I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 7
The heavy silence was broken by Sarah, who knew nothing of the situation. She approached Sydney, who stood there with an awkward expression.
“Were the two of you already acquainted? Lady Sydney, could you please give me that?”
“Oh, it’s in the bathroom.”
Sarah widened her eyes and stared at Sydney.
No wonder she was surprised—it was as if Sydney were seeing the dress she herself had worn for the first time.
Fortunately, the quick-witted Sarah took the dress and deftly changed the subject.
“Lord Ernest has just bought freshly baked bread. Lady Sydney, you’ll join us for breakfast, won’t you?”
“Yes.”
“The young lady will be delighted. Then, would the two of you please wait in the drawing room?”
“Alright.”
While conversing with Sarah, Sydney calmed her startled heart.
Ernest Holden—Victoria’s cousin and Logan’s closest friend.
Meeting him like this might actually be fortunate. If sharp-eyed Ernest failed to realize that Sydney and Marien were the same person… then neither would Logan.
Sydney studied Ernest’s face carefully. Judging by his incredulous, mocking expression… he probably didn’t know.
“Hah! To think I’d meet Lord Warden here.”
“I didn’t expect to run into Lord Holden here either.”
Regaining her composure, Sydney sized him up with a lazy, tilted posture.
Judging from his different charcoal-gray suit compared to yesterday’s, he must have dropped Victoria off and returned to his own home.
“Let’s go to the drawing room first. It seems we have much to discuss.”
Ernest guided Sydney into the drawing room as if she were a guest. Unusually solemn compared to his usual self, Ernest walked ahead, and Sydney followed him closely without relaxing her guard.
“Please, take a seat.”
Ernest gestured toward a chair and crossed his arms, then stared silently at Sydney as if waiting for something—like a predator eyeing a stranger who’d trespassed into its territory.
Was this caution merely because a man was in his cousin sister’s house? Or was he doubting whether she truly was not Marien?
Sydney hoped it wasn’t the latter and waited patiently. Either way, Ernest Holden had more to lose than she did.
In the end, it was Ernest who broke the silence.
“Lord Warden, have you nothing to say to me?”
“I’m listening.”
“Honestly… whether it’s Logan or you… neither of you ever shows your hand first.”
Why did Logan come up now? Without realizing it, Sydney’s cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze out the window.
The first snow.
Just a while ago, snowflakes were drifting gently, but now they poured down heavily enough to blanket the gray sky.
“The first snow…” She wasn’t one to attach meaning to things like this, yet for some reason, the phrase kept circling in her mind today.
“Good heavens—was that a blush just now? And that look in your eyes…”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Wow, you’re flustered. To think the usually stoic ‘Sydney Warden’ would have such trembling eyes.”
Sarah’s wide-eyed, confident expression flustered Sydney greatly.
And for good reason.
To young lovers in Arsenal, December 31st was special—a meaningful night to reaffirm their love and welcome the new year together.
Of course, in Logan Redford and Sydney’s case, it had merely been drunken circumstance that led them there.
Involuntarily recalling last night, Sydney frowned without realizing it.
“Hmm, Lord Holden.”
It was a warning to back off.
But Ernest Holden wasn’t about to be intimidated by a girl whose face turned red like this.
He crossed his arms, crossed his legs, and rocked them gently while flashing a knowing smile.
“I know everything, so just be honest. Last night… you two… shared lovers’ affection, didn’t you?”
Thud. Sydney felt as if her heart had plummeted straight to her toes from Ernest’s blunt question.
No longer able to feign composure, Sydney covered her mouth with her fist and looked away.
“I’m under no obligation to answer that.”
Her reaction—like that of a boy freshly in love—was utterly shocking.
Sydney Warden.
Though her family’s fortunes had waned, the Wardens were once hailed as the “Sword of the Arsenal Empire,” a noble house of great renown.
Moreover, Sydney herself possessed admirable beauty and character, making her popular among noble ladies.
The problem was that her popularity wasn’t limited to women alone.
But given how cold and aloof she always was, it never caused any real trouble.
Though slightly beneath the Orwello Dukedom, the spirited Victoria considered “Sydney Warden” a perfectly suitable match.
And now, seeing her unable to even control her expressions because she was so infatuated with Victoria…
Ernest Holden found the situation quite satisfying.
“No, Lord Warden—you absolutely do have an obligation! Because right in front of you stands none other than Ernest Holden, Victoria’s own cousin brother!”
His mention of obligation, cousin brother, and “lovers’ affection” made his meaning crystal clear:
You spent the night with Lady Victoria Orwello—you’ve been caught by her family—now take responsibility through marriage.
Was that it? Not the secret of Logan Redford and Marien, or that Marien was actually Sydney? Relieved, Sydney Warden calmly responded.
“…Is that so?”
“Of course, I understand you didn’t know before. But now that you do… you’re currently in the home of the woman you spent the night with, and you’ve been caught by a man of her house. That’s hardly a position to act so boldly from.”
Every word was perfectly justified. If Sydney were truly a man, and truly in such a situation with Victoria, she should be showing deference.
As a sign of respect toward her lover and her family.
“You’re right.”
“Exactly. The only reason I’m going through all this explanation… is because I’ve always held Lord Warden in high regard.”
“Then please challenge me to a duel.”
Sydney cut him off firmly.
“What?”
“As you just said, I must remain silent to protect Lady Victoria’s honor—so no vulgar words like ‘shared lovers’ affection’ will be spoken.”
“But that’s—”
Damn it. Ernest regretted his recklessness. He’d practically let Sydney slip through his fingers over a careless slip of the tongue.
“I will not say a word without Lady Victoria’s consent. That is what I believe a man—and a knight—must uphold.”
Faced with Sydney’s decisive statement, Ernest had no choice but to concede defeat. After all, that was precisely how any true man should act.
“Lord Warden.”
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the drawing room door burst open with a loud bang. Victoria, still in her nightclothes, rushed in and flung her arms around Sydney.
“Sydney, you’d even duel for my honor… I’m truly moved!”
Victoria pouted childishly, rubbing her head against Sydney’s shoulder. Ernest, who’d regarded Sydney as a man, pinched the bridge of his nose and scolded,
“Vicky, what on earth are you doing right now?”
Victoria whirled around, eyes blazing, and yelled shrilly at her cousin brother,
“Ernest! Who do you think you are to talk to my Sydney like that!”
“I’m your brother!”
“So what! So what! What are you going to do about it!”
“Hey! You ungrateful—! I’m only looking out for you! Ugh—!”
Frustrated, Ernest pounded his own chest with his fist.
Watching the siblings bicker, Sydney gently patted Victoria’s hand.
“Vicky, calm down.”
“But Ernest’s making me so mad!”
Victoria puffed out her cheeks and leaned her forehead back onto Sydney’s shoulder.
Sydney glanced briefly at Ernest and soothed her,
“Lord Holden had every right to act that way.”
“But he shouldn’t treat you like that!”
It was truly an awkward situation.
Though such physical contact meant nothing between close friends like Victoria and Sydney, in Ernest’s eyes, it surely looked like an indecent display of affection between a man and woman.
Sydney exhaled softly, removed Victoria’s arms from around her neck, and added weight to her voice as a quiet warning,
“Go change your clothes first. We need to have breakfast.”
Victoria seemed to shrink back slightly, then leaned in to whisper in Sydney’s ear—loudly enough that Ernest could clearly hear, while glaring at him,
“Got it. If Ernest is rude even once more, beat him in a duel. He can’t even handle a sword properly.”
“You just called your own brother ‘that guy’?”
Victoria stuck her tongue out at Ernest and spun around, storming out of the room.
Silence stretched for a long while in the drawing room, now empty save for the two of them.
Ernest cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Lord Warden, I apologize for my earlier indiscretion.”
“I fully understand.”
“Then… may I ask—what do you think of Victoria? As a man, do you intend to take responsibility for her?”
Ernest, the concerned older brother, looked at Sydney with clear worry for his sister.
Sydney suppressed the warmth rising in her chest and replied calmly,
“If such a situation had occurred, of course I’d take responsibility. But Lady Victoria and I are not in the relationship Lord Holden imagines.”
“Hmm… so that means there’s nothing to take responsibility for?”
“…”
Sydney lowered her gaze and pressed her lips shut.
After already invoking Victoria’s honor, it felt wrong to backtrack now.
“Fine. But I must say this regardless: Victoria must not be made to cry. That girl has already suffered enough wounds.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
There was no way Victoria could have told him that. Ernest’s eyes held firm conviction.
But Sydney merely smiled faintly at him and spoke,
“Perhaps… I know her better than you do, Lord Holden.”
Sarah called them for breakfast. Just before leaving the drawing room, Ernest placed a hand on her shoulder. Sydney turned and looked at him.
“If you truly do… then Lord Warden, never die before Victoria.”
“I won’t.”
Sydney brushed his hand away with a quiet chuckle and walked off alone, her footsteps echoing distinctly.
Even after getting the answer he wanted, Ernest remained rooted to the spot for a long while.
That fleeting smile of Sydney’s—haunting yet resolute—had unsettled him deeply.
“Come to think of it… his older brother died before him too, didn’t he? Ah, I’ve done it again.”
Ernest scratched the back of his head, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and headed out to the terrace.
After striking a match and lighting the cigarette, he exhaled a long plume of smoke while gazing at the falling snow.
“Those two brothers were so unlike each other… No wonder I forgot. And… it’s already been six years.”
Beyond the dissipating smoke, the face of an old friend long buried in memory began to surface faintly.
Anthony Warden.
He had been immensely famous during Ernest’s days at the military academy.
For one, Anthony’s delicate, almost feminine beauty often led people to mistake him for a girl.
Though that earned him plenty of teasing, most of it was just childish antics from those hoping to catch his attention.
Of course, Anthony never paid any of it the slightest mind—and that unflappable temperament was something the brothers clearly shared.
What truly troubled Anthony at the military academy… was his frail health, so poor he could barely keep up with basic military training.
Yet despite that, he enlisted in the Imperial Army and went off to the battlefield…
Ernest stubbed out his cigarette under his heel, extinguishing the last ember. He shoved his hands into his pockets, turned to head inside—and paused.
“So… did Lord Warden meet Victoria… because of his brother’s death?”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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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?