Without realizing it, Jocelyn’s expression stiffened after she raised her voice at Sedilroy. She looked at Sedilroy with a very confused expression, but he did not react to such an attitude from Jocelyn, who was merely an employee.
The late spring sunlight shone down on Sedilroy’s hair as he leaned against the window. The nearly black, deep dark brown hair, like the bark of an aged tree, stood out. In contrast, his deep blue eyes looked darker.
Sedilroy, who was silently staring at Jocelyn, who was staring at his face, spoke.
“I’ve always wondered, Jocelyn, why you are so devoted to this house.”
Jocelyn’s face wrinkled as if she did not understand his words at first. But soon she returned to her usual emotionless expression, slightly lifting her chin and said,
“It’s because it’s my duty.”
Sedilroy laughed shortly.
“Is it because you’re a descendant of the Stafford family, who has served the Dukes for generations? Eyes, hair, or character, I might understand, but… does loyalty also get passed down?”
Jocelyn, whose thin lips were faintly wrinkled, spoke.
“I believe so, Your Grace. I would say that blood flows in me only for the wellbeing of the Valterminster Duke’s family.”
“How strange that is, Jocelyn.”
Jocelyn’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Strange, you say?”
Sedilroy was now fully facing the window, looking directly at Jocelyn. The sunlight, sloping down diagonally, was partly blocked by his straight shoulders, propped up by the windowsill.
“I’m talking about the real source of your loyalty. The loyal blood that flows within you… It doesn’t just appear without reason.”
Jocelyn’s fingertips, politely folded together, trembled faintly. Sedilroy sensitively detected her agitation but didn’t point it out, waiting for Jocelyn’s response.
After a moment of wearing a complex expression, Jocelyn answered,
“It’s because the Duke’s family’s honor is the employees’ honor.”
“The Duke’s family’s honor is the employees’ honor…”
Sedilroy muttered as if sighing, then slightly tilted his head. Jocelyn instinctively realized that he did not accept her words at all. He was no fool. Neither was he naive nor gullible. Jocelyn knew that better than anyone…
Lost in thought, Sedilroy, who had been silent, spoke.
“As I said before, leave Ariante alone for now. A sevenyearold can’t tarnish the family’s honor, and even if she does, what big scratch will it be?”
“Your Grace.”
“Besides, this isn’t even the capital. Even if rumors spread, they can be controlled within the duchy. You’ll take care of it without me having to step in. Isn’t that right, Chief Steward Jocelyn?”
Jocelyn’s shoulders flinched. Sedilroy watched her silence with sensitive eyes and took it to heart.
On the surface, Sedilroy’s words didn’t seem strange. After all, while he was away from the duchy, Jocelyn had naturally taken care of all administrative issues.
But Jocelyn could feel it. Sedilroy was hiding something from her. What it was, she couldn’t yet know, but sometimes Sedilroy seemed unable to bear wanting to show Jocelyn the weapon he was hiding behind his back. Like now, at this very moment…
“Your Grace.”
Sedilroy turned his gaze back to Jocelyn. She looked at him with a slightly gloomy and shadowed, troubled eye.
“Why is that?”
“Are you really prepared to entrust the future of the Valterminster family to the princess?”
As Jocelyn spoke cautiously, Sedilroy twisted the corner of his lips with a more bitter smile than before.
“Jocelyn, no matter how much you take on the work of the Duchy, it seems there’s no need for you to interfere that far. If not Ariante, then who else would be there?”
“If Your Grace the Duke takes a wife…….”
“I thought that matter was already settled, wasn’t it? I clearly told you never to mention marriage to me again, yet have you forgotten my words in the meantime?”
Sedilloi’s tone became stern, but Jocelyn did not back down.
“I cannot accept those words. Your Grace the Duke, there is no need for you to…….”
“Whether there is a need or not, that too is for me to judge. It doesn’t seem to be something for you to decide.”
Having finished speaking, Sedilloi turned his body sharply. It was a silent pressure for her to leave, but Jocelyn remained in her place. Her face, beginning to show faint wrinkles as she entered middle age, turned pale and then flushed repeatedly.
Jocelyn spoke.
“I’ve heard, Your Grace, that you have a child you are looking after separately in the capital.”
At her words, Sedilloi’s head snapped around. It was a glaring look, but Jocelyn continued to speak undauntedly.
“If that is true…….”
“You really know a lot.”
Sedilloi cut off Jocelyn’s words with a cold voice. This time, Jocelyn closed her mouth, but her eyes were still asking the same question of Sedilloi. She was begging for a confirmation that her rumor, her speculation was correct.
However, Sedilloi dismissed Jocelyn’s confused expectations with a single word.
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.
Link to read
