In response to the young knight’s question, Ines smiled subtly. Most of the gathered knights were those who came from Landhill together.
“Some people use it secretly.”
“It would be really useful for ambushes.”
“It would be good to disguise it with branches.”
“Ines, can you go back to the castle and teach us properly?”
Despite the disorganized questions from all around, Ines continued to answer kindly.
“Yes, I’ll do that. Oh, my lord?”
With Ines’s words, everyone’s eyes moved along her gaze. Only then did the knights recognize Carson, and they excitedly stepped aside.
“When did you arrive?”
The person who seemed to be the leader among the group approached him, and when asked, Carson smiled gently as if nothing had happened. However, Noah knew that he was still choosing his words carefully inside.
“Yeah, just now. They said something interesting was happening.”
The woman who, until a moment ago, was coldly weaving a rope like a knight commander, stood proudly among the men, her face blushing. Carson ground his teeth at the sight.
“Ines?”
“Yes?”
“Have you had your meal?”
“Uh… I was just about to.”
“Alright, then let’s go down quickly.”
As she nodded, Carson approached her, and the group also tidied up to go down together.
“No, no. You all make three nooses each here and bring them down. You must bring them down properly.”
Though they made momentarily puzzled expressions, they soon responded with a resounding chorus.
Hearing the loud response, Carson returned to the campsite with Ines.
“Huh…”
Ines, who quietly followed him, looked up at him at the sound of his sigh.
“Is there a problem?”
“Why is it so difficult to feed them once?”
“What?”
“No, today’s camping, yes, I mean the camping.”
“Still, everyone seems to be enjoying it so much. They all like and respect the lord.”
“So does that make you feel good?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you feeling good when people like me?”
Knowing it was childish, Carson couldn’t help but ask.
“Well…”
Ines raised her head and smiled gently. Not a shadow of anything showed in her clear eyes.
“Because you are the lord.”
Where in the world could such blindness be found? Carson stopped for a moment and looked at her clear eyes. He found the blindness both pleasing and unpleasant.
When Carson reached out his hand, Ines didn’t hesitate and took it.
“A few months…”
“Yes?”
“No.”
When they returned to the camp, the meal, which was Ines’s responsibility, was already cold. Ines greeted Carson and went back to her place, intending to eat the now cold food.
Unable to bear the sight, Carson approached the cook.
“Look here, your cooking was excellent today.”
“Oh, well, well. You’re exaggerating.”
The cook extended the hem of his clothes, pulling out his chest.
“Exaggerating? It’s really delicious. So, by the way… could I ask for a bit more?”
“Of course. My lord.”
“Then, while you’re at it, make a bit more for those who haven’t eaten yet.”
At his words, the cook looked around. Then, once again, he smiled meaningfully.
“Yes, understood. Please go back without worrying.”
Carson also patted the cook’s shoulder twice, meaning a request. Thanks to that, they had to have dinner twice, but seeing Ines eating warm food with a smile from afar, this hunting was a complete success.
While enjoying the food that suited his taste, Ines looked up at the sky.
The string instruments brought by the people resonated with a richer sound than the melody of the guitar. On a night where even the separate moon neatly revealed its appearance, the music seemed to come from a distant place. Ines had returned to the past and was enjoying complete peace for the first time. She vaguely realized that the day when Cain would read aloud ‘The Ten Moons,’ and the day she would return to nobility was approaching. Perhaps by then, the thought that she might stand by his side in her true form infiltrated her amused heart.
Their peace did not last long. On a day in January when the sun changed, a messenger from the imperial family of the Kingdom of Kains crossed the border of Monstera. Upon hearing that a letter from the Kains imperial family had arrived, Ines dropped the laundry she was doing and rushed to the office. According to her memory, soon the Empress’s second son would ascend to the position of Crown Prince. It was an unpredictable matter how it would affect Carson.
Before reaching his office, a voice filled with anger could be heard through the open door. “How dare they!”
Ines stopped abruptly in her tracks. “Please calm down; the messenger has not returned yet.”
“So what! Do I have to be cautious just because I might regret what I said?”
Noah’s voice was no longer audible amidst his sharp anger. Ines slowly approached the office.
“Damn courtly rituals!”
“Please calm down and at least read it to the end.”
“Whether I read it or not won’t change a thing.”
As Ines approached, the knights standing guard nodded at her, not preventing her. When she gently pushed the door open, the voices from inside became louder.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
