“But we planted fake evidence. We know we did it, so won’t we die alone? Even if it’s not a kidnapping case, he knows all the secrets that could drag us down.”
When Lord Pipe kidnapped Elizabeth, he secretly kept the torn pieces of her clothes.
It was a precaution in case the Blackfold Viscount betrayed him.
Upon realizing this fact, the Blackfold Viscount, instead of getting angry, suggested hiding those pieces of clothing in the mansion of Lord Brennand.
Lord Pipe cast a resentful gaze at Viscount Blackfold.
“Lord Pipe, are you blaming me now after making decisions together?”
“It’s because of the downfall of the Brennad family that doesn’t seem like someone else’s affair!”
“Weren’t you the one who suggested kidnapping that woman in the first place, Lord Pipe?”
“From my memory, it seems like it was you, Blackfold.”
“Are you done talking now?”
Viscount Blackfold erupted in anger.
Duke Lehman, who had been listening to their conversation, intervened with a gloomy voice.
“Calm your excitement. Our enemy aims for our division.”
Until now, the unity of the Four Great Noble Families was strong.
They joined forces, overcame opposition, and firmly established privileges and power.
But how about now?
The Brennad family is on the brink of collapse, and the remaining three noble families are trembling under the scrutiny of the new Imperial Knight Commander.
Lord Pipe blamed Viscount Blackfold, and Blackfold didn’t trust Pipe.
Their only common ground was their disdain for Duke Lehman, who hid his true intentions behind a gentle façade.
“Our opponent is a young female knight in blue armor. Do you think she, like the Imperial Knight Commander, can harm us?”
Viscount Blackfold nervously stroked his black mustache.
Duke Lehman moved his crystal glass to his lips.
“Do not underestimate Lady Claudia. There are many young knights supporting the genius female knight.”
“Humph! They are nothing more than a group of upstarts with no more than their bodies. Just because they have youth and hot blood.”
“They are lower in status and wealth than us. However, they possess fervent blood and youth.”
“So, should we fear them?”
Viscount Blackfold asked roughly.
Duke Lehman’s complexion became even paler.
“Control your anger, Lord Pipe.”
“Nothing but a bunch of rebels. Do they think I’ll let them take away even a piece of my land?”
“Calm down, Lord Pipe.”
“Anyone who dares to covet what is mine! Do they think I’ll let this Pipe be stolen from my field?”
“Truly, Lord Pipe.”
Lord Pipe grumbled confidently.
Viscount Blackfold chuckled.
“Do you think Lady Emma can accomplish such a great feat? She should at least reach the level of Queen Cindya.”
“Are you disrespecting my daughter?”
“Be careful with your words. In the harem, my daughter is there, and Duke Lehman’s niece is also present. No one knows who will become the Empress!”
Viscount Blackfold said.
Duke Lehman threw a stern gaze out the window and narrowed his eyes.
“Her Majesty might have been waiting for this sight.”
“What does that mean, Duke Lehman?”
“Perhaps after the coronation ceremony, Her Majesty succumbed to the pressure to welcome the Empress and reluctantly made our daughters imperial consorts.”
“The reason we couldn’t ignore the influence of the Four Great Noble Families!”
“I thought so. But what if it wasn’t the case? What if someone threw a tempting bait like the heart of the Harte family to us?”
Duke Lehman turned to Lord Pipe and Viscount Blackfold.
Looking at the two who remained silent, Duke Lehman spoke.
“If someone deceived us, pretending to be blind to treason, waiting for the bonds to break, what would we do?”
“It’s not to tempt various women by postponing the Empress’s appointment?”
“We should meet the mothers of the potential Empresses. It’s a priority to understand Her Majesty’s intentions.”
Duke Lehman stood up from his seat.
Duke Lehman was followed by the tense Lord Pipe and Viscount Blackfold.
The dark clouds hanging over the harem were getting thicker.
‘I suspected that he was a remarkable person, but did he find out that I’ve possessed Elizabeth?! If he becomes an enemy, my identity will be completely exposed, right?’
I felt caught off guard, having been careless.
Akanso, sensing my tension, reassured me with a gentle voice.
“Don’t worry. Akanso, I haven’t disclosed this fact to anyone.”
“How can I trust that you are on my side?”
“Do you doubt me?”
“As you know, we are not ordinary humans. Neither you nor I.”
Once, I found being considered an ordinary person tiresome.
I had no power and no money.
So, I wanted to become the protagonist in a novel.
I wanted to share friendship and go on adventures with my favorite character.
However…
‘If I had possessed Claudia, I might have already killed Nikolai with my own hands. I’m fortunate to have possessed Elizabeth. Even if Nikolai uses me…’
A brisk wind swirled deep within my chest.
Nikolai did not enchant me.
My feelings were only exposed.
“The game ended a long time ago. Your eyes are clumsy at lying.”
“If you want to play the game a little more, feel free to do so.”
Victory seemed distant, and the temptation game was not over.
At that moment, the emotion that captivated me was not a sense of defeat but a feeling of relief.
Being able to stay by Nikolai’s side.
Being able to touch each other through the game’s excuse.
Though we were not lovers or spouses, it was fortunate that we could possess each other a little.
“There is the fourteenth substitute palace here.”
Akanso unexpectedly stopped in a place.
“You kept a substitute palace here?”
I couldn’t hide a bitter smile.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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