Lian, who had a regretful expression, nodded and approached me, grabbing my waist. I felt his scent for a moment. Strangely, it was a bewitching fragrance that gave a dizzying feeling. My heart throbbed like crazy.
“Ah, I should finish what I was saying earlier. Elventro Viscount is a family related to the Duke’s wife. It’s not well-known, so there’s no information. Elventro Viscount, who had no children, was supposed to disappear in this generation.”
“No children?”
“He had a son, but he met his fate in a carriage accident at a young age. After that, his wife suffered and eventually passed away, and Elventro Viscount, without remarrying, lives missing his child and wife.”
“Oh…”
“It’s not a great family, so there’s no one to inherit. There’s no money in the family. Isn’t it strange?”
I nodded.
“To have written so many letters of recommendation from such a family is not understandable. It’s probably like a letter of guarantee for those who worked for that family…”
“Right. Strangely, it wasn’t Elventro Viscount who wrote the letters. It was a butler who worked for that family.”
“Is that so?”
“And that butler is currently missing. I’ve already gathered information about him, but I need to hear directly.”
“Where is he from?”
“It’s as Bella expected. He was from Evan Duke’s place. He became a butler for that family when Evan and the Duke’s wife were engaged. I’ll tell you as soon as I find him.”
I nodded silently. Then, with the documents Tethel brought, I looked at the coffee table for a long time.
During that time, somewhat embarrassed, Tethel spoke about what I had done to the Duke right next to me, as if telling a heroic tale.
So, I couldn’t lift my head because of the embarrassment. At that time, I was angry and just said it… listening to it again was painful.
“I acted like a duchess.”
“…It’s embarrassing… don’t say it.”
“Is there anything to be embarrassed about? But… the Duke is quite arrogant.”
“He’s reached that level of extremity. He’s showing that the situation is not in his favor.”
“Umm…”
“So, I thought… even if he’s the emperor, where is the place he can’t investigate freely?”
I raised my head with a twisted expression and looked at him.
“I don’t know?”
“Isn’t it the Duke’s place?”
Lian nodded in agreement with my words. It was something that could be immediately thought of with a little consideration.
No matter how much of an emperor he is, investigating noble families at will is not an easy task. However, if the starting point is a duke’s house, the resistance is likely to be even stronger.
Lian’s older brother was killed by nobles. Currently, the power of the nobility is strong. Therefore, it won’t be easy for a duke’s house to hide criminals.
“Lian, I have a good idea to investigate that place.”
“A good idea?”
“Yes. Wait for me. It may take some time… Let’s investigate that place. Eventually, everything starts and ends in one place.”
“Hmm…”
Lian, still with an expression that he couldn’t understand, nodded.
“If you say so. It must be so.”
“In the end, he has caused significant harm to the imperial law. They have been monitoring Crown Prince Ruedello and handling things on their own… We can’t let it go.”
“Bella, I’ve decided to become stronger for you. So, you can do anything.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled at him.
Until now, I felt like I was just determined without anything going well. But now, I felt that the flow had finally changed.
Of course, the flow between Lian and me was still stagnant. He tried to hold my hand and get entangled with me, but the children usually, and now Tethel, prevented it.
In the end, he had to be satisfied with holding hands like a child, and he made a bitter expression.
That afternoon.
Today, there were frequent guests at the Star Palace.
Lian had left, and the children were taking a nap under the warm sunlight. Someone confidently entered the Star Palace.
As Ken tried to stop him, he came to me without hesitation.
He was with the Emperor.
She had come to the Star Palace on her own.
“Who enters the Star Palace so freely? This is not a place where ‘anyone’ can enter.”
“Anyone?!”
“Yes, anyone. Because this is a place where the ‘Crown Prince’ and ‘Empress’ are?”
I looked at the children and then stood up from my seat.
With her face turning completely red, she glared at Ruedello. At this rate, she was in a posture to wake the children, so I slowly stood up from my seat.
“I’ll make sure to send you out. Empress Mama.”
“Yes.”
However, as soon as Ken touched her, she shivered and made a disgusted face.
“Why are you touching me on such a sacred occasion?”
“…What?”
“I gave birth to the Emperor’s child! And you dare to touch me like this.”
Ken looked at me and her alternately with a blank expression.
“First, let’s go over there and talk. The children might wake up.”
I had no intention of treating her well, but since I didn’t want the children to wake up, I headed towards the tea table. Fortunately, she silently followed me up to the tea table when Ken touched her.
“Please bring some tea.”
“There’s no need for that. I’m not broad-minded enough to serve tea to uninvited guests.”
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.”
