“I’m sorry. I must have been too hasty. If I had known you would be in such pain, I would have been more careful.”
Even though I knew he was blaming himself with a feverish mind, I had no energy to ask about the reasons.
However, Valentin seemed to grasp exactly what question she was holding in her arms and spoke as if he understood.
“It seems breaking the seal of magic carelessly affected your body. I should have waited for you to be ready, but I was too impatient. It’s all my fault.”
“Mag…ic…?”
“I’d rather be the one in pain.”
With a tender touch, Valentin gently swept her forehead with the back of his hand. It wasn’t an illusion.
Every time he infused a little magic, the pain seemed to momentarily subside.
Tears streamed down her eyes, which had become swollen due to the fever.
“How… my fever… cold…”
He looked at her with a complicated expression.
“Relying too much on magic isn’t good. Natural recovery is better for humans.”
“Oh, because, if broken, it feels like I’ll die…”
“…If it goes wrong, it might actually prolong the pain.”
“My… magic…”
As she pleaded with a warm face due to the fever, he sighed, grabbed her chin, and lifted it as she sat on the bed.
She felt the firm thumb wiping her swollen lips.
Suddenly, he lowered his upper body.
As he leaned in, surprising her by covering her lips in the shadow, Valentin gently asked as if soothing her.
“Ugh.”
Through the parted lips, magic flowed abundantly. She hastily swallowed the cool magic.
Feeling a burning thirst, she brought her lips even closer.
In the instinctive grip on his lower lip, her hand tensed. A bit more, please, just a bit more…
Without hesitation, he generously poured as much magic as she wanted.
Adele felt her consciousness slipping away amidst the surging force.
When she opened her eyes again, it was early morning.
The fever was neatly gone, and the pain that seemed to be embedded in her flesh had disappeared.
It was dawn, but the sun hadn’t fully risen yet. The atmosphere was cool and serene.
She awkwardly surveyed the quiet bedroom. For the past few days, Valentin had always been by her side when she opened her eyes.
Suddenly, the fact that he wasn’t there felt strangely natural and surprising.
“Oh my goodness. Vision! Are you feeling better?”
Margaret, who had silently opened the door and come in, approached with excitement when she saw Adele sitting up.
There were shadows under her eyes, probably from worrying. Adele faintly smiled as she looked at the wildflowers in Margaret’s hands.
Unlike the nobles who sent pretty flowers adorned with colorful ribbons, they were quite fresh and fragrant.
“Now it’s okay. Did you pick the flowers yourself?”
“Oh, His Grace gave them to me. He sent them while on his way here because Her Majesty was looking for something. He had me send them to you.”
“Her Majesty? At such an early hour?”
“Today marks the beginning of the hunting festival. Since he wanted to send words to use for hunting, he called me to the stables.”
Margaret said, taking out the withering flowers from the vase.
Unlike a few days ago when it seemed that the Emperor had a fondness for our Duke, it was a bit less sweet but still amicable.
Adele smiled slightly.
“It’s a good thing that Her Majesty is sending words, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Of course, it’s good, but… these days, there are strange rumors circulating.”
“Rumors?”
“Among the loyalists who served Ansgar for a long time. Someone spread rumors among them, maliciously distorting what had been happening…”
“What kind of rumors? Can you tell me?”
Margaret nodded with an unwilling attitude.
Now that Adele was also part of Ansagar, and she had to deal with other nobles in the palace, there was no reason to hide.
Margaret pulled the chair that had been by the bedside and sat down.
“So, where should I start? You must know that Duke Ansagar, or Lord Edmont, gave up the position of Crown Prince and took over the position of Duke Ansagar, which Empress graciously knows.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about it. It was a famous incident.”
The Empress was the only direct heir to Ansagar, whose lineage had been cut off.
Therefore, if she gave birth to a child, the first would rule the Empire, and the second would rule Ansagar.
However, originally, the first, Edmont, who was supposed to become Emperor, suddenly relinquished the position of Crown Prince to his younger brother and demanded the position of Duke Ansagar.
It was an event that happened nearly thirty years ago, but such shocking incidents tended to be talked about for a long time.
“We, like lower beings, were pleased that the position of the lord of Ansagar had finally stabilized. The Empress was secretly relieved because His Grace Edmont was handing over Ansagar to her. If only a woman could be the head of the family… If that were the case, she would not have taken the Empress’s place even if she died.”
Margaret paused for a moment, recalling the past.
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.”
