Kun closed his eyes as if recalling that day.
The jewel as red as blood disappeared, and the once resolute face became infinitely beautiful.
It was a beauty that seemed to take one’s breath away, but Chloe was indifferent to it.
Her eyes and ears were solely focused on the lips of her counterpart. Her small ears had become extremely sensitive, almost turning red.
Sometimes, when Kun breathed, she inhaled too.
“……In the kingdom, they have constantly sent knights to persuade me to end the war, even until the day before I decided to cease.”
There was no need to listen to the rest. It was a story about Callis being that lucky knight.
“……I heard that Duke Argen persuaded his Majesty.”
A voice so weak it was impossible to distinguish whether it was a question or a mutter. It was Chloe’s, mumbling as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Persuasion. I remember that foolish knight, covered in fear, struggled even to speak, let alone persuade.”
Despite meeting many knights, this one vaguely remained in his memory. Not just because he was an important medium to convey his will.
Among the knights who came to save the country, he was the weakest and most foolish.
“Please, save me.”
“You speak as if I’m going to kill you.”
“Please, save me. Can’t you end the war?”
A rather direct request to end the war. Or an emotional plea not to take away peace.
Anything would have been less ludicrous.
But the knight, trembling like a willow, repeated the same words, kneeling before him, even adding unnecessary words, asking to go home to his loved one.
“……That knight has somehow become the hero of the century in the kingdom.”
There was no desire to reproach the past Callis.
He knew well how sublime a knight’s mind was to throw himself for his country, to protect his loved ones.
It was just ridiculous that he had acted like a hero in the kingdom after making such a disgrace.
“…….”
Chloe, who had heard all the stories, remained silent. With a stern face and increasingly rigid gestures, she was staring blankly into space.
“It seems I’ve killed the mood. You may return to your room if you’re not in the mood to be together.”
Only then did Chloe’s eyes focus. She looked at Kun softly and then bowed her head.
“Then I shall rudely rise from my seat.”
Though she would have defiantly held her ground, not wanting to fall out of the emperor’s favor, she quickly left her seat.
She responded dryly to the emperor’s farewell. It was disrespectful to the emperor, but even now, she had no leisure to laugh foolishly.
Kun did not point out her rudeness. He stared blankly at Chloe’s lonely back until the door closed and then relaxed.
A headache arose even though he wasn’t drunk. It felt like something was tearing at his mind.
Soon, Kun realized the identity of the headache.
It was a fragment of a memory that he had hidden at the bottom of his mind, wanting to forget.
(This is a time divider.)
Though it seemed like a momentary decision, in fact, it had been happening for a very long time.
Kun Prihild was not exaggeratingly called a man who mastered everything.
The man standing at the top of the empire.
Although his selfish birth had made his place, everyone eventually acknowledged Kun.
Upon his coronation right after his comingofage ceremony, he had the same cruelty as the former tyrants, but his political prowess was excellent. An ability worthy of his noble birth.
In the year that marked his eightyear reign, the accomplished and respected emperor set a grand goal, even challenging for himself.
That was to unify the small countries and the empire.
Balront Kingdom, closest to the empire and relatively a strong country, became the first victim.
Also, Balront Kingdom was an optimal place to set an example, having a certain degree of military strength.
At first, attempts were made to negotiate with King Balront, but they failed every time. This was within Kun’s expectations, so he immediately carried out the next plan.
War between the two nations.
The war began at the Lian River, which divided the two countries’ borders, to minimize casualties.
The military strength of the Balront Kingdom was outstanding only when compared to other small countries. It was embarrassingly weak against the empire’s forces. As Kun expected, the empire mostly gained the upper hand.
Unless he or his knight went mad, things would usually flow according to the original intent.
Then one day came.
The deputy commander of the Royal Knights was severely injured and returned.
“Something’s strange.”
His defeat was unexpected not only for Kun but also within the Knights, and everyone was thrown into panic.
The absence of the deputy commander didn’t greatly affect the advantage, so it wasn’t a major issue.
But something was off. The war was prolonged due to stronger enemy resistance than expected.
The military and financial damages sustained thus far could not be ignored.
“We’ll end the war quickly.”
Now that the deputy commander, one of the main forces, was injured, no one knew what would happen next.
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.”
