“The knight commander of the battlefield where I was, was Duke Astel. Originally, he intended to accompany me only until the expedition ceremony, but it seems the Emperor asked him to take me.”
“Father did…”
“Weren’t you aware?”
Lucas seemed puzzled. Even on the battlefield, the Empire’s military strength was overwhelming, and it was routine for any decent knight to send letters to their family.
“No, I had no idea.”
“None at all? How so?”
“Well… no one knew what he was doing or where he was.”
Roger gladly accepted Serena’s request to live in Astel territory and gave her the title of acting duchess. At the time, she thought her father was trusting her, but it turned out he was merely indifferent.
“You mean… he left you alone while he trained me?”
However, Duke Astel was even more absurd than Serena had thought. Even later when they met, he never mentioned training the Crown Prince.
“I thought you knew.”
“Father never sent a single letter while I was in Astel territory.”
Lucas found this a bit shocking, knowing the father-daughter relationship was not close.
“Yet he insisted you marry the Crown Prince.”
“Perhaps he had trained me in advance.”
Roger’s intentions were something neither could fathom, even if they put their heads together.
“Duke Astel stayed on that battlefield for two years. By the time he left, I was able to hold my own.”
It was a grueling two years, and Lucas chose to bunk with the new recruits, sometimes even doing errands like feeding the horses.
Even so, he was the one with the most calluses among those who had trained with him for the two years. Whether it was the innate bloodline of the royal family or not, his skills improved significantly by that time.
“So, you and my father must have some friendship.”
“Not really, he treated me just like any other recruit, as I had requested.”
“That does sound like him.”
Serena had never spent time with or had a proper conversation with her father since becoming Serena. But given his unpredictable actions despite being a duke, nothing he did would be surprising.
“Actually, I found your reaction quite cold when I went to Astel territory.”
Lucas had no doubt that Duke Astel would tell his only daughter about the efforts and hard work of her fiancé.
“Didn’t the Duke mention me at all?”
“No. However, when you brought up the engagement again, he did say that the marriage must go ahead.”
It was ambiguous whether this constituted taking sides.
“I had advocated for remaining single, but he said that wouldn’t be possible for someone like me who was tossed aside.”
“Single? Was that really what you wanted?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Lucas had never heard of a woman who chose to be single of her own volition.
In this world, it was common sense to pair up and establish a household, especially if one were of noble status.
“You are truly a remarkable woman.”
Lucas found it odd that he was not at all bothered by Serena, who always shattered his common sense.
“Your Highness is not an ordinary person either.”
The virtue of a crown princess was to obey her husband and give her all to domestic affairs, just as other noblewomen did.
“Because you promised me freedom.”
Such a promise should not have existed in the first place. Yet, Lucas had handed Serena a token of the promise, staking his name, honor, and even life on it.
“I never intended to cage you. What I wanted was the vibrant, radiant Serena I saw in Astel.”
Serena fidgeted with the ring set into her finger in the darkness. Lucas’s reappearance was an unexpected interruption, yet she wasn’t entirely displeased.
“It might be good to maintain this alliance for a while.”
“Yes, since the crown prince has gotten married, there’s a lot for us to do as a married couple.”
Yet Lucas still couldn’t shake off his lingering regret.
“In that sense… could we at least hold hands?”
Lucas’s large hand rested on the pillow that lay between them.
“I really can’t sleep. Besides, I’ll keep my promise. If you want to be technical, isn’t this an opportunity to test my trustworthiness?”
He was persuasive. Normally, Serena would have ignored him, but recalling the 14-year-old him, she felt too guilty to push him away.
“Alright.”
At Serena’s response, the corners of Lucas’s mouth lifted.
“But remember, while I may not be as strong as you, I’m definitely not weak.”
“I couldn’t forget even if I wanted to. My shin still has a bruise.”
“Then it’s settled.”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
