Her entire body felt like it had turned into a heart, pounding wildly. Unable to speak, Diana’s lips slightly parted, and Roderick gazed at them intently.
“Don’t ask s-such things…!”
Before she could respond, he moved to kiss her.
Just as Diana was about to accept and turned her head, she noticed a terrifying figure.
Her slightly opened pink eyes widened, then seemed to tear apart.
“Wait!”
Diana shouted softly, blocking Roderick’s lips with her hand. He irritably raised his eyebrows.
“Why.”
His low voice vibrated under her palm. Suppressing the tickle, Diana whispered in Roderick’s ear.
“That’s our third sibling, right?”
Her voice was a whisper, but it was heard by the keen-eared knights. Their gaze naturally shifted to one man.
“Yes.”
“Why is our estranged third sibling here?”
He was a figure only in her memories. She thought she wouldn’t see him again, having not seen him even before she died.
After waking up in the wizard’s castle, she had only thought about her older brother and sister, main and supporting characters in the story, not the third sibling.
He was also an extra like her, and she thought he would survive even if the family fell due to the crown prince. So, she hadn’t contacted him separately.
“He followed me.”
“What?”
Roderick hadn’t welcomed Nathan’s company from the start.
After gauging the mood of the castle through the Duke’s envoy, he thought it best to use Nathan to inform her that she was a Beatus.
If his name didn’t shield her, temporarily attaching a wandering wolf to her wouldn’t be a bad idea. Though he regretted not consulting her.
“Why?”
Roderick glanced at her complexion as he answered.
“To see you.”
To see me? Nathan, with his strong wanderlust, never came home even when called by the family. That’s how much he loathed the Beatus. Was that why he came? Because this wasn’t Beatus.
How long had it been since she last saw her family? Unlike her, hesitant from the awkwardness, Nathan approached her without hesitation.
“Diana Beatus. You little brat.”
Nathan was just the same. His actions and tone were like his childhood self. Diana relaxed at the familiar sight.
“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Little sister?”
“Yikes! What are you doing! Nathan, brother.”
The intimidating Nathan scooped up Diana’s waist and lifted her, separating her from Roderick.
Nathan’s uninhibited behavior closed the gap of years in an instant. Unknown to them, the bond between the siblings was deep enough to overcome time.
“What are you doing?! That’s what I should be asking! You, of all things! Kissing men?!”
What is he talking about? She gave her brother a cold look.
Nathan’s trembling finger pointed accusingly at her.
Despite wandering battlefields, he was still an innocent man. He swore but never spoke indecently, a pure and naïve man in his nature.
His face was redder than Diana’s, who had been about to kiss in front of many.
“Why talk nonsense when we meet after so long, brother?”
Seeing the unfeeling Diana, who had never been in a relationship, Nathan looked shocked.
“I didn’t raise you to be like this.”
“I was raised by our eldest brother, though.”
He had no comeback. Damn Devil Beatus. She had unfairly cursed her innocent brother.
Diana, with a sigh, brushed back her disheveled hair and gave Nathan a sharp look. Meeting her brother after so long brought out his true character.
In a voice only a sibling could use, she warned him darkly.
“Put me down nicely, now. I need to be with Roderick.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I can’t be separated from Roderick, okay?”
“Huh. What… Are you pregnant?”
“What?!”
Caught off guard by Nathan’s question, Diana lost her balance and nearly fell. Roderick quickly caught her, pulling her into his embrace.
“Diana.”
He tenderly pushed her hair behind her ear and whispered.
“It’s noisy. Shall we just make it official?”
“No, are you crazy?!”
These people, really. Diana glanced between Roderick and her brother, exasperated.
The scene was a complete mess. Felice, watching from afar, sighed deeply.
The man known as the Red Wolf, who seemed to be scolded by his sister’s words, and the man once too sharp and maddened to converse, now had a playful smile.
Nobody dared to intervene. Reluctantly, Felice stepped forward.
“Let’s all go inside, shall we?”
Diana then realized their surroundings.
Servants lined up, horses in the stable unable to leave, knights unable to rest without their lord’s command. Many were enduring undeserved punishment because of them.
“Roderick, quickly disband the knights and come. I’ll go inside first with my brother.”
Roderick frowned, seemingly unhappy with her leaving first, but raised his gloved hand.
With just that gesture, the knights dispersed swiftly.
The servants were handled by a mere look from the butler. Diana found the entire scene astonishing.
Okay? As Roderick looked down at her with that questioning gaze, Diana let out a small laugh.
This man. His expression says it all. She found his demeanor endearing.
“Yes, well done.”
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.”
