The warm afternoon sunlight poured mercilessly over the lushly blooming roses. Occasionally, the warm spring breeze blew, causing the red petals to sway as if dancing, and Herald’s gaze, which had been watching them for a while, soon shifted to the crown princess who was drinking tea.
“When will Her Majesty the Empress be arriving?”
“Ahem.”
As Dillon was drinking the cold tea, he felt a cough coming on and hurriedly covered his mouth, turning his head away. The crown princess, Sonia, put down her teacup with a clatter and asked Herald back with a grinning face.
“Do you know how many times you’ve asked that question, Count?”
Herald tilted his head with a cynical smile.
“Let’s see. Was it the fifth time?”
“It’s the sixth. Seeing as you can’t even remember that, I suppose you weren’t really asking out of curiosity.”
“No, it’s just that I get confused since I hear the same answer every time I ask.”
“Then you must know what answer I’ll give this time as well?”
Here we go again. Dillon let out deep sighs inwardly. Despite eating delicious food that could make tongues melt in a garden so beautiful that it was said to be modeled after heaven, he wasn’t happy at all. Rather, he felt uneasy as if sitting on a bed of thorns, and his desire to go home only grew stronger.
It seems the Empress has no intention of coming, and since lunch is over… can’t we return now?
Dillon wondered why the Empress had invited even him to the luncheon in the first place. The invitation stated that she wanted to treat the hero who dealt with the Salaman tribe to a delicious meal, but no one would take those words at face value.
In the first place, if that was her true intention, why isn’t she showing up…?
“Baron Dillon Lamperd.”
“…!”
Dillon, who had been lost in his own thoughts, was startled and jumped to his feet when Herald called his full name in a solemn voice. Then, straightening his back and placing his hands on either side of his thighs, he answered in a tense voice.
“Speak, Commander!”
Herald handed Dillon a letter he had taken from his breast pocket and ordered,
“Deliver this letter to His Highness the Crown Prince and return.”
Judging from the nuance, it seemed he was to go right away, but Dillon had doubts about whether he could leave without the permission of the crown princess, the highest-ranking person present. He glanced sideways at her. She was drinking tea as if she hadn’t heard anything.
“What are you doing, not going?”
When Dillon hesitated, Herald asked in an irritated voice.
Is it really okay to go? Dillon was still doubtful, but seeing that the crown princess wasn’t saying anything, he thought it would be alright. He bowed his head in salute and turned around.
[This is the timeline separator]Herald, who had been quietly watching Dillon’s retreating figure quickly running down the path filled with the scent of roses, turned his head when he heard the clatter of a teacup being put down. The crown princess, whose eyes met his, smiled with her eyes curved like crescents.
“It seems you sent Baron Lamperd away because you have something to say to me… Am I mistaken?”
“Yes. You are mistaken. The reason I sent Baron Lamperd away is the opposite of that.”
“The opposite?”
“You had something you wanted to say to me, but you couldn’t because of Baron Lamperd’s presence, isn’t that right?”
Although his tone was polite, the gaze with which he looked at her was not. Under his gaze that seemed to urge her to speak quickly if she had something to say, Sonia smiled faintly.
“That wasn’t really the case, so you’ve done something unnecessary.”
“Is that so? It doesn’t seem like something Your Highness the Crown Princess, who borrowed Her Majesty the Empress’s name to summon me and Baron Lamperd, should be saying.”
It was quite a sharp counterattack, but Sonia tilted her head as if not affected at all.
“May I ask why you think that?”
“The Empress I know is not someone who would break an appointment. Even if unforeseen circumstances arose, she would have sent the head maid to politely explain the reason.”
But Sonia had vaguely answered that she didn’t know why the Empress was late and that she would come eventually. Moreover, the Empress did not show up even when the luncheon ended.
“If you don’t wish to tarnish the Empress’s reputation, you should properly explain the reason, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
At the sharp ultimatum, Sonia frowned.
“Threatening a lady. How ungentlemanly of you, Count Braden.”
“A threat, you say? That’s preposterous.”
Herald smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth. At the smile that seemed to say he would show her what a real threat was if she wanted, Sonia flinched slightly, feeling goosebumps.
“Then please tell me, Your Highness. What is the reason you summoned me and Baron Lamperd, even borrowing the Empress’s name?”
Instead of answering, Sonia picked up the already cold teacup.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Seeing that she was trying to buy time to think of an excuse, Herald called out to her again.
But ignoring him, Sonia slowly drank the tea, put down the empty cup, took out a pocket watch to check the time, and shrugged.
“I think this is about enough, so you may return now.”
“Are you not going to tell me the reason until the end?”
“This is the reason.”
At the incomprehensible answer, Herald frowned. Sonia continued with a gentle smile.
“If you want to know a more precise reason for why I did that, it would be best for you to hurry back to the Braden estate, Count.”
The Braden estate. The moment he heard that name, Lily’s face naturally came to mind.
Could it be that she summoned me and Dillon to separate us from her side?
As his train of thought reached there, Herald abruptly stood up. And without even giving a simple farewell, he left the pergola.
[This is the timeline separator]Sonia, who had been watching Herald’s retreating figure with a dumbfounded look, widened her eyes when he began running fast enough to make his clothes flutter.
“Good heavens.”
It must be because of that woman that Herald is running like that.
Liliana Benjamin. A name she had seen countless times in tabloids and newspapers. Sonia recalled the numerous rumors surrounding her. A parasite clinging to a swallow. A concubine inferior to the first wife. The wife of a philandering husband, and so on. Most were bad rumors, so naturally, her impression of Lily had also worsened.
“A strange woman has attached herself to the young master like a leech.”
“Please help me remove that woman, Your Highness.”
Amidst that, when Olivia, the viscountess of Maximilian and her friend, earnestly pleaded, Sonia readily agreed without much deliberation.
However, since it was a somewhat difficult request to hold Herald and Dillon’s ankles from noon to three o’clock in the afternoon, she had no choice but to explain the situation to the Empress and borrow her name.
The Empress, who had to somehow make the princess of the Herta Kingdom marry Herald instead of the Second Prince, gladly lent her name and even personally wrote the invitations.
Thanks to that, the plan succeeded perfectly, but… I ended up witnessing an unexpected scene.
Sonia’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the seat where Herald had been sitting. Olivia had said that the woman was taking advantage of Herald’s sympathy and that there was no way he genuinely liked her enough to make her his concubine.
‘I think that thought is wrong, Olivia.’
From what I see, Count Braden is head over heels for that woman.
I don’t know if his feelings stem from sympathy, but one thing is certain – it doesn’t seem like the flames will be easily extinguished by splashing water on them, as one would expect. Rather, it felt like oil had been poured on them, making her feel uncomfortable.
So after examining the traces he had left for a while, Sonia turned her head when she sensed someone’s presence. A familiar figure was coming up the path where Herald and Dillon had disappeared.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
It was none other than Austin, the crown prince. Roughly acknowledging his wife’s greeting with a gesture, he looked around widely. Sonia smiled and spoke at the action that seemed like he was looking for someone.
“If you’re looking for Count Braden, he left first.”
“He left?”
When Austin asked back as if that couldn’t be, Sonia tilted her head.
“Is there a reason the count shouldn’t leave?”
“Ah, there’s no particular reason…”
“Is it perhaps because of the letter the count sent to Your Highness?”
Austin answered by smiling awkwardly. What on earth was written in the letter to make him act like this? Finding it suspicious that Austin had come all the way here, Sonia tightly grasped his hand.
“Your Highness, we are husband and wife who will spend our lives together. Right?”
At the sudden question, Austin nodded his head reluctantly.
“That’s… right.”
“I was taught that there should be no secrets between a married couple.”
Only then did Austin realize what Sonia wanted, and he flinched, trying to pull his hand out, but she wasn’t one to let go easily.
“If Your Highness keeps making secrets from me, I will have no choice but to make secrets from you as well.”
“…”
At the blatant threat, Austin’s expression darkened. He looked at the roses surrounding the pergola with wavering eyes as if contemplating what to do, then soon let out a deep sigh and looked down at Sonia.
“Actually… I had asked Herald to look into something for me, and the letter said that if I wanted to hear the results, I should come here.”
“What did you ask him to look into?”
“That’s still a secret for now.”
Although it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Sonia, Austin kept quiet since secrets are best when fewer people know them.
“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince is interested in Lady Kennedy Stacy. My goodness, I heard he asked the young master to look into that young lady!”
Sonia, who had been staring intently at him, suddenly recalled what Olivia had told her before and widened her eyes.
“It may be acceptable for others, but not for me.”
Sonia squeezed Austin’s hand tightly and enunciated each word.
“If you ever take a concubine… you should be prepared to divorce me, Your Highness.”
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
