I had no memory of the name ‘Nathan’ even from the original work.
Could this man really be a Swordmaster?
I squinted my eyes and observed the man closely. The man, retracting his neck, stammered.
“So, I am… just a passerby, and I came to tell you that you shouldn’t be dozing off here, I mean, that’s why I came.”
Wait, what did he just say?
‘You shouldn’t be dozing off here…’
Someone else must have told him to relay that message, meaning there was another person besides him.
“Well, it seems you’re awake, so I’ll be leaving now. Take care.”
“Wait a minute!”
“Yes?”
The man, who had stopped in his tracks, looked back at me. His sagged eyebrows suggested that he wanted to leave this situation as quickly as possible.
“Did you happen to clear the monsters before our subjugation team could?”
“I, subdue such monstrous beings?”
He shuddered as if even the thought terrified him.
Judging by his reaction, he was not the one who cleared the monsters.
“So it’s not you?”
“I’m neither capable nor the kind to do such a thing secretly. If it were me, I’d have proudly displayed my skills in front of everyone.”
There was a sharpness in his words. As if he wanted me to understand something, a nuance perhaps.
A man hiding and clearing monsters.
Did this Nathan send him to wake me up?
Then, as I suspected…
My train of thought stumbled. My mouth had gone dry.
“So how did you end up here?”
“Uh, I was curious about the Red Spring. I’ll just look at it and go.”
Did he think I’d believe that?
If he had come this far to see the Red Spring and hadn’t cleared the monsters, he’d be a corpse by now.
Or was he intentionally giving me a clue with his absurd story?
“You’re not alone, are you?”
Nathan’s eyes widened in surprise. He seemed to forget to respond and just blinked.
“Do you know someone named Klein?”
“Um, I don’t really know. Take care.”
He can’t lie, can he? His face gave him away.
Nathan hurriedly ran off as if fearing I would grab him. I wanted to chase after him, but my legs wouldn’t move as if they were glued to the ground.
Was I scared of confronting Ian, now cursed?
I sighed lightly and stared in the direction where Nathan had disappeared. He had hidden himself so swiftly.
Should I chase him now? I murmured and shook my head.
I had already wasted enough time pretending to sleep under this tree. Guards might check the tent, so I couldn’t be absent for too long.
Not today, then.
Just as I tried to calm myself, a humming sound of the wind reached my ears.
The strong wind that swept past the large tree soon engulfed me. As I pushed back my disheveled hair, another sigh escaped my lips.
“… It really was you.”
Ian was here.
He had been here all along.
With a heavy heart, I turned my steps towards where the subjugation camp was.
“Lady?”
Daisy snapped back to reality at Edwin’s call.
“Yes?”
“You should focus. Even a wooden sword could hurt your foot if you drop it.”
Daisy glanced at the wooden sword she held. Compared to Edwin’s, hers was much smaller and thinner.
“How much could this little wooden sword hurt me? Rosebelia Winters is fighting with something much heavier…”
“Your concern always seems to be on Rose.”
“Well, I’m worried. Is Rosebelia Winters alright?”
Whenever Daisy visited the duke’s residence, she would express her concerns about Rosebelia. Edwin, now fairly accustomed to it, would reply with a slight smile.
“Of course, Rose is very strong. She’s skilled in subjugation as well.”
“Of course she is! She is Rosebelia, after all.”
Though she would occasionally act unpredictably, chilling the viewer’s spine, she had always been a reliable colleague and someone to rely on.
“This is something I only tell you, but Rose is actually stronger than me.”
“Mm, I thought so. You couldn’t go on the monster subjugation, but our Rosebelia did.”
“I was selected for the list as well. I just couldn’t go because I sprained my ankle.”
Upon Edwin’s bristling response, Daisy, who burst into laughter, discreetly covered her mouth.
“You were hurt? But is it okay for you to help me with my training?”
Meeting her round eyes, the corners of Edwin’s mouth softened. Honestly, it wasn’t much of a training at all.
They were merely repeating the movement of lifting a wooden sword up and down with both hands.
“Yes. Your happiness is my happiness.”
Looking up at the grinning Edwin, Daisy’s cheeks flushed.
‘How can he say such things without changing his expression?’
“Why is my happiness your happiness?”
“Well, it’s…”
As Edwin trailed off, Daisy protruded her lips.
“Never mind, just tell me more about Rosebelia. She’s quite popular within the knight order, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Many people within the order admire Rose for her skill.”
“I mean, not just for that. She’s also extremely beautiful.”
“Rose is beautiful, but in my eyes, Lady Daisy is even more so.”
Confusion spread across the face of Daisy, who appeared surprised and clenched her fingertips.
“Edwin, be honest.”
“Speak.”
Walking up to Edwin, Daisy stared up at him with squinted eyes.
“A womanizer, aren’t you?”
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.”
