Standing at the door to the Duke’s room, Lina couldn’t lift her foot, overwhelmed by an unknown sense of intimidation. It had always been a door that had been opened without any hesitation, yet now she found it difficult even to knock on it.
“Sigh.”
Had she been glaring at the poor door for a while? Lina reached out as if she had made up her mind. The door that she thought was tightly closed then weakly pushed back.
‘What’s going on?’
Feeling puzzled, she slowly stepped into the room, and what greeted her was a silence of stillness. The Duke, who she thought would be immediately visible, was merely lying back on a sofa, eyes closed, neither in bed.
‘Ah.’
And the moment she realized that Valige was asleep, the tension she had been holding ‘snap’ was released.
Though she felt ridiculous for having been so tense, she also felt relieved.
‘Should I just leave for now?’
Her body and mind had been tired after struggling unexpectedly for a few days. Since the Duke had fallen asleep after summoning her, he wouldn’t be able to say anything to her later.
So, extinguishing the candles that had been illuminating the room and intending to return to her room, she caught sight of the Duke, asleep on the sofa, having only taken off his coat.
“Sigh. Really.”
That even his sleeping appearance would be bothersome in the midst of all this.
Lina, who seemed to scorn herself, fetched a blanket and covered the man with it.
Covering him up to his chest, she looked contemplatively at the Duke’s face, peaceful in sleep.
A vivid scar across the peacefullooking face caught her eye.
The wound, looking as though it had been cut by something sharp, was still tinged red, apparently quite fresh.
‘A Duke, and you don’t even treat such a wound….’
It seemed he hadn’t even applied any ointment. Annoyed, Lina, clicking her tongue, lifted the blanket and looked at the man’s bandaged hand.
His hard hand, encrusted with calluses, seemed to have been badly hurt; there was even some blood on it.
‘What on earth happened?’
Lina took out some ointment from her pocket.
Just before entering the bedroom, Cullen had given it to her. She thought he had handed it over because he had noticed her injury, but it turned out it was for her to treat the Duke.
‘What to do?’
She stood blankly, looking back and forth between the ointment and Valige.
Wondering whether to leave the ointment or apply it while he was asleep, Lina concluded that the Duke would not apply it himself.
‘He seems to be in a deep sleep, so it should be fine.’
Quietly opening the ointment cap, she dabbed it on her finger, and, fearing the Duke might wake up, carefully spread it thinly over the wound.
However, it seemed the Duke was not as deeply asleep as she thought. As soon as her hand touched his cheek, his eyes opened.
Valige and Lina’s eyes collided in midair.
In the silent room, only the sound of someone swallowing could be heard.
Startled by their sudden eye contact, Lina jerked back, but the man was quicker.
Thumpthump.
He grabbed her wrist, and the ointment slipped from her hand. How long had she been like that?
Only the sound of the ointment rolling on the floor filled the awkward silence.
“…I was afraid the scar would remain,” Lina managed to stammer out an excuse.
The man gently pulled her wrist towards his face. Soon, her knuckles touched an unfamiliar skin.
From the man’s cheek to his lips. The shallow breath he exhaled with each breath tickled her.
Lina, forgetting even to breathe, simply entrusted her hand to the man.
Until the clammy flesh touched the back of her hand.
“Du, Duke?”
Her shoulders trembled at the unexpected sensation, but Valige just kept caressing her hand, sweetly as if tasting something sweet, his eyes out of focus.
Unable to watch any longer, Lina stood up and pulled her wrist away strongly. However.
Thump.
As if she had never been gripping it tightly, Duke Valige’s hand that was holding her so effortlessly was released.
“What, what is it…?”
Looking down at the Duke in bewilderment, he was sleeping with his eyes closed as if he had never awakened.
‘Could it be… was that sleep talking earlier?’
Ha. An involuntary sigh of disbelief escaped her lips.
Then, relieved, she slumped to the floor. Perhaps it was because she had bathed in hot water for a long time. Lina’s face was burning as if scorched by fire.
[This is the time separator]On a sunny afternoon, with a garden full of beautiful flower fragrances, elegantly dressed women were having a leisurely tea time.
“Indeed, the hydrangea garden of the Count of Lintz’s family is beautiful.”
The greenhouse garden surrounded by various hydrangeas was the great pride of the Lintz Count’s family.
“That’s right. It’s almost the end of summer, yet these hydrangeas have bloomed so beautifully.”
Inside the magicinfused greenhouse, the hydrangeas never withered, always blooming throughout the four seasons.
“Thank you. It’s the greenhouse my dear grandmother, the former Countess, personally cultivated.”
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.”
