Of course, ten years didn’t pass overnight, and instead, the poison I thought I had spat out caused trouble.
I ended up bedridden all night with a fever.
‘It’s not the skin-absorbing type, then. Otherwise, the reaction would have happened sooner.’
That meant a tiny amount of poison I swallowed while spitting it out was causing the trouble. How fragile could this be?
In my disbelief, I keenly felt the vulnerability of this body.
How fragile it is. How vulnerable Blanche is in her current situation.
I had been posturing, thinking that nothing really changed even though the situation got a bit tough. My circumstances weren’t great in my past life either.
Enemies from other countries, people from the nations I had subjugated, fellow subjects of the same emperor, occasionally even members of my own family. Perhaps I had more enemies then than Blanche does now. So I thought this life wouldn’t be any different.
But I was wrong. Bai Lian wouldn’t have been bedridden by a mere drop of poison, and wouldn’t have been targeted by such clumsy assassination attempts in the first place.
That means, even though my mind is still that of my old self, my body is different now. I’m not the Bai Lian of the past anymore.
Ridiculous as it is, I realized this only now.
“Are you alright, Princess? Why are you like this…”
Tula approached me, worried, as I was ruminating over Blanche’s helplessness. She looked at me with concern, her hand on my forehead.
Her face was filled with genuine worry, not about the disruption caused by my illness, or concern about her own safety, but pure concern for me.
As if I deserved to be worried about, not because of my abilities, but simply as a person.
Ah. She’s like Yoo-hyeon.
In my feverish state, I overlaid another face over Tula’s.
My daughter.
The last thing I left behind, the last thing I protected, my child.
“What can you eat? You should have something. Fruit? Soup?”
Why do those caring for the sick always say the same thing? Yoo-hyeon had said exactly that. Even in my sickness, I found it absurdly funny.
Really, Yoo-hyeon did too. The very last time. After I had decided on my final plan and stopped eating.
Back then, eating wasn’t important to me. And Yoo-hyeon probably knew that my survival wouldn’t help her. She didn’t need to feed me.
Yet, she worried about me. She personally made rice porridge and begged me to eat at least a bite.
As if my mere existence had value. As if my life was more precious than her own safety.
I never understood why she did that. Wasn’t my worth ultimately in my abilities? If my death meant her survival, why did she care for me?
I never understood, but she was sincere. I hesitated a bit because I worried about her, even knowing that suicide was my only option left.
And now, Tula is looking at me with the same eyes as her.
“Isn’t the towel too cold? Try to eat a little. Here, ah.”
A wet towel on my forehead, chicken soup. Eyes full of worry. I asked Tula, pushing the spoon towards me.
“Tula.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Do you dislike me being sick?”
Tula’s eyes widened slightly, then drooped sadly.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
A voice tinged with a heartache. Even hearing such a question seemed too painful for her, reflected in those eyes.
“I wish you weren’t sick. Please get well soon.”
「I wish you weren’t sick. So please gather a little strength, Mother.」
Those eyes and voice reminded me of Yoo-hyeon.
“Then, I will protect you.”
So, I had originally planned to take care of all the children serving me, even those leaking information. Not just because we’re short-staffed now, but even if my situation improves and more staff are added.
After all, I knew who was leaking information, and I could control the flow of what was leaked.
But after falling ill this time, I felt more scared. It reminded me of the time when I had to give up everything just to barely save my daughter.
I feared that I might have to let go of many things again.
That’s why I decided to sort out the children around me.
All of them, except Tula.
“……Princess?”
There was no response. Her breathing was even. Tula pondered the words she had just heard in the quiet room.
‘Do you dislike me being sick?’
‘Then, I will protect you.’
It was a baffling statement. Protect? Tula? From whom?
It was even more puzzling given that the one saying this was a three-year-old princess, and the listener was a nanny who was supposed to protect the princess with her life.
There were no apparent threats to the princess or herself here.
Tula was utterly confused. Other maids were saying that the Empress of the Empire was fond of the princess. According to what the princess confided to Tula, she had met the Grand Duke yesterday.
To Tula, it seemed like the princess had only a path of roses ahead of her, yet why did her little charge seem so grave, almost like a general preparing for battle…
“Nanny, nanny, come out here!”
Startled by the hushed call that didn’t want to wake the princess, Tula’s shoulders jerked.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
