Though waiting for the right moment to catch the culprit, I still couldn’t even punish those behind my kidnapping.
This wasn’t a threat against me.
It was an affront to the Emperor’s authority.
“Will the duel be halted because of me?”
“It’s not because of you. It’s because of the incident.”
“Please make sure innocent victims don’t suffer, Your Majesty.”
Nikolai halflistened.
There were too many liars wearing the faces of ordinary people.
They could still be circling around us with worried faces.
I felt like I’d sunk too deep into a world where I shouldn’t have stepped in.
The more I struggled, the deeper I was pulled in.
Nikolai, reading my expression, said,
“The duel stops here.”
“No, Lady Claudia was about to win.”
“It’s dangerous. We must evacuate now.”
“Probably, that’s why the fence was cut—to stop the match and make us flee.”
“Elizabeth.”
Nikolai looked pained.
I puffed out my chest and lifted my chin slightly.
“I’m not afraid, Your Majesty.”
It was a lie.
But I didn’t want to back down.
“I am afraid. Afraid that you might get hurt because of me.”
Nikolai’s voice touched my heart.
His eyes wavered like those of a lost child.
This time, I firmly grasped his hand.
“All you have to do is protect me, Your Majesty.”
“…”
“All you have to do is stay by my side so I won’t get hurt.”
“…”
“If that’s too hard for you, I won’t be stubborn.”
I said seriously.
Nikolai, who had been rigid all along, chuckled.
“Even if you aren’t stubborn, I will be.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Even if you don’t want me to, even if you tell me to stop, I will protect you by your side.”
I thought it had always been winter, but when did flowers bloom?
For a moment, I was dizzy with the scent of flowers.
The man who brought me spring was smiling at me.
‘If you leave, I’ll be winter again. But I won’t be cold. Because I’ll forever remember the fragrance, the warmth, and the ecstasy that spring brought.’
(This is a time separator.)
Claudia stared at the collapsed VIP seat.
Her crimson hair shone brightly amidst the panicked crowd.
‘That woman seems safe.’
She narrowed one eye.
Elizabeth.
No, she felt relieved that the woman resembling Elizabeth was unharmed.
She found that aspect of herself awkward and strange.
‘That woman is dangerous. Her appearance is just like Elizabeth, but her substance is entirely different.’
She hadn’t believed Douglas’s words that Elizabeth had changed.
That she had saved the Crown Prince.
That she had fought against the nobility.
That she had taken measures so her servants wouldn’t get hurt.
She was convinced it was all Elizabeth’s trickery.
Until she saw it with her own eyes.
“Please take me without pain.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes in front of her own sword, majestic and beautiful like a goddess from myths.
Beautiful Elizabeth?
Majestic?
Claudia bit her red lips.
‘Am I being deceived as well?’
She had accepted Simon’s sword duel.
She borrowed Douglas’s letter and ink to call for her.
She wanted to uncover her schemes.
When Elizabeth approached, she realized something was seriously wrong.
A simple yet neat attire.
Confident yet courteous behavior.
Not a trace remained of the femme fatale who used to mock men while drunk.
“A knight as excellent as you will also have tales of defeating tyrants and wicked women. Then wouldn’t there be a tale of a reborn wicked woman changing the world?”
Douglas’s voice dug deep into a corner of her heart.
Claudia shook her head from side to side.
As if doing so could shake off the looming ‘what if.’
The woman she saw in the slums haunted her.
Felt sympathy, a sense of kinship?
Wanted to tip a glass and converse?
If that woman was truly the one she had seen that day?
Wouldn’t the initial impression, free from any prejudice, be closest to the truth?
‘For some unknown reason, the real Elizabeth has disappeared. The wicked woman who used to torment Douglas isn’t there anymore.’
But Douglas was still only looking at Elizabeth.
His heart was as solid as a steel sword forged by a blacksmith’s ten thousand hits.
‘Who should I resent now? From whom should I reclaim Douglas?’
Elizabeth was a wicked woman.
So she hated her as much as she wanted.
She could even pity Douglas, who fell for the wicked woman’s tricks.
If he hadn’t fallen for evil schemes.
If he was just enamored with a beautiful and wise woman.
Claudia regretted every moment she had been dishonest with herself and the time she spent fretting behind the scenes.
“Knight RoseRoyce. His Majesty has ordered to resume the duel. Are you alright?”
A young knight who had come in hastily asked cautiously.
Many had become knights after hearing tales of Claudia.
Claudia was wary of those who held excessive reverence for her.
Though their goodwill was occasionally needed.
“May I ask you a few questions if you are not busy?”
“It would be an honor. Please ask.”
The young knight’s cheeks flushed.
It was a good opportunity.
“Why wasn’t the duel interrupted? There might be another risk.”
“I wouldn’t know as a lowly one, but it seems Elizabeth wishes so. His Majesty offered many times to halt it.”
The young knight lowered his voice, glancing around.
“Stopping the duel seems to be their objective. That’s what Elizabeth said, that she cannot escape.”
“It’s not an accident but a setup? Why did His Majesty allow it?”
“I happened to overhear… May I say?”
“Is it about Elizabeth?”
“It’s about Elizabeth and His Majesty.”
It was eyewitness testimony.
The corners of Claudia’s mouth drew a straight line.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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