Esmeralda woke to the sound of strong winds knocking at her window in the middle of the night.
Upon opening her eyes, she saw Duchess Majine standing before her.
“Mother.”
Despite her rapid rise to her feet, Esmeralda showed no signs of surprise. It wasn’t the first time her mother had suddenly visited, so there was no reason to be startled.
Duchess Majine looked down at her daughter with emotionless eyes.
“This charity party. Why are you merely a participant rather than the organizer?”
“I apologize.”
The deep furrow in the Duchess’s brow reflected her dissatisfaction with her daughter’s compliance without any excuse.
“Do you think I came here just to hear you say sorry?”
A sensation as if the room’s temperature had dropped several degrees made Esmeralda shudder slightly.
But she only moistened her lips and did not open her mouth. As the Duchess clicked her tongue when an immediate answer did not come forth, she continued.
“It’s fine to let the princess organize the party, but to have the position of organizer stolen by the young Countess Lamira, especially at this crucial time when you should be strengthening your social standing a little more, what were you thinking?”
Esmeralda, whose gaze was fixed on the floor, finally opened her mouth.
“I thought it would be better to assist the princess.”
Duchess Majine’s eyes hardened even more.
“I told you again and again not to get too involved in your play with the princess. Even if you manage to get along now, you will have to cut ties later. Don’t give strength to that commoner unnecessarily.”
Esmeralda still did not answer, only looking down at her toes.
“You don’t understand the gravity of the situation.”
Duchess Majine looked at her with contempt.
“Did the prince ever reply to your letter?”
Following her mother’s instructions, Esmeralda had written several letters to Kirian since entering the academy, but she never received a reply.
As she didn’t know that Kirian had run away, Esmeralda became more and more anxious as the days without a response went by.
“No…….”
“You’re doing nothing right.”
Duchess Majine scolded harshly.
“The spell will take a little longer to complete, but you shouldn’t rely solely on it. I’ve told you this countless times.”
The mention of the spell darkened Esmeralda’s complexion further.
“There must be a basic liking for the spell to work properly.”
“Yes.”
At the words that had been drummed into her ears since she was a child, Esmeralda could only nod reluctantly.
“This charity party will undoubtedly involve the duke and duchess, so make sure to get a good look. Whether you’re an organizer or not, you must be the protagonist of the party. Understand?”
Faced with her mother’s strangely glittering eyes, Esmeralda could only nod slowly.
(This is a time separator.)
The last class before the charity party approached.
“Principal, please trust me and leave it to me. I’ll take responsibility for the children and look after them well.”
Repeating what I had been parroting for the past few weeks, the principal’s brow furrowed as he seemed almost ready to yield to my persistent persuasion.
“But……. commoner children participating in a party where only nobles are invited. If something were to happen[—].”
“Party! Party!”
The children were running around the principal, shouting.
“Will there be lots of tasty things?”
“Cakes! Cakes!”
“Bread!”
Unlike the principal, who was growing more troubled, the children had made up their minds to go to the party weeks ago.
“What could happen? I’ll be there as their host. If anyone tries to harm them, I’ll deal with it myself.”
Eliza, standing beside me, nodded vigorously, clenching her fist as if to lend strength to my words. The principal shuddered at her fierce determination.
“But why would children go to a party for adults…….?”
“It’s not a party for adults.”
The principal blinked at my firm words.
“If it’s not a party for adults, then……?”
“It will be an opportunity for the children to present themselves.”
I finally revealed what I had been planning all along.
“A presentation?”
“Yes. The children’s presentation skills will, of course, become an opportunity to build their confidence. Of course, it will also be a fundraiser for their school.”
“School?”
The principal’s eyes widened.
“Why not? Although we are teaching temporarily like this, wouldn’t it be good if the children could attend a proper school?”
Although I was putting it nicely, it was not without my personal desire in this matter.
Rumors had spread that the King of Kxia had been showing great interest in education these days.
Since the King of Kxia has been attending the academy’s charity parties without fail, if I can lead this charity party to success, I can surely lend strength to Hies.
The principal nodded, slightly surprised, unaware of my inner darkness.
It seemed like she was almost convinced.
I flashed a friendly smile and persuaded her one last time.
“Of course, if a child doesn’t want to present, they don’t have to. They can just enjoy the party and go home.”
“I’ll present!”
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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