It was the first time since Evelia’s birth. Hadel ignored the commands of his young master. Despite the yells and the pats on his back, he wouldn’t stop his steps. On the contrary, he quickened his pace.
The knights who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield were also quite quick to understand the situation. They had a hunch. That the most positive thing that could happen here would be to save the life of the young lady.
Even if it meant pushing past the flock of monsters, expecting more than that in front of two demons was overreaching.
Even amidst the chaos, the systematic movements continued. Some knights, less skilled than Charon, struggled to hinder the demon’s feet, but without hesitation, they cleared the way for Evelia.
“Clear the way!”
“Protect the young lady!”
Despite the difficulty of confronting the demon, they were the knights of Artina. Even if relatively lowerlevel monsters swarmed in like ants, they had no problem dealing with them.
Just four knights had cut down all the monsters that had poured in through the back door into the mansion.
A pile of bodies built up in a short amount of time. The knights opening the back door let out curses.
“Damn it…!”
“What the hell!”
Their bodies, caught in something, couldn’t move forward anymore. An invisible barrier to the naked eye. When they tried to break it by hitting it, it shone in various colors like a soap bubble and then turned transparent again.
Even if they threw their bodies against it, even if they swung their swords, it was the same. They didn’t even feel the impact of physical force. Even if they cut it again with all their might, nothing changed.
The knights resigned themselves. If the lord or the captain were here, it might be different. But they realized that they couldn’t break it with anyone’s power here.
So naturally, they concluded that no one here could escape from this mansion.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Hadel, who was following the knights, Vivian, and even Elysia, who was guarding the other side, all fell silent with blank expressions.
While everyone here was prepared for death, the fact that Evelia’s escape was blocked was far more frightening than their own deaths.
It was then. A young voice stabbed into the people who stood like broken dolls.
“What are you all standing around for? Draw your swords!”
The expression on Evelia’s face, who had descended from Hadel’s drained shoulders floundering, was rather stern.
“Just because one escape route is blocked, you’re going to sit down and lose your spirit?”
“Young lady……”
“Hold your sword properly and lift your head. Even if you die, don’t die in such a frustrating way!”
Evelia borrowed Vivian’s dagger for a moment and broke the glass display case on one side of the drawing room. She didn’t care about the sharp shards scratching her arm and took out a splendid sword with a grunt.
The jewel sword she had received as a present for her fourth birthday. It was a sword her brothers had given her.
At the time, she had stashed it in the display case, grumbling about what use it would be, but it was the only real sword that Evelia, who had not yet received a real sword, had.
She drew the sword and swung it a few times, feeling the eyes gathering on her. Evelia looked around and tilted her head.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“I thought the young lady couldn’t handle a real sword……”
“Why would you ask the obvious?”
“Huh?”
“It’s for the look, the look! Who knows, this moment might become a poem or a song?”
“It could be……?”
“We all have to be remembered in a cool way. If I was just holding a practice wooden sword, it would look too poor. If I hold this, I’ll be remembered as having the coolest sword.”
Evelia smiled mischievously and shook the splendid scabbard. Her easygoing joke even in this situation helped to relax the tense servants and knights.
They deeply remembered the consideration of their young master. They knew how much courage it took to try to lighten the mood and show an appearance no different from usual.
Thanks to this, all their eyes were facing forward, and determination was rising in the hands holding their weapons.
With this firmly grasped mind, they sharpened their senses to the situation outside for a moment.
Trudge, trudge.
The sound of footsteps was heard right in front of the mansion’s door.
Each step was slow and heavy, as if pressing down on the atmosphere.
They were approaching them. Someone swallowing loudly could be clearly heard.
Evelia quietly opened her mouth.
“Don’t die. Not anyone. Because I’m ready to cry my eyes out day and night.”
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Bang!
A single loud noise. Through the rising dust, the broken door and the silhouettes of two figures could be seen.
Those protecting the mansion once again clutched their weapons.
As the door was broken, a damp wind swept inside. The dense scent of blood that came with the wind filled the mansion.
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.”
