Elysia cautiously stroked Ileon, whom her transparent hand could not reach.
The howling Ileon seemed to sense her presence and asked,
“Who’s there? Is anyone there?”
Ileon said with a trembling voice.
“Please. Don’t leave me alone.”
Elysia tried to hug him.
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, the place dimly lit by the moonlight allowed her to see Ileon more clearly, who had been howling like a beast.
The shoulders she had been carefully hugging and stroking were slimmer than before.
The fine black hair had grown wild and shabby, like an abandoned beast.
“……Help me.”
A thin voice came from her embrace.
Elysia’s eyes widened.
It was clearly Ileon, she was comforting him, but the person in her arms was someone else.
‘A woman?’
Ileon? What happened to Ileon? Elysia was confused.
“Help me get out of here.”
The woman lifted her head slightly, and a pair of red eyes shone, meeting Elysia’s eyes through the disheveled, long hair.
“If you can’t take me, just get a sword… just one sword.”
Elysia nodded her head.
‘I’ll come to rescue you.’
A ray of hope shone in the clear red eyes.
“Definitely. Definitely.”
Every time she tried to touch Ileon, Elysia passed through him as if she were transparent.
Even in the dream, all she could do was pity him and follow his words.
But the woman was different.
As if she could see Elysia, as if she could hear her voice, she ‘listened’ and answered.
“Come find me for sure.”
‘I will. Just wait a little, just a little longer.’
Elysia nodded her head several times.
The familiar black hair and red eyes.
The woman with a messy appearance and only bright eyes.
Although her face was not seen, the burning red eyes were somehow etched into Elysia’s heart and were unforgettable.
‘Wait. I’ll definitely come back.’
The next moment, Elysia was standing on the deck of a rocking ship.
The black lake water passed violently beneath her feet, swirling roughly.
‘…I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.’
A small knife, stained with Saviel’s blood, fell into the lake.
And Elysia followed it.
(This is a time separator.)
“Gasp! Cough… cough, cough.”
Elysia hunched her body and coughed violently.
It was a strange dream. A chaotic dream with no connection from beginning to end, but the sense of despair felt at the moment of waking from the dream was more vivid than anything else. The feeling of water rushing into the mouth and nose, suffocating, was unbelievably real.
“Elishia.”
Illeon approached, surprised, and lifted her into his arms.
“Haah. Haah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Huu.”
Tears flowed from her eyes.
‘Elishia. It seems to be Elishia’s memory.’
How could it be like this, as if it were etched into her body?
And she knew for certain.
Elishia wanted to live more than anyone else.
At first, she thought she had died at the shore of Lorel Lake, and wondered if the discovery of her body was a poor choice.
Why did such a pretty and young woman throw herself into the lake?
She had wondered about it.
But Elishia had no choice but to jump off the ship.
It wasn’t to die.
It was the only way she could escape the ship.
The desperation and misery of being in that situation.
But there was a resolute will in her heart.
But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t sad.
The sorrow of her fate, the pity she felt for herself, made Elishia cry.
Fate.
When she first dreamed it, she had thought that way.
To escape this tiresome fate.
How did Elishia know her fate?
Even assuming that she knew because she had seen the original work and possessed it, Elishia was not a possessor.
‘Mariella.’
Was it because of her?
The woman who said she would do anything to save her daughter might have told Elishia about the content of .
But it was hard to understand why she was so frustrated if she had become a priest to escape that fate.
Did she think that she couldn’t change her fate like that?
There can be no tomorrow that is definitely determined.
On one hand, thinking of the envelope of Café Cardinal, which burned with black flames, was daunting.
After Elishia calmed down, Illeon released her from his embrace.
“I can’t even ask if you slept well.”
“Sorry, were you surprised? I had a… strange dream.”
Illeon looked at her softly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because your face is pretty even when you wake up.”
Elishia opened her eyes wide.
“It must be a mess. Don’t look. Lord Illeon.”
Elishia pulled the blanket up to her eyes.
“How about a morning greeting? A light kiss would be nice. And call me by my name from now on.”
“Don’t ask for such a thing.”
He was royalty. Moreover, calling each other by first names implied a deep relationship, which was a delicate matter between unmarried men and women.
“You’re suddenly talking about husband and wife? I declined politely yesterday.”
Elishia was taken aback by Illeon’s brazen words.
Polite decline? Polite?
Just a while ago, as she pulled the blanket, she saw the marks on her arms and below her neck where he had bitten, torn, and enjoyed her to his heart’s content.
“……You have a way with words.”
“Thanks for the compliment. Now remove that blanket.”
“I don’t want to. Leave so I can get dressed.”
“This is my room.”
“Really, you…”
A struggle over a thin blanket ensued, with them tugging and pulling, not wanting to give it up.
But Elishia, who couldn’t overcome the difference in strength, was pulled into Illeon’s arms with the blanket, losing it in the process.
“Ah…….”
Illeon’s face lost its playful smile as he looked at Elishia, blushing, wearing only thin underwear.
“I’m, I’m sorry.”
He hurriedly wrapped the stolen blanket around her body again.
Elishia froze for a moment.
She wanted to run away, embarrassed to reveal her bare skin under his eyes in the bright sunlight.
“You, you don’t have to be like that. There are dresses designed to reveal the arms, shoulders, or chest to that extent.”
Illeon was the type to add fuel to the fire.
Elishia clenched her fists tightly, not knowing what to do with her anger.
At that time, a polite knock was heard on the bedroom door.
“What’s the matter?”
Outside the door, the butler Bernard addressed Illeone.
“Your Grace the Archduke. Duchess Uter has arrived. She requests to see Your Grace the Archduke. What should we do?”
The flustered Elicia looked at Illeone. Illeone answered nonchalantly.
“I will go right now.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
