-So, Roxy. Just end it with checking your power. Everyone will want that.
Roxiana swallowed dryly, relieved that they didn’t want her to face the demon god.
Just making eye contact filled her with unbearable terror. She knew those eyes would drag her into nightmares for a very long time. She never wanted to see such a thing again.
But she couldn’t say this to Jin, who was fading away. Jin was about to die, and she felt too cowardly.
As if reading Roxiana’s thoughts, Jin smiled.
-It’s natural to be scared. After all, that’s a god. You’re human. I’m scared of it too.
Roxiana’s face reddened with shame. Stroking her head as she bit her lower lip, Jin said.
-Let’s stop talking about demon gods and gloomy things. I’m about to disappear now. Is there anything you want to ask me? I think I can answer one thing before I leave.
Roxiana didn’t know what to say to the wind spirit who cared even about her cowardice. Then suddenly something she was curious about came to mind.
“The thing inside the Grand Duke. The thing inside Floyd Ratean, is it the fire spirit?”
Jin smiled.
-Correct. It’s the revered Fire Spirit King Ifrit.
She was sure it was a fire spirit, but she didn’t know it was the Spirit King. Seeing Roxiana’s eyes widen, Jin said in a cheerful voice.
-Since the King is trapped in a human body and has trouble communicating with you, the fire spirits are unable to respond to you while watching the King. Ifrit has quite a temper, so he can’t stand seeing others having fun.
“Ah….”
She wondered if it was okay to talk about the King like that, but then realized Jin was about to disappear.
-If you get the chance later, try using the fire spirits. They’re destructive and intense, perfect for short, powerful battles. Ah, my time is up now.
Jin was almost gone. But enough remained to see the gentle, peaceful expression on his face.
Jin spoke plainly to the saddened Roxiana.
-Goodbye, Roxy. Please take good care of the Jin who will take my place.
+++
When Roxiana opened her eyes, she was lying on a soft bed wrapped in a gentle blanket. Seeing dozens of Adelia flowers painted on the ceiling, she realized this was her bedroom in the Lily Palace.
“Did you sleep well?”
She wasn’t surprised by the voice coming from beside her. Roxiana turned her head to gaze at Floyd sitting in a chair next to the bed.
He looked like he hadn’t slept for a long time, with dark circles under his eyes. Knowing it was because of her, she felt sorry.
“I must have been unconscious for a long time.”
Floyd just stared at her silently, neither blaming nor getting angry. His intense gaze was overwhelming, so Roxiana subtly averted her eyes.
“I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Again, Floyd didn’t answer. Seeing his jaw muscles twitch, Roxiana could tell he was swallowing words he wanted to say.
So Roxiana also stopped apologizing and waited for him to say something. A very long time passed as they gazed at each other in silence.
Finally, Floyd opened his mouth.
“I love the princess.”
He paused there, then corrected himself.
“I now know very well what it means to be with the princess.”
I really know now.
As long as I love this woman, I’ll live with anxiety and fear that she might never wake up, guilt that I can’t do much for her, and anger at her reckless actions that disregard her own life.
Holding Roxiana in his arms after she collapsed, half-swallowed by the rift and spat out, continuously infusing her with life force as she wouldn’t wake up, Floyd thought.
If only I hadn’t fallen in love with this woman. If I hadn’t developed deep feelings for her, I could have used this useful power without a care. I wouldn’t have to feel such despair, as if the sky was falling, every time she collapsed.
Anger welled up, but he couldn’t tell who it was directed at.
Was it towards the reckless Roxiana, towards himself for not being able to stop her, or towards Lucas and Elise who sent Roxiana to his side?
“If I.”
If I hadn’t loved you, it would have been easier than this. Much easier.
Floyd swallowed the words he wanted to say.
“Whatever I say, you won’t listen, will you, Princess?”
“No, Your Highness. I….”
She had no intention of doing such reckless things anymore.
A demon god, of all things.
She had only wanted to gauge how far she could go when facing Elise and Lucas. But the red eyes she encountered there were a calamity beyond what humans could handle.
Roxiana wanted to share that fear with Floyd, but seeing his cold gaze, different from before, she couldn’t speak. Floyd stared at Roxiana with cool eyes, then stood up.
“I’ve seen you wake up, so that’s enough. I’ll call Petria for you.”
She couldn’t stop him as he turned and left. Roxiana watched his retreating figure with trembling eyes, then lowered her head.
+++
Following behind Floyd as he strode away, Kirshan said.
“The princess eliminated the rift, my lord.”
“So?”
“That’s something no one else in this world has accomplished. Not even you, my lord.”
“So?”
“You shouldn’t blame her.”
Floyd stopped abruptly and glared at Kirshan. Kirshan thought it was fortunate they were still in the Lily Palace, under Roxiana’s influence. Because Floyd’s gaze was more terrifying than ever.
‘I almost got burned to death for real.’
Floyd quietly glared at Kirshan, then started walking again. Hexten and Robert, who had been waiting in the Lily Palace garden, saw the two and approached.
“Has the princess woken up?”
“Yes.”
Robert, worried about Roxiana, didn’t notice Floyd’s expression and hurried inside the building, but Hexten followed behind Floyd and asked.
“The princess is awake, so why are you so angry?”
“I’m not in the mood for your jokes right now.”
“How about a beer then?”
“…Not that either.”
Floyd wished the knights would leave him alone, but Kirshan and Hexten didn’t. Hexten said.
“I know how you feel, my lord. I get furious too whenever Jewel and Den do reckless things without realizing the danger. I get angry because I’m worried they might get hurt, but those kids just cry saying daddy’s scary. I understand, I really do.”
You don’t understand at all, Floyd thought.
“But what can we do? Even when I’m furious, they’re still my children, and even when my heart is torn, I still love them.”
Maybe he does understand a little, Floyd thought.
Even when he was furious, she was still Roxiana Franche, and even when his heart was torn, he still loved her. It made him even angrier that it was an emotion he couldn’t control.
If only I hadn’t loved her. If only these misplaced feelings that I can’t even express hadn’t sprouted. If that were the case, it would have been much better than this.
A human eliminated the rift.
This is an amazing feat that could shake the whole world. It’s a miracle that was nearly impossible.
Of course, Roxiana deserved praise, and the knights should have been toasting and rejoicing that a ‘useful person’ like Roxiana had come to Torkan. But Floyd didn’t want Roxiana to be a ‘useful person’.
‘If only I hadn’t loved you.’
By now, there should have been a grand festival in this Torkan. Not this funeral-like atmosphere.
“Any news of Ranian Franche?”
“No, not yet.”
Nothing is going right, Floyd thought.
To be fair, many things were going well. 99 out of 100 things were going well and only one thing was wrong, but he couldn’t understand why it felt like everything was ruined.
They say when you’re in love, the whole world seems brilliant, but brilliant my ass. Perhaps this is what happens when someone who shouldn’t love falls in love at a time when they shouldn’t.
Floyd stopped before leaving the Lily Palace garden and turned around.
His eyes met Roxiana’s, who was watching from the bedroom terrace.
He was angry, and it seemed better not to see her face for a while, but the moment he saw her, he felt dizzy again. Floyd realized he would approach her like a moth to a flame once more.
Love is truly relentless, Floyd thought.
+++
Slap-! Slap-! Slap-!
The sharp sound cut through the air several times. Lucas’s lip split as he was slapped by Joseph V’s hand. Kristin Pelur’s face turned pale as she saw blood trickling from her son’s mouth.
“Your Majesty, please…”
Kristin pleaded, but Joseph V didn’t stop.
Slap-! Slap-!
Even after slapping him a few more times, Joseph V’s anger didn’t subside.
“You crazy bastard!”
“Why am I a crazy bastard?”
Lucas glared at Joseph V and growled.
“At least I’m trying to take responsibility, unlike you, Father. I’m just trying to take responsibility for my child, why does that make me a crazy bastard?”
“This bastard is still-!”
As Joseph V raised his hand again, Kristin clung to his arm.
“Your Majesty, please stop now. He’ll die at this rate.”
“Let him die! Tell him to die! A man who’s supposed to become king of a country wants to marry some woman from who knows where, I’d rather see him dead than see that! Tell him to die!”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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