“If I block your way, will you hit me again today?”
“What……?”
Leus was tapping near his eye.
“That’s…!”
“That’s?”
“…….”
He looked down at me leisurely, as if daring me to continue speaking.
I bit my lower lip hard.
I almost blurted out that it was out of surprise, not intentional.
I wanted to hit him again as an excuse to check if I was right, but I calmed myself down.
‘First… I should deny it.’
It wasn’t a matter to be enraged about; escaping was the priority.
Instead of reacting as Leus wanted, I spoke very calmly as if I had never been flustered.
“Duke.”
“Did you finally think of something to say?”
“No. First, I’ll offer you some insincere words of comfort. I don’t know where you were attacked, but it seems you were assaulted by some ruffian. How dare someone lay a hand on the Duke. They are truly rude and brave.”
“Do you become calm when you talk about yourself as if you’re someone else?”
Still, he didn’t take my words seriously, and I nearly lost my temper again but managed to continue speaking calmly.
“No. Anyway, it seems unrelated to me.”
His one eyebrow raised slightly at my repeated denial.
“I wanted to tell you that it seems you’re misunderstanding something. I am definitely not the ruffian who attacked you. So, I’ll now return to the Earl’s residence.”
“Yes, I disagree.”
“…….”
I thought he would let me go after hearing the first part, but he refused outright, boldly and coldly.
‘What’s his reason for doing this to me!’
Leus clearly remembered that day.
But why would he deceive me and bring me to the Duke’s mansion?
If he wanted to compensate, he would have done it earlier, and if he wanted to thank me, he should have done it back at Earl Ivel’s residence.
But it was neither!
‘I don’t know what’s going on, but I must escape at all costs.’
I broke the standoff first.
“If I say I want to go back to my house….”
“Then, how about going to the Forest of Silence?”
I tried to argue, but flinched at the direct words that soon followed.
Leus murmured quietly.
“That place is also part of the Earl Ivel’s territory, isn’t it.”
“If you dislike that, you can come with me to the Duke’s mansion.”
“…What if I dislike both?”
I glared weakly at Leus, filled with resentment. However, unable to avoid his unwavering gaze, I turned my eyes away first.
‘Damn, it hurts my pride… but it’s scary…’
If I had known this would happen, I should have hit him one more time that day.
As I remained silent and unwilling to meet his eyes, Leus spoke as if he had no choice.
“It seems we have no option but to return to Earl Ivel’s residence.”
“…Really?”
I quickly turned my head, which was facing the other way, to look directly at Leus.
“Come to think of it, I received a favor but didn’t properly express my gratitude, did I? Since Miss Ivel seems utterly disinterested in my thanks, I thought of expressing my gratitude to the Countess instead.”
“…….”
“Or does the Countess also know about this story? If so, I can somewhat understand why you keep insisting on going back.”
Whether to be exposed to everything by Peria and ultimately live confined, meeting the end as in the original story, or to find a way out of this twisted development.
‘Of course… it’s the latter.’
Having quickly made my choice, I cautiously brought Leus’ hand, which he had dismissively pulled away, back in front of me.
Worried he might react sensitively to being touched, I gently held his large hand.
“Let’s go, Duke… Shanet must be waiting for you…”
Leus, slightly squeezing my hand, wore a more satisfied expression than ever before.
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.”
