How To Choose A Knight (28 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2
Ascela cried out in shock.
“J-Jade! Jade? That’s Dad’s precious…!”
“Ascela.”
Jade ignored the noisy clamor, bent down, and met her cousin’s eyes. Her lovely violet eyes sparkled and curved into a smile.
“I’m incredibly greedy. Understand?”
“Huh?”
“From now on, whenever Uncle says something like that, tell him Jade is extremely greedy—so greedy she won’t give up even a single thing. Because I’m a very naughty child.”
A mage standing in the garden loudly chanted a long, drawn-out spell. Water was drawn from a nearby fountain, and fine drizzle descended from the sky to smother the flames—but it was no match for that overwhelming power.
The fire, as if mocking them, instantly evaporated all the water and blazed even more fiercely.
Ascela blinked a few times, then asked blankly,
“Jade, when did you cast the spell?”
“Why would a simple magic like that need a long incantation? One syllable is enough.”
The girl answered sweetly, then quickly chanted something brief again.
In an instant, the fire vanished, and the tree crumbled into ash. Yet not a single thing around it was harmed.
When her grandmother and uncle rushed over in alarm, Jade beamed and replied,
“Oh, I thought everyone was ignoring me, so surely anyone could put that out! I never imagined so many mages couldn’t even extinguish such a small fire—haha!”
After that, each day felt like war.
Her uncle, Felix Broen, fully revealed his ambition for the position of house head.
Every time they met, his eyes were filled with a desire for Jade to die. Twice, Jade nearly died after drinking poison slipped into her drinks. Of course, the culprit was never caught.
Her grandmother, Mabel Broen, watched this situation silently for a very long time.
Even when she saw Felix Broen hurling baseless insults at Jade or acting as if he might strike her, the old woman simply turned her head away.
Ascela Broen, her closest cousin and dearest friend, looked at Jade with helpless eyes—until one day, she simply stopped speaking to her.
That was actually better. Jade had learned that every word she exchanged with the girl eventually reached Felix Broen’s ears.
The other adults in the family offered no real help. The young girl had no choice but to endure it all alone.
Then, one day, Jade was summoned by Mabel Broen.
“I loved my child, Yannick Broen, dearly.”
Then why leave me in such danger? I’m the only bloodline of my father.
Her question was soon answered.
“But that child betrayed me. He married your mother, a knight of common birth. She received a knighthood from the king? That was merely the price Yannick paid to secure the king’s alliance. The Broen bloodline tainted with such lowborn blood—I could never accept it.”
Mabel frowned deeply as she stared into Jade’s eyes—beautiful violet, inherited from her mother, Lizzie Anel.
Instinctively, Jade lowered her gaze, avoiding her grandmother’s stare.
Now she finally understood why her name was Jade—a gemstone of blue. It was a name meant to reject half the blood that flowed through her veins since birth. Her parents had always simply called her “Jae”…
“Even so, I won’t let you die. You are Yannick’s only bloodline and will live as his heir. But promise me just one thing.”
“…”
“The one who stands by your side must come from the most impeccable lineage, with blood utterly free of impurity.”
If you fail to uphold this, you will never truly command this house—even as its head.
Those words, like a curse, sank deep into Jade’s ears.
Quietly, Jade rose, bowed, and left the room.
Life became slightly more bearable after that unspoken promise with Mabel. From then on, Felix Broen no longer dared openly attempt to kill Jade—though what he schemed behind the scenes, no one could say whether they knew or pretended not to.
Yet there was one thing Mabel hadn’t foreseen.
Jade Broen was born a fire mage—the kind whose flames burned fiercer with every threatening gust of wind.
In other words, she was certainly not the sort to simply curl up and weep.
She rose with vigor and began gathering loyal followers within the house. Most were people she’d met while inspecting estates.
A man beaten without cause, a woman weeping in despair, a young girl chased away, a boy falsely accused of theft, an old man stoned for allegedly killing someone.
Felix mocked her for picking up such worthless scraps—but once they received training and began residing in the castle, Jade could subtly gather small rumors from within Broen Manor. Information was both weapon and shield against threats.
Then, another opportunity arrived.
The young king, newly crowned,
summoned Jade to the capital, to the royal palace of Sienna.
“So you’re the fire mage? How young.”
Jade swallowed the reply that His Majesty looked even younger and gave a bright smile instead.
“I’m honored to make your acquaintance. I am Jade Broen.”
Watching the young mage smile with picture-perfect grace and no change in expression, the young king leaned back against his throne.
“Since we’re both busy, let’s get straight to the point, Jade.”
Hearing her given name instead of her title, Jade frowned slightly and looked at the king, who smiled gently.
“I don’t judge people—I judge the situations they’re in. So though this is our first meeting, I believe I can trust you.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Don’t you need another foothold outside your house? A place where you can truly stand alone?”
In an instant, her eyes changed, and the mask-like smile vanished. A glint flickered in the mage’s violet eyes.
The king smiled in satisfaction.
“I need you. In any political conflict, I will support you. Will you become my person?”
This was clearly an unmissable new shield. Jade smiled.
“I’m already Your Majesty’s person—how could I become yours again? Just tell me what you desire.”
The young king smiled contentedly at her reply.
What the king wanted was a mage to join a punitive expedition. A great famine had broken out in a neighboring country, leaving countless corpses—monsters had fed on them and grown in number.
A vicious cycle repeated: monsters multiplied and killed people; with fewer laborers, the nation’s foundation weakened; hunger spread, causing even more deaths; and from those, monsters surged again.
When the monsters grew so numerous they finally reached the borders of the El Zion Kingdom, many mages and knights were urgently needed to repel them—so many that the king himself had to select the participants.
Jade knew this mission was dangerous—but she had no choice but to leap in.
Though newly crowned and young, this king had already shown ruthless cruelty by erasing every trace of his rival siblings from the world after winning the succession war.
He might look like a fledgling chick—but inside, he was surely a fully grown eagle. Worth bowing to.
[This is the timeline separator]Thus, nearly four years had already passed since she joined the punitive expedition.
“No, you stupid fool! I told you to go already!”
Far off, Rigel Hyas, a mage from the same expedition, snapped impatiently at his horse. The horse, equally annoyed by its master, let out a long, disgruntled whinny.
Jade, already far ahead, glanced back with a bored look, tugged her reins, and muttered,
“Why is he like that?”
“He is, after all, the head of House Hyas. Even if he dislikes it, couldn’t he at least sound a bit kinder?”
“Hmm, that just makes him more annoying. I’m still just an heir, yet I’m far better than him.”
“That’s true.”
The middle-aged man chuckled dryly. His name was Bernard, and he had served as Jade’s advisor for four years now—one of the few truly loyal allies she had within House Broen.
He scanned the bleak surroundings and said,
“The western border feels like home now. It’s been three months since you were dragged into this punitive expedition—you might as well call it home.”
Though he hadn’t meant to offend, Jade coughed awkwardly.
“Well… I really mean it this time—it’ll end soon…”
“That’s the twelfth time you’ve said exactly that.”
“No, it’s not my fault there aren’t enough experienced people in this expedition… I don’t know why His Majesty organized it like this. It’s a bit odd.”
At least their record was excellent—five villages had already been freed from monsters and regained safety.
Bernard quickly laughed again, as if he’d only been teasing.
“You’ll ride with a knight again today, I suppose?”
“I have to. It’s the rule, isn’t it? I’ll keep someone close. You can pick one if you’d like.”
Jade’s voice sounded as casual as if discussing dinner plans.
“Hmm, what about Billius Dof? Everyone knows he looks at you with admiration. His face is quite handsome, and his family is respectable.”
“Billius Dof? You mean the third son who won’t inherit a thing from his house? Choosing him would only prove how poor Jade’s judgment is. Even if it’s true, there’s no need to make it obvious, is there?”
Rigel Hyas, having finally caught up with clumsy riding skills, interjected sharply. Jade looked at him wearily.
“Why can’t you ever learn to ride properly? Anyway, what’s it to you? Why butt in?”
Rigel, his light blue eyes flickering briefly, declared firmly,
“Because you and I are both mages acknowledged by His Majesty. Our partners should match our standing, shouldn’t they? Don’t you agree?”
In other words, it wasn’t malice—he sincerely believed Billius Dof simply wasn’t worthy.
With innocent-looking eyes, he took it for granted that a person’s worth was measured by wealth and bloodline purity.
Jade hated people like that. They were just like her grandmother and uncle, who sneered at her mother for not being born noble—but worse, because they truly believed they meant no harm.
So, though she owed Billius Dof no loyalty, she decided to speak up for him anyway.
“What is this ‘standing’ you keep talking about? You, from a fine house with fine skills, yet never once participated in something like this punitive expedition to protect the kingdom’s people—what exactly is your ‘standing’ supposed to match?”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Chapter Comments (15)
Inline Comments (64)
If only I’d had the chance to say a proper goodbye—to tidy things up—would it ha
I have a feeling in this chapter, he too will realize his feelings- or come to be mad at Jade
Before those behind could stop him, the young man gulped down the plain water fr
Hhahahah your brother must love you a lot~~ he’s probably gonna reunite you with Jade
“A handsome man with a good body.”
Hahah looks like someone is getting an entertaining sister in law hehheh
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It is so sweet how preciously the treat the eggs because they are empathetic to the old hen’s struggle. Idk why I didn’t expect that from their character. I wonder how fervently her aides and servants are searching for her right now? I feel like one of them should be clever enough to investigate the uncle
It is so sweet how preciously the treat the eggs because they are empathetic to the old hen’s struggle. Idk why I didn’t expect that from their character. I wonder how fervently her aides and servants are searching for her right now? I feel like one of them should be clever enough to investigate the uncle
I feel like Axel must of royal bloodline. Jade is so cute! They are gonna be so cute together