However, no answer came even to her cautious question.
Eventually, Yerpi, who had endured silence until her mouth dried up, lifted her head first.
The first gaze she met was complex.
The look in his eyes was intricate—seeming both angry and lost in thought.
As Yerpi slowly observed his expression, she belatedly realized she had failed to seek permission for the communion.
‘Did I offend him with my rudeness?’
Yesterday, the contract had bound her and him in a marital agreement.
But it was merely an agreement on paper.
Between them existed only a contract: one sold for utility, the other taking for necessity.
She had to admit her mistake and apologize.
“Um….”
Before she could continue speaking, Raymond had already turned away.
His gray cloak, flaring roughly, swept across her vision like thick mist.
In the blink of an eye, Raymond’s figure had already vanished.
The tent entrance swayed open, letting in a morning breeze.
Only that unfamiliar trace remained to prove Raymond had ever been there.
Once again left alone in the now-empty space.
Perhaps because of his intense presence.
She couldn’t suppress the strange feeling of emptiness.
Even though only one thing had changed.
Yet time spent alone was always something she would eventually grow accustomed to, and surely, before long, without even realizing it, she would forget the newly opened void.
Still, the faint regret lingered.
Because the back hidden beneath the cloak seemed cold—deliberately refusing to hear whatever she might have to say.
While firmly resolving once more to maintain boundaries, she recalled the lingering image from earlier.
More precisely, Raymond’s appearance before the communion.
‘He seemed about to say something back then.’
What could it have been?
She tried hard to recall, but reaching an answer wasn’t easy.
Most of all, it might have been a mere illusion.
‘What could he possibly have to say to me?’
That much was certain, so there was no need to delve deeper.
After all, the communion was over, and the next one wouldn’t occur until half a month later—she would meet him again only then.
He must have left immediately after exiting the tent.
That was the only assumption the abandoned one could make at dawn.
She lay back down to seek sleep again, but slipping into slumber proved impossible.
In the end, she had no choice but to spend the night awake, watching dawn pass.
The lingering, tingling sensation at her fingertips. Mixed with the warmth of another that had already melted into her.
It was around the time her mind began to blur.
A commotion arose from beyond the tent.
The knights were preparing to resume their journey.
Sitting up, she saw long, hazy morning sunlight stretching through the gap in the tent.
‘I should get ready to go.’
Though dazed from lack of proper sleep, her heart felt at peace.
Most likely because the thought of not having to see Raymond for several weeks brought her relief.
Still, she couldn’t remain idle inside the tent indefinitely.
She swung her feet out of bed and reached for her luggage.
‘At least I have clothes to change into.’
Instead of the crinoline dress from yesterday, she layered a smaller, green tulle dress.
Before leaving the manor, the maid selected by the Baron had cried for three days and nights upon learning she’d have to cross the barrier with Yerpi.
But with no way to refuse the order, she was forced to pack Yerpi’s belongings—resulting in a bag crammed with worn, outdated garments.
Despite knowing full well the destination was the far north.
And Charlotte had specifically chosen only clothes she had long discarded and no longer wore.
Yet Yerpi held no complaints.
‘It was fortunate for the maid too.’
Since the barrier had rejected her, refusing to let her pass.
The maid, who would’ve been dragged unwillingly to the north, might now be humming a cheerful tune.
Yerpi adjusted her attire while looking in the mirror.
Cherry blossom petals gently settled on the mirror’s surface, carried in by a spring breeze sneaking into the tent.
It was unfortunate for the spiteful maid, but outside lay the full bloom of spring.
Though the clothes were old, Yerpi, now dressed perfectly for the mild season, turned her back on the mirror and stepped outside.
Upon stepping out, the noise of knights folding tents and carrying luggage grew louder.
Soon, a familiar face appeared among the bustling knights.
“Oh, you’re awake. Your Highness.”
Johan, who seemed to have come to wake her, greeted her right in front of the tent.
The unfamiliar title, but she had to get used to it. Yerpi smiled back in return.
“Yes. Good morning. The weather is nice today.”
“Spring’s domain is always gentle. It rains occasionally, but even spring rain feels refreshing. It’s the climate all Growen residents love.”
Johan proudly boasted about his homeland.
Walking beneath the bright sunlight and fully bloomed cherry trees, listening to his various praises, her body naturally grew languid.
‘That’s enough.’
Even if she was now a paper Grand Duchess, in this unfamiliar land, she was free.
Yerpi ate the breakfast handed to her by a knight and climbed back into the carriage.
“Move out!”
At Johan’s command, the steed resembling a black horse shook its head with a low whinny.
The carriage, rested for just one night, began galloping once more across the spring meadow.
Beyond the pink waves of fully bloomed cherry blossoms, bright yellow rapeseed fields burst into vivid color across every hillside.
Yerpi gazed at the swiftly passing scenery, calming her heart.
Yet, even as she admired the flourishing flowers, her eyes kept flickering toward her hands resting on her lap.
The giddy sensation that had bloomed overnight.
That lingering heat still pooled beneath her fingertips.
‘Forget it.’
Lifting her head, Yerpi reached her hand out the window, sending the morning’s sensation away with the flowing wind.
Just like today, every sensation from future communions must be erased and forgotten.
She already knew well that the end of addiction was a living death.
With the fresh scent washing away the lingering warmth, she felt somewhat better.
She thought that from now on, every day until reaching the castle would be peaceful.
At least until sunset came again and they arrived at a new campsite.
***
Under a purple evening sky, the knights came to a halt.
Tonight’s campsite was beneath a massive lilac tree.
She waited inside the carriage while her tent was being erected.
Occasionally, she noticed knights glancing curiously at her carriage, but it was merely curiosity toward the new mistress and a foreigner.
Still, even if there was a reason, the gazes were uncomfortable.
Just as she was pondering whether to draw the curtains, a commotion rang out beyond the staring knights.
Even the moment Raymond’s name escaped Johan’s lips, who had come to fetch her.
“Heavens, my lord?”
Under the mystical sky of dusk.
The swaying gray cloak atop the steed, so similar to a black horse, pulled her back into memories of dawn.
Lilac petals fluttered with the soft breeze, decorating the settling night sky.
Raymond and his unit entered the campsite, joining the knights who had been setting up tents, reorganizing into new formation.
To withstand the fire beasts native to summer’s domain, armor resistant to flames was essential.
The moment Raymond dismounted from the black steed, one of the knights who had returned with him from summer’s domain stepped forward to help remove his heavy helmet and armor.
Johan, too, clearly looked flustered, having received no prior notice of Raymond’s return.
“I’ll be right back.”
Composing his expression, Johan approached to inquire about the circumstances.
Raymond faced Johan after shaking off the last of his remaining armor.
They exchanged brief words, but perhaps due to the distance, she couldn’t hear what was said.
‘Why has he returned?’
Even if they were to meet again, it should have been only after each arrived at Growen Castle.
Her fingers resting on her knees involuntarily clenched. Such an unexpected turn gnawed at her.
Meanwhile, Raymond, having discarded even his remaining cloak, began walking toward Yerpi’s carriage alongside Johan.
‘Why is he coming this way….’
Tension mounted, compounded by anxiety, making it difficult even to look away.
As full evening settled, torches were lit across the campsite.
In the flickering firelight illuminating the surroundings, his black hair, golden eyes, and sharp features appeared as if glowing in crimson.
Instead of revealing her unease outwardly, biting the inside of her cheek to endure it was Yerpi’s long-standing habit.
The closer Raymond drew, the deeper her teeth sank into the soft flesh between her teeth.
What if he brought up last night’s encounter?
Just as even her breath began to tremble, he passed by the carriage, deliberately ignoring Yerpi.
Ah, he was merely passing by.
Yerpi finally exhaled in relief.
Raymond’s path simply happened to cross where her carriage stood—there was no other meaning.
Thinking so, her heart eased slightly.
Surely he had returned to spring’s domain for reasons unrelated to her.
Just as Yerpi inwardly sighed in relief, convinced of this conclusion.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
