Chloe left under the pretext of visiting the royal palace.
Fearing the location of the ducal carriage could be tracked, she deliberately took a village carriage toward the empire.
It took a full day and half to reach the empire. It would have been enough with just a day if she had not taken breaks and traveled leisurely.
Chloe disembarked from the carriage, escorted by the coachman.
“Thank you for your efforts.”
“Milady, you’re the one who’s worked hard. I wish you good fortune.”
The place she arrived was the royal palace’s carriage station, where many others were moving about.
“There are so many people in the palace; is there an event today?”
“The church has closed temporarily, so His Majesty opened the palace church for worshippers like us. Everyone is going there to pray.”
Upon hearing this, it was said that the empire’s church had closed for a divine revelation.
For those wanting to pray or seek blessings, the palace operated a small church in its annex for a few days.
That’s why the usually quiet palace was bustling with people.
Chloe waited in a long line. Her turn came when the clock struck twice to signal the hour.
“What is your purpose for visiting the church?”
The knight guarding the gate asked gruffly.
“I wish to meet His Majesty.”
“Do you have a scheduled appointment?”
“No, but…”
“Then it will be difficult.”
The guard knight answered immediately.
In fact, Chloe didn’t come here without any plans. She intended to contact the Emperor first, schedule a meeting, and then see him.
But the more she thought about it, the stranger it became.
Despite knowing Chloe’s plans, the unresponsive Emperor was strange. Normally, he would have invited her readily, but he seemed immovable.
It was as if he wanted Chloe to come to him.
While Chloe could have written to him, she spontaneously decided to visit the palace.
And that seemed to emphasize her urgency.
“Would you please check first? Although it’s an unexpected visit, he will receive me.”
“Do you know how busy His Majesty is?”
Irritated, the knight responded to Chloe’s urging.
The influx of recent palace visitors had already put the knight on edge.
They too, like Chloe, had been causing a ruckus about wanting to meet the Emperor or making a fuss.
“Sigh…”
Chloe let out a deep sigh and fumbled around her neck.
It was a good thing she had decided to bring this, just in case.
“I am the third princess of the Kingdom of Balront. I urgently need to meet His Majesty. Please reconsider.”
She handed over a pendant with the emblem of the Balront royal family to the knight.
Luckily, the knight successfully identified the emblem.
Realizing he had made a big mistake, the knight coughed awkwardly.
“Forgive my rudeness. I’ll check as you asked. You are the third princess of the Kingdom of Balront, if my memory serves?”
“Yes. I am Chloe Balront, also known as Duchess Chloe Argen.”
“Very well. Please wait a moment.”
The knight who went into the palace took a long time to return.
The large clock’s minute hand had moved about twenty times.
“Milady!”
Dylan ran toward her, panting. The knight was also following behind him.
Dylan looked out of breath, gripping the metal gate like a prisoner, which made Chloe feel pity for him.
“Why are you here…?”
“I had to welcome you since you are here, Milady.”
Dylan cheekily answered her puzzled question.
Actually, there was more to the story.
The moment the knight told the Emperor about Chloe’s presence, Kun’s expression instantly hardened.
He wasn’t angry at the unintended meeting but rather furious that Chloe had been waiting under the empire’s scorching sun.
The Emperor immediately ordered, in a noticeably stiff voice, for her to be brought in.
The knight who had received orders, as well as Dylan who had been processing documents, rushed out.
“Thank you. By the way, I came without warning… did His Majesty get upset?”
“No way!”
Wasn’t he welcoming?
While shaking his head to deny it, Dylan seemed to hold back from adding another word.
If what Dylan saw was not an illusion, then the expression that briefly crossed the Emperor’s face was a smile.
My God, smiling at an unexpected guest!
It was already rare to see the Emperor smile, and encountering it in such a unique situation made it all the more astonishing.
‘His Majesty must really be taking an interest in diplomacy.’
I’ve known since the festival preparations that he took special care of the Duchess. Probably to discuss and resolve diplomatic issues with her.
At first, it was hard to understand why he would discuss such an important matter with his wife rather than the Duke who had guided him up to that point.
Perhaps the Emperor judged that it would be more advantageous to speak with the Duchess, who was of royal lineage and more competent, rather than the impolite Duke who had brought the government to an important meeting.
“So what brings you here? Do you have urgent business? Ah, is it because the festival is soon?”
“Um…”
“Did I ask something I shouldn’t have? It’s related to diplomacy, isn’t it?”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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