“What are you doing?”
Carson couldn’t help but ask as he observed his father’s behavior. His father was placing items into a large box.
“I’m packing.”
“Is there an emperor who packs his own luggage in the world?”
At Carson’s words, the emperor clicked his tongue.
“Even an emperor has personal belongings. I don’t like it when others touch them. And it’s too boring. Can’t there be nothing to do like this?”
The emperor completely abandoned his duties as an emperor, as if indicating to Carson that he would abdicate. In response to his words, Carson gritted his teeth.
“You seem… bored.”
“Well, I’ll stay in the palace for about a year. I’ll make my residence in Merienne.”
Merienne was an old castle located in the far corner of the palace. Instead of rebuilding it, it was a stronghold that was being maintained by refurbishing it, as it held symbolic significance since the early days of the empire.
And Carson’s mother had lived in that palace.
Carson swallowed his unsaid words. Whenever he talked about his mother, he strangely felt thirsty. Was it because he had never experienced overflowing love?
“Moderation is necessary for humility.”
“You, as an emperor, reprimand your son. But I’m not trying to be humble. Now, come and sit here.”
The emperor made Carson sit down and stood up in return. After a while, he left the room and returned. In his hand, there was a small box.
“Do you know what this is?”
He asked with a slightly excited voice before sitting down.
“It’s your mother’s keepsake.”
Carson couldn’t help but glare at the emperor. But the emperor turned away from him.
“I don’t care what you say. I’m not afraid of your resentment anymore.”
“It’s truly… comfortable for you.”
The two men, who had revealed themselves without masks, looked at each other as father and son rather than as emperor and prince. Through a series of events, their relationship had completely changed from the past.
“The woman I loved the most was your mother.”
Carson thought it might be better for the emperor to say that he didn’t love Carson’s mother. No, he wished not to say anything related to his mother. He was so angry that he couldn’t even express what was boiling inside him. Something welled up in his chest as if he couldn’t express it in words.
“I didn’t know that there were grades in love.”
“You might say that. But I loved your mother more than any other woman, and I loved my son born from her more than any other child. Now, what benefit would it be for me to say this to you. I’m just saying it now because I can.”
The emperor spoke while taking out something from the box.
“See this? It’s your mother’s maternity gown. There’s also your younger sibling’s. Oh, you can also see the letter I gave to your mother.”
He stroked the old clothes as if they were precious. Unable to bear the sight, Carson got up from his seat. The emperor looked up at him as if watching him leave.
“You didn’t come here to say anything, did you?”
“That’s correct.”
Carson sharply met the emperor’s gaze.
His father was a man who was born and lived his whole life without ever touching the ground. Born as a crown prince and becoming an emperor without dispute. He was the captain on the sinking ship, but throughout the voyage, his sea had been peaceful.
“Since you’ve come all this way, you might as well say it before you leave.”
“I’m going to get married. I didn’t come to seek your approval. I just came to show respect to Emperor Father, who will become Emperor Sun.”
“That woman from back then? Ines Sweden, the illegitimate daughter of the Swedish artist.”
At the mention of the yearning person’s name, Carson’s gaze hardened.
“It won’t be easy.”
“…I know.”
“Can a person with a history of committing crimes become a noble? It’s an impossible task.”
Carson reasoned with him.
“Do you think I don’t know?”
Sharp as a blade, he asked, but the emperor just looked at his mother’s keepsake with deep eyes.
As if no longer wanting to engage in conversation, Carson turned away. The sight of his father holding the belongings of the deceased was difficult to adapt to.
“Stop holding onto hatred.”
But the emperor’s words caught his steps.
“Stop hating me and your mother. If there’s hatred in the emperor’s heart, whether it’s towards the people, his subjects, or someone you love, it will only bring suffering.”
Carson turned towards him. The emperor, who easily grasped and shook his inner self, felt utterly detestable at this moment. Any time his father turned him into a helpless, love-seeking child, resentment surged, and ultimately, his fist clenched just like in those days.
“Even the love of a coward is still love.”
“I won’t live like that. Even with numerous wives and children, I won’t wear such a lonely face.”
So, in the end, he expressed his resentment.
The emperor put down Carson’s maternity gown and approached him. Then, he embraced him. Carson’s astonished eyes shook endlessly. Swiftly, his father caressed his son’s back.
“Sorry, my son. I’m truly sorry for leaving you alone.”
“…”
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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