to be touched.
His fingertips traced her now-gaunt jaw, so different from when she first arrived in the Rnel Empire.
During this, Parnes was so still he barely seemed to breathe.
Except for his eyes, which churned with an unreadable emotion.
“Is Shallen Riche troubling you?”
Kasallin’s eyes widened.
His fingers reached the edge of her lips but stopped short of crossing the line, slowly pulling away.
Her mouth burned as if she’d swallowed fire.
She needed to say something, anything.
As Kasallin faltered, lips trembling, Parnes whispered in a surprisingly soft voice,
“If you don’t want to speak, silence is fine.”
“Didn’t Your Majesty say you hate it most when people answer with silence?”
“I do. But with you, it’s fine.”
She wanted to ask why.
Why was it fine with her when he hated it otherwise? What did it mean to him?
No words came, but Parnes, seeing her lips move as if asking something, tilted his head slightly.
“You’re asking the obvious. You, too, bandaged my wounds without a word.”
Looking back, he was always nearby.
Whenever Shallen upset her, carelessly reopening old wounds, he was there.
He noticed first, never prying, just silently staying by her side.
Like the great flower tree in the secret garden where they first met.
Silently, seemingly indifferent, yet willingly offering cool shade—how could she not think fondly of him?
His quiet gaze, piercing yet subtly considerate, had a strange power to stir the heart.
For some reason, only he made her feel this way.
To be so caught up in unfamiliar emotions before an emperor she shouldn’t even dare meet eyes with—Kasallin found herself both foreign and astonished.
“Lady Kasallin! Th-there you are!”
As she struggled to respond, Loren Logia ran up, face flushed from the heat, stopping before Kasallin.
Normally, she’d freeze at the sight of Parnes, but she clearly bore urgent news.
“Miss Logia, what’s wrong?”
“Th-the king has been looking for you for an hour. His expression wasn’t good—you should hurry.”
Despite saying she’d be away until noon, being urgently summoned meant something bad had happened.
Kasallin apologized to Parnes, saying she had to go, and turned.
In the shade of the trees, with the sun at his back, she couldn’t quite see his expression. But he stood rooted in place as she hurried off.
[This is the timeline separator]Kasallin steadied her breath with a deep inhale and opened the drawing room door.
There, Rose was leaning on Shallen, sobbing.
“I heard you called for me. What’s the matter?”
Rose kept her head down, tears falling.
Shallen, patting his wife’s back, shot Kasallin a scathing look.
“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
“If you’re going to call someone away from their approved morning leave, don’t start with accusations—explain.”
“Rose’s engagement ring is missing.”
Shallen spoke with a calm voice, oddly serene for such a loss.
“The engagement ring…?”
“Yes, the one you were responsible for keeping safe.”
“That ring is locked in a sturdy jewel box that wouldn’t break even if the ceiling collapsed. Unless a ghost took it, it can’t be gone.”
Kasallin paused, narrowing her eyes.
The traces of someone sneaking into her room each morning.
Objects slightly out of place, unnoticed unless closely inspected.
“Could a thief have come for the ring?”
But something didn’t add up.
Rnel Palace’s security was tight—thieves couldn’t roam freely, and any suspicious person would’ve caused a stir among the guards.
So it had to be someone trusted enough to wander at odd hours without suspicion.
“Your expression says you’re guilty. Are you finally realizing your mistake?”
Shallen seized the moment to reprimand her.
He seemed unusually smug today, as if enjoying scolding Kasallin like a naughty child.
“As you know, the engagement ring is a royal treasure. Find it by midnight, no matter what. Understood?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s unrealistic. Organizing a search team takes time—please wait.”
“Is that the attitude of someone at fault? Defying the king’s orders with wide eyes, saying it’s impossible? Can’t you see how upset the queen is?”
Cold sweat dripped from the fist clenched under her skirt.
Her nerves, frayed from lack of sleep and water since last night, made her dizzy under Shallen’s berating.
Kasallin nodded, fighting off vertigo.
“…Understood. I’ll go look for it now.”
“That’s more like it. Find it and bring it to my room by midnight. The queen needs to rest early. Now go.”
[This is the timeline separator]Knowing it was impossible to find a ring that vanished like the wind in a single day, Kasallin couldn’t stop moving.
Returning empty-handed would make Rose wail louder, and Shallen would pity his wife while heaping more blame.
Kasallin tried everything, asking around.
She sought soldiers’ help, scoured every corner of the palace, but found nothing.
To make matters worse, rain began to drizzle.
She’d expected this from the start.
Shallen wasn’t doing this to find the ring but to punish her.
To make her wander all day, searching for a ring that wouldn’t be found, to realize her supposed fault.
“Is Shallen Riche troubling you?”
Parnes’s morning words flashed through her mind.
Unlike his usual gruff indifference, he’d been different somehow.
For a moment, Kasallin touched the spot on her lips where Parnes’s fingers had lingered, now wet with cold rainwater.
As a water droplet fell, rippling in a puddle, a voice spoke.
“I heard a puppy was whimpering, digging up the garden, so I came to check.”
A large, warm coat was draped over her rain-soaked head.
Kasallin looked up, shivering.
“What are you doing out here?”
Her drenched body was pulled into his embrace.
Warmth slowly seeped in, and the rain no longer fell on her.
Because he, like a steadfast flower tree, held her tightly yet quietly.
“Your Majesty, you’ll catch a cold because of me.”
“Emperors don’t catch colds.”
“…Tch, as if that’s true.”
Kasallin let out a small, involuntary laugh.
As they shared faint warmth in the rain, a man watched from afar.
“…What’s that?”
It was Shallen.
He held two umbrellas, but he realized he was too late to use them.
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.
Link to read
