‘Why such a face?’
The light in her eyes seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
He remembered the morning after she arrived at the castle, in the underground mausoleum, where she tenderly touched her designated tombstone.
Clodel looked at him with a joyous face, her hand on her heart, as if deeply moved.
“You really are a wonderful person, Duke.”
Caught off guard by her unexpected words, Kyan’s eyes widened.
“Much more than I had thought.”
“More than you thought?”
He was curious about what she had initially thought of him.
Embarrassed, Clodel covered her cheeks with her hands but answered his question.
“You must know, Duke. In Belmonte, we never heard anything good about Temnes.”
“Hmm.”
Kyan had nothing to say, as it was akin to Lowen not speaking well of Belmonte.
“But you are an extraordinary person.”
“Why?”
“You govern such a vast land.”
Clodel’s eyes wandered over the garden café’s low fence to the bustling streets filled with shops.
“You are only five years older than me. I can’t even imagine managing such a large domain when I turn twenty-five.”
“That’s because I was trained as a successor.”
“Training alone doesn’t make it happen.”
Kyan felt a tickling sensation in his ears, yet he didn’t dislike her seemingly positive view of him. Not at all.
“The fact that you, a person like you, would save anyone without reason, is truly admirable.”
“Is it?”
“Of course. Most nobles exploit their people and don’t even consider them human.”
Realizing her bluntness, Clodel quickly added.
“You might not think highly of it, but Duke Belmonte was quite a good lord to his people. He hardly collected any taxes during the ten-year drought.”
Kyan felt mixed emotions.
Previously, when Clodel saved him and got seriously injured, he was upset by her same response.
Now, he felt guilty for casually giving her a return answer, not expecting such generous words from her.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
As they stood up, the café maid brought a box to Clodel.
It seemed she had earnestly chosen and ordered something to take with her.
“Let me carry it.”
“It’s okay. I can carry this much.”
Matching his steps to hers, Clodel glanced up and smiled subtly at Kyan, looking at her neatly curved lips.
‘Have I smelled too much of the roses?’
His head felt strangely affected.
Upon returning to Lowen Castle, Hannah greeted her.
“Madam! Did you have a good time?”
“Yes.”
Hannah, who had always worn Belmonte-style clothes, was now in a cool Lowen-style dress. Kyan had instructed her to pick a few dresses for herself when they were tailoring Clodel’s clothes. Hannah really stood out among the maids.
“What’s this?”
Clodel’s eyes sparkled as Hannah inquired.
“Guess? What do you think it is?”
“If I guess it right, will you give it to me?”
“Ha-ha.”
Unable to wait after encouraging a guess, Clodel quickly untied the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
Inside the box were small, beautifully layered desserts on a wooden tray, just like the ones she had at the café.
“Where did you buy this?”
“Come here. Let’s sit and eat.”
“I’ll get the tea.”
Hannah quickly went to the castle’s kitchen to fetch tea. As the tea leaves steeped in hot water, the room filled with a fragrant and sweet aroma. The scent of tea mingled with the smell of sugary lemon-juice and vanilla-coated pastries.
Hannah took a sip of the tea, nibbling on the desserts, and gave a thumbs-up.
“It’s delicious. Hmm. Where did you go today?”
“The Duke bought me some jewelry.”
“Jewelry?”
Hannah’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Ah, that’s good. I was worried I might have to send a message to Belmonte because, when packing, I saw only flimsy dress boxes and no sight of any jewelry.”
Clodel concealed her bitter feelings.
Hannah didn’t know that Duke Belmonte had sent her to Temnes empty-handed, thinking she would die. Knowing now that Clodel was sent to a rival house even while being ill, but not properly prepared with wedding gifts, would infuriate Hannah.
Clodel kept silent, knowing it was her responsibility to calm and console Hannah, the situation being a result of Duke Belmonte’s decisions.
“Were you at the jewelry store for a long time? Did you buy a lot?”
“No. Yes. No, not really.”
Clodel’s ambiguous answer made Hannah look puzzled.
“I bought the jewelry quickly.”
“Did you find something you liked?”
“Yes.”
Even now, she wanted to bite her tongue for saying everything was pretty.
It seemed she was getting to know Kyan’s style. He was so straightforward that casual responses wouldn’t work with him. Since Clodel’s personal wealth was depleted, and she couldn’t live up to the reputation of the Duchess of Temnes, she decided to be grateful that he cared for her dignity in his way.
The former Duchess of Temnes was a figure of great stature, being one of the beloved twin princesses of King Oberon.
Fearing she couldn’t measure up to such a formidable predecessor, Clodel worried about maintaining her life post-recovery.
“Did you try them on? Did you choose well?”
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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