“Wouldn’t you like to get some fresh air?”
Hertian’s suggestion was to calm me down, still startled.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and obediently followed him.
It was late spring, and a warm breeze blew even at night.
The flowers blooming at night were splendid, but my eyes were still lost.
Unable to endure it any longer, I silently stopped Hertian, who was walking quietly. He looked down at me with a more stable face than before, as if I could ask him anything. His eyes blinked slightly, as if to say it was okay to ask any question.
“Is it really because of my mother…?”
Hertian nodded slightly.
Why would my mother…?
But even without hearing the answer from him, I could deduce it.
‘Hertian kissing me didn’t mean what I thought.’
It wasn’t because he was mentally disturbed.
It wasn’t the type of poison I had in mind.
“Could it be that my mother gave you that kind of medicine…?”
She had asked me when I would have a child, emphasizing the importance of having a child while still young. But to suggest that we should consummate our marriage immediately was beyond my imagination.
I felt like my face was about to burst from embarrassment.
“But it’s mostly my fault.”
He came back with an empty wine bottle that was on the bedside table.
“It wasn’t medicine; I thought it was just wine, so I drank it excessively.”
That’s what he said. Apparently, he thought it was a potent liquor, so he drank more than usual.
As a result, he felt hot, even painful.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble, Hertian. I’ll talk to my parents properly.”
“Please don’t do that.”
He returned to his usual self.
The considerate Hertian as usual.
Looking at him like that, I felt a bit frustrated. It seemed like he always accepted and understood even unreasonable situations. He might consider this incident a simple accident. Despite the fact that he had kissed me more intensely than usual.
‘He’s excessively honest.’
If he was faithful to the contract, he might think that way. He wanted to appear on good terms with my parents according to the contract, and in the process, this accident occurred.
Suddenly, Hertian’s lips seemed redder than usual.
‘I didn’t dislike it.’
The first official kiss in this life and the previous one was pleasant. Even if it wasn’t our intention.
But the appreciation had to end there.
There wouldn’t be any development between us.
I barely managed to divert my gaze from his red lips and turned my eyes to the sky. Even in the clear night sky of the capital, stars twinkled.
“Shall we go in now?”
I should continue the conversation I planned with him tomorrow.
‘But do I have to sleep with him tonight?’
If my mother went so far as to use medicine, her expectations must have been quite high.
Various thoughts cluttered my mind.
However, Hertian grabbed my wrist.
It was a careful touch different from when he took the medicine. I looked down at my arm in his firm grasp and then turned my gaze to his black pupils.
“Before going in, would you mind going with me over there?”
“What?”
It was an unexpected proposal.
“Now? To where?”
I hesitated to answer.
“It will only take a moment.”
“But, Hertian.”
“Is there a problem?”
I nodded at his question. Today, it seemed difficult to refuse his request.
He returned to me with an even deeper smile than usual, holding my hand. His warmth felt ticklish today.
‘Is Hertian really okay with this?’
I looked at my hand, which he was holding tightly, and felt a bit bittersweet.
I was thankful that he didn’t feel uncomfortable, but the situation, as if nothing happened, was awkward. However, it was strange to ask him if he had forgotten that we had kissed each other.
It was quite awkward.
He finally turned his steps toward my herbal garden within the Marquisate of Leangeberia.
As spring deepened, the weather became milder, and the medicinal herbs grew lush.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Hertian left me near the medicinal herb field and examined the herbs attentively on his own.
‘What is he doing over there?’
He was inspecting the herbs, illuminated by moonlight. I stared at him with a strange look. It was difficult to believe that he was the one who had just kissed me; he seemed solely focused on the herbs.
“I found it.”
He found the desired herbs and plucked them. Then, he finely crushed the herbs with a nearby stone. Carefully, he approached with it.
I alternated my gaze between the herbs and Hertian, wearing a puzzled expression.
“Now, let’s go back to the room.”
“Yes? Okay.”
He smoothly exited the herb field.
‘Could he really be unaffected despite ingesting a strange concoction?’
Considering that Hertian had no resistance to poison, there was a possibility that he might act strangely after consuming an odd potion in large quantities. I might need to find out what kind of potion my mother gave him before going to bed.
After entering the mansion, I stopped in front of the stairs and greeted him.
“Since today has been eventful, please rest comfortably alone. I’ll retire to my room.”
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.”
