“Just… it feels like I’m dragging you into this…”
William replied hesitantly. He shamelessly demanded money from his mother and Professor Siod, causing all sorts of chaos, but for some reason, he felt guilty about asking Larisa.
Larisa responded maturely, “It’s okay. It’s not really my mansion anyway.”
“What are you talking about? If Mother gives it once, it’s genuinely your mansion.”
And he himself borrowed money using someone else’s real estate as collateral. Once again, William resented Greneviere as the culprit behind this situation.
Yet, he couldn’t entirely blame her since he knew that Larisa was giving in for his sake.
“Anyway, I’ll repay it without any delays.”
“Please, make sure to protect our house, William. I’ve never retrieved anything left in the pawnshop.”
Our house. William hugged Larisa, feeling emotional.
“Don’t worry. I’ll pay back all the money, including the interest.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Consider it an investment.”
William confidently declared. Larisa didn’t entirely trust William, but she chuckled and patted his head.
William was a driven young man. Not long after, Greneviere received an invitation from William.
Near the open-pit mine taught by Siod, several houses were already built, and miners were at work.
“You’re fast.”
“Butler helped.”
“Butler?”
When Greneviere turned around, Butler Leonard was talking with some people.
“Leonard!”
As William called, Leonard approached.
“Master, have you come?”
“Butler, what are you doing here?”
“I am assisting in developing Young Master’s territory.”
Pride filled the face of the old Leonard as he spoke.
“Young Master, shouldn’t I introduce these people to the Master?”
“Right. Mother, here is the newly appointed territory manager, Mr. Jason Ramsey, and the mine manager, Mr. Mark Henderson.”
The two men took off their hats and bowed.
“Getting started for real.”
“If it weren’t for Leonard, it wouldn’t have been possible. Leonard even gave me this.”
William proudly unfolded a certain map. Greneviere looked down at it quietly and suddenly realized that it was a familiar landscape.
“This is…”
“I searched for it, hoping it might help Young Master.”
Leonard explained cautiously. Greneviere nodded silently with an expressionless face.
It was a map from before Greneviere’s destruction, back when the territory was still called Dante. Looking at the old map with traces of time, Greneviere couldn’t say anything.
“I thought it might be useful when rebuilding the new territory… It even shows the location of wells, so it might come in handy.”
Leonard continued to explain like he was making excuses. William, watching the hesitant butler, spoke while gauging Greneviere’s reaction.
“I asked him to. It was frustrating not having any reference.”
“You did well.”
Greneviere patted Leonard’s shoulder as he handed back the map.
“Thank you for helping my son.”
“Not at all, Master. Witnessing the development of the Dante territory has been my lifelong wish. Yes…”
Leonard’s eyes turned red. Rebuilding the Dante territory had been a dream and hope passed down for three generations, starting with his grandfather.
It was an era where the majesty of the noble was the pride of the servants. Although he was the butler of the Duke of Dante, he was often referred to as the witch’s butler.
In such subtle disdain, how much had Leonard been upset? Leonard, too, had hoped to persuade Greneviere to rebuild the territory when he was young.
He had given up and abandoned that hope to contribute more to the magical realm of Arendia, respecting the owner’s desire. So when William decided to develop the territory, Leonard even offered prayers of gratitude to the goddess.
“Please take good care of him in the future.”
“Yes, I will serve Young Master well!”
Greneviere awkwardly nodded. William, excitedly, said.
“Mother, should I introduce the miners too?”
“No need. It’ll just give unnecessary anxiety.”
As he already felt the fearful gazes directed at him from this side, Greneviere walked in the opposite direction.
“Then, would you like to see the miners’ quarters?”
“I dislike it. It smells.”
“Then let’s go to the village. It’s not far from here, and we’ll quickly reach it by carriage.”
Since teleporting to an unspecified location could lead to accidents, Greneviere willingly boarded the carriage.
“Why did you tell me not to bring Larisa?”
William blushed at the sudden question.
“It’s not fully completed yet.”
“It’s already excellent.”
William blushed but didn’t respond. The carriage arrived at a place that could be more appropriately called a construction site than a village.
“We haven’t finished building all the houses. We’re living in a temporary town hall, sharing accommodation there.”
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.”