Cedilloi’s expression changed. The sunken eyes of the ailing Marquis, which seemed to gleam with madness for a moment, soon lost their light. The sound of rough breathing, as if a hole had been pierced in the chest, became audible.
The Marquis, still holding Cedilloi’s hand, looked at him for a moment and spoke, “When I die, Huzzle will take everything in this house for himself. Like a snake swallowing its prey. In that case, Swan, waiting for him, will face a dreadful future… As you well know.”
Cedilloi recalled the energetic appearance of Huzzle he had seen on the stairs. He was a man with a spider-like color, a mix of red, yellow, and eerily vivid shades.
Cold-blooded, villainous, no words could fully describe Huzzle. The harsh whiskey smell that could be sensed when he passed by was enough to evoke intense hostility from Cedilloi.
After a few more coughs, the weakened Marquis spoke with effort, “This is my last, final request. Cedilloi, as you know, there’s no one around me whom I can trust to take care of Swan. No one! Except Huzzle. Everyone with the Marquis’s relatives’ title… They’re all just after my fortune. Will they protect Swan? Absolutely not. They will either use my son as a hostage or eliminate him.”
Cedilloi, with a furrowed brow, slowly raised his head. Then, as if trying to calm the Marquis’s excitement, he lightly patted the back of his hand.
“Menéo, there’s no one who can harm Swan.”
“That’s because you haven’t met all the people in this house.”
In response to the Marquis’s words, Cedilloi’s face sank into worry again.
“I am Swan’s guardian, Menéo. Nothing to worry about will happen. I will protect that child with all my might, ensuring the rights she deserves. Your Majesty will also assist.”
“No, no. That’s not what I mean. If I die, it would be safer for Swan to completely break away from the Marquis.”
Cedilloi raised his eyebrows.
“What are you talking about? Are you saying you won’t leave anything for Swan?”
The Marquis, breathing heavily, nodded reluctantly. When Cedilloi was about to retort, a delicate hand rose and stopped his words.
“For Swan’s sake, you know very well what you’ll do for her. And Your Majesty will surely help. She is a person with both piety and justice. But, Cedilloi, don’t you know? What remains after I die will be poisonous to Swan. You are her guardian, but not the legal guardian… The legal guardian of the child will be… Madame Dupré, Huzzle’s mother.”
Even if the biological parents were alive, noble households always designated a legal guardian for the heir in advance. Generally, the person designated as the legal guardian was the most respected person in the family, and more than half of the relatives within the fourth degree of relationship had to agree for the designation to be valid.
Madame Dupré had dominated all the power after her husband’s death, using her son as a front. She was a greedy but extremely cunning woman.
If, after the Marquis’s death, all the rights of guardianship over Swan were to be transferred to Madame Dupré, the safety of the child could not be guaranteed.
Cedilloi said, “But, Menéo, now it’s impossible to change the legal guardian to me. There have been few cases where a non-relative has been designated as the legal guardian, and unless there is an immediate reason to revoke the guardian status from Madame Dupré, it’s not possible…”
The Marquis’s eyes glowed again. Cedilloi instinctively knew that his life was gradually fading away, like the flame burning most powerfully and brightly just before it goes out. At this moment, the Marquis was exerting all his strength to persuade Cedilloi.
“Adopt Swan as your daughter for her sake.”
Cedilloi’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Menéo, what on earth are you talking about? That’s…”
The Marquis’s body shifted to the side. He grabbed Cedilloi’s arms with both hands and almost hung onto him, exerting all his strength.
“Dupré, Huzzle, and others are only interested in one thing—my property. Anyway, if I die without Swan, the Marquisate will return to Your Majesty. They’re not interested in seizing the title immediately. It’s only money, their sole interest. So, take Swan with you. No one will object. I’m not asking you to inherit the Duke of Westminster title for her. You absolutely don’t have to! Just take care of her until she becomes an adult. I won’t complain even if you don’t leave any of the Duke’s belongings to her. If she can live safely and grow up free from the clutches of those poisonous people, that will be enough. Only until then, Cedilloi, only until then, take care of my son, please. Please, it’s my last wish.”
“Menéo, I…”
“Please, Cedilloi… I’m begging you…”
The Marquis’s forehead, touched by Cedilloi’s palm, was hot, covered in cold sweat. Rough breathing, sobs, and intense coughing that felt like his life might end at any moment continued. Cedilloi hastily shouted for the attendant standing outside.
“Bring the medicine. Hurry!”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
