Thanks to Guinevere, he could attend the academy, graduate, and live a stable life.
Because of Guinevere, Hedel, though overshadowed, was recognized as a great magician wherever he went.
But what was he to Guinevere?
“That damn research confidentiality! Do you think I want to steal it? Why do you treat me so miserably?”
Hedel was proud of Guinevere. He believed she had a warm heart beneath her cold exterior, supporting an orphan without conditions.
But everything changed when Larissa arrived. The master could be so affectionate to someone. And Hedel meant nothing. In his frustration, Hedel thought,
‘What’s so special about that magic?’
He was curious but never thought of stealing it. The magic required enormous power, beyond his daring.
Yet Guinevere treated him like a potential thief, barring him from the lab.
Frustrated, he had endured because Guinevere was equally cold to everyone.
“Master! Answer me! What am I inferior to Larissa!”
Hedel shouted out of frustration. No, he was just crying. It was pathetic for a twenty-nine-year-old to cry and whine to his master.
But he knew she wouldn’t change. He sighed in despair.
“I’ve always seen you like a mother. I just want to say goodbye face-to-face. Please, open the door.”
Guinevere’s lab wasn’t locked. But Hedel pleaded pitifully, fearing she would throw him out the window without a word if he just opened it.
Click.
Startled by the suddenly opening door, Hedel stepped back.
“Like a mother?”
“What?”
“You?”
“…”
“Me?”
“Um, yes.”
So what did he see her as? Seeing the confusion in Hedel’s eyes, Guinevere sighed.
“I didn’t know you thought of me… like that.”
Hedel felt awkward. After wiping his tears and snot with his robe sleeve, he bowed his head.
“Anyway, I’m really leaving now. Farewell.”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you leaving?”
“What?”
“Tell me the reason. Why are you suddenly doing this?”
Hedel got angry again. Didn’t she know why after all he had said?
“You treat me like a stranger who might steal your research secrets. Why should I stay in someone else’s house? I’m not without talent!”
“That’s because…”
Hedel was an excellent magician. It wouldn’t take him long to realize that the sphere was a model of the time regression magic.
That would put Hedel in danger too. Guinevere’s instinctive sense warned her.
How could she explain that?
‘But after 65 years of attachment, I can’t let him be in danger. Maybe it’s better for him to leave…’
While Guinevere was thinking this, Hedel sighed and said,
“Fine. It’s time for me to be independent. I’ll go now.”
But Hedel noticed the trembling in Guinevere’s eyes. When else could he shake Guinevere like this?
“I sincerely thank you for taking me in and raising me.”
Guinevere’s eyes began to shake as if hit by an earthquake. Hedel inwardly smirked.
“But, for the last time, may I call you ‘mother’?”
Maybe he overdid it? Guinevere regained her composure and said,
“Stop it. I know you as well as you know me. You’re trying to tease your teacher.”
“Cheh.”
Hedel grumbled, but he didn’t say he was leaving again. Instead, he waited for Guinevere’s response. He wanted to hear her true feelings.
“I never thought of you as a son.”
‘Of course, she would say that.’
Hedel never really saw her as a mother either. To him, she was always a revered and awe-inspiring teacher.
“But you were my only student.”
She felt she should say something more significant, but didn’t know what. Before leaving, at least she wanted to clear up any misunderstandings Hedel had.
“I impulsively took you as my student, but I never regretted it. You always exceeded my expectations. If you were any less competent, I wouldn’t have minded you sneaking into my lab. But you… you’ve grown enough to be a concern.”
Despite Guinevere’s heartfelt thoughts, Hedel was now crying tears of emotion.
‘I can’t believe the master spoke so much…!’
Guinevere said in her usual stern tone,
“Then leave now.”
“What?”
Hedel, having lost all intention to leave, asked stupidly.
“You can go now.”
“Ah, yes… yes?”
“Leave now. I need to continue my research.”
Then the door shut with a bang. Hedel, still shedding tears, was startled.
Guinevere hurriedly closed the door, fearing she might show her vulnerable side, but Hedel was unaware of this.
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.”
