Martin eyed my outstretched hand and shook his head.
“I don’t like it.”
Well, I never expected him to be receptive right from the start. However, I needed to hear his reasons. That way, I could fix things.
“…Why?”
He smirked and spoke.
“Frankly, being close to you is a bit intimidating.”
“…Why is that?”
“Do you really not know?”
I gazed at him with curiosity, looking at his fluffy pink hair and rounded hands. The reason he found it scary to be close to me surely wasn’t because of my appearance.
I bluntly revealed my speculative guess.
“Oh, I see. It’s because of the Mirmode family, right?”
“The Mirmode family?”
He chuckled incredulously. I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.
“Yeah! You want to be friends with me, but it’s scary because of the infamous reputation of the Mirmode family, right? But, I didn’t grow up in the Mirmode family.”
“No, it’s not the Mirmode family. To be precise, I find your father scary.”
“…Our dad, scary?”
I opened my mouth wide in disbelief.
“Is, is that true?”
Martin, seeming to savor the thrill in my eyes, took a step back.
I nonchalantly raised my head, as if saying it didn’t matter.
“It’s because of the trial, right? I’m not friends with demons! I can swear! Don’t be biased, let’s be friends!”
I continued to appeal, but Martin, with a suspicious expression, said,
“I’ve never seen that trial. It’s not because of that. Matthias Mirmode is…”
He scrutinized me from top to bottom and whispered.
“More than a demon. Don’t you know? We all grew up hearing stories about Matthias Mirmode. Terrifying tales, like Matthias Mirmode taking away those who cry in the middle of the night.”
My eyes widened.
‘How absurd! To think that our dad has such a notorious reputation! But, isn’t this a good sign?!’
It was a truly ridiculous story, but he seemed serious.
However, I had one thing to say.
“It makes me feel uncomfortable when you speak ill of our dad.”
“I heard a rumor that Matthias Mirmode favors you, but… it seems true. I apologize for speaking ill of your family.”
His neat apology made me feel awkward instead. Looking at me seriously, he said,
“…I’m sorry, but I hope you understand the reason why I can’t become friends with you because of your dad.”
It was at that moment, when he indirectly explained that he couldn’t be friends with me because of our dad, that I was momentarily taken aback.
Leonhardt and Acid rushed towards us, splitting the wind. Placing his foot on the ground, Martin lowered his head.
“…Leonhardt?”
“I took care of everything! I even handled that guy named Burger!”
“Uh, huh? But?”
He looked like there was a big problem.
He inhaled heavily and, as if spitting out fire, shouted.
“I will also eliminate the one who slanders Matthias-nim as a demon!”
“…What? Weren’t you not on good terms with our dad? Besides, were you listening since earlier?”
“T-that’s not the important part!”
His desperate plea to save our dad’s honor made me even more suspicious. It seemed quite dubious that he was pleading as if his life depended on it.
“A-anyway! I challenge you to a duel!”
“I won’t accept.”
Leonhardt responded with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
Martin looked at me, Leonhardt, and Acid with eyes full of doubt before disappearing just like that.
Leaving me with a sense of discomfort about our dad, my mood soured, and I even skipped dinner.
I lay in bed, tucked in, only showing my face above the bedding, eyes tightly shut.
In that situation, my already sensitive dad’s heart seemed to have softened like soft tofu. Dad couldn’t make up his mind, constantly opening and closing my door, causing a commotion.
“Is Dad really a bad person?”
He used to hunt pigs and even promised to have a barbecue party…
My mood sank dramatically. I burrowed further into the blanket. Beyond the blanket, Dad’s trembling voice reached me.
“Si-en, aren’t you having dinner? Why?”
I mumbled without wetting the blanket.
“Just… sleepy…”
Dad, surprisingly attentive to my words, responded.
“Did someone bother our little one?”
I lightly dampened the blanket and mumbled.
“No, just tired. My head hurts from thinking a lot. That’s why.”
“You seem exhausted.”
The reason I felt powerless was because I heard unfavorable things about Dad.
“Go out, Dad.”
Upon contemplation, I recalled the portrayal of the Mirmode family in the original work, “The Life of Melodia.” It mentioned intentionally creating a notorious reputation for the Mirmode family members to leak out to the outside world.
‘In the Mirmode family, they intentionally attach a notorious reputation to an adult Mirmode…’
Perhaps Dad’s infamous reputation was also fabricated in that way.
‘Our dad, a humble person, wouldn’t have done those dangerous things.’
Our dad was someone who only held potatoes in his hands… He did well in the local youth association, but he was a kind and naive dad who didn’t even know the exact market price for potatoes and sweet potatoes.
I tried my best to erase the consciousness dominating my mind while burying my face in the pillow.
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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