Despite the resolve, only the Emperor and the Crown Prince were in the audience room. The tension in the shoulders deflated.
“I have been waiting. Duke Teravita and Duke Artenbach.”
“Greetings to Your Majesty the Emperor.”
The two men greeted in unison, placing one arm on their chest and bowing at the waist.
“Greetings to Your Majesty.”
I spread my dress to the side and lowered myself by bending my knees, then stood up. I had desperately studied imperial etiquette for fear of being caught off guard, and it seemed to have paid off.
“Oh, you must be the Duchess of Artenbach.”
The Emperor beckoned for a handshake with a welcoming smile. Instead of the dignified and solemn monarch I had imagined, he exuded the atmosphere of a kindly next-door grandfather.
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
“Pleasure to meet you, young Duke of Artenbach, young lord and lady of Teravita.”
The children greeted according to the imperial etiquette they had learned.
The conversation was mainly in the form of the Emperor asking questions and us answering. He asked how life was in the north and if there were any difficulties in Teravita.
“Thanks to you all, my worries have lessened. I can feel your care for the empire.”
The Emperor chuckled and snapped his fingers at the attendant.
“The story we are about to share is not suitable for the children to hear, so please introduce a place for the young Duke of Artenbach and the young lord and lady of Teravita to play.”
At the Emperor’s words to send out Rublion and the twins, Askal sent an anxious glance. So I was about to say that I would take them out, but the child stood up abruptly from his seat and bowed.
“It was an honor to be in your presence, Your Majesty.”
Following Rublion’s greeting, the twins, who were about to leave without a word, hurried over and greeted as well. The Emperor just laughed it off, finding their actions endearing.
Looking at the backs of the children leaving, their hair stood on end. I had an ominous feeling that something unpleasant would happen.
“Your Majesty. If you permit, I would like to leave with the children.”
This was the Imperial Palace and an audience with the monarch of the empire, so I couldn’t leave as I pleased.
However, the Emperor did not allow it. He said he had something to ask, so I should stay for a moment.
In the end, only the children were led out of the audience room by the attendant. Askal and I stared at the door with stiff faces.
The Emperor jokingly said not to doubt the security of the Imperial Palace, but that was not what we were worried about.
[This is the timeline separator]Rublion, who had come out with the twins, looked at the vast garden that caught his eye at a glance. It was a great place to run around and play, and there seemed to be many places to hide.
“Young lord, let’s play hide-and-seek here!”
Lamberton ran into the garden first. Rublion stuck close to Riena’s side and said,
“Lamberton, you don’t have to call me young lord.”
“That’s right. We’re also from the ducal family.”
Riena chimed in from the side. Lamberton grinned and said he understood.
The first seeker was Riena. The girl, who waited for Lamberton and Rublion to hide, found the two very quickly and was triumphant.
The second seeker was Lamberton. The boy found Rublion first but deliberately passed by without catching him. Then, knowing that Riena was hiding nearby, he shouted,
“Come out, brother-in-law!”
“Hey! What brother-in-law!”
Riena, who was hiding under a rock behind a large bush, jumped up and shouted. It was a way to call Rublion, but as expected, it was Riena who reacted.
Lamberton pointed his finger and laughed, holding his stomach.
Riena ran out to pinch the boy’s hair, and Rublion, who had carefully stood up at the sound of being called brother-in-law, rubbed his nose in vain and wedged himself between the twins.
It was genuinely fun. Not only playing with the twins after a long time, but the garden was also splendid and pretty. He thought it would be nice to sit here with Schmidt and eat chocolate cookies.
The last seeker was Rublion. Rublion counted the numbers with his forehead against a large tree in the garden.
“…Twenty-nine, thirty!”
It was the moment he turned around after counting to thirty according to the rules. Rublion’s eyes, filled with passion to find his friends, were filled with a light purple dress.
Looking up, Hegellia was standing at a distance of two steps away.
The child’s small heart sank. It was an unexpected encounter, so his mind went blank.
“Young Duke of Artenbach.”
Rublion swallowed dryly. The voice was the same as the one he had heard that night.
“Yes. Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
“What are you doing here?”
Even from a distance, one could recognize her as the highest-ranking woman in the empire due to her splendid attire.
Surprised by the unexpected encounter, his legs trembled slightly. Still, he didn’t collapse or show it outwardly. Rublion thought there was merit in diligently practicing morning training.
“I’m playing hide-and-seek with the young lord and lady of Teravita.”
“I see. Is it fun?”
“Yes, it’s very fun.”
Rublion looked straight at her, who asked with a bright yet somewhat sad-looking face, and spoke.
“I’m sorry, but could you please step aside? I need to go find my friends.”
Hegellia did not move. Rather, she bent her waist to match his eye level.
“It’s been a while since we met… How about talking with me for a bit?”
Rublion answered politely, hiding the indescribable emotion.
“I heard you’re entering the palace. It’s nice to meet you here like this.”
She took out a handkerchief from her bosom. Then she brushed off the dirt on Rublion’s hands.
“Is Lady Deli treating you well?”
Hegellia dusted the handkerchief that had wiped off the dirt in the air. Then she folded it again and put it in her bosom.
“……”
Rublion stared intently at the Crown Princess’s white and delicate hands and answered.
“Your Highness. It’s not Lady Deli, but the Duchess of Artenbach.”
“I see. Let me ask again. Does the Duchess cherish the young Duke? Does she treat you well?”
Hegellia immediately changed the form of address. Rublion thought he knew why she was asking these questions.
“Yes, she loves me the most in the world.”
Hegellia’s expression turned sour.
“But sometimes she makes things difficult for you or gets angry, right?”
“No.”
Rublion lifted his chin and answered confidently.
“Not even once.”
It was a cold yet confident statement. Hegellia straightened her waist, raising the eye level she had matched.
“That’s a relief then. I was worried that, as a stepmother, she might secretly bully the young Duke without the Duke knowing.”
Rublion was angrier at the fact that Hegellia had viewed Schmidt as a sinister person who would bully her adopted son in secret than the fact that she was his birth mother.
“Thank you for your concern. But my mother is not that kind of person, so you don’t need to worry about it anymore.”
He tried to answer as kindly as possible, but emotion unknowingly seeped into his voice. Rublion bowed, saying he had to go find his friends who were hiding.
“Young Duke, wait a moment.”
Hegellia grabbed the arm of Rublion, who was trying to pass by.
“Aren’t you curious about the mother who gave birth to you?”
From Hegellia’s perspective, it was a bold question. Rublion thought it had finally come and opened his mouth.
“I’m not curious. Because I know who she is.”
At the child’s words, Hegellia’s mouth slowly opened in surprise.
“Do you really know?”
“Yes.”
“Then I am your mo-”
“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Rublion cut off her words with a cold expression. It was an act that ignored imperial etiquette, but that wasn’t important to the two of them.
“I will say it again. I have only one mother, Schmidt Artenbach.”
Hegellia staggered at the child’s tone that drew a line, almost falling over.
There was no one around to support her as everyone had been sent away.
Tears welled up in Hegellia’s eyes. She looked straight at the child and said,
“Don’t speak so coldly… I have never forgotten you for a single moment.”
Thick tears flowed down Hegellia’s cheeks. Rublion looked at her, who deliberately didn’t wipe her tears, and thought,
‘I’ve read about this in a book… They call this crocodile tears.’
She had a handkerchief in her bosom but was deliberately letting the tears flow. Rublion also knew the method of touching people’s protective instincts and good emotions to get what they wanted.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess. I’m sorry, but I really have to go find my friends now.”
Hegellia thought the child might comfort her if she cried. She naively thought that they could gradually get closer that way.
However, contrary to expectations, Rublion was quite a cold child.
“Young Duke, no, Rublion. I’m really sorry for raising you so well… You won’t know how much I’ve missed you all this time.”
It would have been a touching situation for someone who didn’t know the relationship, but for Rublion, it was just an uncomfortable situation he wanted to avoid.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess. There is something I really want to say.”
Expectation slowly spread on Hegellia’s tear-stained face.
“It was something I wanted to say calmly when we met separately, but I’m saying it now because I hope this meeting with Your Highness will be the last, so please forgive my rudeness.”
At the child’s blunt words, Hegellia’s expression gradually hardened.
“I will say it again. I have only one mother, Schmidt Artenbach.”
“What…”
“Still, I am grateful for giving birth to me. For not giving up and letting me see the light of the world.”
Real tears fell on top of the traces of forcibly shed tears.
“Thanks to that, I met my current mother and a father who truly loves me. But that’s all.”
Rublion was not swayed by her tears.
“Please forget about me and live your life, Your Highness. Just as you have done until now.”
Hegellia slumped to the floor. Sorrow and regret rushed in like a flood, making it impossible to stand.
“Your Highness! Are you alright?”
The lady-in-waiting, who had been observing from a distance, approached in surprise and grabbed her. Rublion spoke, looking at the Crown Princess in a mess.
“Then I will go find my friends, Your Highness.”
Hegellia gritted her teeth as she watched the child turn around and walk away with a bow. The lady-in-waiting, not knowing the situation, just alternated between looking at Rublion and the Crown Princess.
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.
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