Exiting the bookstore, I slumped down on the ground, feeling utterly deflated. It was as if I, a naive country girl, had just been robbed by a gang of thugs upon my arrival in the big city.
“Those damn scoundrels. Are they nothing but daylight robbers?”
Frustrated, I turned my head sharply to glare at the bookstore.
Karl and his red-haired henchman had created an atmosphere that made it impossible for me to say I wanted to cancel the request. I had no choice but to sign the contract and even hand over the contract fee of 10 gold.
“To think I poured 160 gold into a mere free catalog delivery…”
160 gold was a significant amount, one that most commoners would take years to save. It was more than half of the emergency funds I had secretly squirreled away. No matter how renowned the guild was, the fee for the request was outrageously high.
“Should I go back in and pretend this never happened?”
But recalling Karl’s chilling gaze, I shook my head. He definitely had an intimidating presence, seemingly confirming he was indeed the guild leader.
I had given up on reporting them to the city guards after Karl added a comment as I left the basement.
“Just in case you’re thinking of reporting us, it wouldn’t do you any good. It won’t matter, but it’s futile anyway.”
His calm demeanor suggested he had connections with the guards. Reporting them would likely lead to nothing but my own downfall. They might easily get released, and reporting them to the palace would probably end the same way. I might even face retribution.
“Damn it, I just lost half of my entire fortune like that?”
I regretted choosing this guild. I should have patiently searched through the 7,000 books in the library!
“Did I have some unresolved enmity with that man in a previous life?”
It seemed like fate – a bad one at that – that every time I tried to do something, he interfered.
“The hard-earned 160 gold of mine…”
The thought of how painstakingly I had saved that money made my heart ache.
Having lost not only money but also time, I returned to the 2nd Prince’s palace. As I leaned my forehead against the corridor pillar, I thought about the 160 gold I had just thrown away.
“Even I, usually so optimistic, can’t be fine after losing half of my fortune in half a day.” The thought of having to go through 7,000 books in the library already gave me a headache.
Then, at the end of the hallway, someone waved at me energetically.
“Renéola!”
Sylvia rushed towards me, her eyes wide as she looked at my forehead.
“Why is your forehead so red?”
“It’s nothing.”
I rubbed my forehead and replied, but Sylvia looked at me quizzically.
“Did something happen?”
I gazed into Sylvia’s innocent eyes and then firmly grasped her shoulders.
“Sylvia.”
“Yes?”
She looked startled by my serious demeanor.
“Be very careful in life. Especially, stay away from damned carrots, got it?”
My earnest advice came from experience, but Sylvia, unaware of the context, looked puzzled. She then offered me a few books she was holding.
“I brought some of the books I mentioned before.”
I looked down at the books in her hands. Titles like ‘The Five Elements of Magic’, ‘When Did Magic Begin?’, and ‘The Right Attitude to Understanding Magic’ indicated they were basic texts on magic.
“Study must be built on a solid foundation. But I don’t have time for this right now. I already have 7,000 books weighing on my shoulders. Isn’t there something more direct? Like ‘101 Ways to Break a Fairy’s Magic’ or something?”
Despite my thoughts, I couldn’t say that to Sylvia, who looked at me with sparkling eyes, hoping for praise.
“Thank you, Sylvia. I’ll read them slowly.”
“Okay!”
She smiled brightly and offered to take the books to my room.
“What’s that book?”
“This one?”
I showed Sylvia the book I was holding. It was given to me by the red-haired clerk as I left the bookstore, seemingly as a gift.
“? Did you buy it from the bookstore?”
“It was a gift. It’s about a duke from some empire who searched the entire continent for this book to gift to his wife. After that, it became so famous that it was republished even though it had been out of print.”
“Wow, that’s a really romantic story.”
“Do you want to see it?”
“Would you lend it to me?”
“You can have it.”
Chatting with Sylvia as we walked seemed to calm my troubled mind a bit.
‘Yeah, what’s done is done. There’s no use brooding over it.’
With that thought, I opened the door to my room.
“Hey! Don’t you know how to knock?”
Ginger, looking like she had been caught doing something guilty, exaggeratedly flinched and yelled out.
“Who knocks when entering their own room?”
I replied calmly, crossing my arms and staring at Ginger. She stuttered, her gaze wandering aimlessly.
Her shifty eyes made me suspicious of her surroundings, especially how awkwardly she was standing by my desk.
“What were you doing at my desk?”
“Ha, doing what? I was just about to open the window. Are you suspecting me now?”
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.”
