Roxiana couldn’t understand why she was saying such things.
Perhaps it was because she hoped that if she protected someone, since she couldn’t do anything and failed to protect her family, God would take pity and embrace her family.
Floyd frowned.
“No, you can’t.”
“I might be able to help.”
“That power is very useful, but I never want to see you use it again. Do you know what state you were in when you collapsed?”
“But I’m alive like this. I’ll be Your Highness’s sword and shield.”
“A seductress?”
“If that’s what you want, that too.”
Floyd laughed heartily.
“Being a seductress might not be so bad. If I share a bed with the princess, I could use a soft blanket too. But no thank you, princess. Right now, you look like you’d have trouble playing the role of a proper lady, let alone a brazen seductress.”
Floyd looked Roxiana up and down before saying,
“Unless you want me to carry you in my arms to the Lily Palace, get up now and go rest.”
Roxiana realized that being stubborn wouldn’t work. Moreover, she remembered that she wasn’t in a position to be forceful.
Until recently, she had no will to live and only wanted to die. She felt so guilty about even breathing that she couldn’t swallow anything.
She was perplexed by her own attitude, acting as if nothing was wrong just because she had saved a few people.
‘Right, nothing has changed.’
She still didn’t know how to do anything. She collapsed after accepting the spirit, causing trouble for Floyd. A body that crumbles after briefly accepting a spirit couldn’t possibly help in killing monsters.
Floyd silently watched Roxiana as she left the bed and headed towards the door without a sound.
It was strange how she suddenly turned into a ghost-like figure when just moments ago she had been burning with fighting spirit, ready to march onto the battlefield.
‘Why is she acting like this again? Did I say something wrong?’
He was grateful that her power had saved people who were on the verge of death. But he never wanted to experience what happened next again.
A body turning cold enough for frost to form!
It was thanks to a capricious, mad being that she could be saved. She called it a fire spirit, but whatever it was, it was clear that it rarely moved as Floyd wanted.
If her body froze again, it was uncertain whether they would be lucky enough to save her like this time.
But unable to shake off the concern for her weakly opening the door without looking back even once, Floyd found himself calling out to her without realizing.
“Princess.”
Roxiana turned her head with her hand on the doorknob. Floyd carefully asked, looking at her dejected eyes.
“Are you upset?”
Roxiana’s eyes widened then narrowed. She seemed rather angered by his words, slightly furrowing her brow before returning to a blank expression and replying calmly.
“Your Highness is truly an absurd person.”
+++
As Roxiana walked towards the main palace, she felt the gazes of the employees. She knew they were glancing at her and whispering among themselves, but she pretended not to notice or hear, focusing only on walking forward.
After passing through the large garden next to the main palace, she saw the arch leading to the Lily Palace garden. For the first time today, Roxiana properly took in the scenery of the Grand Ducal Palace.
While Floyd’s bedroom was bleak, the palace garden was bright and beautiful. Despite it being late November when plants lose their vigor in winter in the Kingdom of Canta, perhaps because it wasn’t so cold here, plants were still growing vibrantly.
Roxiana entered the Lily Palace garden, brushing the vines wrapped around the arch with her fingers as she walked. Passing the pond where the child had collapsed, she entered the Lily Palace, where the working employees bowed their heads in surprise.
“Princess.”
She couldn’t understand why the employees who had been indifferent until now were greeting her so politely, but Roxiana responded with a slight nod.
“I’m not a princess, I’m Roxiana. Please just call me Roxiana.”
She didn’t understand why everyone still called her princess when she was no longer one. Perhaps it was because the owner of this Grand Ducal Palace called her that, but the title was very painful and burdensome.
Roxiana went up the stairs, leaving behind the employees who couldn’t respond. Entering her bedroom on the second floor, Petria, who had been cleaning, rushed over hurriedly.
“Lady Roxiana! Are you alright? I heard you collapsed. Are you not feeling too ill?”
Roxiana examined Petria’s face with a newfound feeling.
From the beginning, Petria had been polite and kind to Roxiana, attending to her thoughtfully. Just like Rasha.
A gratitude she hadn’t been able to feel until now due to her lack of emotional capacity welled up in her chest.
“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying, Petria.”
“I’m so glad, really. I heard you accomplished a great feat. Jacky was talking so much about it, everyone in the Lily Palace knows what you did.”
“Jacky?”
“Oh, he’s an apprentice cook working in the kitchen. He collapsed yesterday because of the contaminated water. He asked me to convey his deepest gratitude and lifelong loyalty to you. He’d be overjoyed if you acknowledged him sometime.”
Roxiana didn’t know how to react to Petria’s fuss.
She had only done what she could. She didn’t feel like she had bestowed a great favor upon them.
“Aren’t you hungry? The cooks are eager to make anything for you, princess.”
“For me?”
“Yes, everyone wants to do anything for you. You’re their benefactor, after all.”
“Ah…”
As Roxiana closed her mouth, not knowing what to say, Petria blushed.
“Yes, I understand how you must feel, Lady Roxiana. It’s absurd how their attitude has completely changed after receiving your grace when they used to treat you so poorly. I’ve been scolding them so much, you wouldn’t believe it.”
To Roxiana, it was natural for the employees to treat her carelessly. It would be strange to treat someone politely who had a slave’s brand so visibly marked.
“So, Lady Roxiana. Please tell me if there’s anything you’d like to eat. We can’t use water freely yet, so we can’t make anything too fancy, but we’ll cook for you with all our heart.”
“Just… I’ll eat some fruit.”
After Petria left, Roxiana collapsed onto the sofa, drained of energy.
She didn’t know that accepting a spirit into her body would consume so much energy. Her body was still shivering, her legs felt weak, and it was hard to breathe as if her lungs had solidified.
‘Still, everyone survived safely.’
Roxiana hugged a cushion embroidered with Adelia flowers.
While thinking it was fortunate, she couldn’t escape the thought that it would have been good if she could have helped when her family was dying.
Roxiana buried her face in the cushion, trying to escape from the terrible despair.
She didn’t realize that until recently, she had let despair consume her, but now she was trying to escape it.
‘It’s fortunate. If my family saw, they would say I did very well. God must think I did well too. That’s why He showed me Ekion in my dream.’
As Roxiana was recalling Ekion’s gentle touch, Petria returned with a fruit basket. Setting down the basket filled with fresh fruits, Petria said,
“Lady Roxiana, a guest has arrived. They’re waiting in the reception room…”
“A guest?”
Until now, Floyd was the only person who had come to see Roxiana. Moreover, he always entered her bedroom as he pleased, so she was curious about who this polite guest waiting in the reception room could be.
“Yes, Lord Renardeau has come to visit.”
+++
As Roxiana entered the reception room on the first floor, Hexten, who had been waiting on the sofa, stood up abruptly.
Hexten, who usually wandered around in shabby attire, was wearing the knight order’s ceremonial uniform. With his usually disheveled hair neatly combed back and wearing a golden sash, he looked like a knight coming to have an audience with the king.
He stood before Roxiana, clenched his right hand into a fist, placed it over his left chest, and bowed his head.
“Hexten Renardeau of the Golden Lion Knight Order pays his respects to Princess Franche.”
Not expecting to receive such a formal greeting, Roxiana stood still, staring at him blankly before saying,
“I am not a princess, Lord Renardeau. Please raise your head.”
“You are a princess. No matter what anyone says, to me, you are a princess.”
Hexten spoke with his head still bowed.
“You saved my daughter, Your Highness. If you hadn’t been there, my family would now be in despair, facing my daughter’s lifeless body. So you saved me, you saved my wife and son, and you saved my daughter.”
His voice, though resolute, trembled slightly.
“Since you saved my treasure, please allow me to offer you a knight’s oath.”
“A knight’s oath… Lord Renardeau. I am now merely a slave. If you swear a knight’s oath to me, it would be the utmost insult not only to you but also to your family and order members.”
“I have already sought permission from my family and order members. I only need your permission, Your Highness.”
Roxiana was bewildered by Hexten’s stubborn attitude. Hexten remained with his head bowed, as if he wouldn’t move until permission was granted.
Cold Male Lead Became My Clingy Husband (Female-Dominant)
Feng Bai Su transmigrated into a matriarchal novel, becoming the sister of the female protagonist and the Seventh Princess of the Feng Ling Kingdom.
After working herself to death in her previous life, finally reincarnating as a princess, she only wanted to be a lazy fish who could eat, sleep, and play.
Until she met the male protagonist from the book, Wei Jing Mo, and he took a liking to her!
Wei Jing Mo is the top young man in Feng Ling City, talented in both appearance and ability, from a prestigious family, with a cold and otherworldly appearance, a figure like the bright moon in the hearts of noble ladies. It was thought that only the most powerful and talented noble lady in Feng Ling City would be worthy of such a brilliant young man. Who knew that this young gentleman would secretly admire the infamous Seventh Princess?
Short scene 1:
Feng Bai Su looked at the young man crying like a pear blossom in the rain before her, and couldn’t help but doubt her life.
Wasn’t the male lead described as a cold and otherworldly figure in the book?
Then who was this poor little thing crying with swollen red eyes and tear-stained face?
Short scene 2:
Wei Jing Mo stared intently at Feng Bai Su who was about to go out, wanting to say, “Be careful on the road.”
Before he could speak, Feng Bai Su suddenly bent down and bit his cheek.
Her peach blossom eyes were full of disdain: “Tsk! You’re so clingy!”
Wei Jing Mo: “…”
A talented fox spirit female lead with a flirtatious appearance but actually abstinent VS A cold-looking but actually naive and clingy little jealous male lead
