What’s worse, he said he made me, and it looked worse than a pig or pumpkin. I gave a backhanded compliment that sounded like praise in despair.
“Thank you!”
Does he not understand the meaning of a skill that would make one weep? I smiled bitterly to myself, seeing Carlisle grinning widely.
‘Let’s focus on mine.’
I returned to my seat and worked hard on the dough, occasionally glancing at the children.
‘It’s nice that these messes aren’t bothering me, but the flour is such a waste.’
Seeing the stacks of dough, a thought that had been lingering since the start of the game surfaced.
‘Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to distribute it to the soldiers instead?’
One way or another, wasting flour like this was a waste. It was extravagant.
“Oh my, you’ve already made it all!”
At a slightly unsettling moment, the maid appeared with a box.
“Now all that’s left is to bake the cookies.”
The luxurious box, with brown background, floral patterns, and fabric covering holes on both sides, seemed to conceal something inside.
“While I bake the cookies, put your hand in this box and guess what’s inside.”
The maid kindly said there was a reward, but you shouldn’t take anything out of the box.
“The first person to guess correctly will receive a watermelon cake!”
I will be the one to guess first.
I chuckled, holding my chin. Although I was skeptical about the flour play, this level of game could be a change of pace.
“I’ll go first!”
But Beris rushed in first, acting spoiled, and hid behind Carlisle’s back in fright.
“There’s a monster in there.”
So why act like that? I looked coldly as Carlisle became the second challenger.
Swoosh[dash].
“!”
But Carlisle, whom I thought would be different, put his hand in the box and stirred it, falling backward in surprise.
‘They’re all cowards.’
Later, it seemed embarrassing to them as they blushed, and I thought it was pathetic.
“Move aside. I will check if it’s really a monster.”
Sure enough, I’ll be the winner. I told everyone to back off.
“Be careful, Your Highness, it seems to contain something dangerous.”
“Understood.”
Would they really bring something dangerous for child’s play? I thought it was ridiculous and reached my hand into the box.
Swoosh[dash].
‘What is this…….’
Soon, I began to deduce the identity of the object hidden behind the veil based on the touch on my skin.
‘It feels soft fur and leather. It’s a bit large too, is it a large puppet?’
On careful thought, it seemed like a humanlike toy doll…
Achoo[dash]!
What?
‘Did something moist and sticky just wet my hand?’
I quickly withdrew my hand when I saw the box jolt.
‘Nose, nasal mucus?’
In the midst of being shocked by the nature of the liquid, I heard Beris calling for help from behind.
“My head is stuck!”
Damn it, it was you. My mind went blank realizing that what I had touched a while ago was Beris.
“I defeated the monster for Her Highness!”
I just wanted to play around. I sighed inwardly as I looked at Beris, whose head had been stuck in the hole in the box.
“I want to do it again!”
“Do it amongst yourselves. I’m going to wash my hands.”
Unless I’m crazy, I won’t do it twice. I spat it out with an indifferent tone.
Oh, and although I didn’t mention it later… the identity of the treasure was absurdly a single sock.
[This is a time separator.]Knock, knock[dash].
“Come in.”
Shortly after, I permitted entrance to someone knocking at the door. It must have been a maid.
“Freshly baked~ cookies are here~.”
The maid, who appeared as expected, brought lots of deliciouslooking cookies, among which some appeared to be the ones that the children and I had made.
“Cookies?”
“Wow~ My cookies!”
‘The chef must have remade them.’
The problem was that upon closer inspection, all of them were cookies that the chef had imitated from the dough we made… The children were naive enough to believe they were baked well.
‘At least they won’t kill us.’
Anyway, the most important thing was this.
I felt my previously stifling chest clear up. I had been worried internally about eating cookies made from such dirty dough.
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.”
