After finding out about the betrayal of her brother and mother, she had suspected that the steward had also betrayed her. It had hurt her heart. But seeing him having put on some weight, she felt somewhat relieved.
“What happened that you got caught?”
“When Prince Leane wanted to imprison the Knight Sonnaught, I was suspicious for advising against it. I ended up being caught trying to contact you, Your Majesty.”
“It’s a relief that you’re safe. It’s also a relief that you didn’t betray me.”
“Your Majesty….”
While the steward sniffed, Latil felt a sudden lump in her throat. She quickly grabbed a tissue and offered it to him while asking.
“Do you know where Sonnaught is?”
“I’m afraid not. After narrowly escaping being caught by the prince when he went to meet Sonnaught, his whereabouts have been unclear.”
But with you, Your Majesty, regaining your throne, won’t he come right away when he hears the news? At the steward’s suggestion, Latil nodded her head.
In fact, that’s exactly what Latil was thinking.
“Duke Sable, gather all the copies of the approvals my brother and mother handled in my absence. If there is anything that doesn’t align with my intentions, I need to cancel it quickly. Even if I don’t cancel it, I need to understand how it is going.”
“Yes.”
When the steward received the order and left the office, Latil immediately called for Tasir.
“Drug addict, have the Black Forest assassins spread the news far and wide that I was dethroned and then reclaimed the throne.”
Latil didn’t know where Sonnaught was. But if this rumor spread, Sonnaught would know where Latil was.
“Is my nickname firmly set as ‘drug addict’, Your Majesty?”
“And investigate every move of my brother and report it.”
“It seems so… Understood.”
“Drug addict.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I love you.”
Tasir, who was looking somewhat disheartened as Latil only talked about work right after a longawaited reunion, made a shocked expression at the words ‘I love you.’
As if he had heard something he shouldn’t have heard.
Latil, who said ‘I love you,’ seemed more embarrassed.
But that was only for a moment. He laughed until his eyes curled up, gently approached Latil, and teased her while sticking close to her.
“Has our love finally sprouted in the secret letters that come and go?”
Latil laughed and offered him a snack she had forgotten about on her desk earlier.
Tasir received the snack in a daze and looked at Latil with a ‘what’s this?’ expression.
“It’s a reward.”
“Is it a reward filled with affection?”
“A reward filled with trust.”
Frankly, the words ‘I love you’ she said earlier were empty words. She said it because it was easy to say.
Besides, Latil was certain that Tasir didn’t love her either. The Tasir she saw was just a leader of the Black Forest playing ‘harem.’
But apart from that, he was a person she could trust.
Tasir held the snack in his hand, smiled subtly, and bit into the snack while gazing intently at Latil.
He crunched and chewed, and soon a satisfied smile appeared in his eyes. A smile like a tamed fox who had received its feed.
“It’s pretty good.”
“Oh, Tasir, did you see that?”
“What?”
“That thing you wanted to develop. The clothes that peel off when you flick them.”
“!”
[This is the time separator]The wigshaped magical item that Leane had. Leane, who had put all the blame on his mother with a brilliant play, couldn’t hold onto that item either.
Latil disposed of the item as soon as she received it from Lean.
‘It’s better to get rid of such things.’
As she cut the wig with scissors, Latil thought of the mask she had acquired. She recalled the number 3 at the corner of it.
‘Maybe this item means there are three of them. If that’s the case… I need to be careful.’
Whether it ends up in Lean’s hands or in Telana Heum’s hands, it’s dangerous.
‘If I could hear people’s true feelings, I wouldn’t have to worry about this, even if someone hides their face. Can’t this ability be improved further?’
Just when Latil had finished her work and was personally disposing of the evidence, the sound of a bell indicating a visitor rang out.
When Latil responded with a bell sound, the escort outside informed her.
“Your Majesty, Duke Atraxi and Chancellor Rhodes are here.”
“Let them in.”
Latil checked the clock and replied.
She had personally invited both of them. According to Tasir, they both seemed to have been a great help this time.
“Congratulations on your safe return, Your Majesty.”
“We’ve been eagerly awaiting your return, Your Majesty.”
As the two who entered the room took turns greeting her, Latil gestured for them to sit down and began to speak.
“I heard from Tasir. You both had a hard time controlling the atmosphere among the ministers.”
“No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t compare to Carlein who served Your Majesty directly.”
“Tasir also worked hard for Your Majesty, mobilizing all the top information networks.”
Upon hearing this, the two powerful figures unexpectedly started praising Tasir and Carlein before praising themselves.
However, listening to their praises that seemed modest at first, Latil laughed inwardly.
‘These gentlemen, they only praise the two consorts from humble origins.’
But since they did a good job, Latil suppressed her teasing spirit and praised them sincerely.
“Through this experience, I realized who my real allies are. I clearly understand that Ranamun and Guesta, Chancellor Rhodes and Duke Atraxi, are like family to me.”
“Family!”
“Family!”
The chancellor and duke, seemingly pleased with the term ‘family’, simultaneously echoed ‘family’. But then, they glared at each other and quickly shut their mouths.
Latil continued to make small talk for a while, but when more tasks to handle came to mind, she sent the two away to discuss further later.
However, about 30 minutes later, Duke Atraxi, who was thought to have left, came to visit Latil again.
“You haven’t left yet?”
Confused, Latil invited Duke Atraxi in and had him sit on the sofa.
“What’s the matter? Is there an urgent issue?”
When Latil asked, Duke Atraxi lowered his voice and spoke seriously.
“Your Majesty. Did you know that our Ranamun didn’t exchange a single word with the fake you until you returned?”
Fortunately, it wasn’t an urgent issue. Not at all.
“…Did you come here to tell me that?”
When Latil asked in disbelief, Duke Atraxi nodded with a careful and serious face.
“That’s correct. You’ll know if you ask anyone. You don’t know how ambitiously he handled the situation.”
Ambitious Ranamun. Latil awkwardly laughed at the combination of words that didn’t fit at all. However, the main point was still to come.
“But oddly enough, the son of Chancellor Rhodes seemed naive, but he cleverly stuck with the fake you, as if he had insurance.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
