“Zed.”
Riche called out to Zed, who was standing in front of the couch where she was seated. He was watching the closed studio.
Zed glanced back at Riche behind him, then whispered, looking around cautiously.
“Stay still because it’s dangerous.”
“But I heard a scream. Don’t we have to go help…?”
But Zed remained silent.
Another strange scream was heard. The sound of something breaking and furniture falling could also be heard.
‘I have to help too.’
Riche jumped up from the sofa. One large palm blocked her way.
It was Zed. Only the back of his head was visible, and his face could not be seen.
“Miss, it’s best for both of us to stay here. I’m sorry to the two of you, but my task is to escort you.”
[What a likable guy.]Pythonus chuckled.
Riche was pacing, unsure of what to do.
Then, the studio door opened. A young woman with brown hair. It was Anna.
“Anna, you’re bleeding…!”
“Don’t worry, Miss. It’s not my blood.”
As Anna wiped the blood on her cheek, her other hand held an unconscious man.
Though she had volunteered as a maid for the Ludwik family, she had trained and grown with Zed until a few years ago. She was confident in actual combat.
Anna threw the man onto the floor of the guest room and said to Zed,
“It’s from the Duke of Serdiya. They’ve kidnapped Trapet.”
“Serdiya?”
Zed asked, moving slightly to the side.
He covered the sight of the fallen man with his body from Riche’s view. It wasn’t a pleasant sight for the child to see.
[A duke? A family of ability users?]‘Yes. But that person is not an ability user.’
[Visualizing energy to distinguish? Interesting.]‘You can’t see Pythonus?’
[I can’t see. Retiom’s ability is unique to him.]While Riche was conversing with Pythonus internally, the conversation between Zed and Anna continued.
“Why did they kidnap Trapet?”
“I don’t know. They said it was something Trapet initiated when they attacked.”
“Excuse me…”
Someone interjected in the conversation.
It was Trapet’s assistant, who had come to the guest room, startled by the noise.
Zed and Anna turned their heads. The assistant, trembling at the two pairs of brown eyes focused on him, spilled what he knew.
“Trapet’s next season’s new work uses fur… Serdiya has warned several times not to use fur, but Trapet ignored it…”
“Fur? They kidnapped Trapet over that?”
“Funny. They wear fake ones themselves.”
Both said in disbelief. The fallen man’s belt was also made of fox leather.
The assistant added in a crawling voice,
“That’s, wolf skin…”
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
The Treang siblings sighed.
The Duke of Serdiya’s ability users used the ability to transform into animals.
They enjoyed turning into wolves among many animals, and over time, the symbol of the Serdiya family became a wolf. Even the family crest contained a wolf’s face.
Anna, feeling dizzy, touched her face.
“If we cross into the Duke of Serdiya’s territory, Trapet’s life may be in danger.”
The current Duke of Serdiya was a particularly arrogant character. What was called arrogance was really a hottempered disposition.
Trapet’s stubbornness was also a problem. There was no compromise on design except for the Duke of Ludwik’s commission.
It was obvious that the Duke of Serdiya would not leave her alone.
“…So it has nothing to do with the young lady?”
Zed mumbled. The Treang siblings exchanged glances.
The Duke of Serdiya’s domain, which had taken Trapet, could be reached by crossing the forest of monsters from the Duke of Ludwik’s domain.
By distance, it was about a tenday journey, but no one could endure ten nights in the forest of monsters.
“So we’ll go around the forest. It will take at least a day to get out of the Duke of Ludwik’s domain.”
At Anna’s words, Zed nodded.
Trapet would report to the lord and then be chased.
First, when it was decided to return to the Duke’s residence for Miss’s safety.
“And the guests…….”
The assistant pointed to one spot. Zed blinked his eyes in the direction of the finger.
“Me?”
“No, no.”
What the assistant was pointing at was behind Zed.
“The lady who came with you has disappeared.”
“What?!”
“Lady!”
The Treang siblings simultaneously looked behind Zed.
There was only an empty sofa.
(This is a time separator.)
Riche, who had left the dressing room, was running down the street.
[Contractor, can you run?]Pythons came chirping up on Riche’s shoulder to speak.
A stylish ribbon was tied to his neck, transformed into a squirrel.
It was the ribbon that Trapep had attached earlier when choosing Riche’s clothes.
‘Yeah. But I should have spoken up before I left, shouldn’t I?’
[They wouldn’t have let you go if you had.]Earlier, Riche had slipped away from the Treang siblings at Pythons’ urging.
[Contractor! Get out quickly! I feel the energy of the stars!]He didn’t want to, but Pythons was too urgent.
He said he felt the energy of one of the great stars.
‘You said the other five great stars are asleep.’
[Yes. Oh, turn right there.]As a fork in the road appeared, Pythons directed the way.
Riche ran there, speaking to Pythons.
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.”
