As he realized his feelings, the tension in his jaw loosened.
His finger, which had been tightly bitten, slipped out. He chuckled as he looked at the teeth marks left on his finger.
“It doesn’t even hurt. You think you could bite off my finger with this?”
Roxiana wanted to ask him.
Why are you trying so hard to save me? Wouldn’t it be better for Torcan if I died? Keeping me alive will only cause conflict with Gania, so why are you trying to save a troublesome woman who has nothing?
But before she could voice her questions, his finger entered Roxiana’s mouth again. This time it was a grape.
The crushed grape on his finger slid across Roxiana’s tongue and down her throat. He kept his finger in her mouth to prevent her from closing it, and fed her grape after grape.
The sweet and tangy fruit caused her long-dormant stomach to stir. Her body, which had felt like it was sinking into the ground, was regaining a tiny bit of strength.
“Live, Princess.”
He looked down at Roxiana with serious grey eyes as he spoke.
“You want to die. You don’t feel like living. I understand. I understand very well, but try to live anyway. Even when breathing itself is difficult and disgusting, if you struggle to keep living, someday something decent might happen, and then something good, and something to laugh about, and then you might think that it was worth staying alive after all.”
“How…”
Roxiana pushed his hand away with both of her hands.
“How would you know that?”
Her painfully hoarse voice rang out mournfully.
“How would you know such things?”
Floyd stared silently at Roxiana, who could barely muster the strength to utter a few words, let alone get angry.
A wind blew in. But it didn’t come from the open window, rather it started from the closed bedroom door. A breeze that carried the air of Torcan yet lacked the salty scent brushed Floyd’s hair several times as it passed.
As if trying to strike him on behalf of the powerless princess.
Floyd glanced briefly at the empty bedroom door, then turned back to Roxiana and said,
“I know. If no one else does, I do. So, Princess, try living for a while.”
Roxiana’s face contorted. She grabbed his thick forearm with both hands. She pulled his hand and placed it against her neck.
“I want to die, Your Highness. I really want to die. Please, please, Your Highness. I’ll do anything. Whatever Your Highness commands, I’ll follow without complaint or reluctance. So please, when I die, throw me into that sea. Tie a stone to me so no one can rescue me and throw me in.”
Floyd stared at her, his mouth firmly shut, as she desperately pleaded. Oddly out of place in this situation, he found himself distracted by the fruit juice trickling down the corner of her mouth.
Floyd wiped her mouth with his sleeve as he spoke.
“Alright, Princess. If you say you’ll do anything, then let’s do it.”
At that, light finally returned to her eyes that had been darkening towards death.
Was there anyone else who would regain their vitality upon hearing they would be allowed to die?
“But I don’t need a sword, shield, or sorceress. So let’s do something else.”
“What should I do?”
“Live.”
“…”
“Let’s properly live for just one year. Eat, sleep, take walks occasionally, and live like a normal person for just one year.”
Roxiana’s eyes wavered. Floyd thought her eyes looked like summer trees caught in a storm.
“Greet people when they speak to you, have conversations, go see plays sometimes, attend parties – live like that for just one year. That’s what I want from you, Princess.”
“And… if I live like that for a year…”
“If you still want to die after living like that for a year, I’ll kill you myself. I’ll bury you deep in that sea so no one can throw Adelia flowers for you.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“I don’t lie or make false promises, Princess.”
Floyd felt sick seeing her show hope at the promise of being killed. But he didn’t let it show as he picked up an apple from the tray, split it in half, and held it out to Roxiana.
“So eat, Princess. If you don’t recover enough to walk in the garden within a week, our agreement will be null and void.”
+++
Floyd left the bedroom with a grim expression. Petria was standing anxiously next to the food that had not yet been cleared away.
“The Princess has finished her meal, so take that away.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And…”
Floyd slowly looked around the reception room.
“Call in the craftsmen and have them fill the Lily Palace entirely with Adelia flowers.”
Petria’s eyes widened at the unexpected order.
“Fill it with Adelia flowers, you say…?”
“From the tapestries to the blankets, the carpets on the floor and every single vase, have Adelia flowers embroidered on everything. So that wherever the Princess draws her last breath, she can be embraced by God.”
+++
Floyd had said to live for just one year. He said she needed to recover enough to walk in the garden within a week.
Roxiana clung to that promise.
If she could only die without smelling the scent of Adelia, she would do anything. She had been prepared to be a sword, a shield, even a sorceress moving for his sake, so merely living wasn’t difficult at all.
Though she had no appetite, she dipped bread in soup and ate. At first, she couldn’t even swallow a single piece of bread properly, but by the next meal, she ate an entire loaf. Gradually, bit by bit, the amount she ate increased.
Even when her stomach churned and she felt like vomiting, she endured. She clamped her hands over her mouth and forced herself to swallow the food that threatened to come back up.
Petria was relieved that Roxiana was finally eating properly, but for Roxiana, it felt like chewing sand and swallowing pieces of metal.
After meals, she sat on the bed endlessly staring out the window. Though the place and air were different, the sky looked similar to the one she used to see from the princess’s bedroom in Ider Palace.
Seeing a sky like Canta’s made her think of her family, but she didn’t even dream when she slept. She wanted to see her family even in her dreams, but it seemed her family, unable to be embraced by God, had no opportunity to visit her dreams, leaving her in extreme sorrow every time she woke up.
The thought of enduring this pain and despair for a year ahead seemed overwhelming, but thinking that she would surely die after a year made nothing seem unbearable.
“Lady Roxiana. Your bath is ready.”
That morning too, Roxiana had eaten a bowl of soup and a piece of bread from the lavishly prepared meal and was sitting blankly on the bed. Until now, she had lacked the strength to get up, so Petria had wiped her down with a wet cloth, but today Roxiana had said she would bathe herself.
Roxiana dragged her heavy legs off the bed. An unfamiliar maid was standing in front of the bathroom with a displeased expression, holding a towel.
“This girl will assist you with your bath, Lady Roxiana.”
“It’s alright.”
Roxiana took the towel from the maid.
“I’ll bathe alone. You don’t need to assist me.”
“But Lady Roxiana…”
“I said I’ll bathe alone.”
When Roxiana spoke firmly, the maid snapped at Petria:
“She said she’ll bathe alone. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
The maid, irritated at the thought of having to assist the troublesome guest of Lily Palace with her bath, didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly turned to leave the room.
Roxiana wanted to smile at the embarrassed Petria, but as if she had forgotten how to smile, she couldn’t remember how to use the muscles in her face, so she just entered the bathroom.
Befitting a room for honored guests, the bathroom was also luxurious. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all white marble, and various flowers, trees, and animals were carved on the walls. There was a dolphin statue in the large bathtub, from whose mouth water flowed.
Next to the tub were a table and chair for enjoying light refreshments while taking a half-body bath, and the high windows were fitted with colorful glass, transforming the incoming sunlight into various hues that settled on the water in the tub.
Roxiana had never seen such an extravagant bathroom before. Even the bathroom in Ider Palace in Canta wasn’t this splendid.
‘Torcan certainly has a lot of money.’
The Huinacel region in the southwest of the continent, which is now the Grand Duchy of Torcan, was once an abandoned wasteland. There were too many fissures and monsters flowing from those fissures, and the magical energy had polluted the land so much that it was impossible for people to live there.
It was Floyd Ratean who pioneered this region into the current Torcan.
‘The Red Tiger who annihilates monsters.’
That was the title he earned while massacring the monsters that had occupied this land.
While monsters were terrible, the byproducts from monsters were very useful and traded at extremely high prices. It was probably thanks to this that Torcan grew rapidly and became one of the wealthiest countries.
Roxiana undressed and sat down in the bathtub filled with warm water.
‘What would it be like to face monsters?’
Roxiana had never seen a monster before. She had occasionally heard stories from knights about fighting monsters. They said that even several well-trained knights found it difficult to deal with them, as they were strong and used strange tactics.
Monster stories were scary but interesting, and sometimes kept Roxiana awake at night. When Roxiana would stay up late and go out into the hallway, whining about what she would do if a monster appeared, Robert, who guarded the hallway, would smile gently and say:
“Do not worry, Princess. I will always protect you, so you will never fall victim to a monster.”
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
_____
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