“Kuhhuk…! How great! The deed I’ve done… Kuhhuk. And yet! Heeheehee…! To prove it…! To do…!”
Jerald repeated the words he had been sobbing for two hours.
Since being rejected by Kirian, he had halfheartedly practiced swordsmanship and spear fighting a few times, but eventually, he called his friends together to bemoan his fate.
Jerald pounded his chest with his fist a few times.
“I, snif, I am kuhhuk, the crown prince…! What! Leading the hunting, gasp, and doing the work of a punitive force…!”
Jerald’s friends exchanged glances and one by one, they cautiously got up.
“Even though we thought you were the real crown prince of Ksia.”
“Is the capture of Elding a lie, too?”
At the murmur of voices, Jerald slammed the table and shouted.
“Hey! When I become the crown prince, you’ll all see. Got it? You’ll see! The crown prince of Ksia.”
But no one turned around, and eventually, Jerald was left alone in the restaurant.
Jerald buried his throbbing head in his arm from crying so much. It was obvious that he would run into Duke Kirian at the academy.
Remembering the hostile eyes that glared at him, Jerald shivered at the approaching chill. It seemed better to find a hotel to stay in for the night.
As he was about to get up, sopping wet.
“Is there something wrong?”
A voice like silk reached him.
Jerald stared blankly at the woman who had appeared without a sound. Her face was hidden behind a black veil, but the eyes that faintly shined through were a deep purple.
As Jerald stood with his mouth agape, the woman let out a small, enchanting laugh.
“I think I can help you…”
(This is a time separator.)
The next day, Jerald, who appeared at the academy, looked quite neat. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, but his face was no longer stained with tear marks, and his hair was not messed up like a bird’s nest.
Rather, his eyes, which had only been busy shedding salty tears, were now filled with a determination not seen before.
With a heavy heart, Jerald walked to the training ground.
As expected, Kirian and the blackhaired girl who had been training with him recently were there.
Taking advantage of the young girl’s absence, Jerald took a deep breath and entered the training ground.
Kirian, who had felt Jerald’s presence long before, did not even look at him. He merely wiped the sword he was holding.
As Kirian showed no reaction, Jerald hesitated a little but soon straightened his back.
“Duke Kirian, let’s talk for a moment.”
Kirian continued to inspect the blade without even glancing at him.
Jerald opened his mouth, his trembling fist clenched tight.
“What if I say I’ll tell Princess Reina that I learned the Elding hunting method from you?”
As Kirian continued to gently touch the blade of the sword without a word, Jerald’s heart sank. Failure. His eyes involuntarily clenched tight.
While he considered fleeing before the sword was thrust into his belly, the sound of the sword scraping the sheath rang out, and then…
“So.”
When he opened his eyes, Kirian’s bloodred gaze was upon him. It was so creepy that he regretted speaking to draw that gaze.
“What do you want?”
(This is a time separator.)
As Jerald disappeared, Kirian snickered.
He thought he was just a timid rat, but he had forgotten that even a rat would bite when cornered.
It was his clear mistake.
“What if I say I’ll tell Princess Reina?”
If he found out that he had ruined the state council presentation he had worked on day and night because of that, what kind of face would his sister make?
He had never seen that face before, but it was vivid in his mind.
Even in his imagination, he could not face his sister and bear that gaze.
Kirian ran a hand through his hair.
Perhaps he had been hasty from the start.
He thought that his plot to prevent his sister from becoming the crown princess was just bothering His at the time, but now it was clear. He had betrayed his sister, too.
Laughter burst out again.
Even though he had realized this fact, he felt no guilt. If he had any regrets, it was that he had been caught; he would make the same choice again even if he could go back.
The innocence that was satisfied with only his sister’s happiness was gone.
Yet, he wanted to remain only kind to his sister.
This was a mind as deceitful as could be.
“After all, for a while, it would be best to pace ourselves…”
Embarrassed, Kirian swept his hair back again.
“I…”
It was Esmeralda, who had returned after Gerald had disappeared.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop…”
Kirian’s gaze sharpened momentarily.
Surely when he was conversing with Gerald, Esmeralda’s presence was on the other side of the training ground, near the restroom.
Even though Gerald’s voice had been carelessly loud, could their conversation have been heard from that distance?
Feeling Kirian’s sharpened gaze, Esmeralda hurriedly waved her hands.
“I absolutely have no intention to speak of it. I’m just… worried… Reina too…”
Esmeralda, who had trailed off, glanced at Kirian.
“Kirian, Your Highness, too.”
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.”
