“But… our Lord really chose the wrong method.”
To punish him, who lived as a slave in the arena, with starvation of all things.
Before Merche saved him, he was locked in a cell and couldn’t eat anything for almost twenty days. Starvation is nothing special for a slave. He’s even been forced to take drugs, so what’s the big deal about that?
Rude, who had been laughing for a while, snapped his fingers to summon a servant.
“Go and tell that guy. I’ll let him starve from today, so don’t mind whatever I do.”
“Pardon…? H-How can I say such a thing!”
“Then die here by my hand.”
The servant’s eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Although the servant wanted to faint, not forgetting the main point, he reluctantly nodded and retreated as if running away.
A fight broke out between the father and son who had been apart for about twenty years.
Genovefa, who had probably heard Rude’s declaration of war through the servant, quite obediently agreed to his son’s request.
He dismissed the tutor he had been steadily sending and stopped all the detailed educational schedules he had set.
And he did not give any food to his son.
The only thing allowed was just drinking water. No other edible things were given to Rude.
The castle’s servants also said that the Lord was really harsh.
However, as time passed, other stories were soon added to the spreading rumors.
It was said that the young master who returned was also a stubborn one among the stubborn.
For a whole week. A whole week. For that long, Rude endured without eating anything.
According to the servants who went in and out of the room, he looked fine even after starving for so long.
The unprecedented tense war made the quiet castle noisy.
“Young master. You should at least drink some water…”
“I’m not thirsty. Take it away.”
However, the servant, who had become accustomed to the young master’s tyranny these days, sulkily pursed his lips.
Then, sharp criticism flew in immediately.
“Put that mouth away right now. How dare you…”
“M-Master, your words are too harsh.”
“Seeing your face, this much is pretty words.”
The servant quietly took away the glass of water.
Rude, who had been scowling fiercely, pressed the edge of his forehead with his fingertips as if bored.
“Hey.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Tell me about my replacement in this castle.”
“Pardon? About Lady Merche again? I’ve told you more than ten times already, so there’s nothing more to say…”
“Still, I’m telling you to say it again. Repeat the same story over and over like a broken record for the rest of your life.”
Having no choice, the servant repeated the tedious story again.
Lady Merche came to this castle at a young age, received successor education in place of the young master who was thought to be dead, and while she excelled in everything else, her ability to control the wolf legion was a bit weak…
In the middle of continuing to speak for a while, Rude abruptly interrupted and interjected.
“What kind of education did she receive?”
The servant obediently recited the list of education Merche had received.
Astronomy, botany, zoology, logic, ethics, politics, rhetoric, poetry……
“All of that? She came here when she was only seven.”
“Yes. She has been attending the education since then.”
“Then, the Lord must have ordered that too.”
“That’s right. All instructions related to the lady’s education are under the Lord’s jurisdiction….”
“Is he possessed by an evil spirit that died from lack of education? What kind of crazy person makes a seven-year-old kid study dozens of subjects? Can all of that even fit in a fist-sized head?”
“Ah, no. Why are you getting angry at me again…!”
Although Rude glared, the servant, who had lost his fear due to the sense of injustice, suddenly raised his voice.
Even that soon became silent under the ferocious young master’s swearing, but the servant, who had quietly lowered his eyes, still stubbornly retorted.
“The lady has shown remarkable results in all those educations…. She has never carelessly missed a single class, and her nobility and etiquette are no less than any royalty. She has always been polite even to lowly people like us.”
Merche’s authority was firm within the castle.
At first glance, she seemed cold and chilly, but her words and actions were always as warm as the spring sunshine.
One of the still famous stories in the castle was the incident when a group of servants who were caught gossiping about her were about to be flogged, but she stopped the butler, saying, “If there is honor that can be tarnished by someone’s gossip, then I have no honor.”
She was such a perfect person.
Unlike someone who throws whatever he can get his hands on and only speaks curses or threats….
The servant with sorrowful eyes swallowed a deep sigh.
Rude, who was quietly looking at such a servant for some reason, muttered in a low voice.
“…She’s overly kind to anyone and everyone.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, forget it. That lady you just praised. Your polite Lady Merche. If she’s in this castle, why hasn’t she shown her face at all?”
“…T-That’s.”
The servant stammered, unable to answer.
It was a rumor that had spread throughout the castle that knights were lined up in front of Merche’s room and that she had been ordered to be confined.
If it was an order of confinement, it was an instruction directly given by the Lord. In Lupinus Castle, the Lord was an absolute taboo.
A lowly person cannot dare to gossip about the master.
Rude immediately flared up at the servant who was clearly keeping his mouth shut despite knowing something.
“You bastard. Open your mouth right now.”
“I can’t. Just kill me instead…!”
“You think I can’t kill you if you tell me to? Spill it before I smash your face.”
“I can’t, young master…!”
When a scuffle broke out between the master who was trying to get an answer somehow and the servant who was resisting, there was a commotion from the front of the door, and suddenly the door opened. Standing there was Elizabeth Lupinus with a complicated expression.
Mother. The person who had lived the past 20 years in agony, suffering from severe neurosis, thinking Rude was dead, and who had shed ear-piercing cries while holding him a few days ago.
Rude frowned at the appearance of the annoying opponent.
Elizabeth slowly walked towards her son.
“…You look terrible.”
“……”
“I heard you starved for a week out of stubbornness. That’s why your face is so haggard.”
Elizabeth’s hand brushed Rude’s rough cheek.
It was an awkward and trembling touch, but it clearly contained deep affection, so Rude couldn’t easily shake it off.
As Elizabeth turned around, she spoke to the few servants who were waiting.
“Go and bring a meal.”
“…Lady Komeo. We cannot disobey the Lord’s orders.”
“Then? Should I go and confess to Genovefa? That a lowly person disobeyed my order and dared to look down on me.”
“L-Lady Komeo.”
“It’s a lunch for a sinful mother to share with her son. Since my son has starved for days, bring something mainly soft so that he doesn’t get sick.”
It was an order from the companion whom the Lord cherished terribly.
Either way, it was clear that they would be punished, but it was better to bear the anger of one side than to receive the anger of both the Lord and his wife at the same time, so the servant finally nodded and withdrew.
[This is the timeline separator]“Lord. There is a letter that you need to check.”
Genovefa, who had been processing documents without a moment’s disturbance, raised his head.
Even while doing so, his hand was still holding the pen nib and moving neatly.
“If the butler is interrupting my work, it must be an important letter.”
Otherwise, it means that he will duly punish him.
The butler bowed politely to Genovefa without any additional comments and handed him two letters.
As the head of one of the six most renowned families in the kingdom, it was not difficult to recognize the identities of the seals on the letters.
Especially if those two seals symbolized the six meritorious families, just like Lupinus’.
A seal in the shape of waves enveloping a sword. And a seal depicting entangled, chaotic snakes and flowers.
Each of them was from the Fondo and Venenum families, respectively, among the meritorious families.
Genovefa tore open the letter from the Fondo family first.
“…Butler. Prepare to receive a guest of the family. The third son of the Fondo family wishes to visit in a fortnight.”
“The successor’s announcement ceremony is still more than a month away. A visit in a fortnight seems too early.”
“The pretext is that he will come early because he is not scheduled to attend the announcement ceremony. But it’s hard to fully believe, so we’ll have to figure out his hidden motive. We’ll need the wisdom of many.”
“I will organize a list of trusted retainers and issue a summons.”
No lengthy explanation was needed between the lord and butler who had been together for a long time.
The two read hidden intentions and perfectly understood each other even with concise words.
Genovefa next tore open the letter from Venenum.
This time, it took relatively longer to read the letter.
The butler saw the faint wrinkles on his master’s forehead and asked even more humbly, lowering his body.
“Is Venenum trying to be rude to you, my lord?”
“…Essentially, it’s not much different from Fondo’s. It also says that they will visit the castle early.”
“If I may humbly express my opinion, I suspect there is collusion between the two families.”
How could this happen if the two families had not agreed in advance? The butler’s eyes gleamed ominously.
“How dare they, to the lord of Lupinus…”
It was as if he would kill all those who sent the letters if he could.
Genovefa lightly laughed and waved his hand, as if that blind loyalty was commendable.
“That’s enough. At least the young snake of Venenum says he will visit around the end of next month, so we can take some time to prepare for this guest.”
“…But my lord. The time is too short to present the young master in front of the two guests.”
“…Yes. That’s true. My recovered son, that ignorant beast-like child.”
Then, after repeatedly signing various documents without saying anything, Genovefa suddenly opened his mouth at the end of the silence.
“Did you say that child even refuses to take a bath?”
“Yes. Three or four servants who tried to attend to him suffered considerable injuries and withdrew.”
“…But, when that thing came to the castle. At that time, he clearly looked like he had been washed. Right, butler?”
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.]
