Floyd felt Roxiana’s gaze and turned his head, then smirked when he saw her expression. He brushed back his messy bangs carelessly as he spoke.
“I don’t know what nonsense I’m spouting to a princess who wants to die. It must be a good thing for you, Princess.”
“I think you’re doing well.”
“Pardon?”
“I think Your Majesty is doing very well.”
Floyd stopped mid-motion with his hand in his hair and stared at Roxiana. Roxiana now looked straight ahead, averting her gaze from him, and spoke calmly.
“There’s no right answer on the path of a monarch. A ruler is someone the people can trust and feel at ease with. The fact that they’re preparing for a festival even as the river is polluted and people are dying, means they believe Your Majesty will somehow resolve things.”
“…”
“The fact that all citizens can believe in Your Majesty with one heart even amidst threats, I think it’s because Your Majesty is doing very well. So there’s no reason for Your Majesty to go mad or lose your mind.”
Her voice, flowing without rise or fall, settled in Floyd’s chest like a song. The platinum blonde hair swaying slightly in the breeze hurt his eyes.
Floyd unconsciously reached out his hand towards her hair. The soft strands caught on his fingertips. He wrapped the ends around his finger and tugged lightly, pulling her head closer.
The face drawn near, eyes widened in surprise, emerald-like irises within, and slightly uneven breath. She must have eaten grapes before Floyd came, as her breath was mixed with the scent of grapes.
As her breath touched him, Floyd felt like electricity was running down his spine, while also wondering why he had acted this way as he opened his mouth.
“I didn’t expect to hear such words from you, Princess.”
Roxiana’s eyelids, which had been wide open in surprise, lowered. She looked down and whispered.
“A slave has spoken out of turn.”
“There you go again with that talk. What should I do to stop that word ‘slave’ from coming out of your mouth?”
“You need not do anything, Your Majesty. I am facing reality properly.”
“Is accepting that you’re a slave and wanting to die quickly without even returning to God’s embrace what you call facing reality?”
The lowered eyelids rose again.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
She looked Floyd straight in the eye whenever she spoke of death. Floyd wished she would look at him directly like that when she wanted something other than death.
“Jewelry!”
A sharp voice cut through the air. Floyd and Roxiana, who had forgotten where they were until then, returned to reality.
As Roxiana turned her head, her eyes caught sight of a small figure collapsed by the pond. The moment she saw the tiny body sprawled on the ground, Roxiana jumped up and ran.
‘No!’
She was reminded of her young nieces and nephews who never even got to see their corpses.
My young and lovely nieces and nephews who departed without properly enjoying this life.
Just before Roxiana’s hand could reach Jewelry, Floyd shouted.
“Stop!”
As Roxiana flinched in surprise and turned to look at Floyd, he had already approached right next to her and roughly grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
“You mustn’t touch with bare hands.”
Floyd said in a heavy voice as he looked down at Jewelry and Dennis. Dennis was already tightly hugging his young sister.
Jewelry’s dress skirt was soaked as if she had fallen into the water, and Dennis’s clothes were also getting wet from holding her.
“Let go, Den.”
“Je, Jewelry… I… I pushed her… It was just a prank…”
“I understand, so let go.”
Floyd took off his top. His tanned upper body was revealed under the sunlight. He grabbed Dennis’s shoulder, who was reluctant to let go, pushed him aside, and then wrapped Jewelry with the shirt he had taken off.
The large shirt was more than enough to completely envelop Jewelry’s small body.
“Da, Dad… Call Dad…”
“Stay here, Dennis.”
Floyd said, looking at Dennis’s wet pants and top that had gotten soaked from holding Jewelry. Floyd called out loudly for people, and the nearby employees came running.
While Floyd was giving them instructions, Roxiana stood frozen, staring at Jewelry.
Jewelry looked as if she were dead. Just until moments ago, she had been laughing cheerfully and playing with her brother, but now her face was so pale it made one doubt if that had been an illusion.
Roxiana’s eyes, which had been looking down at Jewelry without even breathing, moved to the child’s ankle. A reddish rash had appeared on the ankle slightly visible beneath the wrapped shirt.
It looked so painful that it made her heart ache. Her hand, which she had stretched out wanting to do something for the child who had given her a bouquet with a bright smile, was caught by Floyd.
“Don’t touch her, Princess. The water here is also contaminated. There’s nothing you can do.”
There’s nothing you can do.
Those words struck Roxiana’s heart.
It had always been like this. There was never anything Roxiana could do.
When her country was being destroyed, when her family was dying, when her knight and maid were dying, there was nothing Roxiana could do.
Despite being unable to do anything, she was still alive and breathing, so could there be a more miserable life than this?
The employees who had received instructions returned with a stretcher. As Floyd was lifting Jewelry to lay her on the stretcher, a scream that seemed to tear through the air was heard.
“Jewelry!”
Roxiana’s frozen eyes turned towards where the anguished cry came from.
A man in knight’s attire was running over. He had tanned skin, brown hair, and a rough appearance with a long scar on his right cheek.
He brushed past Roxiana and tried to embrace Jewelry who was laid on the stretcher. Floyd grabbed his shoulder forcefully and pulled him away.
“Calm down, Hexten!”
“My lord, Jewelry… Jewelry…!”
Floyd lightly hit the back of Hexten’s head as he gasped and couldn’t even speak properly.
“Dennis got wet too. Take care of Dennis.”
“Ah…”
Only then did Hexten’s eyes turn to his son crying beside him. Hexten hadn’t even realized that Dennis was holding onto his trouser leg and bawling.
Reality began to enter his eyes, which had turned dark from the moment he heard that Jewelry had fallen into the pond and collapsed. Hexten removed Dennis’s wet clothes with trembling hands.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I did wrong, Dad… Waaah.”
He should say it’s okay, but he couldn’t say anything. It was painful even to breathe as if his heart would burst. The reality that he couldn’t do anything as a father for the child lying on the stretcher was terrible.
Once again his eyes stung and it felt like tears would flow, but he barely held back for Dennis’s sake.
Hexten thoroughly wiped Dennis’s body with a towel brought by an employee and wrapped the child’s body with a blanket. Hexten tried to lift Dennis, but no strength came to his arms.
‘My daughter…’
She was a daughter more precious than a thousand pieces of gold.
Hexten’s life, which had only been rough until then, completely changed when he met his wife and had two children. The moment when the child was born and he held her in his arms felt as vivid as if it were yesterday.
That day when he resolved to protect them, to not let any danger touch them. The days when he felt both pleased and wistful watching the children grow so rapidly. That moment when Jewelry first called him “Dad.”
All those moments flashed by in a very short time.
“Move aside, Hexten.”
Adrian, who had run after Hexten, stepped forward, unable to bear watching Hexten’s repeated failed attempts.
“Ah, no…”
Hexten didn’t have the strength to lift Dennis, yet he was unwilling to let go of his son. As Cain grabbed Hexten’s arm to lift him up, Adrian sighed and picked up the sobbing Dennis.
“Don’t cry, Dennis. Are you a crybaby?”
“Je, Jewelry… Because of me, Jewelry…”
“It’s not because of you. And Jewelry what? She’s not dead. She’s still alive. Kirshan will treat her. So don’t cry. If you keep crying, shall I cry too? Do you want to see me cry?”
Dennis made a strange sound like “heuheung” and buried his face in Adrian’s chest. Adrian patted Dennis’s back as he turned around, and Cain and Arsen supported the staggering Hexten as they followed Jewelry being carried on the stretcher.
Floyd, having resolved the entire situation, glanced at the petrified Roxiana before speaking to Petria.
“The water is contaminated. Take the princess inside and be careful not to let her touch the water.”
+++
Jewelry was not the only victim.
When Floyd called the employees, he ordered that no one should come in contact with the water, but the order came a bit late.
Several employees who frequently used water in the Lily Palace collapsed with symptoms similar to Jewelry’s. Cooks in the kitchen, maids doing laundry, servants drawing water from the well. Two knights from the Golden Lion Knights guarding near the Lily Palace.
Floyd had already instructed them to use water from the storage due to concerns about such an incident, but in the kitchen, they used the well water of the Lily Palace to use ‘fresh water’, and for laundry, they used it because they were ‘too lazy to go to the storage’, which caused this disaster.
When Roxiana entered the building with Petria, screams and cries were erupting from here and there. Roxiana also saw the sight of other employees surrounding a maid who had collapsed while cleaning a window.
‘There’s nothing I can do.’
But Roxiana, unable to do anything, slowly walked while repeating those words inwardly, which were stuck in her heart like thorns. Upon entering her room, Roxiana reached the sofa and collapsed onto it, her strength drained.
Even while knowing she could do nothing, the smile of the child who had handed her the bouquet with a bright grin wouldn’t leave her mind.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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