He turned away from me and waved his hand as a sign to leave.
‘Arcadia, your back looks so lonely.’
At that moment, he turned around as he walked away.
“Are you going to keep wearing the mask?”
“Ah. It’s become a habit.”
The truth was, it was due to my desire to hide.
Fear that someone might recognize my true identity if I fully revealed my real face.
I wanted to remain a friend and colleague to these people, a knight of the North, not as a princess.
“Because you’re an onion? Hiding the layers?”
He pointed at my mask and asked.
When I frowned, he waved his hand again and laughed.
“Oh, the onion is getting ripe. I’ll leave first then.”
‘If I’m an onion, then the Vice-Captain is… yeah, a leek. Green eyes, white skin, definitely a leek.’
As he walked away, I made a resolution.
If he teases me about being an onion again, I’ll retort with ‘leek.’
The day of Count Antoine’s reinstatement ceremony arrived.
Servants and maids were busy moving flowers and decorations to the hall where the ceremony was to be held.
Leading the work was the steward, Leuwine.
After taking care of my horse, Greyney, with Yora, I hurried back to my room.
I had a lot to prepare as I couldn’t wash properly. Then I was caught by General Mobie near the kitchen.
“Miss Esdel! If you’re not too busy, could you tell us whose dessert is tastier?!”
General Mobie was preparing a dish with the castle’s head chef, Prolow.
“Ah, I haven’t yet prepared for the reinstatement ceremony.”
“Just a moment!”
Prolow shouted.
Mobie and Prolow presented me with a dish each.
Two different styles of beautifully adorned fruit pudding desserts, almost too pretty to eat.
“Hmph, will a field cook’s food compare to my high-class cuisine?”
Chef Prolow, as big as Mobie, placed a honey-glazed silver bell flower on top of his dessert.
It was my first time almost choking on fruit pudding.
“Which would better suit the finale of the banquet?!”
Mobie exclaimed.
Both of them had fiery eyes focused on me.
“Both are fantastically delicious. Cough, really tasty.”
I gave thumbs up to both of them and then fled. Mobie shouted from behind.
“Still, you must decide which is better! Miss Esdel! Which steak is tastier too!”
I fled to my room to catch my breath.
Since my identity as the Sword Master was revealed, my quarters were moved from the squire’s dormitory to inside the main castle.
My room was on the fourth floor, facing south, one floor above where Arcadia stayed.
It was as cozy and beautiful as my room in the Northern Mansion on the island.
Soft green marble floors, a thick white rug on top, a brick-colored Pechka that always kept a warm fire, and in one corner near the Pechka, a cozy and spacious bed.
But what I liked most was being closer to the Duke’s residence.
The Duke’s bedroom was right below the room where the Holy Sword Lapis was kept. Although it was several floors up from where I was, it was much closer than the squire’s dormitory.
Outside the window next to my bed, I could see a large tree with green leaves even in cold weather.
The tree, with its white bark, resembled snow and was beautiful.
I briefly gazed out the window and then lightly tapped my cheeks.
‘Esdel, you have no time. Focus.’
I needed to choose clothes for Count Antoine’s upcoming reinstatement ceremony.
After quickly showering, I opened the imposingly large wardrobe in the center of my room.
Inside, there were several outfits meticulously prepared by the butler Hans.
Madam Lumiere’s dresses, several comfortable and beautiful everyday clothes, and my favorite, the Northern uniform.
For a moment, I thought about wearing a dress.
I wanted to try on ‘Spring’s Dream,’ a sheer pink dress with tiny white pearls.
But…
‘I’m not a lady. I’m a knight and Sword Master.’
Regretfully, I chose the uniform I wore to the palace.
Light pink trousers fitting snugly, a white top.
Transparent small blue sapphires embedded in the collar and sleeves, and the empire’s shield emblem embroidered with sapphires on the chest.
And the black cloak, a symbol of the Northern Knights.
That would be enough.
But just for a moment, I wanted to see myself in the mirror wearing the dress ‘Spring’s Dream.’
Holding the dress against my body, I stood in front of the mirror and took off my mask.
I was surprised.
In the mirror stood a beautiful woman with a pale and delicate figure.
That’s when it happened.
“Wow!”
A small gasp of admiration came from behind me.
I turned around.
Through the slightly open door, a young girl was looking at me.
Small in stature, with light pink hair, wearing a pink mini dress that matched her hair, and holding a bouquet of sky-blue misty flowers.
“Who are you?”
At my question, the girl was startled and straightened her dress, then bowed her head.
“Ah, hello. I’m Daisy Antoine, the youngest daughter of Count Antoine, well, who is being reinstated as a count today.”
‘The Queen’s niece!’
Ah, I see. Those soft pink locks. A symbol of the Antoine family.
The girl was incredibly cute, appearing to be around 12 or 13 years old.
Wondering what to say, the girl spoke again.
“Ah… Eodel suddenly appeared and asked me to pick some sky-blue misty flowers. I brought them, but I can’t find him anywhere. I ended up here while searching. I’m not familiar with the inside of the castle. Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Do you know Mr. Eodel?”
I smiled involuntarily.
“Yes, I’ve been looking for him for days too. But he’s nowhere to be seen. You’re Count Antoine’s youngest daughter, Miss Daisy Antoine.”
“Ah, yes!”
The girl suddenly stood at attention and then saluted me on her forehead.
“?”
“Father always says to be polite wherever I am. Let me introduce myself again. I am Daisy Antoine, thirteen years old. I’ll grow up quickly, and my dream is to become the strongest, no, the second strongest magician in the empire!”
“The second strongest magician?”
Her voice, both clear and cheerful, rose higher.
“Yes! If I become the strongest in the empire, Mr. Eodel might feel a bit sad, so I’ll be the second. But actually, I want to be the first. That’s, um… right, unofficially the first. Hehe.”
The girl’s smile bloomed like a young flower petal seeing the sun. She then looked at my uniform hanging on the chair in front of the wardrobe.
“Um…”
The girl looked back and forth between me, the uniform, and the dress ‘Spring’s Dream.’ Then, blushing, she hesitated before asking.
“Um…”
“Please go ahead.”
“Are you… are you a knight? You are a knight, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right. My name is Esdel.”
Upon hearing this, the girl gasped and dropped the sky-blue flowers she was holding.
“Oh!”
She carefully picked up the flowers again and said,
“I knew it! I thought it might be you. The amazing knight who vanquished those monsters in one stroke and saved His Highness! With beautiful silver hair and sky-blue eyes.”
Ah, so that’s how the story has been told.
‘The one who vanquished the monsters and saved His Highness.’
I smiled awkwardly, recalling how I was struck by an arrow and struggled for my life.
The girl looked up at me with admiration.
“Um… I’m not that impressive.”
“No, you are! My father told me about you, and I’ve been counting the days to meet you. And to meet like this by chance! It’s like a dream.”
Daisy Antoine extended the bouquet of sky-blue misty flowers to me.
“I want to give these to you, the knight.”
“But they were for the magician.”
“It’s okay, these are the first flowers I’ll give to a knight. Please accept them.”
A smile spread across my face without realizing.
“Thank you, little lady.”
“Will you be my first dance partner at the ball after the reinstatement ceremony today?”
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.”
