Charlotte wet her throat with whiskey.
The whiskey stung her throat sharply. The lukewarm liquor cleaned her esophagus, and her head became hazy.
Charlotte had gone outside to get some fresh air.
As she walked along the trail, the cold wind struck her skin.
She put the whiskey in her mouth and set down the empty glass.
As she leaned back and shook the empty glass upside down, it seemed as if the air striking the glass cup made a small ringing sound.
‘You don’t know how precious your body is. Charl, Charl, my baby.’
It was a story her biological mother had nagged at her from time to time.
“Save the nagging.”
Charlotte looked up at the sky, standing at a distance.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had this kind of solace.”
I learned to drink as late as possible, too.
Please understand my situation, where I died and woke up to find myself back in the past.
Charlotte casually shrugged off her mother’s nagging.
“Eating makes my head hazy, so at least this moment becomes comfortable.”
That meant, right now, my life was not comfortable at all.
Charlotte resumed walking only after a long pause.
Even if her gait was wobbly, her posture was upright.
“Charl?”
A leisurely voice called Charlotte.
It was enchanting yet sticky.
Walking along the outdoor trail, Charlotte stopped.
Lights were laid out underfoot to illuminate the night path.
Under the bright moonlight, a familiar silhouette approached.
Charlotte tilted her head slightly.
“Why are you out here, Charl?”
Benjamin was standing, leaning back, on one side of the trail.
His voice was gentle and soothing.
“I came out to get some fresh air.”
“I told you to drink moderately. The smell of liquor is…….”
Benjamin walked over and stood in front of Charlotte.
“Why are you here alone?”
“In the hope that your day was quiet?”
It was an all too quiet day.
The banquet hall’s air was ripe, and Charlotte was soaked in the influence of alcohol.
“Did you have fun?”
“I did, in my own way.”
“That’s good.”
Her body felt sluggish. Charlotte breathed a blocked breath, and Benjamin asked with a soft smile.
“Are you like this because you were left alone?”
“Why?”
“Why are you so ragged?”
With his right arm leaning back, Benjamin tidied Charlotte’s tousled hair with his left.
When Charlotte looked up, Benjamin lowered his gaze to meet her eyes.
“Why?”
Benjamin asked in a gentle voice.
“I’m curious what Benjamin is doing outside alone.”
Benjamin was a man of all black. He recited quietly.
“Just a moment.”
A pitchblack darkness draped behind him, and then, it covered him completely.
Benjamin turned around and thrust in a sword.
“Cough, cough!” The death scream rang, something was severed, writhing and squirming.
Darkness? Shadow? Something was underfoot….
“It’s wriggling like a worm.”
Benjamin muttered in a flat tone, a monotonous attitude without a hint of regret.
A raw energy radiated from Benjamin.
Venomous,
Benjamin was like a venomous snake.
With venomous fangs, he chewed and swallowed prey as it came.
Benjamin spoke as he sheathed his sword.
“Her Majesty sent an assassin, but if I sent him to the banquet hall, it would have caused a commotion.”
The assassin died with his eyes open.
Charlotte blinked in confusion and rubbed her eyeballs with the back of her hand.
“You’re quite drunk, Charl?”
“No.”
“Your expression is too calm right now.”
Benjamin sheathed his sword and straightened his clothes.
“Was it noisy to tidy up outside? I tried to handle it quietly.”
Benjamin wiped his hands clean and threw the handkerchief on the ground.
“The banquet is almost over?”
“Yes. It’s ending.”
“I’m finished too, so shall we talk to Windsor and head to the mansion?”
Benjamin tapped Charlotte’s cheek.
“Your cheeks are hot. Look. You’re getting drunk.”
“Stop teasing.”
“No, look at this. Your cheeks are red.”
It was time to go home.
Benjamin soothed Charlotte’s head and whispered.
Was it because her head was hazy?
All senses were blurred.
I’m fine now. Really, I’m fine. I’ll be fine too.
“Tomorrow. Would you like to go somewhere with me?”
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s a place where I can’t possibly go alone.”
Charlotte slowly moved her feet.
The ground seemed to sink.
And at some moment, consciousness was lost.
Benjamin picked up the sleeping Charlotte.
The footsteps slowed, and the rustling sound of the grass became quiet.
Upon arriving in front of Windsor’s carriage, Windsor’s escorts were waiting.
“Were the two of you together?”
“Yes, somehow.”
“Please hand the child over here.”
Leandro reached out to Charlotte.
Benjamin looked down at the sleeping Charlotte from afar.
It’s quiet.
But it’s gloomy.
This expression strangely captures one’s gaze.
It seemed as if Charlotte was whispering to wrap herself in thistles and go down together.
Leandro held his breath as he looked at Benjamin from a distance.
Benjamin brought his finger to his lips and gestured ‘quietly.’
Rest quietly. It’s alright for today.
Benjamin carefully handed Charlotte over to Leandro.
“I’ll take the child.”
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.”
