For the past six years, Lucas had completely forgotten about the affairs of the palace, but having grown up here since birth, it was simple for him to find the loopholes.
“Where is Her Grace now?”
“I heard she is preparing the royal marriage ceremony at the Shuher Duke’s residence.”
“Why?”
At such a broad question, Cedric paused momentarily, as if a broken toy had come to a stop. Just then, the chamberlain of the crown prince’s quarters passed by the corridor and saw this, bending his knee in salute.
“Ah, right. Lady Matilda would know what my fiancée is up to, wouldn’t she?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With a relieved expression, Cedric stepped back. Lucas beckoned Matilda closer with a gesture and flashed eyes full of curiosity.
“So?”
Returning after six years, the crown prince had grown so much that his previous appearance was unrecognizable. He had become a man with hardened hands like weapons and sturdy muscles.
However, his inner self was still as kind and curious as Matilda knew.
“Her Grace’s mother passed away a long time ago, and there’s no other woman of age in her family. So, the preparations for the royal marriage have been entrusted to their cousin, the Shuher Duke.”
Lucas nodded slowly at the unexpected fact. He thought they would only fight if they met, but he had not considered that she had no one to prepare her wedding.
“When did Mother…?”
“According to what I heard, Her Grace’s mother passed away from postpartum fever a few days after giving birth.”
Although Lucas had been born in the palace and raised strictly as the crown prince, he had always had the warm embrace of a loving mother and an exemplary father to look up to.
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
Lucas was well aware of Duke Astel’s wanderlust. So, in essence, Serena had been living almost without parents.
Yet she had managed the Astel territory as a lady, all the while receiving everyone’s love, without a shadow of doubt in her radiant smile.
“I had no idea because she never showed it.”
Lucas wanted to slap himself for being mean at the engagement ceremony back then. Not only was he physically smaller, but he also had a small heart.
“That’s all in the distant past, Your Highness. You shouldn’t worry about it.”
Matilda spoke gently.
“Moreover, the royal marriage is just a fortnight away. That’s not much time, and you staying here by their Graces’ side should suffice.”
“A fortnight? Why was it postponed so much?”
Setting the royal marriage to be a fortnight later was an administration that exceeded common sense. Even in a historic empire, it was enough to cause a stir in the parliament.
“The bride needs time to prepare.”
Considering Lucas’s temperament, Matilda gave the most appropriate answer, and Lucas nodded seriously.
“I see. Should we meet tomorrow then?”
However, it seemed he still hadn’t fully grasped the meaning of Matilda’s words.
“Your Highness, you should not meet the bride separately before the wedding.”
“Why? We are already engaged. And I saw her not too long ago in Astel’s territory.”
Technically, the only reason Lucas could stay at Duke Astel’s residence despite being the crown prince was that he was officially wandering for his self-development and his counterpart was his fiancée.
In other words, he shouldn’t have been there.
“It’s against the rules.”
Finally, Matilda pulled out her trump card. Whenever Lucas questioned something from a young age, she would put an end to it by mentioning the rules.
“Hmm… so it’s officially not allowed, got it.”
But Lucas was no longer the boy of the past. He had seen the vast world and realized that not everything went as it should.
The injustice on the battlefield, the different situations and conditions for each person, and the breakthrough of it all being an individual’s will.
“Your Highness, not only officially, but it’s also not allowed privately.”
Despite Matilda’s grave words, Lucas only nodded. One of the things he had learned from the outside world was that he didn’t necessarily have to be truthful in everything.
“Understood.”
Moreover, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. Matilda had said she understood her position.
“You may leave if you’re busy.”
“…Yes.”
Matilda felt suspicious, but couldn’t say anything more, so she quietly agreed and left.
“Now, Cedric. Let’s think of a way to secretly visit the Duke’s mansion.”
“Huh? Didn’t you just hear what Matilda said?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“But she said it’s not allowed.”
“What if we go secretly and keep our mouths shut?”
Cedric was an endlessly simple man. Lucas often took advantage of this fact.
“How could it be a problem if no one knows? You wouldn’t betray me and spread the secret.”
“Of course not. I would never betray Your Highness.”
“Then it’s settled, isn’t it? It’s enough if just the two of us know.”
At Lucas’s coaxing, Cedric became lost in serious thought.
“Well… You do have a point, Your Highness.”
“Don’t I?”
Lucas grinned with satisfaction.
“Think of a way for us to meet the Princess at the Duke’s mansion without being noticed by others.”
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.”
