He didn’t regret what happened that day, but at least he couldn’t avoid Ines’s scrutiny.
So, for Carson, the past three months without being able to keep her by his side felt like a very long time.
However, at this moment, he considered the action he took back then as the right one.
Thanks to that, even when holding hands and dragging her through a crowded place like this, no one looked at them with astonished eyes anymore. Carson was quite satisfied with that.
Carson took Ines to the reception room. As soon as they entered, Emma followed suit. However, Carson waved his hand as if signaling her to leave.
Noah, standing behind with a disappointed expression, was also visible to Ines. However, it seemed he didn’t pay much attention.
As Ines watched him, he carefully scanned his body. Checking if there were any injuries, if he had even a slight difficulty in breathing. But the body of an armed man was all covered, making it unsatisfactory. Soon, the door closed, and a silence like a vacuum filled the room.
She couldn’t figure out what kind of expression she should have when looking at him.
“How have you been?”
“…Fine.”
Ines answered with a faint smile. It was a voice she missed even in her dreams, but she still couldn’t lift her head.
“Don’t you want to ask me?”
“Are you… doing well?”
“Yeah. As you can see. Did anything happen to you?”
“No.”
As Ines didn’t look up at him, he tilted his head slightly. When the slightly sunburned face became visible, she awkwardly smiled. Even in that moment, she didn’t forget to check if there were any wounds on his face.
“I’m not hurt.”
As if he noticed Ines’ actions, Carson, with a surprised expression, took a step back without realizing it.
“Ines?”
Calling her name, he approached as close as he had stepped back. His narrowed eyes were keenly focused.
“Yes?”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Oh, no. There’s nothing like that.”
At that moment, Carson asked with a face as if he had seen something wrong.
“But… why aren’t you looking into my eyes?”
Feeling like he had seen through her strange feelings, Ines pursed her lips. However, even if she looked at his golden eyes, her ugly feelings seemed to crawl out of her heart and come out.
“Ines…”
“Yes.”
When he called her again, she tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. Yet, he came a step closer. This time, she didn’t step back.
“Am I bothering you?”
“Not at all.”
Even though she said so, Carson seemed skeptical.
“Is it because I brought you here without asking in a crowded place like this?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then, is it because I knelt in front of you before leaving?”
She lowered her head.
Now, only a very small space remained between the two. It was a close enough distance for their breaths to mix, a close distance where not looking at each other seemed more awkward.
However, Ines stubbornly lowered her gaze even more. He could feel her taking a deep breath.
“Ines, do you have the three things I gave you?”
“No, I left them in the room in a hurry.”
Without warning, when he reached out his hand, she instinctively raised her shoulder in defense. Although he seemed to hesitate for a moment due to her guarded posture, Carson gently took hold of Ines’s hair.
Then, from the chest area, he pulled out her handkerchief. As he held her hair with both hands, she seemed to nestle against him.
From him, there was a familiar scent. And faintly, there was even a hint of the smell of gunpowder. Thinking about it, Ines felt her throat constricting. The more she thought about it, the less she could face him.
Slowly, but with a clean gesture, Carson tied up her hair and silently looked down at her.
Ines hoped this moment would pass quickly.
If only today passed, she thought she could see him more comfortably as before. However, Carson didn’t leave her alone.
“Look at me.”
She bit her lower lip. His hands trembled slightly.
“If you don’t have anything for me to do, I want to leave.”
“What?”
“It’s late, and the Lord also needs to rest.”
“What happened in my absence? Was there something?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Was there a change in your feelings that you can’t even look me in the eye properly?”
In the end, she stepped back, and he remained silent for a moment. Unable to endure, Ines spoke first.
“The relationship between me and the Lord is just like that. If you brought me to the reception room at night, you should have given me some instructions.”
As she spoke as gently as possible, the man who silently listened to her words slightly bowed his waist.
Even if she struggled, she couldn’t avoid his gaze, as if saying that he couldn’t be ignored. When their eyes met, Carson smiled gently.
“How about this?”
In an instant, the distance between them narrowed. The air, which had been slightly loose, was pulled taut.
“How about… preparing tea to relieve fatigue.”
“I’m not tired.”
“…”
“Look at me.”
He gently held Ines’s chin with his soft hand. As if he knew why she was always saying unnecessary things, his lips formed a leisurely smile.
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.
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