Upon being questioned about his identity, the face of the previously flushed Porto merchant turned pale. Unstable, his eyes rolled to the sides before he hurled himself towards the closest exit of the hall without a word.
“Catch him!”
“We cannot let him escape!”
A group of people threw themselves at the fleeing Porto merchant, but it wasn’t easy to catch the desperately running merchant.
Thud!
The one who actually caught the Porto merchant was Prince Alfonso. Among his peers, he was tall and wellbuilt, with athletic prowess that was second to none.
When was about to collapse, he was sitting in the center of the grand guest seat, escorting the ladies to the right to avoid danger. He didn’t miss the Porto merchant running towards the right door, and with a swift body blow with his shoulder, he swept him off his feet and onto the ground.
With the Porto merchant pinned to the floor and his hands bound behind his back, Prince Alfonso called his subordinates.
“Imprison this man in the royal prison!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Also, authenticate the remaining artworks, if they are fake, invalidate the transaction, if they are genuine, reconcile the sale proceeds not with this merchant but with the original owner!”
“We will comply!”
[This is the time separator]The Marquis of Chibo had turned into a battleground.
The middle of the party hall on the first floor was punctured and filled with a fake marble art piece, and the castle was noisy with the palace security personnel running around interrogating the merchant from Porto, Marquis Chibo and his wife, and the chattering of the retainers from San Carlo.
“The second daughter of the de Mare family has been active since the Apostle incident in Asereto, and she’s amazing today as well!”
“Is this level of scholarship possible for a 15yearold girl?”
“Theology, art, history… She has knowledge in various fields, at this point it’s not about studying, she might have the eyes that see through the truth.”
Ariadne ended up getting the nickname ‘Eyes that See the Truth’.
The actual ‘Eyes that See the Truth’, on the other hand, was in the backyard of the Marquis of Chibo’s mansion, arguing with a man who she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, even after thinking about his past and current life.
“Count de Como, what are you thinking?!”
The title was not ‘Count Cesare’ but ‘Count de Como’.
Normally, the title followed by the name should be based on the surname, not the name. But nobody in San Carlo applied this principle to Cesare and his mother, Countess Rubina.
Calling the title following the surname is a sign of respect for the family, but everyone in San Carlo’s upper class had a hunch that Cesare’s father, the previous ‘Count de Como’, existed only on paper.
Persisting with the title ‘Count de Como’ seemed like a jab at his weak bloodline.
But the angry Ariadne didn’t see anything.
“What kind of act is it to impulsively push a lie on others without thinking of the aftermath?”
All Cesare did was shrug his shoulders.
“Look here, little lady. Everything ended up well in the end.”
“Show some respect! Are you close with me? I’m the second daughter of this diocese’s Archbishop!”
“Wow, look at this.”
Cesare pressed down on Ariadne’s forehead with one finger.
“You haven’t even had your debutante ball yet. Then you’re still a child. Why should a child tell an adult to use respectful language?”
Cesare glanced Ariadne up and down and added.
“Look at this. Even dressed up like a little yellow chick.”
Unable to control her anger, Ariadne shivered. Cesare added in a teasing manner.
“When you become a lady, I will respect you as much as you like.”
“I won’t have anything to do with someone irresponsible like you ever again!”
Finally, Cesare started to defend himself.
“I’m not as irresponsible as you think, little lady. It’s not like I did it without any evidence. I knew that the real ‘Vincenzo del Gato’ was found floating in the Tiber River three months ago.”
His investigation had been more extensive, but he chose not to reveal all to Ariadne.
“Why don’t you handle it yourself? Why push it onto me?”
“You know my situation, don’t you?”
Cesare wore a pitiful look. His sculptured features carried an air of melancholy, making him a strikingly handsome man who was difficult to ignore.
“The prince of the kingdom, a discarded son; if someone like me seems powerhungry, I’ll be done for immediately.”
He drew a finger across his throat.
“How am I, in my position, supposed to say ‘This merchant seems suspicious, let’s utilize administrative and military power to investigate him’?”
“Why not just stay quiet then?”
“Things worked out in the end, didn’t they? It seems like little lady and I mesh well. Aren’t we a good combo? The noble count who conducts investigations and lays the groundwork, and the clergyman’s daughter who solves mysteries in the front!”
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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