Although her shoulders were slightly hunched, she seemed much better than before. She probably didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to the emperor as she focused entirely on treating the deer.
Alone with the emperor, walking down the steep path to the riverside, without even meeting eyes, her stiff posture as she walked was pitiful, and it felt like thorns were piercing the emperor’s throat.
Maxwell silently assisted Arabel, who started removing the arrow from the baby deer’s belly and began treatment.
When he needed a cloth for hemostasis, a robust hand was placed on Arabel’s shoulder, who was trying to tear the hem of her dress. Arabel, startled, looked at the emperor with a pale face.
With his heart pounding, the emperor, who had tensed his jaw, silently tore his tunic and handed it to Arabel.
“Use this.”
Taking the cloth, Arabel hemostatically wrapped the fawn’s belly and bandaged it. The fawn’s head nestled into her arms.
“Sorry, but… could you bring some water? I can’t go because…”
Petting the baby deer’s head, Arabel asked the emperor. The emperor, who had tightened his jaw due to the throbbing of his heart, silently walked to the river, folded a large leaf, and brought water.
Repeating this several times to feed the deer water, the faint eyes of the deer began to shine gradually.
“Mom, I have to take it to Mom…”
As Arabel finished speaking, Maxwell, frighteningly, took the baby deer from her, crossed the turbulent river, rising up to his waist, and reached the forest on the opposite side.
After laying the deer in front of the forest, Maxwell crossed the river and returned.
“I think I need to check the baby deer’s place across the river. Otherwise, it might be attacked by wolves at night.”
After Arabel, avoiding the emperor’s gaze, said this, she started walking towards the river.
“Do you know how to swim?”
“Oh, no.”
“Then, you’ll be carried away by the rough current of the deep river.”
Arabel, confused by the emperor’s words, alternately looked at the baby deer and the mother deer on the opposite side. The emperor spoke quietly.
“If you permit, I will carry you across the river.”
Silence flowed for a moment. Only the sound of flowing water and rustling leaves in the ears of the two facing each other could be heard.
“Then, I would appreciate it.”
As Arabel spoke softly, the emperor, trying not to touch her body as much as possible, lifted her with only his forearms… and started crossing the deep river.
At first, Arabel, who had placed her hands on the front hem of her dress and stiffly clung to the emperor, suddenly, as if being hit by a fierce current, the emperor, who struggled not to touch Arabel’s body, staggered. After slightly turning his body towards her, he placed both hands on the emperor’s shoulders to help him.
Arabel and Emperor Maxwell arrived at the forest after crossing the river and went into the woods to create a place for the baby deer to hide with its mother. Then, they returned to the riverbank.
Looking at Arabel’s stiff shoulders, hesitating to embrace her again, the emperor spoke.
“I’m sorry. I frightened you. I left you alone without apologizing and ran away. As an emperor, as a man, I committed the most shameful act.”
Arabel, raising her head, widened her eyes. The emperor, who seemed unlikely to bow his head to anyone, was bowing his head and apologizing to her.
“I will never repeat such rudeness. I swear by my name.”
The emperor’s eyes, slowly lifting, did not waver as they promised Arabel, looking into her eyes. The light brown pupils started shaking and gradually filled with tears.
“Sni… sni…”
Unable to let out a loud cry, the emperor experienced the pain of a heart being carved out as Arabel’s silent sobbing flowed through her lips.
As he wiped away the tears flowing from the back of her hand, the emperor’s eyes also shimmered with pity as he couldn’t help but shake his dry shoulders.
There was nothing more to do than wait. The cry that had been held back, confusing and fearful, showed no signs of ending.
How much did she cry? The face with stopped tears couldn’t see the emperor and dropped its head. In her eyes, directed downward, a silver dagger appeared. As she raised her head and looked at the emperor, he unfolded the dagger with his name engraved.
“If, by any chance, I lose my sanity and become like a beast, use this…”
Carefully holding Arabel’s wrist, he placed the dagger in her hand and spoke.
“Stab me. With this dagger, no one will hold you responsible.”
Tears overflowed again from Arabel’s eyes, reminiscent of the baby deer she had just handed to its mother.
In the emperor’s embrace, as Arabel crossed the river, a gentle voice reached her ears.
“The village we’ll soon reach is famous for chocolate. Have you ever tried chocolate?”
Now, with Arabel resting her arms on the emperor’s neck, her face reddened and turned sideways.
The emperor realized that his recent words sounded like the boastful words of a young man teasing an innocent village girl. Fortunately, Arabel, leaning her head against his neck, didn’t see his bewildered face.
The setting sun began to paint the heads of the two crossing the river, a man and a woman, in red light.
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.
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