‘Flower viewing! Right. I had suggested we go flower viewing together.’
Although I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, the truth was that the servant guiding the way had been a bit burdensome.
But once we left the imperial palace, I could separate from him, and since I hadn’t made any clear mistake, I just let him ramble on alone.
‘Could it have been flirting?’
Now that I think about it, I seem to understand why I felt vaguely uncomfortable then.
She had no experience in romance.
Unmarried young ladies and gentlemen often secretly dated people they met at social gatherings or masquerade balls.
Even though they had predetermined fiancés.
Unlike them, she, as the imperial princess, was expected to become the Emperor.
It was right to prevent the foolish act of falling in love with someone she couldn’t promise a future with.
Moreover, she had neither the time to waste nor the energy to spare for romance.
‘Oh, me…’
Realizing belatedly that someone had expressed romantic interest rationally, she chuckled a bit.
A sudden thought made Jieselgrante slightly furrow her brow.
‘Could Cabelased possibly…’
Earlier, she had only thought that she had broken her promise to avoid Cabelased, and that he was approaching her to scold her for it.
But if that servant had been flirting with her, the story changed a bit.
‘…Was he helping me?’
She thought that for a moment, but Jieselgrante soon considered her thoughts excessive.
‘It must have just been a coincidence.’
Cabelased was not the type of man to be interested in other people’s love affairs.
Unless it was a crime serious enough to upset him, he wouldn’t have intervened.
It seemed the correct interpretation was that he had simply been passing by when he saw her, and was displeased that she had broken her promise to stay out of sight, so he tried to humiliate and embarrass her.
Knock knock.
While Lindsey was squeezing the water out of Jieselgrante’s golden hair wrapped in a towel after her bath, there was a knock at the door.
As Jieselgrante turned her head towards the door, Lindsey quickly ran to it.
“I’ll go see who it is.”
And when she returned to the bedroom, Lindsey wasn’t alone.
“My lady, this is my sister Ola. Ola, greet the lady.”
Holding a large luggage bag firmly in both hands, Ola bowed deeply.
“Hello, my lady. It’s an honor to serve you.”
She looked a bit similar to Lindsey, but their auras were completely different.
Unlike Lindsey, whose fluffy bob haircut suited her like a brown poodle, Ola’s hair was long and calm.
Lindsey had said she was the older sister, but Ola looked more mature, perhaps due to the calmness in her appearance.
“Nice to meet you. You must be tired from coming all this way. Lindsey, could you show Ola to her quarters?”
“Uh…”
Lindsey blinked, looking at Jieselgrante’s still damp hair.
Noticing Lindsey’s hesitation, Ola carefully raised her hand.
“…?”
As Jieselgrante looked at her, Ola spoke.
“I have a talent for hair styling, and it seems like an opportunity to show you my skills. If it’s alright with you, may I have the honor of styling your hair, my lady?”
Blinking for a moment, Jieselgrante soon wore a faint smile.
“Then let’s see your skills.”
As it was her first job as a maid for the Duke Amaterasu’s household, her enthusiasm seemed great.
“Yes.”
Nodding, Ola quickly set down her luggage bag on the floor.
She rolled up her sleeves, then approached Jieselgrante with a towel.
Watching this, Lindsey also brought a new towel and helped dry her hair.
[This is the timeline separator]“Have a safe trip.”
As the head butler bowed politely, all the employees of the duke’s household lined up behind him bowed deeply.
Duke Amaterasu nodded to them and extended his hand to Jieselgrante.
Jieselgrante boarded the carriage, escorted by Duke Amaterasu.
Soon, Duke Amaterasu and Young Lord Mikhail also boarded the carriage.
As it was the special day of the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony, not only Jieselgrante but also Mikhail and Duke Amaterasu were dressed as elaborately as if attending an imperial ball.
As the carriage started moving, Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail exchanged glances.
Jieselgrante was watching their reflections in the carriage window.
Duke Amaterasu nodded slightly to Mikhail, just enough not to be noticeable, then opened his mouth.
“By the way, Jiesel. I heard you’ve been going out frequently lately…”
Despite starting boldly, Duke Amaterasu trailed off, gauging Jieselgrante’s reaction.
Though she was well past adolescence, he seemed cautious about openly revealing that he had inquired about his daughter’s activities.
“Yes. While I’m in the capital, away from Duke Amaterasu’s domain, I’m trying to fulfill the roles I couldn’t before.”
With those words, Jieselgrante turned her head back towards the carriage window.
The reflections of Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail exchanging glances with furrowed brows could be seen in the carriage window.
One could interpret their expressions as saying, ‘This isn’t it?’
As they seemed intent on probing until they got the answer they wanted from her, Jieselgrante added one more thing.
“As you’ve probably heard from the head butler, I attended Countess Tarel’s salon and a tea party held at the imperial palace.”
As she said this, Jieselgrante suddenly turned her head towards the two.
The expressions of Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail, who had been looking troubled for a moment, changed dramatically.
“That’s a good change. Mingling with people, you’ll learn various things… Right, Father?”
“That’s right. Jiesel, if you’re happy, this father is satisfied.”
Despite their rather awkward excuses, Mikhail and Duke Amaterasu’s expressions were truly peaceful.
‘Both of them are good at hiding their true intentions.’
That was when Jieselgrante defined them as such.
This time, Mikhail asked.
“By the way, Jiesel. Do you know what kind of person Countess Tarel is?”
“The Emperor’s mistress?”
Jieselgrante answered without any hesitation.
At that, Duke Amaterasu cleared his throat and immediately spoke.
“Well, Jiesel. It’s fine as long as you’re happy with whomever you associate with, but…”
Duke Amaterasu trailed off, subtly glancing at Mikhail. Then Mikhail picked up where he left off.
“Right. If you’re enjoying yourself, I have no intention of stopping you. But wouldn’t it be more fun and easier to converse with young ladies your own age?”
Mikhail’s words seemed like a careful suggestion, but it was a roundabout way of saying not to associate with Countess Tarel.
“Are you worried about my reputation?”
“Of course!”
Mikhail nodded, widening his eyes.
“Yes. I’m also concerned about whether unsavory rumors might follow you, especially since you’re still unmarried and without a fiancé.”
Finally, Duke Amaterasu revealed his true thoughts.
Jieselgrante smiled slightly and said,
“Would it be alright if we discuss that part after the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony is over?”
Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail’s faces were marked with question marks at Jieselgrante’s puzzling response.
But soon, Duke Amaterasu spoke.
“Very well. It’s not easy to suddenly distance oneself from someone you’ve been getting along with.”
“That’s right, Jiesel.”
Mikhail chimed in, seeming to agree with Duke Amaterasu’s opinion.
With that conversation ended, Jieselgrante turned her head back towards the carriage window.
‘I wonder if they’ll say the same thing after the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony is over.’
She thought to herself.
[This is the timeline separator]The Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony was held in the grand hall of the Great Temple, where Trinity’s memorial service had taken place not long ago.
However, many things were different from then.
The hall of the Great Temple, which had been filled with somber black – black dresses and veils, black suits – was now colorfully adorned.
The nobles were dressed in their utmost finery.
It was clear they had donned their best clothes and accessories for today.
The same was true for the people of Duke Amaterasu’s household.
Jieselgrante wore a light blue dress paired with a necklace and earring set combining sky blue topaz and amethyst.
Mikhail and Duke Amaterasu, dressed in impeccably tailored suits with a blue tinge, had their blonde hair neatly combed back with pomade.
“It’s been a long time, Duke Amaterasu.”
As the three from Duke Amaterasu’s household entered the Great Temple, nobles who had arrived earlier and were waiting for the ceremony to begin came to greet them.
“It has indeed been a while.”
While standing next to Duke Amaterasu as he conversed with the approaching nobles, Jieselgrante felt a stinging sensation on the back of her head.
She turned her head towards where she felt the gaze coming from.
Her eyes met those of Countess Minster’s daughter, who was glaring at her with fierce eyes.
It seemed she harbored a grudge against Jieselgrante for the embarrassment she suffered at the Empress’s tea party not long ago.
Jieselgrante’s head tilted slightly.
‘I thought she wouldn’t appear in crowded places for a while.’
Jieselgrante swept her gaze over Countess Minster’s daughter with an impassive look.
Countess Minster’s daughter was wearing a dress from the most popular dressmaker’s shop.
After looking her up and down from head to toe, Jieselgrante gave a thumbs up.
“…?”
Countess Minster’s daughter looked at Jieselgrante with a peculiar expression, as if trying to decipher the meaning of that action.
Then, as if she had come to some realization, Countess Minster’s daughter furrowed her brow deeply.
She even bared her teeth. It looked just like a frightened small dog.
‘Does she dislike compliments?’
Jieselgrante turned her head away, not thinking much of it.
Just then, the Emperor ascended the platform.
With that, the noisy atmosphere in the hall became as quiet as if in reverence.
__________
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Synopsis:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
He even had his eyes on another woman.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
Su Mu expressed her disdain.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
She also wanted to embrace Xie Yi, who had silently stayed by her side in her previous life and committed suicide by taking poison after her death.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
—–
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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