Love Me Just Once (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
It was while she sat at her dressing table.
Her maid chattered away as she combed Ophelia’s hair. “His Grace the Grand Duke has arrived nearby. He’s handsome and young—Your Highness must be truly happy to marry such a man.”
Despite her impudent tongue, the maid’s hands moved with remarkable delicacy. Through that, Ophelia realized she was meant to meet someone.
She felt no urge to deduce who it might be. Ophelia tilted her head slightly. She had stopped tormenting herself, yet her mind felt foggy from neglecting meals and sleep alike.
The maid grasped her chin and straightened her head. A scolding followed. “You mustn’t do that, Your Highness. Your hairstyle will get ruined.”
Then, the girl—just a year or two younger than her—reached into the basket on the dressing table and pulled out a flower.
Ophelia gazed into the mirror before her. The maid was tucking soft, delicate blossoms into her hair.
While staring into the glass, Ophelia suddenly noticed a bright glow emanating from a corner of the room.
She turned her head to find the source of that light. The girl combing her hair murmured something, but the words didn’t register.
The light flooding the floor came through the balcony’s glass doors. Realizing it was sunlight, Ophelia slowly rose from her seat and, as if entranced, opened the balcony doors.
Unfiltered light poured in immediately.
The sun’s brilliance was blindingly white and pure, like deep water—hypnotic to anyone who faced it.
Swaying slightly within its radiance, Ophelia climbed onto the balcony railing. Someone behind her cried out in alarm. She waved a hand to silence the girl—she simply wanted to savor the sunlight in quiet for a moment.
The maid, lingering in the shade, glared at her briefly before stepping outside. Moments later, soldiers entered the room. They spoke too, but their words were muffled and irritating regardless. Ophelia muttered, “Could you all just be quiet? You’ll make me want to jump.”
The soldiers seemed to obey. The sunlight was so warm and bright that Ophelia couldn’t tell whether they’d truly fallen silent. From her position, everything on the opposite side appeared dark and indistinct.
Yet whether they stayed silent or not, the noise didn’t cease. To shake off the cacophony ringing in her ears, Ophelia lifted her head—and saw the sky.
For an instant, her ears felt stuffed, as if she’d plunged her head underwater. She held that pose for a moment before leaning backward.
Yet surely that had happened….
Sitting on the princess’s bed, Ophelia pressed a hand to her forehead and frowned.
Now she heard Idren Sigrasil’s nagging. “Are you mad? Why on earth would you jump from there?”—those words echoed above her head.
“How can someone be so noisy?”
Ignoring his narrowed brows, pale face, and sharp, rapid speech, she wondered: Had he always been this talkative?
Her husband—or rather, the man who was no longer her husband—seemed to have far too much to say.
Just as she waited for him to finally fall silent, a single sentence pierced her ears.
“If you hated marrying me so much, you should’ve said so earlier. How did you bear it all this time, being repulsed like that?”
At that unmistakably sarcastic remark, Ophelia snapped her head up. His eyes, blazing with anger, glared down at her.
Ophelia twisted her lips.
“You’re telling me I should’ve spoken up sooner?”
Idren froze at the woman’s sudden, piercing glare. He’d never seen Ophelia look at him like that before.
But wasn’t that something he could say? Arms crossed, Idren looked down at the petite woman before him. Dressed only in a thin dress, Ophelia looked more pitiful than ever before.
She was the kind of woman who wouldn’t even consider that thing proper clothing.
Something surged hotly within him. Idren clenched his jaw. How dare they dress her like that? After accepting such an extravagant bride-price, they treated the bride like this…?
But he caught himself mid-thought—he realized he was viewing the situation too one-sidedly. Even this appearance was an attempt at adornment.
Though it seemed more the handiwork of her attendants than Ophelia’s own choice, those fluttering garments and flower petals were undeniably deliberate styling.
Yet Ophelia still looked wretched—because she was far too thin.
When he’d caught her falling from the balcony, Idren’s heart had literally dropped.
Ophelia felt weightless, barely human. The sight of her—eyes closed like a corpse—had struck him with such profound terror that he’d snapped back to reality.
Without time to question how such a thing was even possible, he’d carried her straight to the princess’s chamber, careful not to hold her too tightly for fear of hurting her.
Her maid had opened the door with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry… Your Highness has been so depressed lately…”
As if that could possibly count as an excuse.
Yet even a servant who failed to properly care for her mistress could still be useful in some ways.
After entrusting Ophelia to a physician, Idren questioned her maid. The servant hesitated, eyes averted—until mentions of treason against the royal family forced her to confess something.
“Your Highness has been like this for the past month…”
From that, Idren understood that Ophelia’s condition stemmed from their marriage. That was precisely when the betrothal had been confirmed and the bride-price exchanged.
The realization had made his chest boil with rage.
He’d had to restrain himself from storming into her room immediately to demand answers. Countless questions surged to his throat: Did you really hate marrying me so much that you’d jump from a balcony? How could you do that? What exactly were you dissatisfied with?
Was one attempt at ending your own life not enough?
Though they hadn’t yet discussed it openly, Idren knew Ophelia was also aware of the future—just as he was.
In the past, Ophelia had been perfectly unharmed, without a single injury, until the moment she married him. She couldn’t possibly have survived a fall from that balcony.
Therefore, the Ophelia who had never married him wouldn’t have tried to harm herself in this way—at least, not like this.
Knowing that fact had sent fury surging to the very top of his head.
But was a little sarcasm really so unforgivable?
I didn’t say anything wrong. Resolved, Idren met the woman’s sharp gaze squarely.
At that moment, Ophelia abruptly stood up from her seat and seized his wrist firmly.
Her hand was bony, like a dry twig—but Idren couldn’t shake it off in time. This was the first time Ophelia had ever expressed her will by physically touching him.
While he stood dazed, Ophelia opened the door and pulled him through it.
Just before the door closed, Idren glimpsed her eyes through the narrowing gap—icy blue, glaring at him with terrifying intensity. Coldly, Ophelia said,
“If anyone should’ve sent a proposal, it was you—to my father, not me. How exactly was I supposed to refuse?”
Bang—the door slammed shut.
Only then did Idren blink in realization: he’d just been thrown out.
[This is the timeline separator]After closing the door, Ophelia leaned against it, breathing heavily. Her head throbbed.
Taking a deep breath to suppress her rising irritation, she slowly stepped away from the door. Her eyes fell upon the balcony, now boarded up with wooden planks.
Glaring at the window securely nailed shut from the outside, Ophelia sank onto the bed.
The man’s sarcastic voice seemed to echo again in her ears.
“If you hated marrying me so much, you should’ve said so earlier. How did you bear it all this time, being repulsed like that?”
There was something Idren Sigrasil didn’t know.
In the past, she had rejected marrying him—over and over again. She’d done everything in her power, given her best effort.
Remembering how all those efforts had ended, Ophelia roughly swept a hand across her face. Her eyes suddenly stung, dry and hot.
After rubbing her face for a moment, she pulled the flower branches from her hair and tossed them to the floor. Every sense returned at once, and her whole body ached.
Damn you, Idren Sigrasil.
She’d never felt such intense emotion toward that man before—but now, fury surged wildly inside her. Trembling, she crawled into bed and covered her face.
He had no idea what he was talking about.
She was the one who wanted this marriage least of all. She hadn’t been promised to Reden’s Grand Duke—she’d already been betrothed to someone else.
Curled tightly into herself, Ophelia closed her eyes. In the darkness, translucent sea-green eyes and walnut-brown hair shimmered faintly.
Slowly, she layered vividness atop that image—adding an autumn-wheat smile, warm hands, and a gentle voice.
After painting the most vivid memory of that beautiful young man, Ophelia quietly whispered his name. “Haslen.” Her hoarse, broken voice echoed faintly through the room.
[This is the timeline separator]Haslen Lakmata was the only son of the Lakmata family.
Ophelia had been betrothed to him at the age of ten.
At that time, House Lakmata was the most powerful family in Reden. Though not royalty, they possessed deep-rooted history and wealth amassed through trade among the inland kingdoms.
Her father, King Dares Mebasa of Reden, had long coveted the Lakmatas’ fortune. Reden’s treasury was simply too small to satisfy his vanity and greed.
While scheming how to seize the Lakmatas’ wealth, the king recalled that his daughter, the princess, was around the same age as the Lakmatas’ only son.
And so, he betrothed his daughter to the Lakmata heir—a decision rooted entirely in greed, intending to exploit Reden’s custom that required a bride-price to take a bride.
Thus, the King of Reden calculated numerous profits he could gain by essentially selling his daughter—but never once considered how that betrothal would affect her.
Thanks to that, the engagement became salvation for the unhappy princess.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
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Cowardice? Bitch you barely even look at him or speak to him 😦😡
Finally! Put her in her place!!! She should treat you better 😡😡😡
That caught him by surprise 😭🥺🤣 that he almost choked