Clatter.
Lina looked at the Duke as she closed the lid of the teapot, steam rising from its hot surface. He was tirelessly flipping through papers, playing with his pen.
‘I told him he could take a break today, and suddenly he asks for tea.’
She thought it was a serious matter by the serious look in the Duke’s dark face. But all he asked for was a cup of tea.
She had even stupidly asked him why.
‘He could have just ordered one of the other maids.’
The Duke’s changed attitude in the morning must have been a misunderstanding.
‘Haah.’
Lina sighed without anyone noticing and poured the tea into an empty cup.
“Duke.”
Lina approached Valige, holding the tray, and carefully set the teacup down.
“It’s hot, please be careful.”
The Duke, who had briefly glanced at her, elegantly sipped the tea. But then his brow twitched as he took a sip.
“Why does it taste like this?”
“What seems to be the problem……?”
“It tastes too bitter.”
It seemed she had steeped the tea leaves too long. Lina picked up the Duke’s teacup with a regretful expression.
“I apologize. I will brew it again.”
Lina emptied the teapot filled with hot tea and started to correct the tea leaves.
‘This time it should be okay?’
The perfect temperature for steeping tea leaves. A wellbrewed black tea, everything was perfect.
“Here you are, Duke.”
But he rejected it without even trying properly this time.
“Why does it smell like this? Is there something wrong with the tea leaves?”
“What? That can’t be.”
The black tea served to the Duke was made using the finest tea leaves, which commoners couldn’t even afford to look at.
She carefully brought her face close to the teacup. The aromatic tea fragrance was unmistakable; it had brewed well.
“Brew it again.”
“……Yes. I understand.”
But what could she do if the Duke said to brew it again? She had to brew it again and again until he was satisfied.
‘Is he in a bad mood?’
Lina picked up the teacup that was on the desk, looking at his complexion. His mood seemed very uneasy. Did something unpleasant happen in between? He seemed fine in the morning.
‘Is it something I did wrong?’
She was about to pour the tea into an empty bowl, reflecting on her behavior throughout the day when she accidentally spilled hot tea on her hand, lost in thought.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden burning sensation, she dropped the teapot.
Crash!
The porcelain broke, and the fragments of the teapot, still containing hot tea, scattered everywhere.
The luxurious carpet was a mess, with tea and broken porcelain.
“Eek.”
Lina looked around, holding her swollen, red hand.
‘I’m doomed.’
The floor that had become a mess in an instant was dizzying, but there was an even bigger problem.
‘That teapot was treasured by the former Duke!’
The teapot she broke was a set used by generations of the Permanence family Dukes.
That’s why she had been warned to handle them with care every time she used them. Cullen’s warning voice still echoed in her ears.
‘Of all the times to make a mistake!’
She had committed an uncommon mistake when the Duke was already in a bad mood. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Worried about the future and forgetting about the burn on her hand, Lina stood there biting her lip.
Sure enough, the surprised Duke was approaching her in anger.
“What on earth is this!”
At the Duke’s angered voice, Lina squeezed her eyes shut.
“I apologize, Duke. I accidentally……”
She knelt and begged, and the wrinkle on the duke’s forehead deepened. Seeing the face of such a man, Lina let out a silent scream.
‘I think he’s very angry… Let’s clean up the broken pieces for now.’
She feared that the broken fragments might cause injury to the duke’s body, making things worse. Lina was reaching for the broken pieces when
Thump.
Without a word, Duke Valige grabbed Lina’s wrist.
“Ugh.”
“What are you doing?”
Duke Valige, who had suddenly approached, mumbled.
“I have to clean this up quickly…”
Looking down at Lina with a displeased face, the duke brushed her flushed hand.
“With this appearance?”
A breath that tickled her cheeks. Lina inhaled sharply at Valige, who suddenly caught her hand.
‘He’s too close.’
The presence of the man who had come close to her back made her whole body tense. Lina turned her head cautiously and smirked at the duke.
Looking at the wound on his hand, the duke seemed angry and also seemed worried.
‘Why?’
He should have scolded and scolded her. But that expression, as if mistaking her for a child who had fallen by the roadside.
“It doesn’t seem to be a bad wound…”
Valige seemed to say something, but the words did not enter her head.
‘Is he really worried about me…?’
Lina looked blankly at the duke.
“Lina.”
Her eyes and Valige’s eyes collided as she stared at the duke.
Thump!
Surprised by the sudden eye contact, Lina shook off his hand.
“I’m, I’m sorry. Th, that.”
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.”
