On the way back after successfully delivering Isolde’s tears, I ran into my father in the Imperial Palace corridor.
“Father.”
“Greetings to the Empire’s little moon.”
As strict and upright as ever, my father deeply bowed as soon as he saw me.
It was a perfect etiquette that was still impeccable in every way.
Even though I knew it was only natural for him to show such courtesy to me as an imperial family member before being a daughter, I didn’t know why I felt disappointed seeing him like that.
Seeing the affectionate interaction between the Empress and Leoprick earlier must have made me feel envious.
Feeling a strange sense of loneliness in a corner of my heart, I took my father’s hand and personally raised his bowed back.
“You don’t need to do that to me, Father. There aren’t many people watching here anyway.”
“Do you know how many people there are all over the palace, Your Highness? It never hurts to be careful with your behavior.”
My father shook his head at my words and spoke in a polite tone.
Well, it’s not wrong.
It’s not wrong, but strangely, children who don’t particularly like their parents still want them to always be warm and friendly at times like this.
I didn’t really expect my father to look happy to see me, but…
“I will, Father. Do you have a moment?”
So I quietly changed the subject.
I had something to discuss with him regarding the previous matter with Adela.
My father silently nodded at my question.
“I’m not very busy now, so it’s fine, Your Highness.”
“Then please spare me a moment, Father. It’s an important matter.”
If we were going to bring in an empress, we had to start looking for a candidate from now.
And since that empress would be the one to take my place, we had to be a little more careful.
I headed to my reception room with my father.
Father, who didn’t say a word the entire way, only opened his mouth after Betty brought the tea set and left the room closing the door.
“Is this about selecting an empress?”
“Yes, Father. We need someone other than Lady Gilroyt.”
“Someone other than her…”
Father tilted his head.
“There aren’t many people with qualifications as good as Lady Gilroyt’s, Your Highness.”
“I know that too. But something about her doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Something that doesn’t sit right, what do you mean by that?”
At my father’s question, I pondered for a moment.
How should I explain this?
Adela Gilroyt is not the one.
My mind is filled with such conviction, but when I try to put it into words, I suddenly find myself at a loss for words.
The brazen attitude of Marchioness Gilroyt?
Or that indifferent face when she said she loved Leoprick?
I couldn’t pinpoint anything specifically, but I thought Adela was not the one.
While I was struggling to choose the right words to say, my father waited silently, looking at me without a word.
After a short while, my father slowly opened his mouth after putting down his teacup.
“Is it because Lady Gilroyt has feelings for His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Actually, it’s not just that.
It’s not just that, but I can’t say it’s not either.
But for some reason, I couldn’t continue my words after that.
On top of that, I felt like my father had hit the nail on the head.
In the end, I couldn’t finish my sentence and had to quietly lower my head.
“It’s not shameful to not be honest with your feelings, Your Highness.”
And my father seemed to have completely misunderstood me.
“Actually, I’ve been very worried… but now I feel a bit relieved.”
My father smiled with a relieved look on his face.
No, why are you suddenly feeling relieved at this timing?
Why on earth?
“Father, what do you…”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed, Your Highness. It’s natural for affection to sprout between a married couple.”
My father said that with a somewhat pleased expression.
No, does he think I have feelings for Leoprick right now?
And that’s why he feels relieved?
I looked at my father with a slightly dumbfounded face.
“No, no, Father. I think you’re mistaken right now…”
“Am I wrong? I heard that Lady Gilroyt has feelings for Your Highness. And now you’re saying Lady Gilroyt is not suitable for the position of empress.”
Ah, so he thinks I said Adela Gilroyt is not suitable because she has feelings for Leoprick?
Because of jealousy or something like that?
I shook my head with a dumbfounded look.
“Not at all, Father. Of course, it’s true that Lady Gilroyt has feelings for His Highness, but so what?”
There was no problem with Adela Gilroyt having feelings for Leoprick.
I had no justifiable reason to oppose her for such a trivial reason.
“Isn’t it good if the person who will become the empress deeply cares for my husband? And that has nothing to do with me.”
But that’s not why I’m opposing Lady Gilroyt.
I spoke in a firm tone and pointed out that my father’s thinking was a simple misunderstanding.
And if I was really jealous, shouldn’t I be getting angry at my father, telling him not to even mention the empress?
Instead of thinking we need to find someone else like I am now.
I pointed those things out and explained to my father that it was all a misunderstanding.
“I’m not opposed to finding an empress. It’s just that I don’t think Lady Gilroyt will be able to control her emotions well, and it also bothers me that she can’t control Marchioness Gilroyt.”
“Did you meet the Marchioness?”
“By chance. She seemed like an excessively frank person to the point of appearing thoughtless.”
I let out a small sigh, recalling Marchioness Gilroyt who was excessively rude.
“She seemed like someone with poor judgment and lack of discernment. I think she seriously misunderstood something after hearing what you said to Marquis Gilroyt, Father.”
Judging by her behavior, it was as if I was the one becoming the empress and Lady Gilroyt was going to be the queen.
I shook my head, recalling the Marchioness who confronted me without regard, as if the position of the queen was reserved for her.
“Anyway, I don’t think Gilroyt is the one. Father, I think we need to look not only at the young lady’s own abilities and cleverness but also her family environment.”
If it’s a family environment where she can sufficiently control herself, it won’t be a problem, but most people find it hardest to completely cut ties with their own family.
So it would be good if the family environment is good or if there’s not much of a family environment to speak of.
I conveyed those thoughts to my father and asked him to look for someone else.
“They don’t necessarily have to be from the Emperor’s faction. There will be people among the nobility faction that we can communicate with. I hope it’s someone who is modest and wise, and won’t hinder His Highness’s future path, Father.”
The person by Leoprick’s side should be beautiful, intelligent, and kind.
So that she can warmly embrace him when he’s tired from political affairs in the future.
So that she can always support him, deeply respect him, and strive together to create the empire he dreams of.
Hiding such inner thoughts, I asked my father again to look into it.
But my father, who had been listening to my story, tilted his head as if something was strange.
“Why do we need someone with a good family environment? If necessary, our family has sufficient ability to keep the other side in check, Your Highness.”
So no matter how brazen Marchioness Gilroyt is, it’s not a big deal.
My father looked at me, saying he had anticipated all such things.
“Is there something about Adela Gilroyt that bothers you?”
My father asked.
A serious face that said to tell him anything.
The expression he would make whenever I struggled to explain a feeling I couldn’t put into words, slowly telling me to try talking about it.
The expression that conveyed he was always on my side, so I shouldn’t worry and feel free to talk.
It wasn’t a friendly or smiling face, but it was enough to instill confidence in me.
The serious expression he would show toward his much younger daughter when I was little seemed to make even a child feel respected.
In front of that face, I felt like I could talk about anything.
So, just like in the past, I took a short deep breath and opened my mouth.
“It’s about Lady Gilroyt.”
And I told my father about the things I experienced.
The expression and gaze I saw when Lady Gilroyt said she loved Leoprick.
How brazenly Marchioness Gilroyt behaved.
Even my speculation that the young lady might have deliberately left her mother to act out.
After listening to my story, my father became lost in thought.
“So what you’re saying, Your Highness, is that Lady Gilroyt doesn’t have good intuition.”
‘Doesn’t have good intuition.’
I had occasionally used such words before.
Because the intuition wasn’t good, because the intuition was good for some reason, because it seemed like the premonition would fit well.
Whenever that happened, my father would draw conclusions based on my clumsy explanations.
And after that, without fail…
“Then I will try to find someone else. Your intuition is rarely wrong, Your Highness.”
He would nod his head with a serious face and say this.
Then I would always let out a sigh of relief alone and at the same time be grateful to my father.
From my father’s perspective, it must not be easy to listen to the story of his very young and inexperienced daughter and make important decisions, but how could he so readily agree to it every time?
I bowed my head again to express my gratitude to my father.
“Thank you for believing in me.”
“No need. If Your Highness is going this far to say it, of course I have to follow.”
Seeing my father respond so readily, I suddenly became curious.
Ever since I was very young, when I had just started learning about the trading company’s work, my father had listened attentively to my words.
Why did he listen to the words of a young child who only knew simple two-digit addition and subtraction, trusting them so much?
I blankly stared at my father drinking tea, suddenly filled with questions.
“Is there something you want to ask?”
“…I’m just suddenly curious.”
Why do you trust my intuition so much, Father?
At the question thrown, my father quietly put down his teacup.
Then he raised his gaze and stared at me.
It seemed like he was about to say something solemn or serious.
My father, with an expression I had never seen before, one that I couldn’t quite read, looked at me who was slightly nervous and uttered a light remark.
“Because you’re special.”
“…Pardon?”
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.”