Ines looked at the commoner knight sitting in front of her with a gentle expression. The man she thought she would never meet again forever, Joseph Brnoa, who met death at her hand, was found on the mountain as a gruesome burned corpse.
He was a commoner who had volunteered for the army as a soldier and was selected as a knight for his skills.
The knights of the empire were divided into commoner knights and nobleborn knights. Although there was no particular distinction between the two, there was a limit to the position a commoner could reach as a knight.
Once, Ines sincerely respected and cheered for his efforts and determination to succeed.
“Is it boring?”
Ines looked at Joseph, who was addressing her respectfully, with indifferent eyes, then barely managed to pull up her lips and smile.
“No.”
“No indeed. It’s quite a dull story for the precious only daughter of a lord to hear.”
As he said, the story was dull. But it was not because Ines was the only daughter of a lord, but because she had gone through so much over a long period of time.
His warm honeycolored hair and light blue eyes sparkled with goodwill.
Joseph Brnoa was once a servant in her house. Looking back, he left the mansion’s work too suddenly.
He often came to play at the Swelden Street where he worked, secretly talking to Ines without the mansion’s master knowing. For her, who didn’t get many opportunities to go out, the world’s events conveyed by Joseph were very interesting.
“No way.”
12 years ago, Ines had answered just like this. She loved this lively young man, brimming with firearms, who was five years older than her.
As a woman who fell in love despite knowing his status, she vividly remembered every moment with Joseph. He grinned widely at her answer.
The hair swaying slightly in the wind, the focus caught in the light color of his eyes, the smile forming a perfect symmetry, everything remained unchanged.
It was hard to imagine that he was the man who laughed scornfully even when he saw her dying at the last moment.
“Your birthday is soon, isn’t it?”
Instead of answering, Ines nodded her head. On Ines’s birthday, Joseph will propose to her.
But the two cannot marry immediately. Her father’s opposition was intense.
Eventually, over a year goes by, and only after she turns 21, do the two get married and start a family. And they don’t even enjoy that time for six months before Joseph Brnoa dies.
No, he feigns death.
“On that day, please make time for me.”
Ines could not answer immediately and just looked at him for a moment. Since returning from the past, she had only met him again three days ago.
When she saw the young him again, Ines felt surprisingly no emotion at all. For too long, Joseph was dead to her.
“Of course.”
Now he will stand from his seat. And he will turn around with the manners of a knight. He’ll walk a few steps and then say this.
“Ah, I became a knight of the Count’s house.”
Then she will leap up from her seat and run to him. It was a remarkable thing to become a knight as a commoner.
It was not forbidden by law, but custom had a more frightening power. But to become a knight in a count’s family.
At that time, Ines praised his greatness. She forgot the difference in status and embraced him tightly.
‘You are truly a great person,’ she said with pride.
But now, of course, she did not leap up from her seat or run to him.
“That’s good news. You better go.”
For the first time, Ines saw the moment when the mask was stripped from Joseph’s face at her changed behavior. Then what did Joseph Brnoa, who always had to wear a mask in front of her, really want from her?
“You don’t ask… which family, do you?”
12 years ago, such a question did not exist. Ines was curious at the time about which earl’s family he belonged to, but he evaded her question, saying he would tell her later. He was always like that.
“Because all earl’s families are great…… Anyway, it’s really a good thing.”
Of course, Ines knew about his family.
The Graham Earl’s family. The current ruler of Lusonia, who claims to be the head of the emperor’s faction.
And the family that her father, Viscount Swelden, served nearby.
Ines, with Joseph in front of her, fell into thought for a moment. The ruler of Lusonia was certainly not Graham Earl when she was released from prison.
Prince Carson von Raymond.
The prince of the empire, Carson, who had rescued her in the crisis of death, was certainly the master of that land. Just thinking of him allowed Ines to find peace of mind for a moment.
“What are you thinking about?”
Annoyed by the uncomfortable voice that disturbed her peace, Ines frowned for a moment but soon collected herself and smiled at Joseph.
“You must be busy, so go on.”
“Why are you so eager to send me away today?”
“I’m just a little tired.”
Clearly dismissed, Joseph tilted his head but turned away from her without showing any reaction. Ines watched him walk away and fell into thought again.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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