At the northernmost point of the central region, where the path leads to the north, lies Lake Leana. Beside this lake stands an imperial villa, long unvisited.
In that villa, the Emperor’s only consort, Frances Antoinette, has been in seclusion for over a decade.
The marriage of Emperor Dimitus and Empress Antoinette was rare in imperial history, born not of political strategy but of true love.
Yet, like a flower that blooms must eventually wither, their love ended following the tragic death of their son, Prince Michael Delpast.
Michael was the legitimate heir, born from the Emperor’s politically arranged marriage with the Empress.
Antoinette, a lady from a modest family in the north, was the Emperor’s first love, but could not become the Empress. Tragically, she was unable to bear children.
After the Empress died of puerperal fever, Antoinette raised Michael as her own, with even greater love than a biological mother.
She also embraced Agnes Fleur, the saint of a fallen nation, whom Michael first fell in love with. When they eloped to escape the Emperor’s disapproval, it was the Empress who turned a blind eye.
‘Should I have stopped Michael and Agnes back then? Would I be less lonely now?’
Her hair, as light as the weight of time, loosely flowed down in soft pink strands.
‘Is everything flowing naturally? Was the death of those children inevitable?’
Pondering over her unresolved grief, she sipped her warm tea.
Waiting for the dawn not yet broken, she gazed out of the window.
That’s when she heard it.
The unfamiliar sound of horse hooves after so long.
Soon after, the loyal steward, Countess Heins, who had guarded the withdrawn friend of the Empire, frantically knocked on the Empress’s door.
“What is it, at this hour?”
“Your Highness! It’s… Sion Delpast, the Northern Duke, he requests an audience!”
“Delpast?!”
Delpast…
The one who remained silent even when the Emperor stripped my paternal family, the Antoinette House of the North, of its title.
My father, who loyally served the Delpast family since childhood, has long passed away. Why would the son of Delpast seek me now?
The Empress, dressing in a formal gown for the first time in ages, headed to the drawing room.
Upon opening the door and seeing the person inside, she involuntarily suppressed a gasp.
There stood a man, reminiscent of the northern winds of her beloved homeland.
His black hair disheveled from riding through the cold dawn, his eyes deeper and bluer than the ocean she once glimpsed.
He was the friend of her heart-born son, Michael, the previous Duke of the North.
‘But the Delpast I knew has passed away. This man is his son, not the Duke I knew.’
The Duke kneeled before her.
“Sion Delpast. I am honored to meet you, Your Highness.”
“Please, sit down.”
She gestured to a chair across the table.
Facing him, she realized how different he was from the previous Duke.
Colder, more detached.
“Last time I visited the palace, you were just twelve. I only saw you from a distance.”
“Forgive my lack of decorum back then, Your Highness.”
“No need for such formalities now. What brings you here so early and from so far?”
Sion looked at the Empress, aged as much as the Emperor.
The daughter of the Antoinette Count, once the vassal of the Delpast family.
In his previous life, he never looked back at this northern-born Empress. A woman said to be the only one the Emperor ever truly loved.
However, following the death of his son, the Emperor blamed the North, and to add insult to injury, because Michael died within the Antoinette Count’s territory, he caused her family’s downfall.
“Did the Emperor fail to realize that the woman he loved, like himself, was a poor mother who lost her heart-born son?”
It has been 15 years since the death of the Crown Prince.
‘In all those years, the Emperor made himself alone. With her departure, the South found an opening.’
Does this woman still harbor affection for the Emperor?
Can I stake my game on her?
“What deep thoughts, Duke. Showing so much contemplation is like revealing your weakness to an opponent. Politics within the palace walls are more brutal than any battlefield. I guess the rumors of your distaste for politics aren’t wrong.”
“I intend to engage in that politics, Your Majesty.”
“!”
“And so, I shamelessly came to seek your help.”
The Empress was slightly startled at the Duke’s frank response.
“Shamelessly, you say…”
“I am aware that my late father failed to protect the Antoinette House. No matter how much the Emperor forced Delpast into war, we failed to protect what should have been protected. The Antoinette House had been protecting Delpast for centuries.”
“What do you seek from this old woman? What do you wish to gain that you want to see my tears?”
The Empress’s voice was calm, but the emotion in it was not.
Sion Delpast wondered.
How much can he stir the painful memories buried deep within her heart?
There’s no time, Sion.
When the sun rises, when morning comes, Luchella will be brought out.
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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