I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 12
Damn it.
Sydney cursed herself for having unbuttoned her shirt and clenched her teeth tightly.
No matter how hard she tried to find something to say, her mind felt as if shrouded in a dense fog, utterly blank.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“…I won’t answer.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’d expect from Sydney Warden.”
With each word Logan murmured in a low voice, his scent grew stronger.
Along with his breath and heated gaze, it seemed to stroke and awaken each of her senses—
as if reminding her of that night.
Sydney squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to calm the wild storm of sensations raging inside her.
Before Logan Redford could say anything further, she spoke first.
“Instead, I’ll deliver your message.”
“…”
“I’ll tell Marien that the Captain is looking for her.”
“So you do have a way to contact her.”
Hearing the softened tone in Logan’s voice, Sydney placed a hand on the door and took a shallow breath.
“Would you step aside, please?”
“Give me her contact information.”
He demanded two things after she’d already offered one. Sydney’s frown deepened, and a strained voice slipped through her parted lips.
“Captain.”
“…Go on.”
What a stubborn man.
Of course—he was Logan Redford, after all. Half-resigned, Sydney muttered under her breath as if to herself.
“Women dislike being pressured like this. Especially free-spirited women like Marien.”
At those words, an image of Marien formed vividly in Sydney Warden’s mind.
Unlike Sydney, Marien lived freely—
saying “no” plainly when she disliked something,
enjoying a life unbound by duty or obligation.
To such a woman, Logan Redford was nothing more than a one-night memory—because she existed beyond status and circumstance.
Sydney Warden’s eyes grew hazy, dreamlike, as she continued this daydream, her voice drifting lazily as if under a spell…
“That’s exactly why… you shouldn’t look for her.”
“How do you know her so well? Tell me where you met and what kind of relationship you have.”
“…”
“Sydney Warden, you’d better speak. Otherwise, I can’t promise what I might do to you.”
Despite his threat, Sydney gave a faint, dazed smile.
As if her brain had melted from feverish heat—or perhaps rendered utterly helpless by throbbing pain—
she ignored both the sound of the front door opening and closing and the voice calling her name.
Instead, Sydney told the story of the Marien she had imagined.
[This is the timeline separator]The story began a year ago.
After the ten-year war ended, the Arsenal Empire had undergone rapid development and now even possessed railways and trains.
Generously, the Crown Prince had given expensive train tickets to every member of the investigation team, allowing them to return home.
It was the happiest time in Sydney Warden’s life—and when she met Marien.
“We met on the train heading to my hometown.”
“You happened to share a compartment with her?”
At Logan Redford’s question, the compartment door opened.
Marien, with golden hair and blue eyes, entered Sydney’s compartment carrying a small suitcase.
She had her cropped golden hair neatly coiled and adorned with a straw hat decorated with a blue ribbon.
Her dress, striped in the same blue as the ribbon, was modestly full—without a panier or Watteau pleats.
Yes, that would certainly be more comfortable for traveling. Sydney nodded to herself, continuing the image in her mind.
Her gloves matched the dress—blue with a tiny white ribbon tied delicately at the wrist.
Dressed like this, Marien confidently walked in and took a seat.
Sydney would have been wary of this stranger intruding into her private space—so Marien would have grinned at Sydney’s bewildered expression and said:
Even Sydney found her imagined dialogue childish and let out a quiet chuckle.
“More accurately… Marien chose me.”
“Chose?”
At Logan Redford’s puzzled reply, Sydney nodded as if it were obvious.
In the life Marien led in Sydney’s imagination, men were nothing but bothersome burdens—just as Logan Redford was to Sydney Warden now.
“She wouldn’t leer at me slyly like other men, or clingily fabricate fate from coincidence… That’s why she came into my compartment.”
As she spoke, Sydney nodded several times, smiling warmly as if thoroughly pleased.
“That sounds just like her. Then perhaps Marien is from Saint Warden.”
At the mention of Saint Warden, a barren plain appeared before her eyes.
The red earth, sparsely covered in weeds, was so infertile that farming was nearly impossible.
The people of Saint Warden’s domain struggled in poverty, worrying each day about their next meal.
Most of all—if Marien had grown up in such a place, she wouldn’t have been so different from Sydney Warden.
With a sorrowful expression, Sydney shook her head.
“I’m not sure about that. She said she was traveling at the time.”
“To Saint Warden?”
“No. She got off at Desburn—said she was going to see the lavender festival.”
Sydney recalled the field blooming with purple lavender.
In that beautiful city of Desburn, Marien stepped off the train,
her eyes sparkling with anticipation of a new adventure, pressing down her straw hat so it wouldn’t blow away in the wind.
She turned to Sydney, gave a bright smile, and even waved goodbye.
Yes… Marien got off there. Those words formed silently in Sydney’s mouth and dissolved into nothing.
“Haa…”
Unable to endure any longer, Sydney leaned her forehead against the door and gasped for breath.
She looked so unsteady, as if about to collapse at any moment. Yet Logan Redford pressed her further.
“And you exchanged contact information?”
“Yes—the second time we met, at Marcel’s restaurant. She told me to contact her if I ever needed help.”
Marcel’s small, shabby lodging and Logan Redford’s office, where he grilled her relentlessly—
between only those two places, Sydney Warden’s sole refuge had been that modest restaurant.
Yes—there, entirely by chance, Sydney would have met Marien again.
When they parted, Sydney Warden would have handed Marien her business card, saying to contact her if ever Marien needed help.
Of course, Marien would have tilted her head slightly and smiled enigmatically—perhaps even mocking Sydney’s goodwill.
Because that’s the kind of woman Marien was—
a free spirit, unburdened by family or lineage, never clinging to fleeting encounters.
The Marien Sydney Warden imagined had to be exactly that.
“Didn’t she just say she’s friends with Lady Orwello?”
Sydney tightly closed her eyes, as if performing a ritual to bid farewell to the radiant Marien she’d conjured.
“Yes—I introduced Marien to Victoria. That’s all I have to say.”
Her body, which moments ago had burned fiercely, now chilled so deeply her jaw trembled uncontrollably. Sydney shivered from the cold and let out a pained groan.
“Then how do you meet Marien?”
“Whenever I visit Marcel’s, I occasionally receive messages from her.”
“Is she at Marcel’s now?”
Ah, damn it.
Exhausted by the endless questions, Sydney’s shoulder thudded against the door. At that moment, a sharp feminine voice rang out clearly.
“Enough already!”
She didn’t even need to look—she recognized that voice all too well.
Click-clack. Hearing the approaching footsteps of heels, Sydney felt relief wash over her.
A sweet floral fragrance enveloped her. The arms encircling her waist and the tearful face belonged to her steadfast friend, Victoria.
“…Vicky.”
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t say another word.”
“…”
She wanted to say she was fine, but no words came out.
Sydney rested her burning forehead against Victoria’s small shoulder. The cold snow piled softly on Victoria’s coat soothed her feverish heat.
“Lord Redford, you really have no heart at all.”
“Lady Orwello, this doesn’t concern you.”
At the sharp exchange between Victoria Orwello and Logan Redford, Sydney opened her heavy, half-lidded eyes.
Fortunately, a man in a black coat stepped between them, blocking Logan and pushing him back.
“Logan, that’s enough.”
It was Ernest Holden. Reassured by his presence, Sydney lost her balance and fell into Victoria’s arms.
It’ll be alright somehow. Leaning against her friend’s small shoulder, Sydney closed her eyes.
[This is the timeline separator]Under Sydney’s weight, Victoria wobbled slightly and gritted her teeth, then snapped sharply at Logan.
“Lord Redford, why doesn’t this concern me?”
“This is part of my duties.”
“Oh—because Sydney Warden is your subordinate?”
“That’s correct. Please step aside.”
Logan stepped forward, reaching to take Sydney from her. Victoria quickly wrapped her arms protectively around Sydney’s head and lifted her chin defiantly.
Glaring like a mother animal shielding her young, she warned him.
“Are you going to order me around too? Lord Redford, don’t make another mistake here.”
“Lady Orwello.”
Logan’s presence was just as formidable—as if a bear threatening a deer—but Victoria merely snorted dismissively.
Victoria Orwello was every bit his match in sheer force of will.
Known as the “fighting cock” of Eastern high society, she was famously hot-blooded and reckless—once incensed, no one could stop her.
But Victoria showed mercy only to her friend, Sydney Warden. Seeing Sydney collapse like this, how could she possibly stay calm?
“Lord Redford, didn’t you just say this is work? As far as I know, Sydney Warden is on leave—am I wrong?”
“That’s correct. However, this is an emergency—”
Victoria cut him off, raising her voice and firing words rapidly.
“An emergency for you, maybe! But I have to protect my man while he’s on vacation! Because apparently, you can’t even see that he’s in so much pain he can barely breathe!”
Each time the words “my man” left her lips, sparks seemed to fly from Logan Redford’s eyes.
Sensing the tension could ignite a feud between noble houses, Ernest Holden stepped in.
First, he wedged himself between the two and gently took Sydney from Victoria.
“Everyone, calm down. Victoria, getting Lord Warden into bed should be our priority.”
It was sound advice. As Victoria and Logan stepped back, Ernest helped Sydney onto the bed.
Victoria blocked Logan’s path as he tried to enter the bedroom, sneering sarcastically.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
“Vicky, please.”
“Lord Redford, you’ve been utterly selfish and cold toward sick Sydney. Now I fully understand why Marien doesn’t want to see you—and why Sydney is hiding her.”
“…”
Even Victoria Orwello’s biting words failed to move Logan Redford. His gaze remained fixed solely on Sydney Warden lying in bed.
Seeing the regret and anger twisting Logan’s face, Victoria clicked her tongue in disdain.
It still seemed to her he intended to torment Sydney further.
“A woman like my friend is far too good for a man like you. Goodbye, Lord Redford.”
Bang—the door slammed shut right before his eyes.
Logan stood dazed for a moment, then staggered and leaned against the wall. Rubbing his face roughly with his hand, he muttered to himself,
“Clearly, judging by her eyes and voice, she mixed lies in to hide something. And Marien and Sydney—aside from appearance—their body types and voices are oddly similar. It felt like she was insisting they existed in the same place at the same time…”
Logan Redford murmured, “What is she trying to hide?” as he carefully chewed over every detail—everything he’d learned over the past three days and every word exchanged with Sydney.
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.]
Ahhhh the “I have a friend” line. How did she keep her gender hidden this long smh lol
Could it be he was the one who designed the dresses Victoria gifted her?