The Duke cast a leisurely glance out of the window. Suddenly, the landscape outside had changed. Instead of the vast fields, the deep blue sea was swaying. It seemed the train had entered his territory.
It’s going to be hard, I suppose.
Repeating Marianne’s resolute image in his mind, the Duke exhaled a sighlike mutter and furrowed his brow.
Despair was also a gateway that Schneider’s heir must pass through. It was better to break in advance than to crumble at a critical moment.
“But.”
Don’t make it too hard for her, Marianne. Even so, I pity my indifferent grandson.
Duke Schneider leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He seemed truly old now.
(This is a time separator.)
Marianne rubbed her stiff eyes. Having looked at a pile of documents all day, her neck was sore, and her shoulders hurt. She felt as if she had taken a job as an administrative assistant, not a police officer.
“It’s just because it’s the first day. You’ll get used to it soon. Rest well when you get home. Stamina is important in this job.”
The red sunset tinged Marianne and Jan’s cheeks with an orange hue.
Although it was quitting time, only Marianne and Jan left the police station on time. It seemed to speak volumes about their standing, and she pursed her lips in bitterness.
There was a considerable gap between ideals and reality. Once she got into the police station, she thought she could prove her ability. She was confident that she could shut the mouths of people who grumbled with her outstanding skills.
But reality was not so easy. She had only sorted documents all day. Her existence seemed as cumbersome as the paperwork piled on her desk.
“Did you patrol well while I sorted through that mountain of documents, Senior Jan?”
“The jewel thief who broke into the shop has undoubtedly escaped to another city. What fool would stay in the city where he stole, right?”
His teasing voice was not very irritating. It seemed almost funny, like watching a conceited child.
“Do you think so? If he hasn’t been caught by the police yet, he must be very confident. He might still be lurking around here, mocking the police.”
“That’s just because you don’t know, Marianne. That’s why kids are helpless.”
Kid.
She felt like she had heard that word very recently. Where did she hear it? Pondering, Marianne unconsciously nodded her head.
It reminded her of when Max called Jan “kid.” It seemed that she would be next in line to inherit the title of kid.
Jan shrugged his shoulders lightly and said with arrogance.
“If catching criminals were that easy, I would have already been a lieutenant.”
“That’s true…… Huh?”
Marianne, who had been nodding absentmindedly, suddenly closed her mouth. Her diligently moving feet also stopped. Jan, who had been about to spin a tall tale about the hardship of a policeman, looked at her with puzzled eyes.
“What’s the matter, kid?”
Marianne didn’t say anything. She was just staring intently at someone.
It was a chubby man. The man, dressed in an obviously expensive suit, was coming out of a restaurant with a slender woman, arm in arm.
“Do you know him, kid?”
Jan tilted his head and asked. At that question, Marianne wondered, ‘Do I know that person?’ Clearly, she didn’t. But she felt a strange sense of familiarity.
“……No.”
“What are you doing, hurry up. Do you think days when you can leave work on time are common? As your senior, my advice is to rest as much as possible on these days. Got it, kid?”
That damn kid.
Glaring at Jan with wide eyes, Marianne bowed her head obediently the next moment. She had enough enemies already; there was no need to make more.
“Yes, Senior Jan.”
“……Senior Jan.”
Once again, Jan, who had been savoring the resonance of that word with a dazed look, stepped forward. Marianne followed him, nodding her head submissively, when suddenly,
“Ah!”
She widened her eyes. Into Marianne’s view came a man’s ear folded in half. A mole below the left eyebrow was also visible.
At the same time, the criminal’s montage clearly came to mind. The floating montage and the man in front of her slowly merged, and eventually became one image.
A perfectly matching image.
“!”
“What’s wrong? What happened, Marianne? Did you step on something? You should walk by the side like me. That’s why young girls can’t help it.”
“That’s not it……!”
Marianne pointed at the man. Then she looked back at Yan with wideopen eyes. Yan was staring at her with an inexplicable expression.
Hesitation.
Why doesn’t he know? Her lips, impatiently twitching with frustration, opened, and the shout that had been waiting finally burst out.
“It’s the jewel thief!”
“What? Where? Where?”
Yan quickly scanned the surroundings with tense eyes. Marianne moved her finger following the man heading to the carriage platform.
“Over there, the man coming out of the restaurant with the woman in the blue dress.”
“So where…… Ah.”
Yan, who had been filled with eagerness, quickly slumped his shoulders with a deflated expression. A sighlike sound flowed from his mouth.
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.”
