The mirrorbird cried sorrowfully as it looked upon its fallen partner lying on the floor. A chilling silence spread through the banquet hall.
[…Dead?]Dante’s telepathic voice trembling faintly inside her head.
Charlotte suddenly burst into laughter, watching the scene unfold.
A shiver ran down my spine as I saw her laughing heartily, as if she had just witnessed something truly amusing.
Raymond could no longer hold back and drew his sword.
“Have you not heard in Growen what a Guardian Spirit is? Not only do you recklessly capture the breath of dragons, but you go as far as killing them. That spirit hasn’t even entered the cycle of reincarnation yet.”
“Oh dear. No, no, not at all.”
Charlotte waved her hand dismissively while wiping away fake tears. She playfully pouted her lips as if to say, “Why are you making such a fuss over this?” and nudged the birdcage.
Then, the mirrorbird that everyone thought was dead faintly stirred.
“Watch closely. It’s not dead—it’s merely asleep.”
“Hand over the cage.”
Raymond snatched the cage with a cold expression and opened the iron bars.
Even as Raymond reached inside, the collapsed mirrorbird’s partner refused to leave its mate’s side.
He flipped the bird over and placed his hand on its chest. The rapid heartbeat unique to birds pulsed clearly beneath his palm.
“…It’s true.”
“Of course. It’ll be perfectly fine soon. I’ve tested this many times.”
Charlotte swayed slightly with her hands clasped behind her back, as if seeking praise.
At that moment, the other mirrorbird pecked at its companion lying on the cage floor. The dazed bird slowly regained consciousness, stood up, and nestled beside its partner on the perch, rubbing their beaks together.
[It’s awake.]Dante exhaled in relief upon seeing the two birds moving together again.
Seeing the child relax, I felt both grateful and furious at the same time.
Charlotte still wore her usual bright expression, even in this situation. That only made me angrier.
“Charlotte, is this what you call doing something for Dante?”
“Huh?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. Charlotte didn’t understand why Yerpi was so angry.
“What kind of act was that in front of Dante? The child was terrified. Just because it didn’t die doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
“…Oh? I was just playing around.”
She awkwardly scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.
That gesture imprinted itself in Yerpi’s mind like a picture, awakening a long-dormant memory.
‘Yulha used to do that too.’
In her past life, Yulha, who grew up with her in the orphanage, occasionally played incomprehensible pranks.
Mostly involving small animals, those pranks sometimes crossed the line, earning glares from teachers and other children.
Back then, Yulha would just scratch her cheek awkwardly, as if she couldn’t understand why everyone was angry.
As she grew older, such odd behaviors gradually diminished, and people dismissed them as minor mishaps.
Even then, Yulha had been the most beautiful among the children, and her smile easily concealed her strange actions.
But in Yerpi’s memory, the image of Yulha forcibly plucking feathers from a bird remained vivid.
‘Why am I remembering this now?’
Yet, the more she thought about it, the more Charlotte’s behavior resembled Yulha’s—disturbingly so.
In the midst of Yerpi’s confusion, Raymond stepped forward, placing himself in front of Charlotte with Yerpi behind him.
“To have an outsider from outside Growen recklessly capture a Guardian Spirit—that alone is grounds for immediate expulsion to the ice walls.”
Even knowing the spirit was alive, Raymond’s anger was far from cooled.
Charlotte flinched and stepped back, clearly shocked that Raymond was this furious. Yet her eyes were filled with委屈.
“You’d really drive me away? I arranged this just to apologize to His Grace and the young dragon. Everything was for His Grace.”
“Dante.”
“Huh?”
“That is the true name of the child you’re casually calling ‘young dragon.’”
Charlotte fell silent at the icy tone. Soon, she bit her lower lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.
“It’s too harsh. You won’t even hear me out. I… I heard His Grace was troubled by the Guardian Spirits, so I did this.”
Yerpi was inwardly startled by her tears. It was rare for Charlotte to cry.
In fact, she almost never cried—her strong pride made it nearly impossible for her to show such vulnerability.
Still, even knowing that, Raymond’s attitude wouldn’t have changed.
“I can’t understand what you’re mumbling. Speak clearly so I can understand. Only then can I decide whether to expel you.”
Raymond stood with his arms crossed, firm and unyielding.
It meant he’d at least listen to her—because she was the Duchess’s younger sister—but also warned that one misstep would lead to immediate expulsion.
Charlotte’s eyes twitched. She took a few deep breaths as if trying to suppress her tears, then began explaining.
“I found it strange that the Guardian Spirit disliked me, so I tried using holy power on the mirrorbird I met in the garden. Then it just… fell asleep.”
In the Empire, holy power meant healing and restoration. But in Growen, it seemed to be something avoided.
Convinced that Guardian Spirits wouldn’t avoid her if she were truly a Saintess, she used a chance encounter as an experiment.
“At first, I thought it had died and was shocked. But then it woke up. When I tried it on another spirit, I realized they didn’t die—they just slept. I was about to let it go, but then I learned His Grace was troubled by the spirits.”
She confessed she had followed Yerpi here and overheard the rest.
She wanted to prove here and now that she could solve the problem.
‘Indeed, if Guardian Spirits can be temporarily put to sleep, harvesting the fruit would be much easier.’
Spices could calm the spirits, but she wasn’t certain they could fully pacify large spirits rooted in reincarnation.
But with Charlotte’s ability, the fruit could be harvested without any harm.
Perhaps they could even examine more closely a spirit on the verge of going berserk.
Until now, only the spirits guarding the Great Tree had not entered reincarnation—this might reveal if some anomaly existed.
It was a plausible explanation. But the way she chose to demonstrate it remained problematic. Charlotte wept.
Tears from her amethyst-like violet eyes created a fragile, sorrowful beauty that matched her delicate appearance.
“I know my sleepwalking has caused trouble for His Grace. But it’s because of my illness, not intentional. And I made a mistake with the young dragon… no, Dante, due to my condition. Even if I must leave, please give me a chance to make amends. I beg you, Your Grace.”
She reached out pleadingly, but Raymond stepped back.
Charlotte trembled, clearly hurt by his reaction.
When Raymond didn’t respond, she turned to Yerpi.
“Sister, I think I made a mistake. Do you even need me?”
Charlotte was still crying, yet Yerpi couldn’t bring herself to answer hastily.
The sister she had known since childhood now seemed like a stranger—and yet, so eerily familiar to someone from her past life.
“…Raymond. It would be best to take some time to think. Dante seems quite shaken. Let’s end tonight’s banquet here.”
“Agreed.”
Raymond accepted. Before leaving the banquet hall, he warned Charlotte.
“Charlotte Deilang. Your punishment will be decided soon.”
“I truly came here to apologize. Please, just believe that.”
“That decision lies with my superior. I have no authority.”
With those words, Raymond walked past Charlotte. His response was cold.
Charlotte’s proposed method had real potential—but her approach was deeply flawed.
After bowing her head for a long while, Charlotte’s gaze turned to Yerpi. Her tears had stopped, and she spoke in her usual voice.
“Please explain well to His Grace. I’ll help only until the fruit is harvested. As a gesture of apology. Since you don’t seem to trust me, I’ll show you directly.”
Now, I was truly curious. Why was Charlotte so determined to apologize?
“…Why do you want to apologize so badly?”
“Well… I just want to stay here a little longer.”
Charlotte said this with a blank expression. Was she truly unwilling to leave?
Or did she have something left to do here? That remained a mystery.
Charlotte left the banquet hall. Before following her, the maids approached Yerpi to apologize.
“We’re sorry, Your Grace.”
“She threatened to harm herself if we didn’t bring the bird.”
Marian and Snowel bowed their heads in turn, explaining they couldn’t ignore her threats to jump from the castle walls.
Snowel, who had carried the birdcage, seemed especially burdened by guilt.
Something felt off.
Charlotte had never resorted to self-harm threats before.
That was Yulha’s habit.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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