It was the first time I felt someone else’s lips overlapping mine. I had received kisses on the cheek from my parents, older brothers, and younger sibling, but this was the first time on the lips, so it felt unfamiliar and embarrassing.
The reason my heart was pounding was not because of excitement, but because I didn’t know what to do next.
Then I recalled Elise’s words.
– “A woman just needs to stay still, Princess. If you make the first move, you’ll look lascivious, so just stay still as if you don’t know anything and the man will take care of it. Just follow the man’s lead.”
I didn’t have the leisure to take the initiative and do anything anyway. Since I truly didn’t know anything, I stayed still, and as Elise said, Lucas took care of everything.
I remember it feeling like an eternity. Though none of the actions that followed were particularly enjoyable, I didn’t push Lucas away. Lucas was the man who would someday be my husband, and when that happened, I would have to accept even more than this.
After that, Lucas often kissed me, but I never felt the ‘world-shaking, explosive feeling’ described in many popular novels. It wasn’t terrible either, so Roxiana decided to think that this was just another kind of love.
The journey from the Great Temple to the Kingdom of Canta continued tediously. Roxiana wanted to return as soon as possible to meet her family, share stories of what had happened, and be surrounded by their warm affection.
The unexpected event occurred on the third day.
“Wh-What’s going on!”
“We’re under attack!”
“The coachman is dead! Get the princess to safety first!”
Along with panicked shouts, the carriage jerked to a stop before quickly starting to move again.
The sound of knights drawing their swords with curses could be heard.
Clang, clang-!
The sound of swords clashing grew more distant. The carriage seemed to have gone off the road, shaking violently.
Rasha, who had turned pale, looked at Roxiana with terrified eyes.
“Pr-Princess. It seems… we’re under attack… What should we do?”
Roxiana bit her lower lip and slightly pushed aside the curtain covering the carriage window to check outside. The scene of dense trees quickly passing by the window was unfamiliar.
Born as a princess of the Kingdom of Canta, she had lived in the safety of the palace. When she occasionally went out to the bustling areas of the capital, she was accompanied by numerous guard knights. This was her first time traveling so far away, but her father, Victian IV, had given her an elite knight unit for her daughter’s protection.
– “Father worries too much. The biggest danger on the way from here to the Great Temple would be bandits, yet he sends elite knights.”
Who had said that again?
Ah yes, it was her third older brother, Naufried. While shaking his head at their father’s excessive care, Naufried had pressed down on Roxiana’s shoulder and said:
– “Roti. No matter how dangerous the situation gets, you must keep your wits about you. Understand? If you think you’re going to be caught, be prepared to bite and kill at least one of them.”
– “It seems you’re the one worrying more.”
She also recalled her second older brother Ian chuckling beside Naufried. And how her nieces and nephews had clung to her skirt, begging her not to go.
Now that she was in a crisis, it wasn’t the time to reminisce about such peaceful scenes.
“Princess.”
A familiar face appeared outside the carriage window.
It was Robert, one of the guard knights.
Seeing his face, which had followed her like a shadow since childhood, slightly eased her fear.
“Robert, what’s happening? Is it monster beasts?”
The carriage was still moving, and Robert was riding alongside on horseback. His face was full of concern.
“It’s not monster beasts……”
That was all he managed to say.
Thwack-!
Something flew and pierced Robert’s neck. Roxiana belatedly realized it was an arrow.
Robert grabbed the arrow lodged in his neck with his hand, but then another arrow struck his chest.
There wasn’t even time for a scream. Roxiana forgot to breathe, staring at her collapsing guard knight.
For over a decade, he had been a steadfast wolf of the royal family protecting Roxiana. She blankly watched as the light faded from his brown eyes, which had remained sharp even in middle age.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Rasha’s scream filled the carriage. Only then did Roxiana come to her senses.
‘Not monster beasts, he said?’
Then what could make the royal elite knights so helpless?
‘It can’t be mere bandits. Bandits would be no match for the knights.’
She could only think that someone had known in advance that the Franche royal family’s carriage would pass through this place and had planned this attack. The attackers seemed to be highly skilled archers.
‘The coachman was probably killed by an arrow too. If they had rushed in with swords, the knights would have blocked them.’
They likely killed the coachman with arrows from the front, then attacked from behind while the knights were in confusion. The dense trees provided good cover for archers.
‘Who could it be? Who’s targeting the Franche royal family?’
She tried to think of hostile countries, but couldn’t think of any that would risk such an attack near the empire. The Kingdom of Canta had maintained amicable relations with several neighboring countries, and no one would start a reckless war due to the threat of monster beasts.
‘No, what’s important now isn’t who the enemy is.’
The identity of the enemy would soon be revealed. What mattered was surviving right now.
“Rasha.”
Roxiana firmly gripped the knees of Rasha, who was still screaming.
“Rasha! Get a hold of yourself!”
At Roxiana’s strong call, Rasha finally stopped screaming.
“Pri… Princess… Princess… Robert… Sir Robert……”
Rasha’s voice trembled uncontrollably, but Roxiana’s gaze remained steady. Thanks to the unwavering green eyes fixed on her, Rasha’s trembling gradually subsided.
“Rasha. Listen carefully. Given that the carriage is still intact, it seems they don’t intend to kill us right away. Their goal is probably to kidnap us.”
Rasha nodded, tears streaming down her face. There was no time to comfort her.
“They must have planned this for a long time and they’re skilled. We can’t escape their grasp even if we resist. So Rasha, when this carriage stops and they reach for us, don’t resist and do as they say. Don’t try to protect me either.”
“Bu-But Princess……”
Roxiana shook her head while keeping her gaze fixed on Rasha.
“Rasha, you can’t protect me. I don’t have the power to protect myself either. Resisting will only lead to a dog’s death, so we have no choice but to do as they want for now and plan for later.”
Though she spoke calmly to ease Rasha’s fear as much as possible, Roxiana couldn’t completely suppress the ominous feeling creeping up inside her.
The coachman was dead, and one of the knights must have taken over driving. Robert, who had been following the carriage, was dead, but there was no sign of the knight driving the carriage confronting the attackers.
It was suspicious that the attackers were leaving the knight driving the carriage alone.
‘It would be possible if the knight driving the carriage was on their side.’
If Roxiana’s guess was correct, it meant this had been planned for a very long time. A plan that had been in the works long enough for a spy to settle into the Canta royal knight order.
Her fingertips grew cold.
‘Are my family… safe?’
When the carriage stopped and the door was roughly opened, Roxiana realized her prediction had been correct. The knight who opened the carriage door was wearing the uniform of the Canta royal knight order, but behind him stood dozens of men dressed like mercenaries. And among them were a few more knights wearing the royal knight order uniform.
It meant there wasn’t just one traitor or spy.
Rasha burst into tears again. Roxiana wanted to cry too, but she glared at the knight and asked calmly.
“Since when?”
The knight raised his blindfold and answered.
“From the beginning.”
+++
They traveled blindfolded for a long time. Unable to see anything, it was impossible to know how many days had passed or where they were heading. They only knew it was mealtime when the carriage stopped and the smell of food wafted in.
Rasha refused to eat, but Roxiana devoured everything on the plate placed before her. She had to stay healthy, not knowing what would happen. If by chance they were rescued, she didn’t want to be a burden due to lack of strength.
Unable to see, she used her hands to pick up pieces of bread or meat and push them into her mouth without utensils.
“Even a princess can’t resist hunger, I see.”
“She probably never imagined eating food like this in her life. What a pitiful sight.”
Their mockery didn’t matter. Survival was the priority. The determination, wish, hope to somehow survive and see her family again.
Even though her hair became greasy from not washing for a long time, her skin roughened and began to smell unpleasant, Roxiana did not despair. At least not until the blindfold was finally removed and she realized she was standing in the Canta royal palace.
At first, Roxiana thought she must be seeing things wrong. She thought she was seeing an incorrect scene because she had been unable to see for so long. Because everything her eyes were taking in now made absolutely no sense.
The throne room of the Canta royal palace where Roxiana had lived since the moment of her birth.
Sitting on the high chair in the throne room she had frequented like her own room was not her father Victian IV, but someone else. The person sitting next to him in the queen’s chair was also not her mother Angelia, but someone else.
The knights guarding them, the courtiers standing at attention along the edges of the long carpet in the throne room, none of them were people Roxiana knew, and the coat of arms embroidered on the tapestry hanging on the wall behind the king’s chair was not that of the Franche royal family of the Kingdom of Canta.
And so Roxiana stared around the throne room for a long time without even blinking before finally managing to open her mouth.
“Lucas, why on earth……”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
