Annette watched silently as Bridget, still childlike in calling her own name, was comforted by the Queen.
Noticing her, the King frowned.
“Greetings to His Majesty the King…”
“The Alcan Empire has proposed an alliance.”
Before she could properly bow, the King coldly dismissed her greeting and got straight to the point.
“They wish to seal the alliance with a marriage between the Imperial family and a Princess of Heyworth.”
Annette’s expression brightened momentarily.
Since her injury and forced retirement, the kingdom had lost a significant power.
With the Bayendor Empire eyeing the southern lands, war could break out anytime.
An alliance with the Alcan Empire and their support would be invaluable.
A natural commander, she quickly pondered who the Empire’s marriage candidate might be.
The Alcan Royal bloodline was prestigious, making it easy to guess.
‘The Emperor is married, and the Crown Prince too young. They wouldn’t give a foreign princess the Empress’s position.’
That left only one person.
Duke Cardin Hargzent, second in line to the throne, twenty-two years old, two years younger than her, four years older than Bridget… Ah.
Annette’s face hardened as she recalled Bridget’s cries about not being able to marry a monster.
Duke Hargzent, a war hero who had never lost a battle against enemy nations or demons, was rumored to have lost his beauty due to demon blood.
Annette then realized why the King, who despised even a single strand of her hair, had summoned her.
A decree-like statement was pronounced over her head.
“Annette, you are to marry Duke Hargzent of the Alcan Empire.”
Annette almost laughed at the absurdity.
After a lifetime of being treated less than a princess, and now this?
Moreover, if not for the grim rumors about the Duke, this marriage proposal would never have been considered for her.
Indeed, Queen Esther seemed bitter about it.
‘If Bridget became the Duchess of Alcan, it would be easier to establish the youngest, Raon, as the next crown prince.’
However, the Queen was reluctant to marry her daughter off to such a monster, and Bridget’s adamant refusal had forced her to abandon the idea.
Of course, there was a high chance Alcan would reject Annette, perhaps a ploy to appear as if they had no choice but to persuade her.
The important point was that no one cared about what Annette thought.
The King hadn’t asked for her opinion but had issued a command to marry.
Fortunately, Annette had no intention of refusing.
King Heyworth, without delay, sent a messenger to the Alcan Empire as soon as Annette accepted the decree.
The response came quickly.
Surprisingly, the Emperor of the Alcan Empire approved the marriage between Annette and Duke Hargzent, and in a hurry, even sent the engagement papers.
Annette, who had inwardly expected to be rejected like Queen Esther thought, was slightly surprised.
The proposal sought the marriage with Heyworth’s princess, known for her noble bloodline.
She remembered the phrase from the initial alliance proposal.
‘I thought they were politely declining by calling me the seed of the demon…’
The haste with which they proceeded suggested that Duke Hargzent had some urgent matter.
Indifferent to his circumstances, Annette nonchalantly signed her name beside the Duke’s elegant and sharp signature, as if drawn with a sword.
The negotiation proceeded without a hitch, leaving Queen Esther, ironically, the one with a bruised ego.
But the Queen, too, soon came to the same conclusion as Count Randel, who was appointed to lead the Heyworth delegation.
Duke Hargzent, seeking a bride under the guise of an alliance, must be desperate enough to accept Annette.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
