Angar, who welcomed Ludmila who came to see him, quietly withdrew his smile at her stern expression.
Ludmila, seated in the place where tea was served, calmly looked at him while holding the teacup.
“I heard there was a war.”
Angar felt conflicted as the matter he didn’t want to reveal flowed from her lips.
It was information Ludmila shouldn’t have known. No, to be precise, it was a war she should have learned about later.
Angar put the unlit cigar in the case and then held the teacup in his hand.
He nodded calmly after moistening his lips with tea along with a sigh.
As her eyes narrowed, Angar calmly placed the cup on the coaster.
“Yes, that’s correct. Ten days ago, with a declaration of war, the Imperial Central Army marched out. The target is the Black Wall. An official announcement of a total of 40,000 troops was spread to each media outlet.”
“What’s the reason? What’s the justification?”
It seems like she’s already heard the reason, but asking such a question means she needs confirmation.
Angar ran his hand through his hair, was silent for a moment, then exhaled.
“A murder occurred during the Founding Day celebration. The deceased were Viscount Rodick Fell and the Minister of Commerce, Marquis Kedilen Erdi. The prime suspect was the only person at the scene, Lord Aden.”
“That’s nonsense…! It can’t be. Why would Aden to that person…”
Clearly, Aden had tried to kill Kedilen. Twice, even.
But because her departure had eliminated that necessity, Aden had no reason to kill the two.
Unlike Ludmila who shook her head, Angar grasped the teacup again and raised his eyes in calmness.
“Although he was named as a suspect, not the culprit, the Imperial Court and the Empire’s Tribunal essentially framed Lord Aden. Probably, if he had stayed, he would have been put on trial and executed. However, somehow Lord Aden, who was in custody, was released and thanks to that, he was able to escape. After that, evidence came out while he didn’t appear in court, and that evidence was accepted, resulting in a guilty verdict.”
Ludmila, who had been listening carefully, let out a low exclamation.
There would be many parts omitted in Angar’s story, but even with just that much, she could understand that Aden had fallen into a trap.
She could understand that his release from custody was intentional.
There’s no possibility that Aden killed Kedilen. Then, the one who killed Kedilen is ultimately the person who wants to kill Aden.
It would be Crown Prince Jeffrey. He plotted everything and pinned it on Aden.
And to wage war, he let Aden go.
His nature was so petty and arrogant that he was tongue-tied at least in doing cowardly things.
If he had set the trap openly, Aden would have had no chance of escaping.
As her thoughts reached that point, Ludmila recalled Aden’s face when he came to meet her.
He seemed calm, but somehow like a person who had given up everything and become enlightened.
Remembering his behavior, which at a glance seemed like someone who had received a terminal diagnosis with not much life left, Ludmila let out a deep sigh.
But Aden left without saying anything.
Just as he had appeared without a word, this time too, he left like that.
And until the end, he kept Ludmila’s words.
As per her request to leave without leaving any trace, even on that last night, he pushed her away at the end.
“I should have thought it was strange…”
Why he suddenly appeared. Why he showed such behaviors. And why he left without any lingering attachment.
Everything from start to finish was suspicious, but in the end, she sent Aden away without asking anything.
He knew he would die in this war.
Nevertheless, he returned to his homeland where his grave would be built, stained with his death and blood.
And yet he didn’t say anything.
Please kill my husband.
The voice of her past self that pierced her numb ears struck her head.
The outer fortress fell three days later.
Against thousands of central army troops charging in, the 2,000 defenders fought valiantly, but ultimately the numerical disadvantage in troops and artillery was not a gap easily bridged.
Although Aden led continuous attacks on the central army, slowing their advance and inflicting considerable damage, even so, their remaining forces still numbered 30,000.
“The situation is grave, Your Grace.”
Neser sighed and spoke cautiously after reading the report.
Aden, who had been scanning the Habertz clan residents who entered the Black Wall, slowly turned his head to look at Beressa.
“Have all the people remaining outside been brought in?”
“We’ve brought in all 2,000 people, and the rest were screened and sent to various clan leaders. There’s no one left in the city now.”
“Food supplies?”
“We’ve secured enough food to last about six months, but even that will be insufficient when winter comes. It’s not enough food to last through winter.”
Neser, listening to the report, bit his lip in despair.
This quantity was only possible because the clan leaders and nobles who responded to the general mobilization order sent everything except the minimum amount of food they needed, but even that wasn’t enough to get through winter.
“They’ll soon be knocking on the outer walls. As you said, we’ll defend to the best of our ability, but considering the rate of troop losses, two days is the best case scenario.”
The following report was equally gloomy.
Although there was an unexpected result at the third gate, it didn’t change the overall situation.
Moreover, though it wasn’t mentioned, there were 10,000 additional enemy soldiers being recruited and prepared in the capital. In the end, back to square one.
Aden scanned the tumultuous scene with his eyes before turning his head.
“How many soldiers do we have left?”
“Six thousand cavalry. If we include all young men who could be mobilized for combat, we might reach 10,000, but in reality…”
One of the aides trailed off. In reality, it wouldn’t be much help to our fighting strength.
The Kan clan already had a shortage of young men to begin with.
If all of them died in this war, even if they won, there would be no future.
Aden looked at him with dry eyes, frowning, then turned to Beressa.
“What happened to the message sent to Anar Baldin?”
At Aden’s words, remembering a previous report, Beressa just slowly shook her head.
Aden sighed and looked out the window again. The worst of the worst situations. It felt like being trapped in inescapable darkness.
He felt a sense of despair, as if he were floating alone in the deep abyss from which he had rescued Ludmila.
But that soon turned into relief at the fact that Ludmila wasn’t here.
There was no need for Ludmila to fall into this hell.
Aden slowly raised his head and silently watched the white clouds drifting across the clear sky.
He pulled at the corners of his mouth. As he exhaled a long breath and relaxed his tense shoulders, he turned around.
“Prepare to march out.”
Everything that she thought had returned to normal became distorted again.
The fragments of memory scattered everywhere shatter and turn to dust along the traces of Ludmila’s steps.
Following the many memories that seem impossible to have been created in such a brief encounter with him, she eventually sees his departing back.
Going round and round, back to square one.
No matter how many thoughts flood in, the end is always this place.
Thump thump-!
The sound of knocking on the door came as she was silently putting firewood into the fireplace.
Ludmila listlessly raised her head to look at the door.
Slowly turning her body to open the door, she found Mrs. Meribold standing in front of it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. I came to see if you were alright. Your expression hasn’t been good since our previous conversation, and you haven’t been coming to recent gatherings, so I was worried.”
“Ah, that’s…”
Normally, she could easily put on a sociable smile, but not this time. Her stiff lips didn’t move at all.
Ludmila calmly shook her head slightly.
Lacking the energy to continue the conversation, Ludmila gave a perfunctory answer before closing the door.
As silence returned, memories of Aden came flooding back like waves.
There were many troublesome and difficult times, and events that brought tears, but most of the time, thinking of him always brought a smile.
A man who left only good things for her, gifted her good things, and departed.
That’s why these memories were even more painful.
Thump thump-!
The sound of knocking on the door rang out again.
Ludmila, who was considering whether to put up a sign refusing visitors at the door, let out a small sigh as she turned to open the door.
“Who…”
“Excuse me. Is this the residence of Ludmila Perez?”
Standing outside the door was a delivery man.
Ludmila’s eyes trembled slightly at the middle name she was hearing for the first time here.
After Ludmila nodded, the delivery man brought the package inside and set it down on the floor.
After handing over the receipt for a signature and turning back, the opened door closed indifferently.
Ludmila, who had been watching this series of events with blank eyes, looked at the object that had entered the room.
A rectangular object covered with brown cloth.
As she slowly pulled the string covering the cloth, a frame decorated in gold and brown appeared, and the painting inside it also filled her eyes.
A peaceful riverside scene with trees and a house, a painting that was impressively familiar.
Ludmila slowly lifted the painting.
Certainly, when she painted it, there was only one man looking at the river, but not now.
A golden-haired woman was standing beside him.
When her trembling eyes rolled down to the signature drawn in one corner of the painting.
[My Wish]Ludmila’s heart was torn to shreds as if clawed by sharp talons.
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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