He looked at me with a gentle smile, but his eyes wavered for a moment. He had clearly recognized me.
My voice, which I had somehow managed to squeeze out, suddenly retreated.
As soon as I began to stammer, the Count spoke for me.
“This is my daughter, Lorisha.”
“I am Duke Rocard Caidel. It is an honor to meet you, Lady Roar.”
His voice, smoothly answering with a smile, sounded like this to me.
‘You’ve been caught.’
“Duke Caidel.”
I barely said so and bowed my head, holding my breath as the Duke spoke of the Count’s pride and such, while the Countess was still in bed.
Now I see that the dark hair I saw on the beach was this person. His neatly arranged hair color seemed like an omen for the rest of my life.
Pure darkness.
Duke Rocard Caidel asked, showing familiarity. It sounded like a suitable social question for someone at a beach hotel.
“Do you like to walk, Lady Roar?”
“No, I’m afraid to go outside.”
The Duke smiled as if I had said something cute. The Count knew that I occasionally wandered around the city, but he smiled in the atmosphere.
But I was serious. Now I was too scared to wander outside.
I knew along with the news of Amata’s victory and the army’s return, the story of the second Prince and the first lion’s son, the heroic deeds. People hailed Duke Caidel as Tagar’s cub lion.
If my luck was so miserable that I was born as a bastard and disgraced to the extent of a young hero Duke Caidel, it was better for me to grow old and die in the room.
But Duke Caidel, having heard my answer, smirked slightly at the corner of his mouth.
I understood his expression perfectly.
‘Why, you wander the bustling streets at night.’
My breath was choked, and I drank water and put down the glass, but it hit the edge of the service plate with a clank!
The two noble lions pretended not to see such a trivial matter, but Duke Caidel’s mouth twitched again.
How deliciously he seemed to enjoy my mistake. It was more galling that he did not openly laugh at me.
But I was already unable to move until the long, long feast ended. Hell was somewhere else.
Then a servant came in and whispered in Duke Caidel’s ear, and he rose from his seat.
“I apologize. Father, Count Roar. It seems I must leave.”
Then the Duke asked softly.
“Are you being called?”
“Yes. I ask for your understanding, Count.”
“Of course. You must go.”
I watched Duke Rocard Caidel rise from his seat, bow in apology to the guests, and leave.
The experience of leading an army and fighting in the war at such a young age had filled his body with a dignity and strength I had never seen before.
It was the aristocratic culture and at the same time a grace granted to one who had earned his natural duty through adversity.
I then felt a vastness, like when looking at the walls of the Academy’s annex.
The Countess’s misuse of the term ‘refinement for the chosen ones’ might be such a thing.
Of course, his amazingly wellgroomed face, his body that felt strong even when motionless, and his maturity added to that atmosphere.
At the same time, the fact that he was an unfortunate human being had not changed, so Duke Caidel left me with a strange and dual emotion.
I thanked the person who called him, whoever it was, with folded hands in my heart.
Then the Duke said to the Count.
“Oh, her Grace looks unwell.”
The Count replied.
“It seems the fatigue of the long journey has built up. Lorisha, would you like to go rest?”
I was tearfully grateful for the two lions’ act.
The Duke, who had no one my age, obviously brought up the subject to prevent me from making a bigger mistake. Witnessing the embarrassment of a respected opponent is uncomfortable for both parties.
I gently placed the napkin down and bowed my head.
“Thank you both for your consideration. Then, I must regretfully rise. Duke Kaidel, Count.”
The Duke gave me a slight nod, and I was able to exit with the bare minimum of human dignity.
‘I feel like I’ve aged ten years!’
I nearly screamed when I closed the restaurant door, thinking so.
Duke Kaidel was leaning awkwardly at the entrance to the hall, grinning maliciously at me.
‘That’s a demon.’
He turned, leading the way as if saying, ‘Follow me.’
I understood the threat that his laughter threw at me and followed him, trembling.
He opened the door at the end of the corridor, but I didn’t want to be alone with him in a room.
So, I spoke with the door open.
“Um, if you have something to say, outside….”
But the voice that answered from inside was different.
“It’s okay, come in.”
My mouth was frozen, but my body was going in and closing the door as if bewitched.
Inside was the knight I had met on the rock hill earlier. The problem was the lion’s emblem in the shield on his chest. It’s the mark of the royal family.
Looking at him in his uniform, I recalled that silver hair is a characteristic of the Tagar royal family. You have to see a royal to recognize them; just hearing about them won’t do!
The cold smile aimed at me had no trace of goodwill.
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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