“Yes! It’s precious to me! So when can I get the ring? Can’t you return it now if the investigation is over?”
Duke Valige spoke sullenly as he saw Lina’s noticeably bright expression.
“I don’t want to.”
“……Excuse me?”
Lina was taken aback. She had asked cautiously but expected him to say he would return it.
“I have no intention of returning it.”
“Why, why?”
“I lost a precious brooch because of you, and you get back your ring. It’s unfair, isn’t it?”
‘A precious brooch?’
What was he talking about? The brooch that disappeared from the mansion couldn’t have been a precious item to the Duke.
If it had been that valuable, it wouldn’t have been stolen easily, nor would they have hurriedly closed the case like this.
“Bring the brooch, then I’ll give you the ring.”
‘How can I bring a brooch I don’t even know the appearance of?!’
The Duke was spouting nonsense to keep the ring from her.
At the Duke’s absurd demand, just as Lina was about to object, Valige spoke first.
“I’m going to inspect Harlen territory early tomorrow morning.”
Lina’s eyebrows twitched at the sudden change of subject.
“You’re coming with me.”
‘What?’
And at the man’s subsequent words, she stared at Valige in astonishment.
‘Go with him? Why should I go there…?’
Lina wondered if the Duke was in his right mind. Rumors about her and the Duke had spread beyond the territory to the capital.
And now, the two protagonists of the rumor were going on a territory inspection together. It was like adding fuel to the already blazing gossip.
“Duke, wouldn’t it be better for me to stay in the mansion? The rumors are not good now, and I feel like I’ll only cause trouble…”
Lina began to persuade him, forgetting to refute his words about the brooch.
“Why? Planning to run away again while I’m away from the mansion?”
She felt a sting at the Duke’s pointed words but quickly composed her face, pretending not to know anything.
“You never know, I might change my mind and give the ring back to you.”
‘Does that mean if I go with him, he’ll return the ring?’
Lina pondered the Duke’s words for a moment. Leaving the mansion would be much easier if the Duke was away, but she couldn’t leave without the ring either.
And she didn’t think she had a choice in the first place.
Certainly, here is the translation:
“It might raise some suspicions, but since we’re leaving as soon as we find the ring, there’s no need to worry, right?”
Lina calmly composed herself, beginning to sort out her thoughts. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.
The Duke’s attitude, brushing off the controversy by saying he had given me the brooch. And then,
“It seems like he’s keeping me by his side using the ring as an excuse……”
After staring intently at the man’s figure for a long time, Lina could no longer hold back and voiced the questions that had risen within her several times.
“Duke.”
Lina’s footsteps stopped as she moved forward. As soon as she stopped, Valige also halted and looked back at her.
“Why do you keep me by your side?”
It was an impulsive question. She had deceived her identity, felt a bit wronged, and even stole an object and fled the mansion.
‘Even suspecting me of being a spy.’
Why then did that man not hold her responsible at all? Like tangled threads, Valige’s and Lina’s gazes mixed in midair.
“If I really am a spy, as you say, what will you do?”
Valige seemed about to say something but ultimately said nothing. Something in his attitude became clear.
Lina looked at the Duke with a different gaze from before. This time, there was a hint of shrewdness in her eyes.
“Is the reason you’re doing this to me because of your curse, Duke?”
At her question, asked once again, Valige hesitated a little. Then after a moment of thought, he opened his mouth.
But the man’s answer only bewildered her more.
“What if it is?”
‘…What?’
She had just thrown out the question. She had not expected the man to accept it so easily. Lina’s eyes widened.
‘Does he really think I have something to do with the Duke’s curse?’
Shocked, Lina was frozen in place as Valige took a step closer. His words left her immobile.
“If you’re right, will you not leave?”
“……Yes?”
At the Duke’s behavior, she became sure.
‘It really was because of the curse.’
Lina recalled the thoughts she had had.
[It’s strange. The Duke used to hate being touched by others.]She had heard that the Duke, having spent a long time on the battlefield, did not like being waited on.
‘But he had many requests for me.’
And at the end of those requests, there was always physical contact.
‘But how?’
How she was related to the Duke’s curse, she was confused. The man, who had been looking at her, continued speaking.
“You’re right.”
The words he spat out were hard for her to bear.
“When you’re by my side, the heavy air becomes lighter.”
It was like a confession.
“When I hold your hand, my dizzy head clears.”
As if revealing a secret to a beloved lover.
“And I no longer have the hellish nightmares that tortured me every night.”
In a very romantic voice.
“So, stay by my side.”
It was as if he was shackling her ankle.
“Keep on.”
Only then did all her questions unravel one by one. The reason he wanted to keep her by his side, even risking rumors of falling in love with a maid.
That man seemed to need her. Very desperately.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
