The day after Mercian was slapped by Lucy a month ago, she changed a little after randomly asking about her figure during a meal.
Of course, as per their contract, they slept together 4 times a week and had breakfast and dinner together, but there was always an indescribable sense of distance.
As if she was faithfully carrying out her married life with him like a job, but without any feelings in those actions…
She would give short answers to his questions, and it was difficult to even see Mercian’s shadow except during meal times and when sleeping.
It had been fun to secretly peek at Mercian eating snacks with a happy expression in the tree after work every day.
But Mercian no longer climbed trees and was living entirely in her room.
Like a shadow of the duke’s family, invisible to anyone’s gaze. As if trying to make it so that no one would notice her absence even if she disappeared soon.
At first, he understood her.
He was going to die soon… If she had developed other feelings for him, Ruan would have pushed her away too.
Clearly, that’s what his head was thinking.
But as time passed, he kept thinking of Mercian who had disappeared from his sight.
The way she furrowed her brow when lost in thought, the way she pressed her round body against the tree as much as possible to climb it at an amazing speed, and above all, the way she chewed with her small mouth while making a truly happy expression as she ate something in the tree…
Even while working at the imperial palace. Even while honing his swordsmanship. Even while thinking about how to deal with the crown prince, he would suddenly wonder how Mercian was doing.
As time passed, Ruan unknowingly started looking for Mercian the moment he entered the duke’s residence.
If she was reading a book in her room, he would linger in front of the room for a long time, hoping to run into her if she came out for a moment, and on nights when they slept together, he would ask Cassel to get him special tea that doesn’t make you sleepy from the imperial palace and drink three or four bowls before returning to the duke’s residence, trying to stay up late.
But despite Ruan’s efforts, once Mercian went into her room, she didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out until the next morning.
Usually he couldn’t even sleep properly for two hours, but for some reason, on nights when he slept with Mercian, even though he drank so much of that tea that’s supposed to keep you awake, he would fall asleep within 10 minutes of lying down on the bed.
He had been racking his brains trying to strike up a conversation with her, but suddenly she was not only asking about his schedule but even worrying about his health.
Ruan had been eating only one meal a day to show the crown prince that his addiction was getting worse.
He had been irritated by his decreasing energy, but today he felt grateful for this body of his.
Ruan answered with a gloomy expression as if he was in very poor health, looking at Mercian who was gazing at him with concern.
“It can’t be helped since I’m addicted. It will probably get worse. By the way, is there something happening at the end of the month?”
“Ah. I was thinking of holding a home party. I thought we could invite my aunt and the people of the duke’s family to wrap up the year well and talk about various things, hoping for good things in the new year that’s coming again.”
“A home party?”
“Yes. I heard from Charles that Ruan has been too busy to have a home party, and it’s been quite a while since I had one too, but still, this year is Ruan’s last… Anyway, will you have time?”
“Are you preparing this home party for me, my lady?”
A home party is a party where all family members gather, so there’s not really a main character…
Well, I guess it’s okay to say Ruan is the main character since it’s his last home party?
Mercian nodded and answered, seeing the look in Ruan’s eyes that seemed to expect her to say yes.
“Of course, you are the main character of the home party, Ruan.”
My wife is preparing a home party for me?
Strangely, Ruan suddenly felt happy at the thought of Mercian preparing something for him.
“I will definitely attend the home party that day, no matter what happens.”
“Then I’ll prepare thinking that Ruan will attend the home party.”
“Yes, my lady. I’ll look forward to the party you’re preparing for me.”
Lo-looking forward to it? Ah… Well, there won’t be anything special.
A home party is just making food and sharing it with each other, what more should I prepare?
Watching Ruan leave with such a happy expression, Mercian thought she should prepare some special event for this party.
.
.
.
“How did it go?”
Tablo stood up from his seat and answered with a smile as he saw Ruan entering the office.
“First, we found both witnesses and evidence for the crown prince’s matter. The body was in a place I never expected. And Prince Harman will probably enter the capital tomorrow night.”
“What about the crown prince?”
“Duke Hook rushed to the Saffron region today. He must have heard everything from him. It seems the stand-in for Prince Harman that you set up is doing quite well.”
“That’s good then. Not much time left now. Let’s wrap up the crown prince’s matter well!”
“My lord, the elder has arrived.”
“Ah, is it already today?”
Once a month since being cursed by the witch, Moses, the elder of the Alromand Kingdom, would come to check on his condition.
“Welcome, Elder.”
Moses, who was entering with Cassel’s guidance, approached Ruan and greeted him.
“It’s been a while. But My Lord, you seem to be in worse condition than before.”
Ruan smiled as if it was fine, looking at his own appearance which had lost more weight than last time, and said,
“No, I may look like this, but I’m quite alright. I only had one episode of pain that felt like my heart was stopping in the past month, and I’ve hardly had any difficulty breathing. I think it’s thanks to the sachet you gave me, Elder.”
“Really? That can’t be.”
The sachet doesn’t have a healing effect, it only alleviates symptoms…
Moses rolled up Ruan’s sleeve with a puzzled expression.
“M-My Lord, what on earth happened to this?”
Moses looked at Ruan’s arm in disbelief, rolling up his sleeve all the way to his arm to examine it closely.
“What? Has the curse gotten worse?”
Cassel asked Moses worriedly, to which Moses replied, looking at the faded red line,
“Look. The red line has faded, hasn’t it? This means that the curse on the Duke is slowly being lifted. By any chance, My Lord, have you fallen in love with someone?”
“What do you mean by that? The curse is being lifted!”
Moreover, love? Who am I supposed to be in love with?
As Ruan looked at Moses, unable to understand his words at all, Tablo answered with a smile,
“Oh ho. Could it be, Ruan, you’ve finally fallen in love with your wife? Well, the more you look at her, the more charming she is.”
“What are you talking about? Me, in love with my wife? And why are you talking about my wife’s charms?”
Despite Ruan’s sharp reaction to Tablo’s words, he continued to speak with a pleased expression,
“Ruan, that’s not what’s important right now. The important thing is that you’ve fallen in love and the curse is being lifted.”
“My Lord, come to think of it, I heard that you’ve been unable to concentrate on work lately and have been lost in thought. So that was all because you were thinking about the Duchess. Anyway, this is really great news.”
“That’s right. Now that you’re no longer terminally ill, you should start eating properly from today. If there’s enough time, there’s no need to deal with the crown prince quickly either.”
What nonsense are they talking about?
Me, falling in love with my wife?
Ruan glared at Cassel and Tablo, who were looking at each other and giggling, and said,
“Both of you, stop talking nonsense. Elder, is my curse really being lifted?”
At Ruan’s words, Moses looked closely at Ruan’s wrist and arm once more before nodding and answering,
“I believe so. As far as I know, this curse manifests faster the less emotion the cursed person has in their heart. You may not remember when you were first cursed, but the red line on your arm was quite dark and long. But now, compared to then, the line has clearly faded. Anyway, from the current situation, although I don’t know the reason, it’s certain that the curse has weakened and your life has been significantly extended.”
The curse has weakened and my life has been extended?
Does that mean I might not die?
At Moses’ words, Ruan looked at his wrist and indeed, as he said, the red line looked fainter than before.
“So you’re saying I won’t die in 4 months.”
“Yes, that’s right. Right now, the curse is so mild that it can hardly be said to have manifested, so unless there’s another trigger, you probably won’t be in danger of losing your life due to this curse, My Lord. However, this is still a curse, so if there are changes in your heart again, the curse could manifest once more.”
“Anyway, does this mean that as of now, the Duke won’t die? That’s really fortunate, My Lord.”
As Cassel and Tablo looked at Ruan happily at Moses’ words, Ruan continued to look at his arm with a serious expression and said,
“So I’m not terminally ill anymore. For now, let’s keep this information to ourselves. I’d appreciate if you could do the same, Elder.”
Moses nodded at Ruan’s words and replied,
“Well, I don’t live here so there’s no one to ask me, but if that’s what you want, I’ll do so. I hope when I come back in a month, the curse will be completely lifted. Well then, I’ll be on my way now.”
“I have to go anyway, so I’ll escort the Elder.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
After Tablo and Moses left, Cassel asked Ruan,
“My Lord, what are you thinking? Why did you say you won’t reveal that you’re no longer terminally ill?”
“First, we need to finish the crown prince’s matter.”
“The crown prince’s matter? Don’t tell me you’re planning to bring down His Highness the Crown Prince this time?”
“When Prince Harman returns to the capital tomorrow, as per the original plan, His Majesty the Emperor will order Prince Harman to marry Princess Petricia, the princess of the Alromand Kingdom.”
“The princess of the Alromand Kingdom? But hasn’t Alromand Kingdom already become a vassal state? Then why?”
“As you know, the Graft Duchy, which is the Empress’ family, is the most powerful family in the empire. Even His Majesty the Emperor married the Empress to maintain imperial authority. So no matter what the crown prince has done wrong, we can’t do anything about him right now. Since the power of the Ripide Marquis family, which is the family of Prince Harman’s mother, Queen Fione, is still insignificant, His Majesty the Emperor intends to give the Alromand Kingdom as Prince Harman’s backing.”
Cassel lowered his voice and said,
“But it’s right after the recent war, so it won’t be of much help to Prince Harman, will it?”
“Actually, not long after the war with the Alromand Kingdom started, the king of Alromand expressed his intention to surrender to us.”
“What? But didn’t you fight for almost 2 years?”
“That was to help suppress the rebels in the Alromand Kingdom. Of course, on the surface, people think it was because of strong resistance from the kingdom. That kingdom also had conflicts between princes over the right of succession to the throne. In exchange for supporting Prince Raphael, who was to become the next king, it was already promised that they would become Prince Harman’s backing.”
“His Majesty the Emperor and you are really amazing, My Lord. To deceive all the imperial citizens and do such a thing.”
“Cassel, to be precise, it wasn’t to deceive the imperial citizens, but to deceive Duke Cayman Graft, the Empress’ father. Anyway, in the empire, it’s common for a prince to marry a princess from a vassal state, and Duke Graft will think, like you, that the Alromand Kingdom won’t be able to serve as Prince Harman’s backing since the war has just ended, so he won’t oppose this marriage.”
“Then is Prince Harman going to the Alromand Kingdom?”
“The wedding will have to take place there.”
In the Omanscourt Empire, when a prince marries a princess from another country, it was customary for the prince to go to fetch the princess, marry in that kingdom first, and then return to the empire a month later.
Ruan continued, looking at Cassel,
“Probably when Prince Harman returns to the capital tomorrow, his marriage will be announced next week, and then it will take about two months for Prince Harman to leave for the Alromand Kingdom, marry there, and return to the empire.”
“What if His Highness the Crown Prince eliminates Prince Harman before that? It takes 2 weeks to get to the Alromand Kingdom, so he could assassinate Prince Harman in the middle, disguising it as the work of bandits.”
“Don’t worry. The knight escorts I’ve assigned are enough to handle about 100 bandits easily. But we need to neutralize the power of the crown prince and the duke on our side in the meantime.”
“Is that possible in just two months?”
“Think about it. No matter how capable the crown prince is, isn’t it strange that he’s been bringing women and causing trouble for so long, but it’s never been made public even once?”
“Isn’t that because the crown prince’s aide, Duke Hook, and his servants and knight escorts thoroughly protect the crown prince?”
“No, according to what Tablo found out this time, there’s someone who secretly protects the crown prince’s women problems.”
“S-Surely it’s not Her Majesty the Empress, is it?”
Cassel looked at Ruan with a disbelieving expression.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
