“Madam, you must call for me whether it’s dawn or midnight.”
Upon learning about the dawn’s events, Julie’s heart jumped excitedly.
“Yes.”
“It’s not the time to say ‘yes.’ I know I’m not appealing to your eyes. But where do you find a lady without her knight, or even a dedicated maid?”
“Yes, a noble lady generally accompanies maids and knights. So I happened to go out with the knight who was at the door.”
“To compare me with that person, or that lady, hurts my feelings.”
She was excited again.
Bianca bit her cheek slightly, trying not to laugh at Julie’s stern tone.
“Promise me you will never move alone again.”
“Yes, I will never go alone again.”
“This time, many people have entered the castle. Incidents tend to occur during such times.”
“I must have been thoughtless to cause you worry.”
“Worry? That’s absurd. I just wish you would think of us a little more comfortably.”
Us?
At words she couldn’t ignore, Bianca looked up, and Julie, as if she had been waiting, opened the door and called someone.
“Sir Rafin. Come in.”
“Sir Rafin?”
“He will be your escort starting today.”
At Bianca’s query, Hailey introduced a large, gentlelooking young man standing beside her as the ‘escort.’
“Sir Rafin, greet the Duchess.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Rafin, who will be your escort starting today.”
Blushing up to his neck, he fumbled nervously with his hands.
Wouldn’t he look like a big puppy turned human?
Golden curls covering his ears, refreshing green eyes.
A face still showing youthful innocence, seemingly just coming of age.
“Ahem. Sir, get a hold of yourself.”
“Ah, sir, I mean your maid.”
Scratching the back of his head, Rafin’s action couldn’t conceal Julie’s smirking expression.
“Sir, you have been promoted. How daring to be the dedicated escort to the Madam.”
“Julie!”
“But, Hailey! Sir Rafin is merely the captain of a 2nd rank fortress. He’s not even the commander of the castle, yet he’s the Madam’s escort. Isn’t it too much? If I’d known this would happen…”
“Julie, mind your words.”
Julie closed her mouth at Hailey’s stern words but seemed quite discontent, silently moving her lips.
Judging from words like ‘our Madam’ and ‘how dare,’ she must have hoped for someone more prominent. But Bianca took a liking to the young knight before her eyes.
Though she didn’t know him, the title ‘captain’ wasn’t easily achieved.
Especially in the North, known for its highquality knights.
“Madam. It seems Sir Rafin is a bit nervous as this is his first time as a lady’s escort.”
Hailey said a word in defense of Rafin, but it wasn’t needed.
Bianca knew that the bashful knight before her was an extraordinary talent.
Though she hadn’t enjoyed the escort of a knight, she had seen many outstanding knights escorting the Emperor and Crown Prince right by her side at the palace.
Restrained movement, a unique light and dignified step, firm hands, and calm eyes.
The knight, whose face turned red in front of her, had all of these.
“I will do my best to protect you.”
Even while scratching his head, Rafin’s eyes were fixed on her, never leaving her sight.
His ability to never lose sight of his charge even for a moment showed how excellent a knight he was.
Bianca silently whispered to the visibly upset Julie.
‘He’s an excellent knight. Enough, Julie.’
Bianca reached out straight to Rafin, who was standing firm outside the door.
“Thank you. Sir.”
At her gesture of appreciation, Rafin asked once more.
“May I escort the lady?”
“You honor me.”
Whispering the words Julie had once refuted, Bianca kindly smiled at her first knight.
Standing firmly like a tree that has taken root, Rafin took a step at that very moment.
Big, light, and very agile.
Almost simultaneously with realizing that he had taken a step, his hand was lightly grasped.
Rafin gently squeezed Bianca’s hand, bowed his waist, and touched her forehead.
“Until the day I die, I will live by your sword, Lady Bianca.”
Bianca felt a warm sensation at her fingertips and a choking feeling in her throat.
She thought it would never be allowed in her lifetime.
Yet, this moment of receiving such a devout and utterly respectful oath had come!
Unable to believe the feeling, Bianca inadvertently made the waiting knight wait as she caught her breath.
“Sir.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“I will only allow you to serve until you find someone precious to you, only until then.”
She felt the sensation of her fingertips being pressed for a moment.
The knight could swear, but he couldn’t break it.
There’s no fool who would let go of someone who will risk his life to protect himself.
So a knight’s oath was once in a lifetime.
And now it’s being handed down?
It was only natural for Rafin’s face, as they looked into each other’s eyes, to be clouded with doubt.
“My Lady, am I not satisfactory to you?”
“Of course not, Sir, you’re my first knight. I’m very excited and pleased.”
Although she felt the air in the room freeze coldly for a moment, Bianca continued to speak with a smiling face.
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.”
