I Decline the Ex-Boyfriend of the Regretful Male Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
My head ached as if it were splitting open.
I’d had a nightmare. I couldn’t remember it. There was probably no need to force myself to recall such an unpleasant dream.
“That wasn’t like you, Your Grace.”
“You don’t understand, Osen.”
A familiar male voice.
Come to think of it—had Edward saved me?
I strained to open my eyes. My eyelids were sticky with dried tears, making the skin around my eyes sting.
Soon, my vision cleared enough to see two people.
“What don’t I understand?”
“…Pain.”
A sharp ringing filled my ears—ting!—quite violently.
“Aah…”
I shut my eyes again and clapped my hands over my ears.
“Young-ae!”
A man’s firm arms wrapped tightly around me. The moment his touch reached me, the ringing vanished as if washed away. I pulled my hands away and opened my eyes.
“Your Grace the Duke?”
Hertian stared at me intently, his eyes full of worry.
“Your Grace… why are you here?”
My memories slowly returned.
My parents had sent a letter to Hertian, saying our engagement should be called off, and I’d boarded a boat to go on a date with Edward.
But then… why was Hertian here?
“Was it Hertian who saved me?”
My memory was hazy.
I remembered waiting by the lake for Edward, and someone boarding the boat—
But was it Hertian, not Edward?
He nodded in response to my question.
“Didn’t Young-ae send me a letter? Anyway, are you feeling well? I’ll call a physician.”
He sat in the chair beside the bed, studying me closely. His gaze was intense, yet not as uncomfortable as Edward’s.
“No, I’ll be fine after a little rest.”
“You fainted right before my eyes—how can you say resting will fix it?”
“My body has always been weak. I suppose it was the exhaustion, plus being near water after so long.”
I explained calmly to reassure him—he seemed even more startled than I was. He knelt beside me, let out a sigh of relief, and murmured softly,
“Young-ae always disliked water.”
Something I’d never told him.
“Have I ever said that?”
Not that I could recall.
Only a very few people besides my family knew about my bad memories involving water.
“I merely deduced it. An ordinary person wouldn’t faint from mere tiredness.”
Hertian added with a faint smile.
“You must listen to Imperial speech until the very end.”
His evasive attitude seemed odd, but I pushed aside my unease and asked directly,
“Did you come here after reading the letter I sent? How did you even know I was here?”
Our agreed meeting place had been the fountain in front of the square. Even if the coachman delivered it quickly, it must have taken at least an hour for him to arrive.
“Actually, I received your letter about canceling the marriage and was heading to your estate, but learned you were here and changed direction.”
“I’m sorry. I asked for your hand first but didn’t properly secure your parents’ consent.”
Despite his words, Hertian’s actions were exceptionally gentle. He slowly helped me sit up carefully beside the hospital bed.
“Thank you.”
It was time to get to the point.
I swallowed once, straightened my posture, and called his name.
“Hertian. There’s a reason I asked to meet you today.”
“What is it?”
Hertian focused intently on me, clearly curious about my purpose.
“My father heard some strange rumors somewhere and is now opposing my marriage to Your Grace.”
I wanted to tell him everything openly—we were on the same side, after all.
“So that’s why he suddenly refused. It’s my fault. If there are rumors I’m cursed in war, the Count would naturally disapprove.”
“No. He refused because he heard Your Grace’s relationships with women are complicated.”
Hertian’s face slowly flushed with embarrassment. His subordinate standing nearby looked just as flustered.
Understandable, really.
He was a man who showed not the slightest interest in women. Clearly, nothing had changed from the original plot.
“That’s not true.”
He denied it a beat too late, his expression troubled.
“If Your Grace says it isn’t true, then it isn’t. And even if it were, I wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t mind if you took a mistress later on.”
I gave him an innocent smile to ease his worries—so he wouldn’t withdraw from our contract out of hurt feelings.
“A mistress? Nonsense. Whoever spread that rumor, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Exactly! Commander, you never hunted even a female deer in battle, let alone women!”
This time, his knight subordinate chimed in supportively.
Of course. I knew.
“I trust Hertian. But separately from me, my father and mother are under a misunderstanding. They worry so much about me—they think marrying Your Grace the Duke would be hard on me. And since they claim to have evidence, they’ll likely dismiss any explanation as mere words.”
At the word “evidence,” Hertian furrowed his brow.
“How strange. We’ve only known each other for a few days, and I proposed just yesterday—yet someone already spread false rumors in that short time.”
He was right.
Honestly, I couldn’t help but suspect Serdis.
Who else but Serdis, who obsessively watches over me, would go out of their way to stop my marriage?
“There is one person who doesn’t want me to marry.”
I was nearly certain. That only strengthened my resolve not to back down from the original plot—and my determination to make this marriage happen burned even brighter.
Hertian, on the other hand, tilted his head in confusion. Naturally—he didn’t fully understand my situation.
“It seems Young-ae has more than just one person wishing you wouldn’t marry.”
But what he said wasn’t what I expected.
“Oh. Perhaps there’s one more—Edward, that young man.”
After today’s conversation, it was clear he liked me.
Yet Hertian smiled, lifting one corner of his lips. As his red lips curled upward, a subtle sensuality filled the air.
“Young-ae, you’re underestimating yourself.”
“Not particularly.”
“Only two people? Others would feel slighted to hear that.”
He left me with an ambiguous remark.
I didn’t dwell on it. Something more important remained to be said.
“So, Hertian—leave my parents to me. Please proceed with our marriage smoothly.”
An unbreakable contract.
Meeting him today was solely to secure this promise.
“I’ll persuade my parents well.”
“How do you plan to persuade them?”
“They changed their minds after hearing strange rumors—I’ll convince Father using the same method.”
I recalled the newspaper article I’d left behind in the dining room. By now, their thoughts must have shifted in some direction.
“So please promise me just one thing: no matter what happens or what you hear, our marriage will proceed as contracted.”
Anything could still go wrong.
In my anxiety, he might change his mind. I could handle everything else—but if Hertian abandoned me, I’d have no hope left. I absolutely had to hold onto his heart.
“Are you anxious?”
Instead of answering, he asked a question—as if trying to confirm something.
“I am. I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry Hertian.”
Afraid everyone will end up unhappy, just like in the original story.
So please, give me a definite answer.
I sent him a pleading look.
But he didn’t answer easily.
‘He must find it bothersome. After all, in the original, he never saved the Duchess till the very end.’
Worried he might just leave the infirmary like this, I decided to add why I must become his partner.
“Please think of it as repaying a debt of gratitude.”
Only then did he meet my eyes properly.
“A debt of gratitude?”
“Yes. The one you owe me from the victory ceremony.”
“I was under the impression that matter was settled with His Imperial Majesty.”
A faint smile touched my lips at his reply. He must have already heard what nearly happened at the ceremony—and how I stopped it.
“So you knew everything all along. That makes things easier to discuss.”
I straightened my spine and looked him squarely in the eye.
“His Imperial Majesty must have also told you about my ability.”
The ability to occasionally glimpse the future.
Understanding my intent, he raised one eyebrow.
“If I become Your Grace’s partner, I’ll help you on my own—no need for you to grant wishes like His Imperial Majesty. At least for as long as our contract remains valid.”
How’s that? Tempting, isn’t it?
Offering an ability even the Emperor couldn’t obtain for free—limited-time, no charge. It was far more valuable than merely being a figurehead Duchess.
“I’ll become Your Grace’s greatest asset.”
Yet contrary to my expectations, Hertian gave no real reply.
‘Could it be insufficient?’
With no other choice, I forced a cough and added,
“And as you can see, I’m so frail I collapse from the slightest fatigue. Like my older brother, I could die at any moment, in any way. Don’t worry about any future complications from our contract marriage.”
If I’m dismissed for being weak, that’s fine.
“That illness… you truly don’t know when you might die?”
At last, his tightly closed lips parted. His voice was dry and brittle, like a haystack.
“Yes. Unfortunately, that’s the case.”
“Is there no cure?”
I shook my head slightly and grimaced bitterly. This wasn’t pretense—it was the truth. After Lian left, I’d secluded myself in the academy’s laboratory for years researching a cure, yet found nothing.
“I spent years doing nothing but researching a treatment, yet discovered nothing. My lifespan probably isn’t more than a few years.”
After all, in the original story, Anette died shortly after marrying the Marquis.
The air in the infirmary grew heavy with the bitterness of my reply.
“It’s not your concern. I’ll handle my illness myself. I decline your worry and involvement. You and I need only gain the benefits we each seek from this marriage.”
I drew a clear line immediately—wanting to avoid leaving any awkwardness. But Hertian seemed displeased. Tendons stood out along his neck as he roughly swept back his black hair.
“You always make me feel as though you’re testing me, Young-ae.”
“I hope you’ll see it in a good light. This is absolutely not a losing deal for you.”
“A loss…”
He repeated the word several times, tasting it. Then, without warning, he climbed onto the bed and sat close, his face near mine—his straight nose just a breath away from touching me.
My eyes blinked in slight surprise. My gaze wandered aimlessly before landing on his lips, the most vividly colored part of his face. When they parted slightly, I quickly averted my eyes again.
Unlike before, his eyes were calm and steady as he asked me,
“Then… can you give me your entire remaining life?”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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Wow, are prophetesses so common in this world that there are multiple renowned ones?