“I can’t be caught like this!”
I stomped my feet hard enough to make a thumping sound.
‘If I get caught now, I might have to keep playing with them!’
I wanted to win at all costs since I had started this, running with my hair fluttering in the wind.
“Your Highness!”
I ran desperately, but unexpectedly a rustling sound came from behind, and a maid appeared.
‘!’
Not one, but two.
“Your Highness, it’s dangerous if you run!”
I glanced at the maids who suddenly appeared, but that was all. I had no intention of stopping to run with Carlisle.
My heart only became more anxious.
Because if I let the maid stop me like this, I thought I would lose.
“?”
“It’s the Princess!”
The voices of the Fleur siblings faintly reached my ears, but I ignored them.
“Wooah!”
I couldn’t understand why the little ones were so excited and happy.
“Your Highness, you’ll fall!”
Meanwhile, the maids chased after me, not tired at all, worried that I might get hurt.
The maids tried hard, their dress hems flapping vigorously, but my efforts were in vain, as I had no intention of stopping.
Thump!
But whether my rash actions brought anger or not, I stumbled over a rock.
Crash!
I fell onto the grass with Carlisle, reaching out both arms awkwardly as I fell. There had never been such a humiliating sight.
“Ouch, ouch……”
I groaned in belated pain and finally got up.
Looking for the source of the pain, one knee was tingling.
‘There was no point in running away.’
I examined the wound and clicked my tongue to myself.
“Are you hurt a lot?”
Carlisle, who had fallen with me, seemed to have forgotten his own pain. He first checked if I was okay.
Slap!
Soon from the right came the maids, and immediately from the left appeared a familiar face.
“Your Highness! Are you all right?”
A minister who picked me up with a sad face.
It was Essien Baldur Engelbert, the right arm and closest aide of Jeph.
‘Why did the child suddenly jump out? Where did you leave Jeph?’
It was odd that a close aide would wander away from the person he serves.
“Your Highness, are you all right?”
“Ye, yes… I’m fine.”
I promptly replied and looked at Essien.
“Besides, why are you here? What about Dad?”
“Ah, ah… well, that’s…”
He then started hesitating, avoiding my gaze.
Clearly, his attitude was suspicious, and my curiosity grew.
“As soon as the meeting was over, His Majesty said he needed to see Your Highness…”
Essien slowly answered, borrowing his words.
According to him, Jeph wanted to see our Darjeeling, so he wrapped his head in both hands and groaned, then feigned fainting.
That too, with his face pale as if he might die any moment.
‘Ugh… so he sent Essien to get me.’
Pathetic, just pathetic. I sighed.
“Okay, let’s go now.”
The game was over. I looked at Ronowe, Beris, and Carlisle.
“Hide and seek is over for today.”
I announced the end, and a glimmer of regret and longing swirled in the children’s innocent eyes.
I could tell from the small sighs that they had been quite excited.
‘Oh right, Carlisle fell too?’
What to do about it? I was about to turn my head indifferently when I remembered that Carlisle had also fallen.
“Carlisle, want to go apply medicine together?”
“I’m fine. I didn’t get hurt much.”
I offered kindly, but Carlisle respectfully declined without showing any pain.
He bowed his head and politely expressed his refusal.
‘He’s calm. Carlisle, you’re my future helper, so you shouldn’t get hurt.’
I reaffirmed my determination, looking at Carlisle’s calm complexion.
“Your Highness.”
Not long after, Sasha appeared suddenly between Carlaile and me.
“I think I should go first, as my father is waiting.”
“Alright. Let’s go, too.”
With that, everyone went their separate ways.
Clop, clop.
I entered the palace with Ashian to meet Jeff. The way to the room where Jeff was waiting for me remained the same as in the previous Emperor’s era.
The wellcoordinated red, beige, and gold wallpaper and decorations, along with the chandeliers, allowed the sunlight to enter through the windows, giving a warm feeling.
“Just a moment.”
Not liking idleness, I looked around and discovered the most eyecatching portrait.
‘My portrait?’
The portrait was of me, the Emperor in my previous life.
‘I feel rewarded for having insisted it be hung in my youthful image!’
Staring intently at it brought back old memories and renewed emotions.
“This is His Majesty the former Emperor.”
Ashian began to explain, smiling with respect as he looked at the previous me.
“A great person who triumphed on numerous battlefields.”
Ashian explained with pride, but I didn’t hear it well.
No, his words didn’t fully reach my ears.
‘I don’t need to hear it. I know I’m the coolest.’
I was already intoxicated by my greatness in my previous life.
“In the distant future, when Your Highness becomes the Emperor, Your Majesty can also hang a portrait here.”
Ashian politely pointed to an empty space, and I imagined a portrait of Jeff, crowned.
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.”
