Ariante wasn’t talking to Swan; it was more like speaking to herself. However, Swan felt compelled to provide some kind of response.
“That old man must have been mistaken. Think about it. He was quite old. People of that age sometimes forget things. They might mistake someone or misperceive. Our grandmother did the same thing a long time ago, even though she’s gone now.”
It was Swan’s second lie today. The first to Kosha, the second to Ariante. Who would be the third? Swan had a strange thought.
Ariante sighed. She didn’t cry. It was just a contemplative expression. For a seven-year-old, it was an excessively contemplative expression… Swan, who was not much different from Ariante, only three years older, also felt that Ariante now had an unusually mature expression.
“But, you know, I’ve heard such words before. That I’m not my father’s daughter… Many servants whispered such things. Jocelyn also said such things to me.”
“You… Did you believe that?”
Ariante shrugged her small shoulders.
“I tried not to believe it. But it seemed like my father didn’t love me… That’s why I didn’t like Swan coming.”
At the sudden words, Swan made a tense expression. Ariante suddenly smiled, looking at Swan with a teasing look.
“Maybe Father prefers you to me. So I didn’t like it.”
Swan’s eyes blinked slowly. What did Ariante just say? It was a title Swan had never heard before.
“Father?”
“Yes, Father. I don’t call Lucian, Cyrus, or Umbrose ‘brother.’ I don’t call Swan ‘Swan.’ But anyway, you’re older than me. So, you’re Father.”
“Wait… You mean… You’ll call me ‘Father’ from now on?”
Ariante stuck out her tongue as if to say, “No, I won’t dream about it.”
“No, I won’t. I’ll keep calling you Swan. Forever, until I die!”
“Oh, I see. Umm.”
Swan scratched his head with a bewildered expression. It was challenging to grasp what this conversation was about.
Ariante spoke.
“Swan, when Father passed away, were you very sad?”
Swan remained silent, recalling the day his father passed away.
He was as lively as usual. However, when the butler came to fetch him with a grim expression… Swan instinctively knew that something unpleasant, something dreadful, awaited him.
In the carriage racing in silence, Swan hoped the butler would say, “The master has recovered,” but such a thing never happened. Naturally.
Swan nodded and said, “It was incredibly sad. And more than sadness… it was frightening.”
“What?”
Now Swan, like Ariante, had both knees up, resting his chin there. Ariante placed the lamp in the middle. The weak warmth and the light evenly illuminated the two children. It was faint, but it was better than nothing.
“When Father passed away, I had to go to Lady Duplée. She didn’t like me. She had unpleasant thoughts about me.”
“Did that person play tricks on Swan, like Jocelyn?”
“Yeah. Maybe even worse than Jocelyn.”
Ariante widened her eyes in disbelief.
“How could it be worse than Jocelyn?”
“That’s true.”
Both children chuckled simultaneously. But the laughter quickly subsided.
“If Master didn’t take me in, I might have died by now.”
Ariante’s eyes widened even more at Swan’s words.
“That can’t be true!”
“It is. Lady Duplée and Lord Hessel really hated me. I thought it would be better if I disappeared. They knew that… So, Master saving my life is the same as saving me from being alone without a mother or father.”
Ariante didn’t say anything more. Occasionally, she gazed at the flickering light of the lamp, making a contemplative expression. Then, as if her tears were dried, she lightly rubbed her cheek with her palm and stretched her leg under her skirt.
“You know, if I’m not my father’s daughter, then I’m the same as Swan.”
Those words somehow strongly shook Swan’s heart. Suddenly, he felt much closer to Ariante. So much more than just a moment ago when he was searching for her. Much more than a little while ago.
If Ariante, like him, had no mother or father, if Ariante wasn’t the Lady of Baltermynster, what would happen? What should be done? Would he be able to protect Ariante when he became an adult?
It would be good. Swan thought. If Ariante had nowhere else to go, if she became alone… he would somehow protect Ariante, no matter what. Even if he wasn’t the son of the marquis anymore, even if he had no place here, he was still three years older than Ariante.
If they went anywhere together, maybe they could work on a farm or something. Ariante might not be able to do difficult tasks since she was a weak girl. But Swan didn’t know; perhaps he could help with tasks like milking cows or carrying straw. Swan tried to comfort Ariante, telling her not to worry.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
