“Yeah, of course, I know. Keep telling me.”
I pretended to trust him like steel.
“Maybe you should tell the Grand Duke to lose.”
“But if the Grand Duke loses, it’s like admitting my humiliation.”
“People will forget it quickly anyway.”
It seemed that what he said was merely telling Hertian to lose the duel for my sake.
It was indeed fake.
“No.”
I decided to use Michael as much as he pretended to be Cassian.
“Michael, please. I can’t give up the duel with the Grand Duke or intentionally lose. It’s also betraying the people of the territory. So.”
And I grabbed him as if clinging.
“Help me, please, Michael. You said yourself that you became the Prince’s assistant because of me.”
“Annette.”
“Then what you were curious about. I’ll tell you everything.”
“What was I curious about?”
At first, curiosity flashed in Michael’s eyes.
“Remember last time? Why I keep living with Hertian. I’ll tell you everything I haven’t told you.”
Michael remained silent for a moment.
The sound of him pondering seemed audible even from here.
And finally, as if he had organized his thoughts, he nodded firmly.
“I understand. I’ll help you.”
So it was confirmed.
Cassian had never been curious about my secret. He wanted to protect me.
But Michael, even in this situation, was willing to endure the risks to help me.
‘Because he wants to know my secret.’
The benefits that can be gained from this secret must be significant.
It’s so clearly exposed.
And those eyes.
Looking at the eyes devoid of any affection, I wondered why I had mistaken him for Cassian.
Not realizing this until now felt foolish.
“Michael, persuade the Prince for me. Whether you use my excuse or reveal that you’re my friend, please tell the Prince to give up the duel. That’s my request.”
“I don’t know if it’s possible.”
No.
This is a possible deal.
Serdis will want to see me now.
Because she doesn’t understand that I might die because of her.
It wasn’t difficult to deduce why Serdis used the fake Cassian.
‘Creating discord with Hertian. The reason for the contractual marriage.’
And after today’s events, he would surely be curious about the hidden circumstances.
“But please tell him anyway.”
I pleaded like a helpless woman who knows nothing.
“I’m begging you, Michael.”
I left the Marquis’s residence.
Unconsciously, thick gray clouds began to float in the blackening sky, about to release raindrops.
The cold rain moistened my face, making it feel damp.
The dress, soaked and heavy, pressed down on my body.
Yet, the refreshing streams of cool water on my skin awakened my mind.
“Now I can breathe.”
It felt like I was falling apart once I was away from Michael.
Deceiving others is not my inclination, but this was something Michael had chosen.
‘Sorry, but I’m not a good person.’
After a short life, and after opening my eyes again here.
I didn’t spend each day lightly.
Because I liked the life with my family here.
Disrupting my routine was what I hated the most.
Enough to enter into a contract marriage to avoid Serdis.
“It’s been a long time here too.”
I stopped walking at the familiar scenery.
An alley in the capital.
The sounds of mercenaries chatting enthusiastically could be heard, and the fresh smell of alcohol pierced my nose.
Today, the damp scent was intensified by the rain.
‘I met Hertian here.’
I stood here now in a different state than back then.
Not as a meek woman covered in tear-streaked bruises, but confidently embracing the rain.
“Do I look cool?”
Thinking back to the incident at the Marquis’s, laughter escaped me.
More surprising than the fact that Michael deceived me was the fact that I deceived Michael.
“Don’t underestimate people.”
Once I figure out who’s behind Michael, I plan to give them a good blow.
I’ll have to keep up the act until then.
I even took off the uncomfortable shoes.
And gripping the heavy hem of the dress, I took a lively step forward.
It was when my exposed foot was about to take the first step.
“Madam. What are you doing alone?”
In front of me stood Hertian, who had become even more disheveled than me, with a tormented expression.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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