A tense atmosphere hung tightly between Ermedillin and Velia, like a rope tightly bound between them.
But the expression on the face of Henri, looking at Velia, was only calm.
“I’m glad you’re conscious. I have urgent business, so I must leave.”
Henri left Velia’s bedroom, sending her a tender gaze until the end.
‘Didn’t she hear?’
Though they had whispered, it was at a distance where, if nearby, it would have been more than audible, so the lack of any reaction was somewhat unsettling.
Ermedillin and Velia no longer wanted to talk to each other.
“Take care of yourself.”
Ermedillin left a formal greeting and returned to his room.
“Runi.”
“Yes?”
“When did His Majesty come?”
“I’m not sure. He seems to have come a while ago?”
“How long was he in Velia’s bedroom before leaving?”
“Um… about 12 minutes?”
“Ah… is that so?”
“Probably. Is it important?”
“No. It’s just nothing.”
Mille said this, but it wasn’t nothing at all.
12 minutes is an ambiguous time.
Henri had left Velia’s room after merely checking her condition, so he might have heard their conversation before that.
‘Ah, what exactly did they say? Was it about possession?’
Contrary to Ermedillin’s worry, Henri hadn’t heard the conversation related to possession.
He only heard the last paragraph of the conversation.
Ermedillin’s wish to leave the palace after risking his life was not so strange.
Considering his recent concern about his reputation, it wasn’t an unexpected statement.
‘I thought her obsession with me had lessened, but she was thinking of leaving the palace after all.’
However, Velia’s creepy words were something even Henri, who had been her lover for a long time, couldn’t have expected.
‘Setting fire to one’s body, would that come from Velia’s mouth? And what does bullying mean? Is it some newly coined term?’
Well, even if he didn’t understand a word, he was bothered by Velia’s outright threat to burn Ermedillin at the stake and her revealed ambition for the empress’s position.
Though he didn’t know what she thought inwardly, Velia had never wanted anything other than Henri’s love, at least outwardly.
‘But you never know what’s in people’s hearts. She wouldn’t want to be a consort forever.’
Henri tried his best to understand Velia’s words, but the threat of setting fire to someone’s body continued to bother him.
Velia was someone who would carefully catch insects that had crawled indoors, even fearing they might get hurt, and release them into the garden.
It could be said that her suddenly formal speech and elegant use of utensils were due to her long life in the palace.
But a threat, no matter how static, a threat?
Not just any threat, but a threat to burn someone at the stake using her position.
If he could, he would like to erase his memory of it.
‘Was it my fault? Should I not have brought her to the palace? Should I have just let her stay in the territory and visited her myself? Did I infect Velia with the poison spreading in the palace?’
The innocent yet distinctive Velia, who had not lost her purity.
Where has Velia, who wanted to rightfully punish Ermedillin’s evil deeds while resenting her, gone?
Henri felt miserable, feeling that her change was his fault.
‘Alright. I’ll pay more attention. Let’s be more attentive so she doesn’t feel lonely or anxious.’
As Henri was pledging his sincerity to his lover, Velia requested a visit from Pellio.
Pellio, with a reluctant expression, had no choice but to visit, but soon relaxed upon seeing Velia lying weakly.
Although called the Ice Count, he was not so harsh as to frown upon a sick woman.
“What’s the matter? Where does it hurt?”
At Pellio’s question, Velia tilted her head weakly and answered in a small voice.
“There’s no specific place that hurts. I’ve just been worried about a lot of things lately……”
“Ah, I’m glad there’s nothing wrong. But what did you call me for?”
“I called because I was worried.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Lately, there’s a dreadful rumor that you’ve been close to the Empress…… Of course, I don’t think that’s the case……”
“Yes, we’re not close at all, but we have been involved quite frequently for official matters. Did you call to tell me that rumor?”
Pellio’s neat eyebrows twisted, revealing a ‘why?’ expression.
“You visited this morning, didn’t you? And at a very early hour. The palace maids were chattering about it.”
“Ha.”
Pellio let out a short sigh, then nervously brushed back his deep blue hair that had covered his forehead.
“So what? What does that have to do with you? Do I need to report my comings and goings to you?”
“You don’t have to, Count. But isn’t the Empress the wife of the Emperor? If the Empress’s reputation is tarnished, it will affect the Emperor’s reputation as well.”
“Yes, you’re right. But what’s it to you?”
Pellio’s face now held nothing but a provocative look full of annoyance.
The Ice Count is a fair person.
He’s cold to everyone regardless of rank or age, male or female.
Velia was at a loss for words.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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