The Dowager Empress, who had initially feared that Cardin might have uncontrollably crushed Annette’s small hand, expressed her concern but couldn’t hide her dissatisfaction.
“There shouldn’t have been a need for so much blood. To wrap it up with a bandage like that…”
“It wasn’t a deep wound,” Annette replied, feeling embarrassed.
Realizing this, the Dowager Empress understood that Cardin had probably made a fuss over a small injury by summoning the palace healer.
Meanwhile, Annette noted that neither the Empress nor the others were surprised that a mage had taken her blood, suggesting that a mage’s research activities were a familiar occurrence in the Empire. She knew the royal family of the Alkan Empire maintained close relations with both the temple and the magic tower and was instrumental in creating purification stones, yet she was still struck by the realization.
She wondered how Cardin had managed to travel so quickly from the Duke’s estate to the capital, suspecting magic was involved. ‘I didn’t expect he would want to meet me so urgently…’
Embarrassed by her thoughts, Annette fanned herself absent-mindedly and then refocused. She had digressed far from the original topic.
Gathering courage, Annette spoke, “Your Majesty, I’ve received your gift. Thank you very much.”
“Hmm, it does seem to suit you well…”
The Dowager Empress, though prepared this time compared to her unexpected reaction to Annette’s cute appearance yesterday, remained stern.
“Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Not at all! I’ve never worn such pretty clothes before in my life…!” Annette caught herself, regretting her words. She hadn’t intended to share even this much.
Feeling like she had let her guard down since arriving in the Empire, Annette forced a smile despite feeling bitter.
“Really comfortable.”
“Hmm,” the Dowager Empress nodded, slightly lifting the corners of her mouth, unaware of her own expression. She seemed relieved and happy that Annette liked what she had done.
Annette, feeling a surge of warmth in her throat, was about to continue when the Dowager Empress mentioned her earlier conversation.
“Was that conversation about Harzant Duke?”
Annette flinched at the Empress’s sharp gaze, recalling her previous conversation. She had honestly said the Duke was a good person, contrary to rumors.
Annette nodded, and the Dowager Empress clicked her tongue, “How much pretense did he put on? I thought my ears had gone deaf with age from all the nonsense.”
“Excuse me?”
“Even though he’s my son, I don’t recall raising him to be so cunning. I hope you won’t blame me if you’re deceived later on.”
“Ah… um, yes.”
Annette, bewildered by the incomprehensible remarks, simply nodded. She hoped to gain some understanding of the situation by looking around.
Behind her, Serena looked visibly relieved, while Charlotte tried to suppress her laughter, gazing into the distance.
Startled.
Inside the carriage returning from the temple to the royal palace.
Cardin suddenly felt a chilling sensation down his spine and looked around uneasily.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness?” asked Samuel, sitting beside him.
Cardin frowned and said, “I just felt… incredibly uneasy all of a sudden.”
He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it was as if a corner of a carefully built tower had just crumbled—a bad omen brushed past him.
But that seemed unlikely.
Throughout his life, Cardin’s efforts had revolved solely around Annette Heyworth. And their relationship was going very smoothly.
To quell his unease, Cardin shook his head and reexamined the engagement agreement and certificate he had just obtained from the temple.
Earlier at the temple, the news of Duke Harzant’s arrival had the priests scurrying to meet him, and he quickly received the engagement certification.
Though there was initial hesitation due to the sudden engagement news and the fact that his fiancée was the notorious Princess of Heyworth Kingdom, it was smooth otherwise.
“It seems my donations haven’t been in vain.”
“The temple is fundamentally pro-royal,” Samuel added.
The temple didn’t question the absence of the Heyworth delegation. Nor did they ask to see a lock of the princess’s hair, which Samuel remembered his master shamelessly asking Annette for.
Not just her hair, but even a handkerchief stained with her blood was treasured by Cardin.
‘Wonder where that hair and handkerchief will end up…’
Samuel didn’t want to dwell on his master’s bizarre collecting habit. He wondered whether living with the princess would reduce or exacerbate this hobby.
But it wasn’t his concern. He just hoped that Cardin’s somber true nature, as well as the shadows cast by his intricate mask, would remain hidden from the new mistress of the house.
“By the way,” Cardin said, his eyes glued to Annette’s signature on the agreement since he had taken it out.
“How can our princess write so beautifully?”
“…”
“This agreement should become a treasure of the Duke’s family, shouldn’t it?”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
