Roxiana’s desperate wish could only be granted by him, the master of this grand duchy. So she had no intention of going against his will.
After all, she had already become a slave, so what was a little mockery? She could endure even worse treatment than this.
“How are you feeling?”
Despite her resolve, his voice was kind and
courteous. That’s why Roxiana once again felt hope.
‘If he’s this kind even to a slave.’
He would understand her wish, this desperate desire.
She hadn’t eaten properly for a long time. Her whole body ached from being crammed into a narrow box. Still, Roxiana gathered herself and got off the bed.
Roxiana didn’t even know what she was wearing. The thin dress swayed with every movement, annoyingly wrapping around her ankles. She was too weak to even lift the hem tangling around her calves.
Floyd had been frowning as he watched her stumble off the bed. When she swayed unsteadily, he grabbed her arm to steady her.
“What are you doing? You can’t even move properly. Don’t be a bother and just lie down.”
Roxiana ignored his scolding words. Though he was glaring at her with eyes blazing like a tiger’s, even that failed to frighten her.
What Roxiana wanted was solely one thing. Her mind was filled with just one wish.
Roxiana finally knelt before the master of this Torkan Grand Duchy, the Red Tiger who annihilated demons.
Floyd’s grip on her arm loosened. He furrowed his brow as he stared at her hair flowing down her white nape.
“Please allow this lowly one who has lost God’s grace to speak.”
As her faint voice emerged from her lips, Floyd’s face crumpled. But Roxiana, with her head bowed low in a slave’s posture, didn’t see his uncomfortable expression.
He crossed his arms and glared at the back of her head, his lips pressed tight. Roxiana waited for his answer in an almost prostrate position, as if she wouldn’t speak until Floyd gave permission.
Floyd was bothered by her thin back visible through the dress. Inexplicable irritation filled his chest, so when he opened his mouth, an angry voice came out.
“I’ll allow it, so speak, princess.”
“I’ll do anything. If you command it, I’ll do whatever it takes, so please grant me just one request.”
Her voice that flowed out as if she had been waiting was desperately earnest. Floyd noticed her fists clenched on the floor.
The fists, with blue veins visible through pale skin, looked as firm as those of someone with deep resolve.
He could guess what Roxiana’s request would be without hearing it.
She must want revenge. She must wish to bring down a bloody iron mace upon those who killed her parents and siblings.
He had anticipated receiving such a plea even before entering this bedroom. And since he had also prepared an answer for it, Floyd replied leisurely.
“You’ll do anything. Well then, how far are you willing to go?”
“If you tell me to be a shield at the forefront of the battlefield, I will become a shield.”
“My, I have an abundance of people to be my shield on the battlefield. And they’re bigger and tougher than you, princess.”
“If you tell me to be a sword guarding Your Highness’s back, I will become a sword that fears not death.”
“I have many swords willing to lay down their lives for me too. With thicker arms than you, princess.”
Roxiana slowly raised her head.
Floyd looked down at her with a mood to see how far she would go. As if realizing Floyd’s thoughts, she gently bit her lower lip.
The corners of her eyes holding green irises turned slightly red. About to burst into tears, her appearance tugged at Floyd’s heart, making him drop his playful intentions.
He was about to tell her to just say what she wanted, that he didn’t need any of that, when Roxiana lowered her head again and said,
“If you tell me to become a shameless temptress on Your Highness’s bed, I will become that as well.”
“Ha!”
Floyd let out a laugh at her unexpected words.
“Ah, I see. You’ll protect me on the battlefield, fight for me, and even take care of me in bed at night. If you do all that for me, I’d be profiting no matter what you want. Fine, let’s say I desperately want that. So what is it that you want so badly, princess?”
His tone became mocking due to his exasperation. As Floyd was inwardly cursing at himself, Roxiana raised her head again to meet his eyes.
Only then did Floyd realize that her eyes were different from those he had seen in the past.
Back then, her green eyes shone like jewels, like sunlight, like a clear lake, but now Roxiana’s eyes held no light. They were still green with golden rims like before, but lacked the same vitality as then.
She looked at Floyd with lifeless eyes, as if she were already dead, and said,
“If I live like that until I die, please don’t put my corpse in an Adelia coffin, but discard it.”
“What?”
“If you throw it in the sea, please tie a stone to it so no one can find it. If you discard it on land, please bury it deep so no one will ever discover it.”
At Roxiana’s desperate plea, Floyd was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even laugh mockingly anymore.
Is this woman joking? Or is she trying to shake me up by saying things she doesn’t mean?
Suspicious, he carefully examined her face, but could not find a single trace of falsehood or deception on that small, pretty face. She was just earnestly, desperately, and honestly expressing her wish.
“Do you know what happens if you’re not put in an Adelia coffin?”
“I do. Demon energy might invade and revive me. I might become undead and cause trouble for Your Highness. If that happens, you can cut and tear me up to feed to beasts.”
“Look, princess. Even barbarians who don’t believe in God carry tokens engraved with Adelia flowers. Recently, demonic power has grown so strong that if ten people die, six or seven of them become undead.”
Despite his threatening words, Roxiana’s gaze didn’t waver.
“Yes, I know that too.”
“And yet what you want, even to the point of playing the temptress in my bed, is not to be put in an Adelia coffin? Not revenge?”
“With my parents and siblings gone from this world, what could I gain from revenge?”
“At least it would make you feel better. You could make those damned bastards kneel at your feet and laugh at them to your heart’s content. If you want, you could even torture them a bit and make them beg for their lives, or brand them as slaves and sell them to a terrible place.”
Floyd listed things that could be gained through revenge, but Roxiana’s eyes remained unchanged.
This man doesn’t know. How my family ended up.
Not being put in an Adelia coffin and being discarded was an extremely dishonorable thing. It was a world where being unable to return to God’s embrace was considered a greater disgrace than betraying one’s master.
That’s why Roxiana couldn’t tell Floyd everything that had happened to her family.
“Your Highness, I simply wish for my corpse to be discarded without smelling the scent of anything.”
Floyd suddenly became enraged.
Why does this princess want to die when she’s barely saved her life? Of course, she lost her family. She lost her country and her status. So it’s understandable that she wants to die, but to not even want to be put in an Adelia coffin?
It’s nonsense.
Having barely survived, she should try to live somehow. Floyd himself had done the same. He had struggled and survived through that humiliation and despair to sit in this position now.
“Princess, I don’t have the confidence to casually throw away your corpse, so if you want to die that badly, why don’t you just jump into the sea yourself? Don’t ask me to do it.”
“If I do that, Your Highness. If I do that, could you please order that even if my corpse is discovered, not a single piece of Adelia wood should be placed on it?”
Roxiana’s voice was unaffectedly desperate. Floyd felt his anger rising to madness at her attitude of truly wanting to die and not even wanting to return to God’s embrace.
Floyd stood up abruptly and glared at Roxiana. It was a gaze fierce enough to make even the knight commanders flinch, but it had no effect on Roxiana. Her eyes were already dead.
Floyd said, grinding his teeth,
“Princess, it seems you want to make me out to be a very vile and merciless bastard.”
Floyd’s accusation was justified.
If he gave an order to not allow even a piece of Adelia wood for the dead, it would tarnish his reputation. So Roxiana played her final card.
“I heard that long ago, when Your Highness was wandering with nowhere to go, you took refuge in our palace. Please remember that kindness and…”
“Ah, it seems the princess doesn’t remember me.”
“…I was too young then…”
Floyd twisted up the corner of his mouth.
“I see. I have no intention of repaying a favor that the princess doesn’t even remember. I’m not that generous. Also, I have no intention of discarding your corpse in a place without a single Adelia flower. I’m not that merciless either.”
Floyd stepped closer to Roxiana and knelt on one knee. He lifted her chin with his thumb, met her eyes, and said,
“So, princess, you should live very well, eating well and sleeping well in this comfortable and luxurious palace. That’s all I can do for you.”
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
