“What… are you doing?”
Grethe blinked.
Maiana keenly noticed that Grethe’s gaze was different from usual. It was a gaze very familiar to Maiana.
‘It’s just like the gaze of Madame Forbeck.’
Madame Forbeck always looked down on the servants with an arrogant gaze. As if nobles were true humans, and everyone below them was inferior. Grethe was looking at Maiana with that kind of gaze.
“Grethe.”
However, the moment Maiana quietly called her name, Grethe faintly flinched as if awakening from a dream.
Her pale cheeks flushed, and the arrogance that seemed to tear everything apart, excluding herself, quickly retreated under her pupils, like a messy beast running away without a tail.
“Why, Maiana?”
Grethe grinned. Maiana, watching her idly run her fingers on the sauce, tilted her chin and spoke.
“Is something on your hands?”
“What? Hands? No… Nothing.”
“You keep rubbing your hands. If it’s bothering you, wash your hands before coming.”
“It’s fine. It’s just… I sweated a bit. It’s summer, you know.”
There was a moment of silence. Grethe felt as if a huge rock somewhere had rolled down and pressed on her. Was it because of that? Words she wouldn’t usually say spouted out incoherently.
“Hey, don’t you think the food will be delicious today? Lady Arianthe seems to like it. Don’t you think? She hasn’t tried this before, but the smell is nice. I’ve never seen such spices. I hope there’s enough for us to eat too. Don’t you think so, Maiana?”
Maiana kept silent again. Grethe’s pupils seemed to waver. With a muffled laugh, Maiana responded in a soft voice.
“Yeah, you’re right. It would be nice to taste it.”
“Really? True… Lady Arianthe will be down soon. I’ll go check if the dishes are ready in the kitchen and come back.”
“Do you really need to do that? We’ll bring it in order anyway, so just stay here.”
Grethe shook her head.
“No, why? As I said before. It’s better to hide what Lady Arianthe doesn’t like. Just in case, I’ll go check. If there’s something like asparagus, I can sneakily hide it underneath, right?”
After saying that, she quickly disappeared into the kitchen before Maiana could react. As soon as Grethe turned away, Maiana meticulously observed all the dishes on the table.
If Josselin and Grethe wanted to quietly dispose of Arianthe, what method would they use? If they wanted to get rid of a child in front of their eyes? If they wanted to send her to a place she could never return from?
‘Mixing something into the food…’
It was a common trick. But it was also the simplest method. Maiana slowly fit the scattered puzzle pieces in her mind, drawing a picture one by one. Thoughts flowed quickly, like waves.
Then, from outside, Arianthe’s voice, chattering cheerfully, reached them. Perhaps feeling closer to Vainty now, the frequency of her getting angry or playing tricks had decreased. Although Vainty couldn’t handle Arianthe’s chatter as skillfully as Maiana, she…
‘At least Vainty is waking up. That’s fortunate.’
Maiana thought.
“Maiana!”
Jumping to the table as if hopping, Arianthe held out something in her hand. It was a doll, and she seemed to be almost tearing its hair out. Despite being messy, it surprisingly resembled a braided hairstyle.
“Look at this! I did it!”
Arianthe proudly shook the doll. Maiana, feigning surprise, opened her eyes widely and accepted the doll.
“Did Lady Arianthe really do this?”
“Uh-huh…”
Arianthe, turning her hands backward, looked at Veinti with a twisted shoulder.
“Veinti helped a bit.”
Upon hearing that, Veinti, who was standing behind, spoke without any hesitation.
“Lady, you just tied the ribbon.”
Arianthe glared at Veinti with fiery eyes.
“No! I did the last part!”
“You almost untied it all.”
“Ugh…! Trickster! No! I braided it a little at the end! I did it!”
Veinti chuckled at Arianthe, who was rolling her little feet. Maiana pretended to glance fondly at Veinti for Arianthe but couldn’t hold back her laughter either.
As Arianthe, sitting in front of the table, put the doll next to me, Maiana said when the child reached for the bread:
“Wait a moment, Lady. Today the chef has prepared a new dish. How about tasting it before having your meal?”
Arianthe looked puzzled, as this was a new occurrence for her. The warm bread in her hand emitted a delicious aroma, and the smell of food made her hungry.
“Can’t I just eat one piece of bread?”
“If you wait a bit, I’ll bring the dish.”
Arianthe put the bread down with a puzzled expression.
Veinti, who was watching this scene, also realized that something was strange and looked around anxiously. If Maiana hadn’t silently signaled her to stay calm, Veinti might have shouted in confusion.
Then, an unfamiliar scent of spices wafted through the air for all three of them. A small apprentice servant flew in with a tray, and Grethe followed closely, as if supervising.
Maiana, observing Grethe’s expression, felt a bitter anger inside. Although Grethe’s expression seemed usual, it looked much more relaxed than usual.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
