The ground underfoot was thickly entangled.
On the crimson coat slung over his shoulder, the emblem symbolizing the imperial family was clear.
Without those following him, without those walking with him,
He walked alone.
A knight guarding the eternal palace suddenly lifted his head.
“Your Majesty. You have been walking since early dawn.”
“I’ll be alone, so do not follow.”
“Without an escort……. Understood.”
Dew had formed on his hair. The early dawn was unusually chilly.
As he exhaled, white breath burst out.
Benjamin stood before the eternal palace.
Having covered the imperial blood with that of a deposed crown prince and ascended to the throne, the next move was vital.
‘Has the tomb of my grandfather been moved?’
‘Yes, it has been moved.’
He stood before the tomb that had been dug up.
Now it had been restored, exactly as it had been before.
‘Grandfather, are you at peace?’
Benjamin stood in front of someone’s tombstone.
A neglected and pushed away former queen, who lost her place.
Who was not even properly collected in death, and whose honor was lost as her body was burned.
Only one tombstone was erected in an empty graveyard.
On the tombstone, the date of birth and death were written.
To console the dead, a spirit tower stood tall in the center of the eternal palace.
The last ‘favor’ he could do.
Benjamin turned and left the eternal palace.
“Your Majesty, I’ll call for an escort.”
Though two sentry knights conversed,
Benjamin chose to walk alone once more.
(This is a time divider.)
“The capital has changed a lot.”
Charlotte looked out of the carriage, and Aster answered from across.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve been in the capital.”
“It feels so unfamiliar.”
“With His Majesty’s accession, even the common people can breathe. The commoners who had to tighten their belts can finally exhale.”
The capital had a completely different atmosphere from when she left. Amidst the people’s heavy silence, there was vitality.
“Has the situation in the capital improved a lot?”
“The nobles regard the threshold of the imperial palace as the threshold to the netherworld, but as for the common people, if things are good, they’re good. If they’re bad, they’re bad.”
Five years had passed. Charlotte opened the carriage window. The scenes were familiar, but familiar yet strange.
In the midst of this, she heard a mumble, ‘His Majesty has become a bit strange,’ but Aster seemed not to have noticed.
“It must be stifling for someone who used to go out frequently.”
Aster seemed to hesitate momentarily, but said nothing more.
“Then it must be.”
It was a slightly detached tone.
“You might find the Emperor different from before.”
“It’s been so long, I don’t expect him to be the same.”
The carriage arrived at the mansion. As the door opened, a familiar hand appeared.
Though it was a wrinkled hand, that warmth was surely warm. Leandro gestured with his arm once more.
“Aren’t you taking it?”
Charlotte slowly took his hand.
“It’s been a long time.”
“You’re late.”
“We started early, but we started out…….”
Charlotte’s words trailed off, and Aster, following her out of the carriage, answered,
“Let’s feed the child first and talk. The child has come a long way by carriage, shouldn’t we feed her first?”
(This is a time divider.)
“Would you like to go out to the memorial service together?”
Aster asked Charlotte, who had just finished her meal.
“Won’t it be a bit boring with us?”
Charlotte wiped her lips with a napkin and smiled slightly. These people were as ever. If there were people who remained the same even as time passed, the Windsor family were such people.
“If you’re not busy.”
“Then let’s go out together in the evening.”
“With Grandfather?”
Leandro merely lifted his head and nodded.
There was no need for a special adjustment period in the capital.
Charlotte’s room was the same, and the servants maintained their dignity and grace.
When the door opened, the maids greeted her, having neatly tidied the room.
Charlotte stood silently at the threshold, looking into the room, and Aster followed and asked,
“I told them to move all the luggage, is there anything missing?”
“No. I was just looking because it’s been a while.”
“You silly girl. Come down later in the evening, and don’t be late.”
Charlotte rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
She had deliberately waited for her family to bring up Benjamin’s story, but there was no particular discussion about it.
From the conversation they had in the carriage, it didn’t seem like his reputation was bad.
But it wasn’t good either. Was this something she needed to see for herself?
The carriage crossed the square. Beyond the window, the sun was just setting.
The spirit honoring ceremony had begun in the evening. Twilight settled thickly in the alleys.
A sunset, both violet and red, spread over the hill.
The maternal uncle and paternal grandfather were the first to get off the carriage, and Charlotte followed.
“Why didn’t you bring a thicker shawl?”
“I rarely wear heavy clothes.”
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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