With those words, Charlotte approached the window.
Outside, where the rare bright sunlight poured in, cheerful flowers were blooming abundantly.
Charlotte, with that as her backdrop, swept back her silver hair.
“Sister, I have more than enough people who love me. So why must I insist on someone who doesn’t even desire me?”
Yerpi fell silent at that. Charlotte shrugged, as if to say she still couldn’t believe it.
There was a bruise on her slender arm.
It was a contusion from being shoved and falling by Raymond. Charlotte gently touched the bluish spot, frowning.
“The Duke may be kind to you, but he’s far too cold toward me. No matter what, throwing me out into the corridor like that—really hurt me.”
“…It’s regrettable that you got hurt, but that’s the price you paid for being disrespectful to His Grace.”
At the offer to call a physician if she was truly serious, Charlotte shifted her gaze. Her face still wore a smile, but her eyes had gone cold.
“Sister, I’ve never had to pay any price in my entire life. Not even if what I’ve done was wrong.”
“You truly are impossible to reason with.”
Just because someone is the heroine doesn’t necessarily mean they possess admirable character.
Ironically, only now was Charlotte beginning to appear multidimensional.
She was human too, and a younger sister raised with nothing but overflowing love had grown dreadfully selfish.
Yerpi also rose from her seat. Seeing Charlotte on equal footing at last, she appeared now as the perfect image of a complete stranger.
“I’ll take your leaving as understood. But return within a month. Go to the nearest temple between Kerast and Growen and clarify there that there’s no issue with Growen.”
“…That won’t be difficult, but still, it’s disappointing. You’re the first sister I’ve ever apologized to like this.”
It wasn’t important that it was the first time Charlotte had apologized to her. The problem was the passage of time, during which she could no longer discern whether the words within that apology were sincere.
Their relationship had been distorted for a long time already.
“Charlotte. Please keep in mind that this offer is the utmost consideration I can extend to you.”
She wouldn’t understand that even saying this much was part of that consideration.
And likely, she’d never understand it even after leaving Growen.
Knowing that, Yerpi still wanted to say it—to affirm that she had done her best, both for their relationship and for the world within the book.
“I appreciate your apology. Yes. Since you still have some time, rest comfortably before leaving. I hope you remain safe during that time.”
She didn’t want to become enemies. She simply wished to create distance.
Keeping a safe distance where neither would hurt the other felt like the best she could do right now.
She was about to ask her to leave when another maid came looking for Yerpi.
“What is it?”
“A mage has arrived at the castle. He’s insisting on seeing Her Highness urgently.”
“A mage? Could it be Merkadi?”
“He didn’t reveal his full name, but said if I mentioned he’s the top prodigy from the Mage Tower, you’d know.”
“It must be Merkadi then. Yes, I should go now. Can you guide him to me?”
“Yes. He’s in the lobby right now. His Grace is with him as well.”
Hearing that Raymond had gone ahead, her heart quickened. She turned to Charlotte still by the window.
“You can have more tea if you’d like, or just stay and pass the time. But return before evening. From now on, please announce your visit beforehand. I’m busy, so I’ll go ahead.”
Assuming there would be no reply, she turned to leave—when she faintly heard muttered words.
“Really… how things are.”
“What did you say? I’m in a hurry, I didn’t catch it.”
“Nothing at all. I was just about to leave too. You look busy, go on ahead.”
Charlotte waved her hand. Suspicious though it was, Yerpi had to turn away. As she walked down the corridor, Charlotte’s smile flashed in her mind.
‘It’s settled then.’
Even if the apology was insincere, she hoped Charlotte had realized something after all. Arriving at the lobby, she found the mage and Raymond standing there.
Both were looking up at the ceiling, and following their gaze, Dante was seen perched atop the chandelier.
[Get lost!]With a growl, Dante threatened them, swinging wildly atop the chandelier. Each movement made the crystal fixture sway violently like a Viking ship.
“Oh dear, young master, please come down? I’ve brought incredible news!”
[I don’t want to! You’re disgusting!]The mage waved his long sleeves dramatically, gesturing toward the air. His manner resembled someone coaxing a sulky young dragon, but it was nowhere near enough to bring Dante down.
“This is truly excessive. You see, I’m actually quite popular… no, that’s not the point. Just hear me out—I think I’ve found a way for the young master to become human!”
At those words, Yerpi reacted first. Rushing down the stairs, she stepped before Raymond.
The mage was startled to see the Duchess arrive so suddenly in the lobby.
“Wait—did you just teleport?”
“If Dante might become human, of course I’d come immediately. Right, Raymond?”
Raymond nodded. The violently swaying chandelier abruptly stilled. Dante stared down blankly.
“Come here. It’s dangerous up there. If the chandelier falls, someone could get hurt.”
[Hmm.]At the mention of someone getting hurt, Dante fluttered down and nestled into Yerpi’s arms.
The mage sighed, watching the Duchess effortlessly bring down Dante, who hadn’t obeyed anyone no matter what.
Merkadi, who had been slumped, suddenly lifted his head. Apparently, as long as Dante was down, that was enough. The mage clasped his hands together, eyes sparkling.
“I’ve discovered a very special method.”
[Go away, idiot!]Still disliking closeness, Dante growled. Merkadi, who had been bitten badly last time, quickly pulled his hand back.
But his excitement remained unabated, barely able to conceal his fervor. Raymond calmed the mage with a glance.
“My Duchess has arrived, so stop teasing us and just tell us the method.”
Merkadi, who had stubbornly refused to speak until Yerpi came, smirked.
Pushing up his glasses, he pulled out the documents he had brought.
“Didn’t I say last time that the young master’s magic configuration is unique? Well, I’ve now discovered a place where a similar phenomenon occurs.”
“This is… a tree?”
“Oh, correct. The Crotelia Tree of the Heart, located in the domain of Autumn.”
Another name for the Autumn domain is the Land of Abundance, where it’s long been said that beneath the high-quality golden soil lies the heart of a dragon.
At the heart of that region, where the seed took root and grew, stood the massive tree known as Crotelia.
“The Crotelia giant tree has long been a subject of research for our mages. We haven’t uncovered all its secrets yet, but we’ve managed to learn a few facts.”
The giant tree emits indistinct magical energy, causing any creature entering Crotelia’s domain to experience a temporary shift in their magical flow.
In particular, examinations of those who consumed the giant tree’s fruit revealed subtle changes in their magical configuration.
There was hope to correct flawed magic alignment. But Raymond raised an objection.
“Even if Dante’s magic configuration is the issue, the fruit alone couldn’t precisely realign it.”
“You’re absolutely right. Well, there’s a part I didn’t have permission to mention. There’s another person who shares the same magic configuration as the young master.”
“What do you mean?”
Merkadi cautiously asked, and Raymond’s brow furrowed. The mage’s gaze was directed toward the Duchess.
“Actually, I once made contact with Her Highness in Ublietet… no, no, wait. Just our fingertips brushed. Ublietet likes to observe magic pathways, and without realizing it, I scanned hers—and astonishingly, the young master and Her Highness have identical magic configurations!”
The mage quickly stepped back, nearly caught by the collar.
Raymond watched him with a threatening gaze, yet Merkadi continued speaking, drenched in sweat.
“Is that common?”
“No? In fact, it’s absurd. The young master Dante is already an extremely rare specimen… no, a special case. Now that case has doubled.”
[Me and Yerpi… are the same?]Dante looked up at Yerpi, wide-eyed.
‘So I really didn’t mishear it back then.’
There had to be a definite reason why her magic pathway and Dante’s were identical.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
