Caliph instinctively tightened the tension in the air and swallowed dryly.
“To cut to the chase, I am willing to accept Your Highness’s proposal. I, of course, and Jade, too, will serve Your Highness.”
“…….”
“So, please tell me what I need to do for Your Highness from now on.”
Edwick’s voice, promising loyalty to Caliph, was firmer than ever. Caliph’s heart kept wavering, thinking about Gadrrow, but every time, he remembered Ivelia’s face he had seen before finding the Crown Prince.
He couldn’t erase the concerns directed at him, but the fact remained that his daughter, who showed tears, had a much brighter complexion than before, despite everything.
Although she hadn’t shown her true feelings, Edwick’s decision to help the Crown Prince became even more firm.
The brightened complexion of his daughter, who had always pretended to be cheerful in front of him, was something Caliph hadn’t seen since her entry into the palace. Ivelia had always pretended to be cheerful, but as a father, he could see that it was a forced expression.
Unlike pretending to be happy, as the days passed, her complexion darkened and became sullen. If she thought that pretending to be bright was real, it was a task that even a parent had no right to do.
Since Ivelia was seated in the position of the Crown Princess, Edwick hadn’t felt at ease for a single day. Even if Ivelia chose to be the Crown Princess, he felt responsible for making his daughter unhappy.
However, Ivelia, who had always been like that, showed a changed complexion for the first time after entering the palace. Although her expression was dark due to her worries, her complexion had brightened, and she seemed to have gained vitality.
Even though this meeting was supposed to ask about Ivelia’s intentions related to the recent events, he felt like he had heard all the answers just by looking at her changed complexion.
If Caliph was the one who brought vitality back to Ivelia, it was reason enough to support him.
Edwick pondered over these feelings once again, then looked straight at the Crown Prince.
“I will do anything Your Highness commands. Can you promise me just one thing?”
“What would you like me to promise?”
In response to Edwick’s words, Caliph, as if waiting, inquired. Caliph could fulfill any request Edwick had. Filled with that sentiment, he met Edwick’s gaze.
“The day you first visited me as a viscount. I hope you won’t forget the reason and the emotions you had when you decided to meet me that day.”
His subsequent words were filled with a tender denial. Caliph, without an immediate response, earnestly observed Edwick’s expression.
It wasn’t that he found it difficult to answer. Rather, it choked him in the depths of Edwick’s emotions, which delved into his heart regardless of his own will.
On the other hand, there was a sense of relief. The thought that Ivelia had a warm father like Edwick was a fortunate fact.
Caliph, trying to erase the heavy-hearted feeling with warm thoughts, nodded readily.
“Of course. That sentiment has not changed even once since that day until now. And it will remain the same in the future.”
“…….”
“I will protect Ivelia. I will do everything I can until the day she is perfectly safe, even if it means doing nothing.”
Caliph’s subsequent response, a firm commitment, was his true and unadulterated sincerity. It permeated not only his voice but also his gaze and expression.
Only then could Edwick smile comfortably. With such a reliable commitment, he felt that he could walk alongside the Crown Prince without regret, no matter what lay at the end of the road.
“Thank you for saying that. Your Highness, your words have lightened this old man’s heart. I sincerely appreciate it.”
“Gratitude is something I should express to Viscountess. Coming to me must have been a difficult decision, and I am sincerely thankful for that.”
For the first time since entering the palace, Caliph showed a warm smile. Such a feeling was usually felt when he was with Ivelia, but the sentiment towards Edwick was slightly different.
Even when he was with Ivelia, he felt comfortable, but at the same time, he couldn’t completely let go of tension due to his worries about her.
However, looking at Edwick now, he could momentarily let go of that tension. Along with that feeling, he entertained a naive thought of whether having a father with whom he could be at ease was such a feeling.
With that thought, the face of Gadrrow briefly came to mind, but it was quickly erased.
Now, it was unreasonable to expect such a thing from Gadrrow. Although he was undoubtedly his father, the beginning had become firmly twisted. It was better not to unnecessarily anticipate disappointment.
Caliph took a deep breath. Then, he organized the stories he needed to convey to Edwick in his mind.
It was going to be a long story. Edwick, too, seemed to expect that fact just by looking at his expression, which had somehow become firm. However, there was no trace of any displeasure in Edwick.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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