I Became the Regretful Male Lead's Sister (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
Slightly disheveled black hair framed two eyes, red to an ominous degree, which indifferently swept over Anais.
Intimidated by that piercing gaze—so sharp it seemed to read her very soul—Anais shrank back.
“Oh. Brother, Mother will be out shortly. She’s just not quite ready yet.”
There was no reply.
Anais lifted her eyes just slightly to glance at Nathaniel.
Could he possibly be angry?
In an instant, his face suddenly loomed close.
Startled, Anais tried to step backward, but her jaw was seized, leaving her unable to move.
“So someone hit you, I see.”
“Uh, ah… that’s… I just tripped.”
Afraid of being found out and scolded again, Anais told a half-truth.
“I see.”
“Yes, yes. I’m just a bit clumsy.”
“Understood.”
Fortunately, Nathaniel seemed to accept her explanation without question.
Once he released her, Anais calmed her racing heart.
Nathaniel wordlessly passed by her.
Watching his retreating back, Anais headed toward the rear door.
The Empress felt extremely uneasy sitting beside Nathaniel at this very moment.
Nathaniel’s long, delicate fingers lifted his teacup.
He appeared as relaxed as if drinking tea alone.
Oddly enough, it was the Empress who felt anxious.
‘Why is he acting so out of character? Could he possibly know I tried to send assassins to the Winters ducal house?’
Millia watched Nathaniel carefully.
After finishing his cup of tea, he quietly spoke.
“I believe I’ll be getting married soon.”
“I’ve heard, Your Highness. Congratulations.”
Did he come here just to boast to me?
Careful not to let her expression harden, the Empress forced a gentle smile.
“You must have a request for me. After all, you’ve never once set foot in the Empress’s palace before.”
Now that things had come to this, she intended to crush Nathaniel’s pride if she could.
Whenever she saw those detached eyes, Millia always felt an odd sense of inferiority.
That unsettling feeling—as if he were looking down on her from an entirely different dimension!
Today was her chance.
“So, what brings you here?”
“It’s not really a request. I came because I worried Father might have spoken too gently.”
Millia bristled at his aloof response.
Right—since it’s just a political marriage, he doesn’t care what happens to his bride, does he?
Hiding her dark thoughts, she gave a slight smile.
“I don’t understand why you’d say such a thing. What power could I possibly have here in the palace?”
“On my way in just now, I saw Anais.”
Though his tone was indifferent, Millia immediately grasped his underlying meaning.
‘Is he threatening me right now?’
Gritting her teeth inwardly, Millia smiled sweetly.
“What about that child?”
“I merely saw her. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Nathaniel still showed no reaction whatsoever.
Strangely, it was Millia who now felt unnerved.
“So what exactly do you want? You’ll have to tell me if I’m to understand.”
“You speak as if you’ll listen when I do.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Will you listen?”
She’d been drawn in again by his strange way of speaking.
After some hesitation, the Empress finally decided to hear him out.
After all, knowing something was better than knowing nothing.
“I’ll listen—go ahead and speak.”
“I simply came to suggest we get along better from now on. I imagine this marriage must be difficult for Your Majesty to accept.”
“Is that truly all?”
It wasn’t even a particularly impressive statement.
Yet she couldn’t help wondering—was it really necessary for him to come all this way?
Due to her long years in hiding, Millia found it difficult to accept others’ intentions at face value.
But she had no rebuttal.
“Yes. I only came to say I hope we can count on your goodwill going forward.”
Having said his piece, Nathaniel rose from his seat.
In truth, he truly had no special purpose.
The Emperor had summoned him and told him to visit the Empress and have a proper talk, so he’d come without much thought.
But after seeing Anais, another idea had occurred to him.
Just as he was about to leave the room, Nathaniel turned and bowed his head.
“You should exercise some restraint, Your Majesty. I am not a man known for tolerance.”
His low voice, combined with those eerie red eyes, felt exactly like a demon’s whisper.
The Empress stepped back nervously and muttered,
“Wh-what do you mean by that?”
“It means I won’t endure an injury—even if it’s not a fatal one. Unlike some people.”
“Just what…?”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Ignoring the flustered Empress, Nathaniel gave a light nod and departed.
Only long after he’d left did the Empress regain her composure—and then she ground her teeth in fury.
“How dare he threaten me, the Empress of this entire nation?”
She had to make Henry the Crown Prince, by any means necessary.
And to do that, she absolutely had to find a weakness in that seemingly flawless man.
Wedding preparations proceeded swiftly and smoothly.
It was decided the ceremony would take place in the Grand Cathedral, operated by the Church, under the Pope’s officiation.
‘Even His Holiness must find this utterly absurd.’
Having already resigned myself to fate, I resolved to accept this chaotic situation.
There was nowhere to run, and no better option available.
Maximilian had left for his domain by his father’s command. His departure looked as pitiful as a defeated soldier.
In the past, I might have felt sorry for him—but not now.
Then, one day, a week before the wedding,
a letter arrived for Teresa.
I readily replied, agreeing to her request for a quiet meeting.
Fortunately, the letter contained no mention of Maximilian at all.
Upon arriving at the tea room—the agreed meeting place—I was shown to a private room.
The place guaranteed complete anonymity, which made me feel strangely uneasy.
Meeting Teresa alone felt almost like committing a crime.
‘Well, I suppose there’s no need to give the gossips something to chatter about.’
As soon as I sat down, my favorite tea appeared on the table.
While quietly sipping my tea, I looked up at the sound of the door opening.
Teresa looked a bit thinner, but still better than when we’d met at the wedding.
“Sister Teresa!”
“It’s been a while, Jaina.”
We gave each other a light embrace and sat down. With tea placed before her as well, the atmosphere grew even gentler.
“Have you been well?”
“I’ve been fine. How about you, Jaina? You must have been busy with wedding preparations.”
“Ha, haha. What preparations are there, really?”
I replied with an awkward laugh.
Teresa watched me quietly for a moment before speaking.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is a good man—he’ll surely treat you well, Jaina.”
He’ll treat you well only because you’re the heroine, Teresa.
Swallowing my tears, I managed a smile.
“I suppose I’ll just have to trust that.”
“I knew it from the very beginning—that you two would suit each other perfectly. I always knew it would turn out this way.”
“No, it’s just… there was nothing I could do. You know that, right?”
At my words, Teresa’s expression darkened.
I instantly regretted what I’d said.
That day, Maximilian had rushed out of the wedding venue straight to Teresa—she must have been terribly shocked as well.
“Are you doing all right, sister?”
“I’m managing. People’s stares are a bit uncomfortable, but it was the same when I was Max’s fiancée.”
Her bitter smile reminded me anew just how despicable Maximilian truly was.
A selfish, worthless man.
“The reason I asked to meet today is this.”
Teresa took out a small box and handed it to me.
At her encouraging look, I opened the box.
Inside lay a blue diamond necklace.
“What’s this?”
“This is something I prepared long ago—to give you on your wedding day.”
“Wh-why would you prepare something like this so early?!”
Until recently, I hadn’t even had a fiancé—when on earth had she prepared such a thing?
Embarrassed, I blurted out without thinking.
Teresa smiled understandingly and said gently,
“You’ve always been so kind to me. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d still be hanging onto Max, and Max would’ve grown tired of me long ago.”
“No, Sister Teresa.”
That jerk later rolled around in regret.
I held back the words I couldn’t bring myself to say.
Maximilian’s true love was Teresa—no one could deny that.
Yet Teresa had no idea. Given Maximilian’s behavior, it was understandable.
“Still, apart from breaking off the engagement with Max, I’m truly grateful to you for ending that stagnant betrothal.”
“Sister… are you really all right?”
Her faint, fragile smile filled me with sudden unease—it looked as if she might vanish at any moment.
Reassuring me with a bright smile, Teresa said,
“I’m fine.”
Then she stood and placed the necklace around my neck.
“There’s an old saying—you’ll be happy in marriage if you receive something passed down. Since you don’t have a mother, I wanted to do this for you.”
“Sister…”
The necklace was as beautiful and loving as Teresa’s heart.
“We can’t become family anymore, but as friends, it’s alright for me to do this much, right?”
For some reason, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.
What if Maximilian had regretted things just a little sooner?
If only they could have worked things out and married happily.
If only this kind, lovely Teresa could have become my family.
It hurt all the more because it was only a fantasy.
“Oh dear, don’t cry, Jaina. Why are you crying?”
“It’s just… I’m really, truly grateful.”
Tears poured out, mourning a future I could never have.
Teresa pulled me into an embrace, patting my back just like a mother would.
“You must live happily, Jaina.”
“Yes, yes. I will.”
Someone as good as you deserves even greater happiness.
I hoped Teresa would meet someone better. I’d believed her pain was inevitable—but now I wondered if I’d caused her even deeper wounds.
“You must find a truly good man, sister—not a scoundrel like my brother, but someone dependable and kind.”
Since I’d believed that man was Nathaniel, guilt gnawed at my conscience.
It felt as if I’d stolen away her bright future.
“I will. Just as you said, I’ll meet someone completely different from Max.”
“You promised me.”
“Yes, yes. So please stop crying.”
Her soothing pats brought me comfort.
It felt strange.
Almost as if I were the one being healed—though Teresa was the one truly wounded.
Crying in Teresa’s arms, I prayed with all my heart that happiness would fill her path ahead.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Hahaha, Nathaniel looks cute, he’s funny, he looks like a kid on a picnic