Gifts continued after that. And when they subsided a bit, the children in the corner slowly approached. Due to the rush of people, I couldn’t pretend to know them; it was Maken and Haven.
“In fact, we wanted to give it first.”
After Maken and Haven appeared, Shasha quickly approached the children.
“Huh?”
Ridel, who had been close to me, raised his head with a puzzled expression.
“It’s not like we have a lot of money or anything… but… still… Merkin stole… No, rescued jewels from the devil, so we put our power into this.”
“We’ll protect the Crown Prince.”
“Even when we’re not here. We’ve also added sacred power.”
Ridel looked at the box the children offered. The open box contained a small necklace with a golden hue. Inside it, various powers were intricately intertwined.
“Pigs, no, Ridel, you think of yourself as weak. It’s not weakness. Everyone has different powers. Just like all of us. So don’t be too sad and carry this with you. We’ll protect you even when we’re not around.”
A gift that gave Ridel greater comfort than any other. Perhaps that’s why Ridel’s shoulders trembled slightly as he received the box.
Shasha, who knew the emotions of others better than anyone by now, smiled brightly and took out the necklace, hanging it around Ridel’s neck.
“Big sister will protect you, but still, make sure to wear this. Got it?”
“Yeah!”
Nobles crowded around the children near Ridel, giving subtle cues to their own children.
Befriend the Crown Prince quickly. Make friends with the children who will shape the future of the empire, as if they were in the children’s good graces.
Some children mustered up the courage and approached, but there was no room for others to interfere in the bond formed among the four children.
Even some nobles who attended this event sneaked around, seeming to want to do something in the children’s absence.
In fact, it seemed they wanted to see Ridel helpless against Duke Evan.
To show that they were strong, to gather again, led by Duke Evan. However, that didn’t happen at all.
So, they seemed to resort to the next plan.
Nobles began to gather in corners. Then, the atmosphere changed abruptly.
Everything seemed to be flowing smoothly. When the party ended, Ridel’s position would be unassailable by anyone. However, there was still an obstacle.
“Ridel.”
Where on earth did she appear from? There was no corner she could have emerged from, yet Beatrice suddenly appeared.
I involuntarily stiffened my expression. I pulled Ridel towards me without thinking. As if everyone knew she would come, the nobles, led by Duke Evan, created a path for her.
I was unexpectedly glad to see Beatrice today. I even had the desire to explode with joy, having worried about what to do if she didn’t come.
Of course, seeing her gradually approaching us, Rian’s expression stiffened, and Ridel hid behind my skirt. In contrast, Beatrice confidently approached, her head held high in her white dress, making her look like the protagonist of this gathering.
“Son, I am your mother.”
She, who seemed unaware that Ridel had regained all his memories, spoke affectionately yet firmly to the child.
Even though she wouldn’t have appeared like this originally, Beatrice was not the least bit flustered. As if she were the protagonist, as if she were accustomed to such situations, she walked forward.
When Ridel avoided her, Beatrice reached out her hand towards the child. However, Ridel just shook his head.
“Don’t we need to greet Mom?”
“…To me, the only queen is Empress Mama.”
“Ridel, go play with the kids.”
“Yes, Mom.”
As if wanting to draw a line between herself and Beatrice, the child quickly ran to Shasha.
Approaching as if frightened by Ridel, Shasha glared in our direction with an angry expression. Even without explicitly stating it, an ominous energy emanated from Shasha’s body.
It was as if she wouldn’t stay quiet for a moment.
Sensing that power immediately, Beatrice, instead of going to Ridel, glared at me.
“You’ve done quite a lot with my son. Seeing me, you act like this.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Has my son ever acted like that without reason?”
She raised her head in disbelief.
“What, you only see what you want to see. Why would I use magic to bewitch a child? To manipulate the child as I please?”
As if understanding what I was saying, Beatrice wrinkled her pretty face.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Luckily for you. I was worried you’d act like you know everything foolishly.”
Smiling slyly, I looked at her. Beatrice, who had been grumbling with annoyance, shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway, Empress Mama, I wonder how long you can mock that impressive mouth of yours… I’m really curious.”
“My mouth? It’s light enough to float in water. I plan to mock until I die. Beatrice, my dear.”
“…Anyway, I will rise to the highest position.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, it’s like a declaration of war. Actually, it’s just talk. It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re the empress or not. Shouldn’t I dominate as the mother of my son?”
Only then could I understand why she hadn’t apologized to Rian.
“Ah. Will the emperor choose Ridel without choosing anyone else?”
“Can’t trust a man’s love, right? Especially a weak human… even more so.”
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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