Terrun remained silent even after bringing Grace back to the ducal residence. She too said nothing.
It wasn’t the time to ask him about what had happened.
Throughout the ride, she felt his ragged breathing and pounding heartbeat.
Terrun took Grace’s hand and led her to her room.
As the door slammed shut, he pulled her into his embrace. His body trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
“I’m sorry for causing you worry.”
Leah felt the need to apologize, even though it wasn’t her fault that he was startled because of her.
“Shh!”
Terrun buried his face in her lush golden hair without a word.
He had gone through heaven and hell because of this small woman today. How had she become such a significant part of his life?
When Pollin returned alone after losing Grace, Terrun feared he might never see her again. It was a terror he hadn’t felt since the war.
“I’ve been unhappy since childhood.”
He began his story while holding Grace.
It was a tale he never wanted to share with anyone, but it felt right to tell her.
“I had two older brothers, but both died before their hundredth day. My mother barely managed to have me, and when I survived past a hundred days, she thought the misfortune was over. But then she passed away.”
Leah had never heard his voice sound so sad.
“My father died in battle when I was ten.”
Tears welled up in Leah’s eyes, just hearing about his sorrow.
How did that young boy cope? How lonely must he have been?
“Everyone left me. Left me alone in this world.”
Is there anything more tragic than being without loved ones?
“I didn’t know how to love someone, not even you, because I’ve never been loved.”
Seeing Grace acting childishly and seeking affection, Terrun saw himself in her.
Her vulnerability made him want to avoid her, difficult to accept her fully.
But then Grace changed, becoming a woman who could embrace everything, even his childish soul.
She gave him warmth, comfort, and meticulous care he had never felt before.
“I’m sorry for making you anxious.”
Leah couldn’t find any other words to say.
“It’s okay, I got you back.”
How scared he must have been, fearing to lose her hopelessly. No one would know.
“If you disappear a hundred times, even if you run away because you hate me, I’ll chase you and bring you back.”
‘Thank you for not letting go of my hand.’
Terrun wouldn’t know. A woman whose life was shattered in an instant found herself in front of him, receiving more care and comfort than she could imagine.
With him firmly supporting her, Leah could dream of a future.
She decided not to push him away today.
Leah caressed his disheveled hair. Just as his lips descended for a kiss, Leah quickly turned her head.
“You’re quite heartless, Grace.”
This was surely a precursor to something more. Kissing Terrun would mean falling into a swamp of poisonous emotions, impossible to escape.
‘I must not love Terrun.’
She resolved fiercely. She vowed not to love any man in the future. But Terrun was trying to intrude into her wounds.
‘Just liking him is enough…’
Let’s not give more than that. I know too well already. If I fall in love, I’ll either get lost again or settle for reality and forget what I must do next.
‘Just this much, Leah. Don’t cross the line.’
Terrun sat cross-legged on a steel chair, facing about a hundred members of the Rapa organization, all in prisoner garb, awaiting imminent execution.
“My kind fiancée asked me not to kill scumbags like you.”
In Terrun’s hand, clad in black leather gloves, was a gun.
All day, he had heard stories from Grace about Rapa and Chaneur, claiming everything was a misunderstanding – even the scandalous dress she wore to the royal ball was made by Rapa’s granddaughter.
But that was just Grace’s gentle thought; he couldn’t trust these ruthless gangsters.
“From now on, you have to impress me to live.”
Beside Terrun stood soldiers with guns, ready to execute the Rapa members on his signal.
“Please, spare us, Duke.”
The cruel gangsters turned meek in the face of death, begging for mercy.
“You have no reason to live. How dare you kidnap the fiancée of Duke Kurthua.”
“It wasn’t our intention.”
“Spare me the cowardly excuses.”
Then Maddox glared at Terrun, defiant.
“Even if I’m to die, I want to know how you figured out it was our doing.”
Maddox felt wronged. The kidnapping was flawless, with a carriage identical to that of the Duke’s.
How did Terrun find them out? He suspected an inside traitor.
“You idiots don’t realize you reek of filth.”
“!?”
“Stupid, aren’t you?”
“The smell?”
“The foul odor of the dark world that emanates from you.”
Maddox then sniffed his clothes, realizing too late that their familiar scent of musk had infused into their clothes.
Maddox was amazed by Terrun’s ability to remember and deduce from scents.
“Don’t you want to live?”
After Maddox, no one spoke.
“Soldiers, ready your guns!”
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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