Lost in thought, Adel was startled by the voice calling her. She turned towards the direction of the sound and saw a young messenger standing at the stable door.
He was a boy cherished by the head butler.
The boy, frowning at the terrible smell, hurried to Adel.
“I heard you were here and didn’t believe it at first. For such trivial matters, please go through me, Yannick.”
He couldn’t tolerate her walking about so informally. His face was full of indignation that she would be embarrassed by. Adel looked at the boy messenger curiously.
Was it because he was still young, or was his ambition and desire for power so great at such a young age that his attitude was even more flexible than adults’? Adel found it intriguing.
‘Not that I’m grateful…’
It was her husband’s influence, not hers. It was a fleeting power that would disappear as soon as Valentin favored another woman.
Adel shook off her thoughts and asked Yannick worriedly.
“Is there something wrong? Does the butler urgently need me? Or did His Highness have another attack?”
“No, no, none of that.”
“I came after speaking with His Highness… but you may not have understood. I keep forgetting that communication has been difficult lately.”
“Oh, no, it’s not that at all. The Duke is regaining his sharpness and strength day by day, all thanks to Your Highness.”
It was a polite way of saying that he hadn’t caused trouble in her absence. Adel looked disheartened by the obvious flattery.
“It’s not my doing. The Duke simply had no opportunity before. He recognized only my face and was frequently distressed by mistaking strangers for familiar faces.”
“As you said, he is gradually calming down over time. The fact that he has recovered this far is all thanks to Your Highness.”
It was smooth flattery. Adel shook her head.
“Really, I haven’t done anything. Anyway, it’s fortunate that His Highness’s condition is rapidly improving. For me, who should stay in the inner chambers, entering His Highness’s bedroom without a priest’s permission was against the law…”
“……Ah, um.”
“Yes?”
“The laws of the North are a bit different… No, never mind. Of course, Your Highness is absolutely right.”
“…”
“Still, please look in on him occasionally. He will be happy.”
Well, that was uncertain. Unless his memory never returned, Valentin had once detested even brushing clothes with her.
Perhaps if he regained his sanity, he would want to completely erase even the memory of his brief obsession with her.
“Maybe. Anyway, please tell the butler that I will retire to my room starting this evening.”
“Yes. Of course, the butler will prepare everything properly.”
Adel tilted her head. Prepare? What for? Was something changing? Suspicious, Adel narrowed her eyes at Yannick’s words, but he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate at the moment.
‘What’s he up to?’
Sighing, her gaze inadvertently drifted to a corner of the stable. At first, she glanced over it, then quickly returned her gaze. Adel’s light green eyes suddenly widened.
‘What’s that?’
At first, she thought they were dust balls moving in the wind. But on closer inspection, they were swarms of rats and spiders, moving in a well-ordered fashion as if fleeing.
“…”
As if a great disaster was about to strike.
As she realized this, suddenly the horses in the stable started to kick up a fuss. The stable keeper was startled, grabbing the bridle of a rearing horse and patting its neck.
“Whoa, whoa. Why all of a sudden? Calm down, calm down.”
The excited horses’ snorting became increasingly rough. Yannick, alarmed, scurried away towards the entrance.
‘Monsters roaming freely, dead animals, unexplained wounds on Grita’s body, the resurrection of a dead body, and Grita’s warning, the old legend’s phrase about animals being the first to know.’
Was all this just a coincidence? The first one or two times could be, but at this point, it was clear that something was behind it all. Adel lifted her head sharply.
Now, there was only one way to find out.
“About the hunting dogs that His Grace cherished, where are they now?”
In the end, not a single hunting dog crossed the threshold of the Duke’s room. They were too busy cowering and whimpering, their tails tucked. Each of them was quite large, making it difficult even for the well-built Yannick to hold them.
The huntsman, worried about the precious dogs getting hurt, took them all back to the hut as soon as Yannick lost hold of the leashes.
“Adel.”
As Adel gazed blankly in the direction where the huntsman had disappeared, she was startled by a hand reaching out to embrace her from behind. She lifted her shoulders sharply, turning around to avoid his hand.
“……!”
However, Valentin looked more surprised by her rejection. He had not expected her to react so sensitively. Astonishment was evident in his golden eyes.
Adel felt embarrassed by her reaction. She stammered an excuse, feeling guilty for overreacting to something so trivial.
“I, I just got startled…”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to suddenly appear like this.”
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
