Nikolai hung his head, unable to argue.
He looked like a large dog being scolded by its owner.
I wanted to pat his head on the sly.
“You are right. I’m truly a useless father.”
“Don’t blame yourself.”
“When is it ever my fault?”
“You can blame yourself a hundred, a thousand times if it helps. But now, Your Majesty’s selfblame is useless.”
“So?”
“Let’s come up with a new strategy to protect the crown prince.”
Nikolai asked, looking at me with an admiring gaze.
“Why are you so proactive about Franz’s matter?”
“I get paid a hefty salary. I need to earn my keep.”
“You’re trying to squeeze more out of me?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t ask for your heart.”
Nikolai’s eyes wavered for a moment.
He looked like someone who had already had a piece of his heart taken away.
“It’s also my strategy. Helping the son seems like it would help me seduce the father.”
“You want to defeat me that badly?”
“If it’s a matter of competitive spirit, I won’t lose.”
“Fine. Let’s see who wins.”
“But first, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
Nikolai tossed back his fallen hair in a tone that said ‘stop already,’ though we were alone.
He lowered his voice secretively.
“You have to tell me as accurately and precisely as possible, so even a beginner with no experience in that field can understand.”
“What are you trying to ask?”
“That… how do you do it?”
Nikolai coughed, covering his mouth.
So, a tyrant also gets flustered like this.
I looked in the mirror, my eyes narrowed, smiling.
I looked quite wicked even to myself.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]I stopped by Franz’s study and then moved to the training ground.
Today, Franz was again sweating profusely, wielding a wooden sword.
The fencing instructor Simon cheered enthusiastically.
“Excellent, Your Highness! Give it your all!”
“Haah!”
“You can be the greatest knight like His Majesty!”
But Franz’s wooden sword kept slipping off the straw dummy.
‘Sorry, but it’s a lost cause. Franz has no talent for swordsmanship.’
Does Simon know how much false hope torments a person?
Franz’s desperation to learn swordsmanship desperately.
Desperation alone couldn’t get what he wanted.
There was a gap that could not be overcome by effort.
Sometimes, giving up could have been the wisest choice.
‘I might not be able to escape the fate of dying by my favorite hand. It might be better to give up than to struggle to twist the original. At least I can enjoy the rest of my life, right?’
When I realized that Claudia was the one who cooked the pepper, my heart broke again.
A sense of powerlessness washed over me like a tsunami.
Because every moment was desperate, it was even more so.
I wanted to let go of everything I had been holding tightly.
The saying ‘holding out wins’ wasn’t comforting.
‘The reality is that even if you work hard and crap blood, you fail one after another. A hard worker can’t catch up with a talented guy, and a talented guy can’t catch up with a lucky one.’
Should someone without talent or luck give up?
Could that be a choice?
So, what do I gain?
Whether it was God’s delusion or mistake, I got a new life.
Even if fate dragged my ankle to hell, I resolved to struggle as long as my life was attached.
Until the dull blade of the guillotine fell, the stubborn and foolish choice would not change.
“I’ve brought snacks. Take a break for a while!”
I waved my hand and raised my voice.
Simon greeted me with a bright smile.
“You’ve arrived, Miss Elizabeth!”
“Don’t come. It’s disturbing.”
Franz was grumbling but looked pleased.
A servant brought water and a towel to wash his hands.
I laid out the picnic mat and set the silverware.
“There are ham sandwiches and apple carrot juice. I made it myself, so eat a lot.”
“You can cook too?”
“Be careful. It’s so delicious you might faint.”
“Can I eat two?”
“You can eat three.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth!”
Franz’s face brightened.
Instead of a fork and knife, Franz grabbed a sandwich with his red, blistered hands.
Whenever he wanted to display perfect table manners, he bit into the sandwich until his small cheeks were puffed up.
‘He mixes honorifics and informal speech depending on the situation. And the way he addresses me changes. I guess he hasn’t decided how to treat me yet.’
I didn’t particularly point it out.
I had more immediate things to deal with.
“Excuse me, but is there no share for me?”
Simon, who had lost his appetite, awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
There were plenty of sandwiches, but the silverware was only for two.
Only two plates, two napkins, two bottles of juice.
I flashed a bright smile at Simon, treated like an invisible man.
“Sir Brenden’s share is not here.”
“What?”
“You’re fired from today.”
Simon staggered as if shocked.
He barely pulled himself together and asked in a harsh tone,
“I’m the fencing instructor appointed by His Majesty. You can’t simply toss me aside, Miss Elizabeth.”
“His Majesty ordered it. To fire you.”
Simon’s handsome face twisted.
I was hoping he would show his true colors more, but Simon suppressed his anger.
“Do you know that I am the eldest son of the House of Brenden?”
“Do you know, but is it important?”
“If you drive me away, no one will be willing to guide His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Are you threatening me with your family?”
“I am advising you, as you seem to not understand the nature of the nobility.”
It was hard to suppress a laugh.
People who just wanted to chatter but insisted, ‘I’m saying this for your sake.’
A straight ball was perfect for such people!
“What to do? I don’t want to know about the nature of the nobility.”
“What did you say?!”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
Link to read
