‘Strange. Why did we stop?’
Yerpi Deilang gazed beyond the window with puzzled eyes.
The journey, which had briefly paused earlier for lunch, was supposed to continue until sunset.
Yet the clear sky remained almost unchanged from before sleep, filled only with thick, fluffy clouds and an endless blue.
Soon after, a bleating sound came from beyond the carriage.
And not just one or two—it was the cry of an entire herd.
Then, beyond the halted knights, clusters of pinkish figures flickered into view.
‘What is that?’
It seemed those fluffy-looking creatures were blocking the path ahead of the unit.
At that moment, a young servant hurried past Yerpi Deilang’s carriage, moving toward the front where voices murmured.
Looking closely, it was the same servant boy who had brought her a pen earlier.
Yerpi Deilang instinctively called out to the passing boy.
‘Is something happening?’
‘Huh!’
The boy widened his eyes upon seeing the carriage window.
‘Sorry for suddenly stopping you. I just woke from a short nap and heard commotion outside, so I got curious.’
‘Ah, that’s because a herd of Pinkbells suddenly appeared.’
Pinkbells?
The term was unfamiliar, yet not entirely new.
As Yerpi Deilang turned the word over in her mind, a faint bleating sound rang out from somewhere, making the boy jump and turn around.
‘Startled me. What are you?’
Baa—
Behind the servant stood a small creature resembling a sheep, tilting its head curiously.
‘Ah, I remember now.’
She recalled exactly what a Pinkbell was.
This creature was a summoned beast modeled after a sheep, covered in soft, fluffy fur of pale pink. Instead of horns, bright red camellia flowers bloomed fully on both sides of its head.
‘I’ve seen it in books.’
Summoned beasts were lifeforms derived from dragons.
Just as dragons were drawn to their companions, summoned beasts tended to feel affinity toward those with a scent of spice.
Perhaps because of that, the original Yerpi Deilang often encountered summoned beasts that had wandered into the castle.
She had always followed Raymond Growen, but he was absent most of the time. Worried, she would wander the castle grounds, inevitably meeting these creatures.
‘Every time I met one, I thought it was attacking me and ran away.’
Unaware that the summoned beasts followed her out of affection, she eventually developed a phobia of them.
Baa—
The young Pinkbell circled around Yerpi Deilang, bleating softly.
Already an adorable creature by nature, the cuteness of a young beast melted away all lingering worries.
‘You’re so sweet. Did you lose your mother?’
Reflexively, she scooped up the little creature, and its small body nestled into her arms.
The servant also seemed interested in the Pinkbell, but perhaps due to the situation outside, he quickly snapped his head back forward.
‘A massive herd has gathered and surrounded our entire unit. The knight I serve says he’s never seen anything like this… Oh! That’s right!’
The startled servant held a cloth and a water bottle in his arms.
He was likely in the middle of delivering them to his knight.
Yerpi Deilang gently reassured the flustered boy.
‘Go quickly. If you get in trouble, just say I held you back.’
‘Thank you!’
Regaining his composure, the servant rushed off toward the front.
Leaving behind the squirrel-like speed of the boy, Yerpi Deilang was left alone with the young Pinkbell.
Judging from the servant’s words, ahead lay a large cluster of Pinkbells preventing the unit from advancing.
‘What should I do with this one?’
Could she find its parents?
No, first she needed to properly assess the situation.
Perhaps—
‘Maybe there’s something I can help with.’
Moreover, she strongly suspected this unusual phenomenon might be connected to her.
After a brief hesitation, Yerpi Deilang walked forward toward the unit, carrying the young creature.
The little summoned beast struggled briefly, then quietly settled into her embrace.
‘Good girl.’
After gently stroking the creature’s chin, she felt a bit more courage.
As Yerpi Deilang approached where the knights were gathered, they recognized the Grand Duchess’s face.
‘Your Grace? What brings you here?’
‘Well, I wanted to see the commander for a moment.’
‘Ah, yes. This way, please.’
One of the knights guided Yerpi Deilang.
The soldiers made way for her as she passed.
The bleating of the sheep grew louder with each step forward.
‘There it is.’
Climbing a gentle slope, she saw Raymond Growen and Johan Zelda standing at the top.
Below the hill, just as the servant described, an enormous herd of sheep-like creatures surrounded the entire unit.
The constant bleating from all directions made it hard to hear their conversation.
Likewise, it seemed they hadn’t noticed her until she was right beside them.
At first, Raymond narrowed his eyes as if doubting his sight, then alternated his gaze between Yerpi Deilang and the young creature in her arms, asking irritably,
‘What is this? Why did you bring the Grand Duchess here?’
But the sharp question wasn’t directed at Yerpi Deilang—it was aimed at the knight who had guided her.
‘Well, Your Grace requested to see you, sir.’
The knight answered hastily under the sharp interrogation.
At the same time, Yerpi Deilang tensed.
But inwardly, she was surprised that he had referred to her as the Grand Duchess.
Meanwhile, Raymond’s questioning of the knight continued.
‘Even if she wanted to see me, what is this place? Did you sell your position or something?’
‘I will correct my mistake.’
Apparently, confusion arose because the Grand Duchess’s presence was still new and unexpected.
Seeing the knight being scolded simply for fulfilling her request left her feeling uneasy.
In the frozen atmosphere, Yerpi Deilang cautiously took one step forward.
‘I’m sorry. I should’ve asked to meet you properly instead of coming so abruptly.’
She was prepared to accept the blame.
But contrary to her expectation, Raymond merely let out a short sigh and instead approached her.
‘I don’t know what this is about, but let’s talk down there.’
Then he tried to pass by her and descend the hill.
But she stopped him.
‘Wouldn’t it be fine to talk here? Pinkbells aren’t dangerous if we don’t provoke them first.’
At her words, he froze in place.
Pinkbells.
This summoned beast, resembling a sheep, bore flowers instead of horns—flowers that contained paralyzing powder.
Despite their cute appearance, the powder released from the flowers carried a potent neurotoxin capable of instantly knocking out beasts ten times larger than themselves.
However, the species itself was exceptionally gentle, and young ones couldn’t yet produce poison from their flowers, so they weren’t particularly dangerous. But—
‘If this many gather in one place, the situation changes.’
Even if gentle by nature, forcing a path through would lead to great disaster.
This was due to their pack behavior: once one released powder, others would follow in succession, spreading the toxin rapidly.
Yet precisely because this was known, the entire unit had halted, so there was no immediate danger of an accident.
Raymond, standing there, looked at Yerpi Deilang and asked,
‘Do you know about Pinkbells?’
‘A little.’
Meeting his expectant gaze, Yerpi Deilang explained what she knew.
He listened quietly, then narrowed his eyes.
Everything she said was perfectly accurate, including details only someone deeply familiar with this summoned beast would know.
Yet her knowledge raised further suspicion.
‘How does someone from the outside world know so much about summoned beasts? Did your aide whisper it to you?’
‘It wasn’t me!’
Johan Zelda, standing on the hill, rushed over in haste to clarify the truth as Raymond pressed his inquiry.
The aide, vehemently denying the accusation with an expression of injustice, looked visibly worse than he had a few days prior.
Yerpi Deilang studied Johan with concern.
‘He seems much thinner.’
In the time she hadn’t seen him, he must have been extremely busy—dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken.
Seeing the man who had gone out of his way to care for her looking so unwell made her feel uneasy.
‘Johan, are you alright? You don’t look well.’
For a moment, she forgot why she had come here and asked after the aide’s well-being.
But the response came from an entirely unexpected direction.
‘Why should the Grand Duchess care about the aide’s condition?’
‘Ah, that is…’
Flustered, Yerpi Deilang stammered.
Then Johan let out a laugh so exaggerated it sounded theatrical.
‘I’m perfectly healthy!’
‘Shut up.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The aide immediately closed his mouth and stood at attention.
‘It seems Johan is being suspected because of me.’
The atmosphere turned icy.
Deeply flustered, Yerpi Deilang believed Raymond was misunderstanding the aide because of her.
Unaware that she was the only one who didn’t know the truth.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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