“Am I perhaps interrupting something?”
“Huh?”
As Litania flinched in surprise, her eyes widening while holding the teacup to her lips, Snow’s lips jutted out in a pout.
The boy’s red eyes narrowed, and he picked up the tray with his small hands, making a noise. It was uncharacteristic behavior for Snow, who usually moved swiftly and quietly.
He was clearly upset.
“I’ll bring the master back. I shouldn’t interrupt when you were doing something enjoyable.”
“No! No! That’s over!”
“I said I wished for Litania’s happiness.”
“Enough! I’m happy enough, so you don’t need to take care of me anymore!”
Trying to soothe Snow, who was thoroughly sulking at the thought of no longer being needed, Litania was finally able to head to the dining room after quite some time.
[This is the timeline separator]As Litania was about to go down the stairs to the first-floor dining room, she tilted her head in confusion when she saw that the left door leading to the dining hall was closed.
“Huh? Why is the door closed?”
“Litania, the dining room is this way.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Could the layout of the castle have changed in the meantime?
Without thinking too deeply about it, she turned to follow Snow’s lead.
As they exited through the back door, a cool breeze and elegantly blooming golden flowers greeted her. The previous back garden had been relatively modest, but it seems Rico had put in a lot of effort.
“But there’s nothing in the back garden… Huh? What’s that?”
“Everyone worked together to create it for Litania.”
“Don’t tell me they made that overnight?”
A wide lake embracing the area beyond the back garden.
Where there should have been only sparkling water, a low, long bridge and a white dome now stood.
As the bridge was narrow, Snow followed behind Litania, observing her reaction.
Those who learned about women from books had built this strange dome by the lake and brought tables, thinking ‘women like water.’ Although he found it pathetic, she seemed to quite enjoy this unusual situation.
“Amazing… They’re not professionally trained in architecture, so how did they make something like this?”
“Well, if you just do it, anything’s possible.”
“Snow. You’ll get scolded if you say things like that elsewhere.”
Even as she said this, Litania kept exclaiming in admiration.
The white bridge and dome artificially placed in the picturesque autumn lake scenery looked just like something out of a fairy tale.
Crossing the bridge over the gently flowing blue water to reach the dome, Pepper’s own creations could be seen modestly arranged on the table.
From turkey dish generously drizzled with golden honey to savory pumpkin puree, and pasta topped with ruby-red cherry tomatoes like jewels.
Although there weren’t many varieties, the autumn dishes filled with sincerity abundantly covered the table, naturally stimulating her appetite.
As Litania went around to the opposite side of Orbis, Simons politely pulled out a chair for her.
“Thank you, Simons. Everyone must have worked hard to prepare all this.”
“We only did what was proper.”
Still finding it difficult to express emotions, Simons’ expression was somewhat stiff. But now she didn’t think that face was strange.
Because she knew that behind that expressionless face was a heart that cherished her.
“It looks delicious, Orbis. Please eat as well.”
“Certainly.”
Litania scooped up some of the pumpkin puree, which emitted a subtle sweet scent, with her spoon and put it in her mouth. The moist and soft pumpkin melted away, filling her mouth with a nutty aroma.
Pepper had always been skilled at cooking. Even when they stayed on the outskirts of the capital for the waterway construction, she ate the food he made, but the dishes she was eating now definitely had a different savory taste.
‘I guess the ingredients from the Dragon Castle are different.’
They say the wine taste is also special, so it seems the soil quality here is fundamentally different.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve heard that volcanic areas have fertile soil, so crops grow well when farmed.’
Wasn’t this place originally a land where lava flowed and thunderbolts fell? It might be natural for it to be especially more fertile than other parts of the empire.
Noticing that her eating pace had slowed, Pepper approached and said,
“I’ll bring out the next dish.”
“What? There’s more?”
“The table is small, so we couldn’t put out many dishes at once.”
Trying not to spoil the lake scenery, they had no choice but to make the dome small.
‘As a result, the table became smaller, reducing the number of dishes that could be served at once.’
At Pepper’s signal, small servants with protruding front teeth like squirrels came scurrying over, balancing dishes on their heads.
Their hands moved swiftly over the table mats laid out to prevent the dishes from slipping, clearing away the half-eaten dishes and placing new plates in a row.
A grilled shrimp was placed in front of Orbis, and a meringue pie topped with pomegranate was set before Litania.
‘Huh?’
Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, she looked towards Orbis, who calmly brought the plate in front of him and began peeling the shrimp shells.
It certainly didn’t look like he was peeling them to eat himself.
“Orbis. I can eat on my own, so please don’t peel my portion.”
“I’ve already finished peeling them all.”
It seems it’s not just the servants who have quick hands, as a pile of white, fleshed-out shrimp had already accumulated on the plate.
Orbis came to Litania’s side with it and picked up a small dried shrimp.
“Open wide.”
“I told you I can eat by myself…”
“Come on, open your mouth, Litania.”
Unable to resist Orbis’ persistent gaze, she opened her mouth, and a plump, white shrimp popped in.
“Aren’t you eating, Orbis?”
“I’ve already eaten.”
She hadn’t seen him eat at all.
But seeing that his portion of the plate was empty, it seems he must have eaten without her noticing. Though whether the food teleported directly into his stomach is unclear.
“Let’s have some pie too.”
While Litania was chewing the shrimp, Orbis had already cut the pie into small, bite-sized pieces, and he held out a piece on the tip of a small fork to Litania’s mouth.
“I said I can eat on my own…”
“Do you dislike me doing this?”
As Orbis furrowed his brows as if hurt, Litania became confused for a moment, wondering if she had done something wrong.
In her bewilderment, the small piece of pie slipped into her open mouth.
Swallowing it reflexively, Litania chewed the tangy pie with reddening cheeks.
“It’s not that I dislike it, but it’s embarrassing.”
“Embarrassing? What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it bothersome to wait on me?”
“Waiting on you, huh.”
Orbis let out a small laugh.
“Not at all.”
His actions were actually far from waiting on her.
She probably expressed it that way because it felt like she was being served, but in reality, it was the opposite.
‘There’s no need to suppress the beast’s instincts.’
Wild males court females by bringing them food. It was a very old habit.
Wanting to put food he had prepared himself into his mate’s mouth and watch her eat was part of a dragon’s animal nature.
‘Is she innocent or just soft-hearted?’
It was both curious and pleasing that she didn’t think he had any ulterior motives, and simply accepted it as kind consideration.
‘This kind of misunderstanding isn’t so bad.’
A gentle husband would fit her standard of a gentleman better than a male following his instincts.
Orbis decided to play along shamelessly.
“Have another bite.”
“I’ve eaten a lot already…”
“You skipped dinner yesterday and breakfast today. Open your mouth.”
“…Mmm.”
Orbis once again put a piece of pie into Litania’s mouth, and he gazed intently as her red lips chewed and swallowed the food he had given her.
“Hehe.”
“Why are you laughing? Is there something on my face?”
“No. I’m just happy.”
Litania tilted her head.
As if wondering why Orbis, who was serving her, was happy when she was the one eating delicious food.
Finding her innocent reaction lovely, Orbis laughed again.
[This is the timeline separator]Due to the small size of the dome, the other servants had retreated to the end of the bridge. This was to avoid obstructing the view.
“Hey, how is it?”
“The master is smiling.”
“What? Really?”
Arka the eagle, with his good eyesight, was relaying the situation in the distant dome for the other servants who had difficulty seeing it.
“The atmosphere looks good. This plan is a success.”
“See? I told you making a dome by the lake was the right answer!”
“But wasn’t it made for the lady because women like water? We didn’t particularly make it to impress the master.”
“Whatever the reason, as long as the two of them are getting along, that’s what matters!”
“That’s true.”
When the two masters of the Dragon Castle get along, peace comes and the servants’ quality of life improves. In the end, it’s a successful outcome, so their plan should be considered a perfect success.
‘Sigh.’
Snow let out a sigh behind the cheering servants. It was exasperating, but he couldn’t look down on them. After all, Litania and Orbis did look happy.
‘Well, if Litania is happy, that’s what matters.’
As a servant, the lady’s reliance on the boy would gradually decrease from now on, but it would be putting the cart before the horse to feel disappointed about that.
‘My role ends here.’
Snow looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh to release a bit of regret and emptiness.
The autumn sunlight, gradually taking on a reddish hue, cast warm beams over the lake.
It was the third autumn they were greeting at the Dragon Castle.
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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