Lady Emerun looked at Aris not unkindly.
“That’s because I worried about you. I was afraid she’d neglect you. It feels like I’m the bad one.”
“Not at all! Aris doesn’t mind at all. She knows your heart, and mine too. It’s necessary for you to maintain discipline in the house. Isn’t that right, Count?”
Suddenly addressed, the senior count, Bakennin Lorenst, coughed awkwardly.
Lady Emerun’s face, which had hardened, softened at Aris’s tactful words.
“Alright, alright. I’ll let it slide for your sake.”
With that, the atmosphere relaxed, and the room quieted down.
Aris looked proudly at Hubert, who now wore a softened expression and nodded slightly.
It felt like watching a well-staged play.
‘The real flatterer is right here.’
Thinking about it, I was foolish to play along.
My mother scolded me so much for vulgarity that I just quietly did housework.
Candy for a crying child, a truth that applied in the streets and this house alike.
“So what’s the matter?”
Bakennin Lorenst inquired curiously. Everyone’s gaze turned to Hubert, whose face darkened.
“The fact is…”
As Hubert recounted the story from the palace, no one could easily respond.
“So our Aris could be appointed as a princess? An honorary princess?”
Lady Emerun asked dumbly. I scoffed inwardly.
‘More like a fake princess.’
“What’s an honorary princess?”
“It’s when a woman who has made a significant contribution to the country is honored as a princess of Riorisa.”
“How can she be treated as a princess if she isn’t one?”
Hubert frowned. He probably thought Lady Emerun’s intelligence was lacking.
Though known as kind and intelligent, he tended to secretly scorn those he deemed below his standards.
‘The loaf of bread he gave me was just a charitable act, and I was too moved by it.’
His face, angelically kind, had misled me at a young age, leaving a regret that lingers.
‘Judging true value is a thief’s essential skill.’
I shook my head. To me, Hubert was now a dull lump of lead.
The leaden figure spoke.
“The title is that of a princess, and she’ll receive treatment befitting it. The royal family will even provide a dowry for the marriage, though not as much as Princess Laratu’s.”
His face turned business-like and rigid as he discussed marriage. Aris’s big eyes welled up with tears, shocked by his words.
Uncharacteristically, Hubert didn’t even glance at her, despite her near tears. The mood plummeted rapidly.
“It sounds like a good thing…”
Lady Emerun, uneasy under her husband’s stern gaze, trailed off.
“Lady, think about it. Is this really a good thing?”
The count asked, exasperated, but Lady Emerun just kept fanning herself, seemingly clueless.
The count sighed and looked at Hubert.
“Are we just finding a sacrificial lamb for Princess Laratu?”
“…That’s the situation. Ah, who would’ve thought Count Demestiya would involve Aris.”
Hubert’s forehead creased deeply, his face a mix of complexity.
He was probably wrestling between the king’s command and his affection for Aris.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted to me.
I quickly adopted a serious expression and looked down. I could feel his gaze on the top of my head.
I broke into a cold sweat.
‘Why’s he looking at me all of a sudden? What’s this conscienceless man planning to use me for now?’
Lady Emerun, belatedly grasping the conversation, exclaimed almost like a scream.
“They’re planning to make Aris a princess to marry her off to a barbarian?”
She clutched a white handkerchief to her mouth, shaking her head as if it was the most horrible thing imaginable.
“We can’t do that. Sending Aris to a barbarian in the wilderness!”
“Calm down. It’s not all bad.”
“Not bad? You just said it wasn’t good! Even I can see that. There’s nothing worse than this.”
Lady Emerun retorted sharply, and the count looked at her with a mix of pity and exasperation.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
