“Shall we move to another seat?”
It was regrettable to give up the spot with a full view of the ocean, but the atmosphere of the store was to her liking.
No, perhaps it was not wanting to rise, maybe it was because of the man seated across from her. She didn’t know whether she enjoyed this time talking and facing him.
At her reply, the manager looked even more perplexed. After hesitating for a moment, he quietly but firmly added,
“The owner wants this cafe to be an elegant resting place for gentlemen and ladies. I’m terribly sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you could leave now.”
“Ah.”
An embarrassing sigh burst from Marianne’s lips.
Elegant resting place.
She couldn’t misunderstand the meaning of those words. Marianne slowly lowered her reddened eyes. Her deep red dress came into view.
It was the best dress in her wardrobe. But here, it was the shabbiest.
Suddenly, Marianne’s face turned pale. It was a shame she hadn’t felt in a long time. Glancing around, she saw the refined appearances of the welldressed gentlemen and ladies.
Then she noticed the middleaged woman smirking at her over the manager’s shoulder. Dressed in an incredibly expensive dress and covering her mouth with a flashy fan.
Her excessively twisted hair seemed as if it would touch the ceiling. It was a hairstyle that had been in vogue in the capital a while ago.
“I understand. I’ll leave.”
The moment Marianne hurriedly rose from her seat as if to flee,
“Owner.”
Christoph’s slow voice vibrated through the air.
Marianne stopped, stiffening her shoulders, and turned her eyes to him. Somehow, his languid voice sounded very angry.
“Who owns this cafe?”
The command was familiar in his tone. The manager looked at the lady behind him with a bewildered expression, and she came walking to the spot, raising her chin haughtily.
“The owner is Lady Gross.”
The manager introduced her. Lady Gross looked down and spat out her arrogant words.
“My store is a place for the social gatherings of the upper class. It means that not just anyone can enter casually. It’s clear that you were allowed entry due to our staff’s mistake.”
The look of scorn she gave Marianne was filled with disgust. Open contempt and disregard, without even trying to hide it.
It was a look quite familiar to Marianne. It was the look that had followed her around like the air when she had just become Mrs. Schneider.
Ha, a snicker erupted from Christoph.
“Christoph.”
Marianne called him in a bewildered voice. However, instead of responding, he slowly rose from his seat.
Lady Gross’s eyes followed him upward, and she finally looked up at Christoph in his entirety.
She stopped without realizing it at the intimidation he emitted. Her eyes, quickly sizing up Christoph’s attire, were highly calculating.
Christoph, faintly smiling at the corners of his lips, turned to Marianne and spoke gracefully.
“Marianne, as you said, we must show our faces at parties no matter how busy we are from now on. Lady Gross’s rudeness must have stemmed from ignorance.”
“Ignorance?”
Lady Gross’s voice sharpened instantly. The unexpected commotion attracted the curious gazes of the people, one by one, and murmurs were heard.
Lady Gross, aware of the attention, narrowed her eyes even more sharply. She quickly looked Christoph up and down.
The suit he wore was clearly made of the highest quality fabric. But no matter how much she looked, his face was unfamiliar. That meant he was, at best, a wealthy merchant.
A lucky commoner who had become rich.
Even though the times were changing, not yet. She was a member of the proud nobility, and the man before her was merely a skillful trader.
“Who do you think you are! It would be best for you to leave before you suffer embarrassment. If you want to do business in Blauburg, you must follow the laws of Blauburg. Do you understand what I mean?”
Mrs. Gross said coldly. She showed her authority, and Marianne sighed silently at the rapidly escalating situation.
Peek.
As she glanced anxiously, Christoph was seen faintly smiling. An ominous feeling struck her. And generally, an ominous feeling is.
“Marianne.”
“……Speak.”
“You, have you ever heard the name Gross Baron?”
Marianne quietly searched her mind. When she did not respond, Christoph tugged at the corner of his mouth as if to say he understood.
“That you don’t know means that it’s a shameful family, so shameful that you wouldn’t even be invited to a grandparent’s birthday. But it’s understandable when you see a baron like this throwing away his pride to do this kind of water business. There’s no territory of his own, so no income, and he’s busy making ends meet every day. So he invested all his savings and barely set up a cafe like this. Am I wrong?”
Christoph, who had paused briefly, looked down at her even more arrogantly.
Mrs. Gross trembled, her face flushed with anger, at an insult she had never experienced before.
Christoph slowly rolled his eyes, looking around the cafe. His gaze dryly scanned the faces of the customers.
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.”
