Cain thought his twin brother spoke too harshly, but he couldn’t refute it because it was true.
He hadn’t seen the slave brand on Roxiana with his own eyes. But the fact that she was trapped in a slave trader’s box meant that somewhere on her body, a slave brand was imprinted.
Although the Grand Duchy of Torkan had banned slavery, it still existed in other countries on the continent. Even in the Kingdom of Kanta, Roxiana’s country, slaves existed.
No matter how good a family one came from, the moment a slave brand was imprinted, the possibility of social advancement disappeared.
“Don’t you remember the story of Marquis Patran from the Kingdom of Bionik? Even though Marquis Patran loved his daughter so much, he killed her when she got the slave brand.”
Hearing Adrian’s words, that incident came to mind.
It happened two years ago. The daughter of Marquis Patran was kidnapped by bandits while on vacation and rescued a few months later. At the time, the Marquis’ daughter was serving as a night companion to a count from another country.
Marquis Patran, who had wanted to take his daughter back even if she hadn’t maintained her chastity, drew his sword with tears of blood when he saw the slave brand on her back. It was because he couldn’t keep a slave in the Marquis family.
“Marquis Patran avenged his daughter by killing the count, but the princess of Kanta has no family, so revenge is impossible… If they find out in Gania that she’s alive, they won’t leave her alone, so she won’t be able to settle in one place. It might have been better if she had died with her family.”
Adrian’s words were cold but true.
As Cain hesitated to respond, Hexten hit the back of Adrian’s head.
“Why are you hitting me? Do you want to die?”
“You really have a talent for speaking badly, Rian.”
“I told you not to call me Rian.”
Adrian hated his nickname that sounded too feminine. While Adrian and Hexten were bickering, Arsen, who had diligently completed his duty and come up, frowned at the sight.
“Have you been drinking, Hexten?”
Hexten shrugged. Arsen sighed and said,
“Refrain from drinking while on duty. The work here is roughly finished, so let’s go back now.”
+++
She heard a longed-for voice.
“Sister. Even after you get married, I’ll come to visit often. If Prince Lucas Pelur bothers you, I’ll scold him.”
Roxiana smiled as she heard the mature voice. Our youngest, my lovely brother Lanian.
Roxiana, who was always treated as the immature youngest, was overjoyed when her younger brother Lanian was born. Unlike her mischievous older brothers, she vowed to be a kind and good older sister to Lanian.
When Lanian’s chubby little hand tightly grasped Roxiana’s index finger, she thought she could die for this child. Even though Roxiana was young herself.
“But why are you the only one alive, sister? I’m dead.”
The reproachful voice struck Roxiana harshly. Only then did reality rush in and crush her.
Yes, my family is dead. My brother, whom I should have protected, is also dead. I alone survived. While my family was dying by cold blades, I was praying in a safe place, not knowing.
Her mind snapped awake under the unbearable weight of sorrow and despair.
The first thing she saw was a white ceiling. A scene from mythology carved into the ceiling, sculptures decorating where the ceiling met the walls.
Next, she felt the soft touch of the plush bed and fragrant blanket enveloping her body.
So for a very brief moment, Roxiana felt as if she had returned to the old days. Ider Palace, her room. Princess Roxiana Franche’s room, decorated and filled with the best things.
Was everything a dream then?
My family’s death, being thrown into a well, getting branded as a slave, almost being sold in a small box.
Was it all just a terrible nightmare?
“You’re awake. Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”
The brief hope that had bloomed shattered at the unfamiliar voice. Roxiana slowly turned her head to look at the man sitting next to the bed.
A man with dark brown curly hair and brown eyes, with a gentle impression, was quietly watching Roxiana. It was a face she had never seen before in Ider Palace.
So this place is not Ider Palace, and I am somewhere other than the Kingdom of Kanta or the Grand Temple, and my family is dead.
Despair gripped her heart. Sharp fragments of sorrow flowed through her blood vessels. Her whole body ached as if it would shatter.
When Roxiana didn’t say anything, he introduced himself.
“My name is Kirshan. Kirshan Lepe.”
“…”
“I’m a knight guard for Grand Duke Ratean, and I also work as a doctor on the side.”
“Grand Duke Ratean…”
As a hoarse voice flowed from between Roxiana’s lips, Kirshan let out a small sigh of relief. He had been worried that her vocal cords might have been damaged because she wasn’t saying anything.
“Yes. This is the Grand Duchy of Torkan. We’re in Lily Palace within the Grand Duke’s residence where Grand Duke Ratean stays.”
Only then did Roxiana recall what had happened earlier.
The box shattered, and she met eyes with a man as huge as a tiger. After that, for some reason, a great fire engulfed Roxiana. It was a cruel and merciless flame that seemed to burn everything.
“I thought I was dead…”
Kirshan nodded at Roxiana’s mumbled words.
“That’s right. Everyone thought you would die. It’s hard to survive the Grand Duke’s flames without a scratch.”
Kirshan’s eyes scanned Roxiana’s hair, face, neck, and forearms in turn.
“But surprisingly, you’re unharmed.”
“Why… why didn’t you let me die?”
Kirshan visibly flustered.
“Pardon?”
“Why didn’t you let me die then?”
Roxiana seemed to think someone had saved her from those flames. Kirshan, overwhelmed with bewilderment, blinked his eyes a few times before barely managing to reply.
“Well… I think it would be better to discuss such things with the Grand Duke. He asked to be notified when the princess woke up.”
“I’m not a princess anymore.”
At a loss for words, Kirshan quickly got up from his chair.
“Yes, it would be better to discuss such matters with His Grace as well.”
After Kirshan left the bedroom as if escaping, Roxiana tightly gripped the blanket. Everything that met her eyes was so splendid and beautiful that it took her breath away.
A well-made dressing table, chairs with carved designs, beautiful tapestries and curtains made of fine cloth, a soft carpet, lace draped over the edge of the bed.
All of it was just like when she was a princess of Kanta, making her feel like she was suffocating. The environment, unchanged from then, rather pushed Roxiana into pain.
My family is gone and my country has fallen, yet what am I doing lying in this luxurious bed? While my family is drifting without rest in a cold, dark well, why am I alone wrapped in such a nice place?
“I want to die…”
Roxiana just wanted to end this life.
“Mom… Dad…”
The names she hadn’t uttered since growing up stabbed her heart.
“I want to die too. Brother… Lanian… I want to be with you…”
She pulled up the blanket to cover her face, but couldn’t stop the sobs. Tears burst out, but no tears came. She thought her heartless self, who survived alone, must have dried up even her tears.
If she wanted to die, she could. She could bite off her tongue, or jump out that window.
But if she died here now, someone might pity Roxiana and allow her Adelia flowers.
Roxiana didn’t want to return to God’s embrace after death. She couldn’t rest alone while her family wandered in limbo.
And so, Roxiana continued her harsh breathing, unable to die recklessly.
Knock knock-
Lost in despair, she hadn’t noticed someone knocking on the bedroom door. Only after the door opened did Roxiana raise her upper body and turn her head in that direction.
A huge man was entering the bedroom.
Tall enough for his head to touch the top of the door, broad shoulders and a thick neck, reddish-brown hair disheveled as if uncombed.
His slowly entering figure was overwhelming. Just his entrance made the spacious bedroom feel full.
Walking up to the bedside, he picked up the chair that Kirshan had been sitting in earlier. Due to his massive build, the chair looked smaller than before.
He placed the chair close to the bed and plopped down on it. In the sunlight coming through the window, his hair turned red as if burning.
Sitting in the chair, he hunched his back, rested his elbows on his knees, and interlaced his fingers. In that position, he stared intently at Roxiana for a while.
His ashen eyes were fierce, heavy, and intense. Roxiana felt as if she was being strangled as she endured his gaze.
She could understand why he was called the Red Tiger. If one encountered him as an enemy on the battlefield, they would probably freeze as if facing a massive tiger.
He was silent for a very long time. Just as Roxiana was about to open her mouth, unable to bear the silence any longer, a heavy voice flowed from between his lips.
“Princess.”
Roxiana flinched at his call, her shoulders trembling.
The moment the slave brand was imprinted, no, the moment the Pelur royal family swallowed up the Franche royal family, Roxiana ceased to be a princess.
He would know that fact well too. Yet calling her princess was not a good thing. Rather, it was like a cruel mockery.
But Roxiana didn’t show her displeasure at being jeered at and looked at him while clutching the blanket.
‘Only this man can give me what I want.’
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
