“It’s obvious. Where else would you be if not by my side?”
With no response, Carson looked down, and Ines was seen bowing her head, smiling gently. Fortunately, he hadn’t knelt down on the spot and stolen her lips, which was a relief.
Recalling the recent events in the garden, Carson ran his fingers over his face with dry hands. After releasing a long sigh, he brushed back the messy hair with both hands.
When Noah asked about the young lord’s family, seeing the lord’s expression changing rapidly, Noah decided it was better not to mention the matter again.
“Oh, where are your family members?”
“They’re all in Summerun.”
He was the son of a local territorial lord. Naturally, his older brother was expected to inherit the lordship.
“I have… an island.”
“Are you talking about the island you received as compensation for resolving the fourth prince’s incident?”
“Yeah, it’s a good place for a vacation.”
“I know.”
“I’ll cover all the expenses. Let your family stay there for about two or three years.”
Carson decided not to mention that the plague would break out soon.
“Don’t ask for the reason.”
Noah judged that his lord was concerned about the safety of his family. It was uncertain what the empress would do when they all moved to Monstera. So, he answered without asking twice.
“Understood.”
It was already time to escape from sleep. He hurriedly moved his body to perform his duty as a loyal servant. It was urgent to move his family as well.
Since Ines arrived, Louis had changed day by day. He spent more time outdoors than before, and his meals increased. Although the two didn’t have many conversations, they spent the mornings together.
They sat side by side in the garden, reading books or drawing.
While concentrating on drawing, Louis spoke casually.
“Ines, do you know?”
“Know what?”
“It’s soon Father’s birthday.”
She didn’t answer, but she naturally knew.
“I think he’s going to have a big celebration this time before we leave, like a farewell with the people of the territory.”
After finishing his words, Louis focused on his drawing again. Father Hansen recommended drawing as a remedy for Louis’s treatment. While Ines and Louis were drawing together, he watched over them from a distance.
Even before going to the temple, the child liked drawing. Louis always drew cats. An angry cat, a crying cat, a sad cat, a cat leaping somewhere.
And even now, the child was drawing a pair of small black kittens crouching in the corner of the bed. The small cats that appeared in the child’s drawings were the babies brought by Ines’s father to Landhill’s lordship.
They were much brighter and cuter than what existed in his imagination.
Before showing Louis his first cat, she explained the situation to Hansen and Noah.
Hansen agreed, and through Noah, Carson’s approval was also obtained.
When Louis received his first cat, he didn’t know what to do and couldn’t approach. But now, they were always together like the moon and stars.
Looking at the brightened drawing, Ines asked.
“Do you still feel very sad?”
“I always feel a bit sad. But now, I’m okay.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m safe now.”
Ines felt a lump in her throat. Was it because the child’s feelings were similar to hers now? During the two years Louis was at the temple, his vocabulary had increased significantly, and he had learned to express his feelings in words.
“Because of me… I heard that they’re all moving together to keep me from being sent away.”
Louis, with a calm expression, laid down the pencil he had been using for drawing and turned towards Ines. It was a request for a hug. As she embraced him, the child let out a deep sigh.
“My brother won’t send me anywhere now. Back then, my brother was still young, so it couldn’t be helped.”
“That’s right.”
“Now, my brother is very grown up. He’s the strongest among the people I know.”
After coming to Landhill, Ines had one seizure. However, Carson was by her side at that time. The feeling of suffocation subsiding was a great relief for her.
As she was no longer afraid, the frequency of seizures had decreased remarkably. To Ines, Carson was the biggest and strongest person in the world.
“And Ines is also by my side. With Lenora and Alba too. So, I’m okay now.”
Lenora and Alba were the names of the cats. Every time Louis pronounced those names, his lips would curl up slightly, making it extremely cute.
The child, who had been leaning against her for a moment, moved away from Ines as if to say, “When did this happen?” and focused on the drawing again. The black cat was still crouching under the bed, but sunlight poured in through the large window in the room.
On the day of Carson’s birthday celebration, he didn’t plan to get up even when he saw the sun setting.
“Young lord, please…”
Unusually, Noah was urging him.
“You need to go.”
“I know.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
