Yurisien opened her eyes five hours later.
One side of her head throbbed painfully. Her memory was hazy and disconnected. Waking up felt groggy, unlike waking from ordinary sleep. The nape of her neck felt clammy, but not like cold sweat.
‘So, I was attacked and drugged.’
Furthermore, her arms and legs were tied; she couldn’t move. Upon waking, Yurisien quickly assessed all the available information and deduced her situation.
‘Kidnapping.’
Yurisien thought calmly. Most people would feel terror and helplessness at the mere mention of this dreadful crime, but not Yurisien.
‘Fourteen… Is it the fourteenth time?’
Yurisien thought indifferently.
She was the great Windsor, a distinguished princess. No matter how tightly her life was wrapped in layers of protection, exposure to crime was inevitable. Especially since her security had been weak during the year she lost Uergen due to Kendal.
Of course, Yurisien’s tendency not to make a fuss every time she was kidnapped also played a part.
‘I’ll be plagued by nightmares for a while.’
Yet, it seemed that trauma still accumulated; after significant incidents, Yurisien had difficulty sleeping.
She was likely to have many more sleepless nights, just like the time when she nearly suffered at the hands of Hiskliff. But Yurisien did not tremble with fear or immerse herself in terror. She had always overcome her circumstances and found a solution. This time would be no different.
Although there were too many enemies to even guess who was behind it, Yurisien had not given up.
‘Think, Yurisien.’
She closed her eyes, even though she was already blindfolded, to recall the terrifying moments right before the attack.
Next to Yurisien, Ivan, who had been tightly clenching his fist, headed toward the puppeteer.
[Ivan? Ivan!]Yurisien called out from behind, but Ivan was already in a trance.
‘Well, can’t help it then.’
The young woman who had talked about Ivan in front of young Yurisien did not stop at that, but also gossiped about the relationship between Michel and Ivan. Michel seemed to regard Ivan, a much younger boy, as only a protege, but she suspected that wasn’t entirely the case.
‘They laughed it off back then.’
Seeing Ivan now, it seemed he truly was in love.
Therefore, Yurisien decided to wait rather than try to stop Ivan.
‘Ivan will realize. Manipulating puppet plays is pointless.’
Yet she fully understood his desire to create even a fake happy ending. With a twisted face, Ivan sketched the happiest ending for a knight and a child. Yurisien watched Ivan without pity.
‘And then my memory cut off.’
It was broad daylight, and the kidnapping took place in the middle of a square, so there must have been a commotion. Yet the opposite might also be true.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter if there were witnesses.’
Yurisien had learned fencing from Uergen. While not perfect, she knew how to read the intentions of others. She was also sensitive enough to sense the presence of others nearby. And yet, she didn’t sense a single hostile intention aimed at her.
‘It means someone with overwhelming skill.’
Or perhaps it was a magician. The ongoing pain in her head might not be from drugs but a side effect of magic.
‘If it was a long-range attack…’
It made sense that Yurisien didn’t sense anyone approaching.
‘It will be difficult for them to rescue me right away.’
If a magician was behind the kidnapping, all traces and evidence would be erased, so even if Ivan finished his puppet play and gave chase, it would take time.
Yurisien decided to find something she could do from her current position.
‘As expected… the black cloth used for the blindfold is quite thick.’
And it was complete darkness. The fact that it wasn’t haphazardly covered with cloth meant that the people who had kidnapped Yurisien were professionals.
The same went for the arms and legs. The rope he groped around to feel wasn’t some sort of shoddy cloth or string. It was a rope mixed with metal fibers.
‘At least it’s not handcuffs or shackles, so that’s a relief.’
No matter how much metal was mixed in, a rope was still a rope. It was easier to cut than metal handcuffs or shackles.
What was surprising was that no matter how much he looked around, he felt absolutely nothing. There was complete silence, no sign of life.
‘Am I alone in a deserted place?’
It smelled too pleasant for it to be a storage room. Moreover, not even the sound of rats scurrying could be heard. Yurisien hesitated for a moment. His eyes were covered, and his hands and feet were tied, but strangely enough, he wasn’t gagged.
‘Strange. Normally the first thing they do is put a gag in your mouth.’
Screaming to attract attention would be problematic.
‘What could it be?’
Should I scream? The wizard who kidnapped me might be hiding their presence. Should I try to speak? If even a small opening appears and I feel something, I might find out more.
It was at that moment that Yurisien’s mind was working at an emergency pace.
Shiiiik!
“……!”
Though he was completely alert, a blade flew toward Yurisien who had been deprived of sight.
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.”
