Chloe received a simple and clear response that the royal family had not known when she asked them about the arranged marriage.
Only then did she realize that Callis’s proposal had been a boldfaced lie.
The late confessing royal family begged for understanding of their position. When asked about his lover, the royal family consistently responded that they did not know. Chloe had no objections to the royal family, which had no intention.
While the royal family would calm the effects of criticism over time, Chloe did not. She had already become the ugly duckling to everyone living in the duchy.
Despite the stifling and miserable situation, there was no help Chloe could receive from the royal family. Even if she tried to change public opinion as a knight, she couldn’t change the hearts of others, including Callis.
If the royal family had revealed the contract with Callis, the situation wouldn’t have worsened so much, but speaking about the contract was taboo.
In case of violation, a hefty penalty would have to be paid to the other party, so the royal family chose to remain silent.
If only they had hinted at this to Chloe, she would not have felt guilty.
Chloe, who had no way of knowing that fact, followed her husband when he spat nasty words at her, and when he looked for her only when needed.
Gradually, the servants of the mansion began to ignore Chloe. At first, Chloe resisted the servants’ rude treatment, but was rejected by Callis.
After that, she had to endure any misfortune in the mansion.
If ignorance is a sin, then it was a sin. Chloe was thoroughly excluded from the ground she had dreamed of.
Fortunately, her standing in society itself had not changed. In the aristocratic world, where the law of the jungle ruled, the royal family’s childish play was a matter of course.
Of course, that was all for Callis’s benefit.
The duke, who had lived his life as a fallen noble, had not established a footing in society.
After becoming a hero, he occasionally showed his face in society, but the title of hero was mysterious to the commoners, not a significant existence to the nobles.
Perhaps if it was Chloe’s royal status. After marriage, Callis quickly began to use her to establish his footing in society.
Even after ‘that incident,’ without change.
It was a thorough exploitation, but Chloe was fine with that. The fact that she was helpful to Callis eased her guilt somewhat.
Still, she thought that if she approached him like this, wouldn’t his hatred for her melt someday?
Foolish love. Chloe chose foolishness, unable to abandon such a trivial emotion.
(This is a time divider.)
“……Ugh!”
It felt like a boulder had settled in her chest. Startled, Chloe sprang up from her seat.
Tears were coming out of her wideopen eyes. Her back was damp, apparently from sweating cold sweat all night.
Whether it was the aftermath of a nightmare, her back shivered, and her fingers trembled.
‘……It was horrible.’
Chloe’s past she wanted to erase the most.
The duke, confessing in front of everyone that Chloe’s life had been horrible.
The servants’ murmuring as they looked at her was vivid. The duke, who pointed at her and repeatedly scolded her, was also clear.
‘I have to stop thinking about it.’
Don’t dwell on the past. She comforted herself and tried hard to calm down.
With barely maintained calm, she called the maids to help with her morning grooming.
Ding, ding.
She rang the bell, but there was no one to answer the call.
The bell was designed to ring throughout the duke’s mansion. There could be no chance that all the servants would ‘accidentally’ fail to hear it.
Even so, Chloe’s already precarious position had completely collapsed.
Like a sandcastle that crumbles with a whoosh in the wind.
Chloe, who didn’t even have the energy to be disappointed, quietly went back under the covers.
That’s when she was about to close her eyes again.
Someone stepped through the door without knocking.
A maid who had been looking around cautiously closed the door. The woman who met Chloe’s eyes awkwardly smiled and then opened her mouth.
“……Well, madam. We cannot help you anymore.”
Cannot help?
The maid speaks as if they are intentionally not helping Chloe.
“His Grace has given the order. From now on, do not attend to my lady, but attend to Lady Helena instead……. Even if my lady requests help, you are to ignore her, he strictly commanded.”
“…….”
“But, I will help you. Everyone has moved to Lady Helena’s side now……. I just came out saying I will go to the kitchen to prepare lunch……. ”
The maid’s voice grows louder and her words gradually fade into nothing.
The shocking news strikes Chloe’s mind forcefully.
The recent ignoring by the attendants was not torment but a sign of loyalty. The one who ordered such childish thing was surprisingly Callis and his confidant.
“……Truly.”
Chloe realizes again.
What her husband thinks of her.
If he brings another woman in front of his wife, shouldn’t he at least feel a shred of guilt, as a matter of human decency?
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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