It was a low-grade threat.
“You…”
Iris’s lips trembled.
“The marriage between Lord Chase and you? I did aim for that. You two are a perfect match. Does it feel good to hear this from me? I would be scared if I were you. By rejecting Lord Chase, I made it possible for you to marry him. What might you gain or lose from my next action?”
The color slowly drained from Iris’s face. Her already pale complexion became ghostly, making her look like a wax figure.
So fearful and fragile, yet so greedy.
‘A prospective sage like this? Magic society is doomed.’
“Let go of me right now. If you don’t, I won’t leave you be.”
Iris, usually dominated by Elise, seemed on the edge of losing control.
Elise raised an eyebrow slightly. She was a sorceress. Iris’s threat was not just empty words.
For a sorceress to attack someone without the Ivory Tower’s and the royal family’s permission was a grave crime.
That’s why Elise could freely intimidate Iris, who wouldn’t want to become a criminal.
But judging from Iris’s current state, Elise’s belief wavered.
Should she stop here or push further?
Elise weighed her options briefly, deciding what would be more advantageous for her.
“I’ll return what you said to me. What can you possibly do? You’re just being sold off in a marriage you don’t want.”
“You’ve really lost it.”
Iris’s lips moved quickly.
Soon, a large beam of light formed in her hand.
Elise swung her hand, knocking Iris’s arm aside.
The beam grazed Elise’s neck, leaving a trace in the air.
Blood seeped from Elise’s white neck as she clutched it.
Elise’s provocation had worked.
‘I didn’t expect Iris to fall for the provocation so easily.’
Was 22-year-old Iris just a novice compared to 32-year-old Iris?
“Blood, blood… on Miss Elise’s neck… Lady Iris used magic…”
A maid, who came in response to Elise’s bell, witnessed everything.
Shocked by the sight of magic being used to attack, the maid collapsed.
Iris, who hadn’t expected a witness, turned pale, then blue.
“Good luck handling this, sister.”
‘Hopefully, this will keep her quiet for a while.’
Elise patted Iris’s shoulder and left the room.
It was time for Regina, who had gone to the Orleans estate, to return.
Elise deliberately didn’t wipe the blood.
“Elise, welcome… Elise! What happened to your neck?”
Jasmine, waiting in the living room, was horrified.
She rushed over, offering her handkerchief.
“Sorry for showing you such a sight.”
Elise wrapped Jasmine’s handkerchief around her neck.
Tying it up was better than wiping it to stop the bleeding.
“Elise, what happened? Was there an accident? Maybe I came at a bad time.”
Jasmine poured out questions but closed her mouth upon seeing Elise’s deep eyes, begging not to probe further.
“It was the right time, Jasmine. You were able to come on short notice?”
“I had to. It’s been crazy. I haven’t slept for days.”
Jasmine playfully complained, but her face was filled with joy.
“What happened?”
Elise feigned ignorance.
“What kind of magic did you use? I’m getting calls wanting my hairpin, ten times a day.”
Tomorrow, it will be even more. You might fall back from being too happy.
Seeing Jasmine cheered Elise up, who had hit rock bottom due to Iris.
“I didn’t do anything special. I just used the hairpin that Jasmine made well. It’s because the hairpin made by Jasmine is so convenient that people are looking for it.”
Jasmine knew Elise was being modest. She had ears too.
When inquiries about the hairpin started, a maid informed her about what Elise did at the outdoor cafe with the prince of Titris.
The way it was vividly described, Jasmine’s cheeks flushed, and she struggled to cool them down.
Whether intentional or not, Elise’s actions had given wings to Jasmine’s hairpins.
And Jasmine believed that Elise had done it with intention.
‘Putting aside her own dignity for my sake. Is this what friendship is?’
Jasmine felt her heart swell.
From her childhood, Jasmine, due to her plump figure and unladylike demeanor, had not made a single friend.
It was the same when she debuted in the social circle.
People treated Jasmine as if she were wallpaper.
As if she had no ears or eyes, they spoke ill of her in front of her.
Jasmine accepted it as natural.
Because she wasn’t pretty, wasn’t outstanding, and had nothing she was particularly good at.
She thought she would live her entire life that way.
Lonely, unrecognized by others.
But then Elise appeared. Jasmine received her first tea party invitation, invited a friend to her house, and exchanged gifts.
To Jasmine, Elise was like a four-leaf clover.
A fortune she hadn’t expected.
No, a bluebird would be more fitting.
A bluebird carrying a four-leaf clover.
Elise brought another fortune.
Yet, she humbly attributed everything to Jasmine’s merit.
Such a good person now bleeding from her neck.
According to snippets of conversation, it seemed like Iris had done something.
‘How wicked, Iris!’
Jasmine thought to herself.
She never liked Iris.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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