Even Floyd would have to give in when Arsen gave frank advice. Arsen was stubborn, inflexible, old-fashioned, and arrogant.
To such an Arsen, Roxiana was nothing but a slave, regardless of her past status. The fact that he used honorifics with Roxiana was only because Floyd was present; if Floyd hadn’t been there, he would have spoken to her as one would to a slave.
Yet this Arsen fell silent at a few words from Roxiana. Honestly, Cain felt a sense of satisfaction at that moment.
‘Serves you right, you arrogant bastard!’
However, as time passed, concerns began to arise, separate from Roxiana’s dignity. Hexten’s eyes were filled with both expectation and worry. Cain didn’t want to see his colleague’s glimmer of hope crumble into despair. Cain placed his hand on Hexten’s arm, but Hexten was too tense to notice.
−”Even if it costs me my life, I will save this child.”
While worried about Jewelry, those words from Roxiana kept bothering him. Not knowing what method Roxiana intended to use, he was concerned that she might resort to some unknown forbidden black magic.
He wanted to save Jewelry, but not at the cost of someone else’s life. Neither Jewelry nor his wife Persia would want that.
Yet he lacked the courage to rush in and stop Roxiana. Thinking this might be the only chance for his daughter to survive, he couldn’t move, even while worrying about her.
He felt pathetic and cowardly, making him want to retch.
“This won’t do, my lord!”
Hexten made his resolve.
He wanted to save his daughter. He would do anything to save her, but not at the cost of someone else’s life. He shouldn’t try to save his daughter using another’s life instead of his own.
“We must stop the princess…”
Just as Hexten said that.
Whoosh—!
A sound of something rushing came through the door crack. It was similar to the sound of pouring rain.
Crash—!
There was also the sound of something breaking and falling.
The people in the hallway stared at the treatment room door with wide eyes, then rushed towards it without anyone taking the lead.
The scene visible through the open door was different from what they had imagined.
“Water…”
Water was dripping from the ceiling, walls, and bed. The floor was flooded as if a downpour had occurred.
And in the middle of it all stood Roxiana, completely drenched.
Water dripped from her wet hair as well. Her figure, standing there with arms hanging limply, somehow didn’t seem real.
The sunset coming through the window tinted the water droplets on her body crimson, making her appear as if surrounded by orange jewels.
No, it wasn’t just an appearance; it seemed as if light was actually flowing from her.
“Je, Jewelry!”
Hexten, the first to come to his senses, rushed towards Jewelry’s bed. His shoulder collided with Roxiana.
At that moment, the light surrounding Roxiana disappeared, and her body crumbled. As Roxiana collapsed, Floyd rushed to catch and lift her.
And then.
“Ugh…”
“What? Where is this…?”
“Ah, I slept well.”
“Dad?”
The patients opened their eyes.
As if nothing had been wrong, perfectly fine.
+++
Floyd had no time to celebrate the revival of patients he thought would die.
‘Why…?’
Roxiana’s body was so cold. It felt like holding a block of ice.
‘Why…?’
It had been a very long time since Floyd had felt cold. The mad flame inside him made everything near him hot, so even a huge block of ice couldn’t provide coolness to Floyd.
But now, just holding her made him feel like he would freeze from the cold.
Something very cold and sharp flowed into Floyd’s body. Its force felt like it would freeze even Floyd’s heart, but he didn’t let go of her.
Whether his heart froze or not, he was more worried about her condition.
‘Is she alive?’
Roxiana’s lips were blue, as if she had been abandoned on an ice mountain for a long time. He could feel her faint breath, but even that was cold.
Floyd saw frost forming on his clothes and shoes. If this continued, everything in the treatment room might freeze.
Floyd held her close and headed to his room. The only thing in Floyd’s room was a steel bed, not even a single blanket.
“Damn it!”
Floyd shouted loudly, calling for people to bring as many blankets as possible. While the employees rushed to spread soft quilts on the bed, Floyd continued to hold Roxiana.
The lethal cold flowing from her had disappeared, but her body was still cold, and her lips hadn’t regained their color. After laying Roxiana on the bed, Floyd looked down at her and carefully reached out to grasp her wrist.
This time, there was no tingling sensation.
‘Hey.’
Floyd spoke to the mad entity inside him.
‘Why are you quiet now? I need you now, so why are you so quiet?’
As always, the mad entity gave no response.
Floyd called a servant and ordered them to bring Kirshan as soon as things were settled in the treatment room, then pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed.
Even though she was covered with blankets up to her chin, the faint cold emanating from Roxiana didn’t subside. Her face was so pale that if not for the slight rise and fall of the blanket, she might have looked dead.
Floyd rubbed his palms together for a while, then placed them on both of her cheeks. After doing this several times, he felt her body warm up a little.
Perhaps it was just his imagination from getting used to the cold, but Floyd clung to this small hope and continued to transfer the heat from his rubbed palms to her cheeks.
How many times did he do this?
At some point, the flame that never showed itself in Roxiana’s presence appeared on Floyd’s palms. Floyd blankly stared at the flame on his palms.
‘If I put this directly on her… she’ll get burned, right?’
No matter how cold Roxiana’s body was, it was clear she would be hurt if he applied the flame directly. As he was stuck, unable to do one thing or the other, something amazing happened.
The thin layer of flame on his palms flowed through the air on its own, touching Roxiana’s cheek and spreading wide and thin. Despite the flame on her skin, Roxiana’s cheek didn’t burn. Just like Floyd’s skin.
Floyd watched this amazing sight, unable to breathe, then suddenly came to his senses.
It doesn’t burn. What happened on the ship wasn’t a coincidence after all.
His flame cannot burn Roxiana.
Realizing this, Floyd became bolder. He had to do something before Roxiana’s increasingly faint breath stopped completely.
Floyd caressed her cheeks and stroked her neck. He gently caressed her shoulders and arms under the blanket. The flame on Floyd’s hands burned the blanket and the clothes she was wearing, but not a single blister formed on her skin.
His flame passed over her forearm, flowed across her chest, traversed the hollow, crossed the rounded hill, wound around her thighs and calves, pooled at the tips of her delicate toes, and then vanished.
The flame continued to flow into her body, yet she remained pale. As Floyd moved carefully yet hurriedly, a knock sounded.
“My lord, did you call for me?”
“No!”
Floyd shouted.
Roxiana was not in a state to be seen by Kirshan right now.
“Go away.”
“Is something wrong? I heard the princess collapsed earlier…”
“Everything’s fine, so go! Don’t let anyone enter.”
The hesitant footsteps faded away.
Floyd, who had momentarily paused, was about to reach out his hand again, but changed his mind upon seeing her wan skin. Floyd climbed onto the bed, lay down beside her, and whispered.
“I apologize, Princess. For doing this without your permission.”
Floyd’s thick arm slid under her head.
“But I cannot bear to see you die.”
His other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close.
“So I must keep you alive somehow. Even if you wouldn’t want it.”
His firm thigh touched her.
He pressed himself completely against her body and buried his face in her hair. Then, an astonishingly strong heat radiated from Floyd. It was an intense heat that made even Floyd, who was exerting the power, feel lightheaded.
In that scorching blaze, Floyd thought he heard a voice he had briefly heard a very long time ago.
−Damn it! Undi… you madman!
The rough voice befitting the mad entity spat out curses at someone before disappearing. As the heat that filled the room gradually subsided, Roxiana’s chest, held in Floyd’s arms, heaved greatly.
“Huff!”
Roxiana, who took a deep breath as if her frozen lungs had thawed, opened her eyes wide. She wasn’t surprised to see Floyd’s face right in front of her.
Blinking her eyes as if in a dream or wandering through an unreal world, Roxiana asked in a hoarse voice.
“The child…?”
“Safe. They’re all safe.”
She let out a small sigh of relief and closed her eyes. At that moment, a smile spread across her face. Though so faint it was barely perceptible, it was the first smile she had shown since coming to Torkan, and it etched itself into Floyd’s eyes.
Floyd unknowingly held his breath. A strange emotion he had never felt before welled up inside him.
“Thank goodness.”
“Yes, it’s fortunate. Everyone survived thanks to you, Princess.”
He stroked Roxiana’s back with a hand more forceful than before, whispering.
“Sleep a bit more. You’ve accomplished an amazing feat.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
