People bustled through the streets in anticipation of the upcoming imperial holiday.
The capital’s downtown was crowded with families smiling brightly at the red leaves and tourists enjoying the autumn festival.
The grand mansion of the Blanchet family, located amidst it all, also boasted a beautiful landscape.
It was a peaceful and beautiful scene, as if nothing had happened.
At the top of the spire, which boasted the second tallest roof after the imperial palace in the center of the capital, a cool breeze blew no different from the ground.
The breeze that entered through the open window scattered the golden hair resembling the midday sun.
There was no sign of wavering in the red gaze fixed outside the window, silent throughout the report.
In the end, it was Tiobe’s role to unleash a fiery rage today as well.
“For Count Alton to seek him out, isn’t this truly a big deal?”
“It is a big deal.”
“Your tone suggests it’s not a big deal at all.”
A faint smile crept onto Cassian’s lips.
Tiobe put down the investigation report.
Materials obtained sometimes through threats, other times through persuasion, piled up neatly on the table.
“It seems you think only I am capable of playing spy and conducting background checks.”
Cassian picked up the documents and turned the pages one by one.
At the very end of the pages densely filled with his uncle’s movements, lists of people he met, and his main destinations, was that woman.
How diligent he is.
He has finally properly crossed the line.
Ah, he had already crossed the line a very long time ago.
Since that day he brazenly attempted to assassinate father during the Piolo War.
Isn’t it said that golden-haired beasts should not be taken in?
How merciful father is.
Even in that moment of dancing with death, he defended his younger brother.
Will father forgive him with that benevolent duke’s face even after his child drinks poison?
Thud, Cassian dropped the file folder onto the table as if throwing it.
Tiobe, who had been full of laughter, noticed Cassian’s unique cold aura and closed his mouth.
When did the atmosphere change from spring to autumn like that?
No, it wasn’t even autumn.
That was exactly the expression of a cold, sharp icicle standing in the center of winter.
Somehow, Tiobe felt an ominous feeling inside, but he ignored it and continued speaking.
It was now time to move forward with the final step.
“What should we do about him?”
“Leave him be.”
“…Pardon?”
Cassian looked at Tiobe’s bewildered expression before turning his gaze away.
The back of the square where that woman always burned becomes hazy, obscured by smoke.
Above it, that woman rises up steadily.
Of course, it would be right to let go of that woman who has served her purpose.
If one is not insane.
In that sense, he also agreed with Tiobe’s words.
However, as that clear face rises up, the answer flows contrary to reason.
As always.
“Leave it as is.”
A different light was etched on Cassian’s face as he spoke nonchalantly.
A strange color lingered in the red eyes that always handled everything dryly, and one corner of his usually flat mouth was slightly raised.
It was hardly believable that this was someone who had received a murder threat.
“An interesting game has been laid out, how could I easily give that up?”
With one corner of his mouth seductively curled up, he exuded a decadent atmosphere under the breaking sun.
Hoo— Smoke blew out in a long stream over the cigar, making the space murky.
Tick, tock, the second hand moving along the trajectory of time on his wrist made a clamorous sound.
Tiobe’s highly excited voice was repeatedly laid over it.
The project that woman is working on.
The young lady Piochel who is tightening the sponsorship funds for that project.
And the benevolent uncle who says he will be the only lifeline.
What a fantastic collaboration, truly.
“The amount Count Alton proposed was enough to be used as sponsorship funds and more.”
Tiobe’s voice became tinged with excitement.
“With just that, surely that tracking device project or whatever would end successfully.”
Despite hearing Tiobe’s agitated voice, Cassian’s expression remained utterly calm.
“She will surely accept that proposal. They say she’s particularly close with her mentor.”
Hoo— Following the parabola of thickly exhaled smoke, Yuriel, that woman, burns intensely in his mind.
That clear woman who should now be let go ignites his head again without his permission.
“To let someone holding poison into your room.”
Cassian smiled faintly and stubbed out the half-smoked cigar.
There is nothing wrong with Tiobe’s words.
That woman is someone who should be buried deep down there, shattering even the remnants so that no trace remains.
Like that ashtray.
Even if it’s just for the effort of squeezing out false whispers of love, it’s time to release her from the cage now.
More precisely, it’s not even him releasing her.
That woman kicked and shattered the cage with her own feet.
What did she say to him when she said she would get engaged?
That she would leave as if she never existed in the first place.
As if it had always been that way.
The last image of that woman whispering such words with a relieved face flashes by.
Yes. You were always only prepared to leave his side.
Even in every moment you embraced him and babbled that you loved him.
It’s so ridiculous. Even though he already knew it all.
Suddenly, he becomes curious.
How will that woman, who doesn’t mind if he gets engaged, react this time?
You who promised to leave his side, harping on about conscience—what choice will you make this time?
Will you save him with those pure eyes that cannot yield even a speck of conscience,
Or will you take out the hidden pitch-black ashen heart and stab a knife in his back?
The sudden questions tangle and swirl through his mind like a tidal wave.
Only at the end of it all did Cassian’s order settle over the space that had been filled with silence.
Tiobe swallowed hard at the incomprehensible order.
It wasn’t difficult to guess its meaning.
“My lord?”
The process of Tiobe trying to dissuade him a few more times followed, but his lord was never one to reverse a decision once made.
Tiobe’s fingertips trembled as he left the room.
[This is the timeline separator]Life after Count Alton’s visit was surprisingly no different from usual.
Witnessing and wailing at the sight of the awful, dreadful ruin unfolding before one’s eyes every day.
That had now become routine, nothing more than a daily task no longer surprising.
All the more so, the final scene of young lady Piochel, who called it her last mercy, came to mind, choking her breath as if strangling her.
Finding sponsors, and finding more.
There was no place she hadn’t gone, from great nobles to nouveau riche of small territories.
That’s how she was miraculously able to find a sponsor.
As if heaven was finally helping her and her mentor one last time.
However, all of that was overturned in a single day.
Her mentor’s face became stunned at the plain letter with no reason given.
She went there and begged, but the result was the same.
As expected, young lady Piochel was behind it all.
The process of failing made humans wither and wither away.
It didn’t take long to realize that no matter how much she struggled to find a way out, she couldn’t escape the noose that woman had set.
All that remained in the days of those who had lost hope was a miserable reality and the ruins left at the end.
The deputy director who began pressuring after losing the project.
Her mentor repeating only apologies with an expressionless face amidst their yelling.
Her mentor saying it’s okay, but with a face pale beyond measure.
Her mentor unable to properly swallow even one meal.
Herself, unable to say anything but that everything will be alright in front of him, detestably.
The sum of all these situations was hell.
Hell.
The days when she believed without doubt that a beautiful world would come if she just endured a little longer faded, and day by day her breathing became more constricted.
At the end, when she couldn’t even breathe with her nose buried in the center of the water’s surface.
Only then did the poison she had buried deep down enter her sight.
That final escape route she occasionally recalled but turned away from, that escape route she wanted to throw away but couldn’t and left to ferment—she finally took it out again.
Today was the returning weekend.
The one where she had to go to that man.
She moved her steps with the poison vial stuffed deep in her pocket.
The weight of the glass vial, light beyond measure, felt endlessly heavy.
Every time the carriage wheels moved roughly, the glass vial shook this way and that.
Nail marks were clearly engraved in her clenched fists from the tension.
Unable to even feel the pain, she stayed like that for a long while as cold sweat flowed down her forehead.
Why were miserable tears leaking out?
She tried hard to compose herself, gritting her teeth as they clashed.
That she wouldn’t need to use this poison.
It’s just… something she’s carrying, that’s all.
Like a charm.
Today, she planned to ask for one gift before the final farewell approached.
In the cheapest way most befitting her, though shameless.
For the wealthy man who has everything, there would be no better deal than to get rid of her, who is no longer needed, with money.
The man would surely give sponsorship funds as a final consideration.
Of course, afterwards she would still be pursued and have to run from young lady Piochel repeatedly, but…
Let’s think about that when the time comes.
Now was the time to put out the urgent fire first.
As she opened the door and entered, the man’s large shadow fell over her.
It was only for a moment that the man’s face revealed itself as the light gradually lifted.
He showed no change in expression or the slightest movement, as usual.
As if sculpted that way from the beginning, like some untouchable god’s statue.
As she approached slowly, he looked down at her quietly.
As the distance narrowed, the vivid smile on his lips came into clearer view.
For some reason it was chilling, but she ignored it and looked up at him, wrapping her arms around him.
So that he could see the foam in her eyes caused by her desperation.
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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