But we were destined to end in tragedy if we continued.
“I’m originally a selfish person who hates people without reason. Do you really want to hear the reason? You probably don’t want me to force it out.”
I spoke as dismissively as possible.
I couldn’t apologize now, and it would be better if he hated me.
“No. There must be a reason for you. You know me well. Because you obstructed my contractual marriage from behind. Honestly, this time, I wanted to see that Hertian guy kneel before me.”
For once, Serdice dropped his pretentious mask and admitted to what he had done.
“If you don’t keep talking, I can only continue to uncover the secrets you’re hiding from behind.”
“Is it a threat?”
Of course, the method was entirely wrong.
“If you don’t want to keep getting involved with me, explain the reason properly. The reason why you hate me.”
Serdice asked again with a broken voice.
His flickering red eyes demanded my answer.
“Will you disappear forever if I answer?”
“If it satisfies me.”
It was impossible to satisfy him.
Who would believe that I would be sold to the border and die if I met Serdice?
But rather than continuing to make his face blush like this, I needed to tell him one thing for sure.
“If I meet the Crown Prince, I will die.”
I said the conclusion with a more serious face than usual.
“Annette. Do you mean for me to kill you?”
Serdice was stunned.
“Why would I want to kill you? Even if we had a bad breakup as lovers, I’m not such a bad guy to kill my ex.”
“Of course, I won’t kill you directly. But because I met Your Grace, I would have died alone and lonely in the border.”
“What a ridiculous…”
Such a reaction was expected.
Probably, no one would understand or believe such frustrating and incomprehensible content.
“Do you know that I have precognition?”
His twisted eyes flashed.
“…I know.”
“I only saw my future the moment I shared a carriage with Your Grace. My miserable death. Waiting for the day I fall off the cliff, twisted and withering away.”
The image of myself in the mirror in the townhouse suddenly came to mind.
The words shouting to someone to run away with only a face of leather were still vivid.
‘Maybe it was a warning to run away from Serdice.’
Even though we were already far apart, why did I throw a warning? But looking at today’s events, it seems like a premonition.
I closed my eyes and opened them again.
“To survive, I had no choice.”
“That… Is it true that you saw me?”
I nodded, bowing my head.
“Now, has all the reasons been explained?”
“Then… What about the marriage? Was that intentional?”
As I tried to stand up from my seat and step forward, he roughly grabbed the hem of my dress.
“If what you said is true, then the marriage was forced because you were avoiding me, right?”
“Don’t involve the Duke in my marriage to the Crown Prince. And if you have something to say to me, don’t blame me for no reason in front of others.”
For me, this was the best option.
“Now, it seems there’s nothing more to say to Your Highness.”
I gestured for him to let go of the tightly gripped dress.
“Annette.”
But it seemed he still had a lot to say. He stood up and grabbed my wrist.
“Let’s go to the Crown Prince’s residence and finish talking there.”
“No. The Duke will be here soon.”
“I’ll talk to him. Please, let’s have a proper conversation.”
But conveniently, the door opened, and Hertian walked in.
His gaze lingered on Serdice’s hand holding mine.
“When will you stop that habit of yours?”
Serdice seemed to anticipate Hertian’s threatening gaze, and his hand withdrew.
“Let go of this.”
After forcibly removing Serdice’s hand, I approached Hertian.
Passing the range of Serdice’s paralysis ability, my body quickly became heavy.
Humans adapt faster to comfort, it seems. The brief freedom I tasted during that time had a significant effect on me. It hurt as if my already bad body was falling apart.
“I’ll go now.”
“You seem quite unwell. Are you okay?”
He carefully held my wrist. Seeing the red marks on my weak skin, he subtly pulled his arm away.
“You’re still freely demanding things as if they’re yours. Fine.”
Hertian’s arrow was once again aimed at Serdice.
“We’re in the middle of a conversation, so step out for a moment.”
“The lady has nothing to say.”
“I have something to say, so don’t bicker unnecessarily and step out for a moment.”
In contrast, Serdice seemed a bit calmer. He looked tired from the conversation we had earlier.
“There’s nothing to see. Go outside since the lady has something to say.”
“An order? You have something to discuss with the Duchess, so go out.”
“An order?”
“Arrogant. Isn’t it because you’re not afraid after getting married? Should I gather all the knights in the Crown Prince’s residence and let them know that you’re lower in rank than me?”
“Instead of arrogantly thinking that you’ll win because you’ve rolled around in the battlefield, fight with strength against a knight deliberately losing to you.”
When Hertian growled low, Serdice snorted back.
“Do you think you’ll win just because you’ve rolled around on the battlefield?”
“At least I think I have skills, unlike someone who arrogantly thinks they can win against a knight who deliberately loses to them while fawning over them at the Crown Prince’s residence.”
Their voices towards each other grew louder.
“Enough… Why are you being so childish?”
I squeezed between them, extending my arms.
Even usually patient Hertian couldn’t seem to calm down today. He couldn’t suppress his excitement.
I looked at Hertian, speaking as if pleading.
“Let’s stop now and leave.”
But it seemed there was no room for me to intervene between the two.
“Challenge to a duel.”
Suddenly, the situation escalated.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
Link to read
