“Yes? Why do you think so?”
Giovanni’s black eyes deepened.
“The burning sun. The heated land. Doesn’t anything come to mind?”
“Oh, now that you mention it?”
Kiecheff opened his eyes wide.
Despite being close to the empire of the desert, Dovehrkan, once labeled as cursed by scholars for the mysterious lack of rain despite its proximity to Rioorsa, still held that reputation.
“What does that mean?”
“The kingdom might be undergoing desertification too.”
“But why all of a sudden?”
“There must have been a reason for the empire’s desertification.”
Chewing on sausage once more, Kiecheff nodded after a brief moment of thought.
“If desertification occurs throughout the kingdom, the king will have a headache.”
“Indeed. I wonder what measures the kingdom will take.”
“We have priests unlike us. It should be resolved quickly.”
“….”
“Your Highness?”
Giovanni nodded belatedly with an unreadable expression.
[Our blood carries the sun and fire from generation to generation, so if you go, the waterways of Rioorsa might dry up completely! Hahaha.]Why did the Khan’s joking words come to Giovanni’s mind as he left for the kingdom?
Soldiers strolled around the rugged canyon with disciplined steps.
Under their escort, scholars roamed around the canyon’s temple.
This time, the discovery of the temple was purely luck.
A minor earthquake occurred, causing the outer rocks of the canyon to collapse, revealing the temple that had been hidden inside.
As with all newly discovered temples, civilian access was strictly controlled here too.
“The security is stricter than expected. It seems challenging to break through with just us.”
Kiecheff, examining the temple from a distance, turned to Giovanni. He clenched his fist and raised his head.
“Let’s observe a little more.”
At that moment, some people walked out of the temple.
To be cautious of possible falling rocks, scholars wore black cloaks and sturdy hats.
As Giovanni observed the man standing among them, an idea flashed in his mind.
“There might be a way.”
“Huh? There’s a way?”
Giovanni nodded, staring at the scholars, or more precisely, at the man.
Under a thick hat, the blond hair and fair skin of the man were revealed, and his sharp green eyes emitted a cold light.
A familiar face.
[It’s an honor to meet the glory of the empire.]The greeting subtly revealed an understanding of the empire’s situation.
Such a brief and seemingly insignificant greeting, when delivered with such a soft face, caused confusion.
Compared to the people of the empire, the man, who looked like a literary character with his well-featured face, was handsome, but it didn’t lead to favor.
To form a favorable impression, the downturned eye corners and cold eyes were irritating.
His eyes carried a deep smile, enough to cover the irises, as if trying to hide contempt for this side.
‘A truly pitiful man.’
Kiecheff looked puzzled at Giovanni’s wry smile.
“What have you discovered?”
“Hubert Lorenst.”
“The Earl Lorenst?”
“Yes. It seems the author is in charge here.”
Kiecheff, still not understanding Giovanni’s mentioned ‘method,’ raised his eyebrows.
“Don’t we have a great partner?”
A few seconds later, Kiecheff sighed.
“Ah! Igraine ‘Lorenst’!”
He looked at Giovanni with deeply impressed eyes.
“Did you anticipate this situation? It was still hard to understand why that woman, but indeed, you are the prince.”
Kiecheff’s admiration deepened. Giovanni just smiled.
‘As if.’
He wasn’t a prophet; how could he have foreseen such a situation? He only considered that the woman might be helpful.
Back then, he simply thought she was a suitable candidate.
He didn’t expect to receive cooperation in this way.
Entering the secret cafe wearing a black veil, it didn’t seem ordinary from the entrance.
From regular handcuffs to those made of rabbit fur and candles of various colors whose purpose you didn’t want to know.
…Extraordinary.
Suppressing the urge to turn away, I entered the room assigned to me.
Not long after, Giovanni, also hiding his face like me, came in.
That person has a dignified figure. Is there a need to cover his face?
Having such thoughts casually, he sat in front of me, wrinkling his face.
“You seem unhappy.”
“…Must we meet in a place like this?”
He complained for the first time, so I didn’t respond immediately.
“There’s nothing good about standing out to others.”
Giovanni’s gaze was filled with confusion. He might be wondering why such a date happened without the king’s coercion.
‘If it gets to Princess Laratu’s ears, it will be troublesome.’
Managing connections is unexpectedly difficult.
“Still, it would be better to choose a different place next time.”
Giovanni, glancing around the dim and gloomy room, decisively struck the whip hanging on the wall.
The spikes at the end of the whip jingled. Even though his face was covered, his expression seemed crumpled.
Feeling embarrassed, I quickly explained.
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.”
