Anna was startled at Agnes’s tangled hair.
How much effort did it take to style it!
It was then that Anna grabbed Jed’s wrist.
“Ahem.”
From behind Jed, the butler who had been quiet cleared his throat to make his presence known.
The butler, in his late 40s, spoke to young Agnes with a courteous attitude.
“I am the butler of Lordwick House. The lord said that you do not have a name to be called by.”
“Ah……. ”
Agnes nodded her head.
Her only name, ‘Agnes,’ was given by Gerwer Duke.
At her uncle’s house, they had called her ‘child,’ ‘you,’ ‘parasite,’ and the like.
“I don’t have……. a name.”
So, on the way to the Lordwick’s estate, Agnes had told Duke Blake in the carriage. Because the ‘current’ her had no name.
The butler looked at Agnes, who was about the size of his granddaughter, with a gentle smile.
“If you wish, the lord will give you a name.”
Agnes looked at the butler with curious eyes and then nodded her head.
She didn’t know why he was saying ‘if you wish,’ giving her a choice.
If the master gives a name, she would take it.
“Yes. A slave is owned by the master[Dash].”
“You thought well! It’s good to have a new name to start a new life!”
Jed, who had been listening from the side, again cut off Agnes’s words and joined the conversation.
Then, he rambled on, like he was talking to himself.
“Most of the guys in the Lordwick Duke’s house have been given a name by the duke. Why? Because they wanted to forget their past.”
“……. ”
“A new name is……. Yes, the expectation of abandoning one’s past self and living a new life.”
“A new life……?”
Agnes unconsciously muttered as she listened to Jed’s words.
Jed took a sneaky look at Agnes.
There was a subtle change in the child’s eyes. Her silver eyes sparkled.
“How about it, are you looking forward to it?”
The child the duke picked up.
A child who was abused by her family, didn’t receive basic care, and was nearly sold as a slave by that family.
The children who had come to play with the young master had places to return, but this child had nowhere to go, so she would stay here.
Jed sat down to match Agnes’s eye level and looked into her eyes, assuring her.
“I guarantee it. As long as you stay in this mansion, from today on, your life will change.”
(This is a time delimiter.)
“She said she’d accept the name?”
“Yes. She answered right away. It seems because of that slave thing you mentioned.”
In the lord’s study.
Sitting at his desk, Blake was in conversation with Jed standing in front.
He was displeased with the word slave coming from Jed’s mouth.
“When did I say I would take that child as a slave?”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Neither do I.”
On the desk were papers with a few ownerless names written on them.
From the moment he realized that the child had no name, these were the candidates that floated in Blake’s mind.
“Please give her a beautiful name. She’s a lovely child after you cleaned her up.”
At those words, Blake snickered.
He had roughly guessed without Jed saying it. Her appearance over her hair was not ordinary.
“So, what’s the report?”
“It’s horrendous.”
Jed shrugged his shoulders.
The child’s growth process he investigated today was more horrifying than he guessed.
The child’s mother gave birth to the child alone on the street after being abandoned by the child’s father.
Having no place to go, she came to find Jed’s Orabi’s house with the child covered in filth and blood.
“The mother was halfmad at the time, treating the child like a monster. So, Tamber took care of the child’s upbringing, ah, Tamber is the child’s greatuncle. A human scum who tried to sell the child during the day.”
“I see. Keep talking.”
“Do you think such a person raised the child properly? He ran a tavern with his sister, the child’s mother, fed the child just enough not to die and neglected her. Then made her work after she turned one.”
“One? That’s not an age to work.”
Blake doubted what he heard, but it was true.
“He rented the child out to beggars for money. If there’s a child while begging, it can evoke sympathy. From when she could talk, he made her do housework too. Ah, they haven’t raised chickens around the house for several years.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jed snapped his nails. It felt as if disgust was crawling up his arm like when he first heard the story from a neighbor.
“The sound of Tamber beating the child from dawn served as the neighbors’ alarm clock. The beating stopped the day after the child’s mother died two days ago, probably because he wanted to sell her. If he started seeing her as merchandise, he would have wanted to avoid more scratches.”
Even while reporting, Jed couldn’t hold back his curses.
Since there was no order to kill, he couldn’t cut off her breath, but he should have made her bedridden for life.
While Jed was gritting his teeth, Blake stared at the paper and was lost in thought.
‘Is pessimistic thinking created by a cruel growing background? Besides, they say she lived the life of the lowest class, not even receiving family education.’
However, the level of the child he talked to in the carriage today was higher than that.
‘Setting that aside, something bothers me.’
The dubious part was not only that.
He felt it the moment he saw the child. Always coming with the breath, there was a slight change in the energy that pressed down on his lungs.
But what it was, he didn’t know. Like a dream just awakened, the flickering feeling gradually faded as time went by. Now, even if he felt it again, he couldn’t be sure it would be the same as then.
“How can humans who are family do that? Since she grew up without knowing love, they speak nonsense about the child being a slave or something.”
In the end, Jed, who couldn’t hold back his anger, spat out his words.
Blake chewed on one part of it.
‘A child who doesn’t know love.’
There’s one more such child in the mansion.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
