“Surely the Emperor didn’t summon Edith with different intentions, right?”
Patricia directed the question to Elizabeth, who was following her. Although the stroll was intended to calm her anger, the thoughts kept tangling in her mind.
Elizabeth internally suppressed a laugh and offered her own response.
“Well… I’m not quite sure. Just considering the situation, even for Portrion Duke, he spent a fortune to acquire her based on her appearance alone.”
Hearing a response tinged with anxiety, Patricia became even more unsettled.
She hadn’t realized that Elizabeth’s answer was meaningful, hinting at her scratching beneath the surface.
“Well, even Duke Lexion was tempted. It shouldn’t be difficult to catch the Emperor’s eye.”
Edith naturally attracted the attention of other women as well. Her seemingly innocent appearance, combined with determined eyes and stubborn lips, made her unforgettable.
Despite an overall soft and gentle demeanor when she smiled, it left others curious about the emotions she harbored inside.
Moreover, when placed nearby, Edith was not an easily manipulated individual. Absolutely not.
“Well, it can’t be. If the Emperor had an interest in women, it would have surfaced long ago.”
Patricia chose to believe in the ruthless nature of Agnus XIV. She was well aware of the fate of women who approached him with a seductive smile.
However, just as she managed to calm her mind, a man she never wanted to face appeared.
“Lady Patricia, greetings. I hope you’ve been well during my absence.”
“…Duke Lexion.”
It was Valter, who had been lingering in the nearby garden, unaware of Edith’s presence in the clinic.
Their eyes met in the air, and surprisingly, it was Elizabeth who became more tense.
‘How did Nicolas Portrion think of confining such a man in the mansion?’
He casually asked if she had been well during his absence, despite filing a lawsuit demanding proof of Claude’s lineage and the legitimacy of the imperial consort.
It was Elizabeth who felt the tension, imagining the consequences of what kind of man Patricia had locked up in the mansion.
“Has the lawsuit not been filed by your family? It seems you would have been more at ease if that were the case. Or perhaps, are you still upset with me because of what Gilbert did on his own?”
“I wouldn’t think so. Haven’t you done even worse?”
There was a momentary shadow on Valter’s face, which had been bearing a mocking and respectful balance between disdain and respect.
“You made my wife a servant. It’s just expressing regret for that.”
“…”
“Where is she now? It seems the time for work is over.”
Lexion’s magic power read the owner’s intention and heavily pressed down on Patricia. She immediately realized he wasn’t joking.
“Duke Lexion, being the highest-ranking lady-in-waiting in the imperial palace is not something anyone can become. Moreover…”
A twisted smile appeared on her lips.
“If it’s Edith, she might be taking a stroll alone with the Emperor. She was summoned by Her Majesty while working at the clinic.”
Patricia glanced at the subtle distortion in Valter’s expression. It was somewhat amusing to see a man bold enough to sue the imperial family react so sensitively to his wife’s affairs.
“Go ahead. I’m curious about what kind of conversation might be happening between them by now.”
“…”
Valter sneered and promptly changed his stride. Everything about him irritated Patricia.
“Elizabeth, didn’t Duke Lexion work as a stable boy for a long time?”
“Well… I’m not sure if he worked… but he did spend a long time not knowing his own lineage.”
“It seems Lexion’s arrogance became ingrained during his time in the capital.”
The Empress, mocking, observed his dignified posture as if he had long forgotten the past hardships.
Lea Lexion.
Valter was undoubtedly the son of that woman. Though he didn’t inherit the family’s distinctive golden eyes, the contempt in the eyes he directed at her was eerily similar to that of his mother.
Suddenly, Patricia recalled the day she coincidentally met Lea in the imperial palace.
It was late at night, and for some reason, Lea was walking from the direction of the imperial training ground. A woman who was the most prominent in society at the time, she shone even more beautifully in the night.
Her cheeks were tinted with a very subtle pink. Unbeknownst to her, the corners of her eyes held a smile.
Lea, deeply in love, was truly stunning to the point of being overwhelming.
In contrast, Patricia felt so insignificant.
Driven by the single-minded goal of lifting up a family that was nothing special, she had become an adult solely to catch the Emperor’s eye.
She supported the Emperor, who was gradually becoming uncomfortable, acted out fake love. People pointed fingers at her, claiming she was oblivious to the shame.
Regardless of who the partner was, as long as they shared their hearts, Lady Lexion, who had shown a slight sense of shame and self-loathing, was already dominated by a sense of humiliation.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
