Surviving as the Adopted Daughter of the Genius Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
First, Hith agreed to visit the duke’s residence once.
There was no point in me—only seven years old—suddenly declaring, “I want to get engaged!” So I introduced him to my family as a close friend, and we agreed that Hith’s side would gradually move forward with the engagement.
When I asked if Hith’s parents might object because I was of commoner birth, Hith confidently replied, “My father is trying his best to maintain a friendly relationship with House Istira anyway, so this matter should be settled easily.”
True to his word, a few days later, Hith visited. As soon as the bell announcing a visitor rang, I immediately dashed out of my room and ran down the stairs.
“Yes! I’m coming right now!”
But when I reached the front gate, Kirian was already standing there. Hith, who had come with his father, stood outside. The servant accompanying him, holding a gift box, began loudly announcing their arrival.
“His Majesty, King of Kshia, and First Prince—”
“Please relay this: our Nuna is sick and can’t play. Don’t come again next time.”
Before the servant could even finish, Kirian slammed the door shut. Turning around with a proud look and brushing off his hands, Kirian immediately bumped into me.
“Huh!”
“Kirian?”
“Nuna…!”
“I’m not sick.”
Kirian shook his head vigorously.
“Nuna is sick! She sleeps for ages and can’t even eat much!”
Kirian considered anyone who didn’t stay wide awake after just four hours of sleep and devour an entire turkey like it was a single serving to be a patient.
I shook my head with a reluctant expression.
“I’m not sick, so it’s fine.”
As I tried to walk past Kirian to open the door, he suddenly grabbed my arm.
“N-Nuna! I’ll play with you! Play with me!”
“I have a prior engagement today.”
My firm refusal made Kirian’s face fall into a pout.
“Th-then… can I… can I play with you too?”
“You shouldn’t interrupt your sister’s date.”
Just then, the duchess arrived and lifted the squirming Kirian up.
“Mother!”
“A boyfriend has come to visit after so long.”
The duchess was clearly under a serious misunderstanding. With a beaming smile, she swung the door wide open.
“Welcome! My son was terribly rude. Please, come right in.”
It seemed I wouldn’t need to worry about the duchess when bringing up the engagement.
The duchess led us to a tea table set up in the garden.
“Have fun together, now. Ho ho ho. Let me know anytime if you need anything.”
Curious about what we’d do, the duchess kept hovering nearby. But since our conversation topic couldn’t be carelessly revealed to others, I quietly kept my mouth shut and waited for her to leave.
“If you need anything, just say so.”
Eventually, the duchess left us behind with a deeply reluctant expression. Only then did I greet him comfortably.
“Have you been well?”
Hith smiled at my cheerful greeting.
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Impatient, I got straight to the point.
“Once you return to Kshia, it’ll be hard to stay in contact, so let’s make a solid engagement plan before you go.”
I snapped my fingers a few times and opened my notebook. First, I wrote down our priority list.
“Since the duchess seems already on our side, I’ll explain briefly.”
I scribbled, ‘1. Duchess: Just be perfect.’
“The duchess’s only condition is a perfect man from a good family. Since you’re a prince, Hith, the ‘good family’ part is already satisfied—you just need to fulfill ‘perfect.’”
Hith ran a hand through his hair and gave an awkward smile.
“‘Perfect’… That’s tough.”
“It’s fine. It’s just a word. Showing good manners and thoughtfulness will be enough. Of course, when we’re alone, you can relax. You only need to put on a bit of a show in front of the duchess.”
I kindly took notes, writing down our conversation point by point for Hith.
When silence followed my explanation, I looked up. Surely he wasn’t finding even this much difficult?
Hith was still looking at me with a puzzled expression.
“I think you might be misunderstanding something about me.”
I blinked, bewildered. Had I over-explained and treated him like a fool?
“I can absolutely manage that much even when we’re alone. No—please let me.”
Hith smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling gently at the corners—a smile so bright that even I, hardened by Kirian’s beauty, momentarily lost myself staring at him.
“Hm hm.”
To snap myself out of it, I subtly poked my thigh with the pencil tip.
“Well, do as you please.”
Despite my gruff reply, Hith just kept smiling.
“Alright, next is the duke.”
Quickly changing the subject, I scribbled in my notebook: ‘2. Duke: An excellent leader.’
“You just need to express, reasonably, in front of the duke, that you wish to become a wise ruler who enriches the lives of Kshia’s citizens.”
Thinking ‘citizens’ and ‘wise ruler’ might be too heavy a burden for a child, I slightly corrected myself.
“Of course, you can also tell me you’d rather be a king who delegates tasks to ministers and does just an average amount of work.”
Surely even a king deserves a little slacking off. While I was silently nodding to myself, Hith burst into laughter.
“Just how do you see me, Lady Reina?”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Hith chuckled again.
“I will become a wise ruler—one who protects and brings happiness not only to my people but also to those dear to me.”
For a child, his words flowed like a river. But seeing Hith’s earnest expression, I couldn’t bring myself to mock him.
At his age, my biggest worry had been my desk partner constantly crossing the line I’d drawn on our shared desk. I suddenly felt anew just how different this world was from my past life in Korea.
“Hmm, then you’ll surely get along splendidly with the duke.”
I slowly wrote the final point: ‘3. Kirian: No solution.’
Before Hith could point it out, I quickly continued.
“‘No solution’ doesn’t mean truly hopeless—just that the timing isn’t right yet. Anyway, it’ll sort itself out with a little time.”
Hith raised an eyebrow.
“A problem?”
I finally let out a deep sigh.
“Kirian has no friends. Since I’m his only friend, he’s become a bit… obsessive.”
I stabbed my cake repeatedly with my fork.
“He’s still such a sweet and kind child. It’s really puzzling why he has no friends—maybe everyone finds him too intimidating as a young lord and keeps their distance.”
“You care about Lord Kirian a great deal.”
At Hith’s words, I stopped my fork mid-stab.
“Does it come across that way?”
“Yes. You worry about him so much—it wouldn’t be possible unless you liked him, would it?”
Hith’s clear answer made me ponder even more deeply.
“Well… my cat is top of the pecking order, but since she keeps throwing ‘meow-meow punches’ at other cats, everyone avoids her, you know?”
“But she plays well with her owner, it seems.”
I sighed again.
“She sometimes hisses at her owner too.”
Thinking back to my first day at the duke’s residence, I’d gotten quite a rough welcome myself. Thankfully, my mind was that of an adult—if I’d truly been a child, I’d have burst into tears right then and there.
I shook my head vigorously to clear my thoughts.
“Anyway, don’t worry. Cats—or rather, lords—naturally resolve their issues once they meet their destined person.”
Since Esmeralda would naturally solve this, I wasn’t overly concerned. I snapped my notebook shut and handed it to Hith.
“There. That should be enough, right?”
Hith shook his head.
“No.”
Taking even my pencil, Hith reopened the notebook and added a new entry beneath Kirian.
‘4. Reina: .’
“I need you to tell me about yourself, my lady.”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Hith. He was clearly destined to become a playboy when he grew up.
Despite my sharp gaze, Hith just kept smiling.
“Well, I only need you to do the basics.”
I searched my past-life memories, wondering what “basics” meant for a ten-year-old boy. Vaguely, a few painful elementary school experiences came to mind.
“Don’t pull my hair, don’t steal my snacks—that’d be more than enough.”
Worried Hith might mistakenly think he needed to entertain me just because I was a few years younger, I added,
“I don’t expect you to play with me or anything—just treat me decently and don’t bully me.”
Hith pushed his untouched slice of cake toward me.
“Like this?”
I absentmindedly took the plate he offered. Conveniently, I’d just finished my own cake.
“Oh, um… yes.”
Just then, a gust of wind blew, and petals rained down from a nearby tree.
“A petal’s stuck in your hair.”
Hith naturally reached toward my hair.
Thud.
His hand was blocked, and with a rustle, someone gently swept my hair back.
Startled, I turned around—and there stood Kirian. He smiled brightly and held out his hand. When he opened it, the petal fluttered away.
“Good thing, Nuna. Even stuck like that, it’s pretty.”
Kirian spoke calmly, as if it were only natural.
“Oh… uh…”
I awkwardly smoothed my hair, but it only felt stiff under my touch.
I glanced at the dirt on Kirian’s knees.
“How did you get here?”
The last I’d seen, he’d been carried off by the duchess—but I swallowed the rest of my sentence.
I was secretly anxious he might have overheard our conversation. With the marriage commotion barely settled, bringing up engagement plans would surely cause another uproar.
Kirian blinked calmly at my question.
“I was taking a walk nearby. Didn’t know Nuna would be here.”
“Ah… so you were out for a walk.”
I didn’t fully believe him, but whatever his reason for being here, I wished he’d leave soon.
I still had much to discuss with Hith, making me even more anxious.
“Well then, keep enjoying your—”
“The snacks look tasty.”
Just as I was about to urge him to continue his walk, Kirian smoothly seated himself at the table.
Even though there were only two chairs, he sat on an imaginary one.
Maintaining a steady squatting posture, Kirian even poured himself some tea and drank it.
After briefly sniffing the tea’s aroma, Kirian tilted his head toward Hith.
“But who’s this person?”
“Oh, this is—”
“First Prince Hith Kshia of the Kingdom of Kshia.”
Hith kept his polite smile, even toward this unexpected intruder.
“Hmm… Prince of Kshia? I don’t really know.”
Kirian spoke with an innocent expression, but I could sense the sharpness in his words from his slightly narrowed eyes.
“You’re still young, my lord—you might not have learned about neighboring countries yet.”
Hith countered without the slightest hint of fluster.
Kirian, who hated being treated like a child more than anything, had his eyes trembling slightly. I unconsciously gulped.
But instead of flipping the tea table, Kirian softened his eyes and gave a smile warm enough to melt Antarctic ice.
“How old are you, Prince Hith? You must be quite old.”
“I’m twelve this year.”
“Hmm.”
Kirian, as if losing interest, fiddled with his teacup again.
“You’re way too old to be friends with our Nuna.”
“Good. Because I have no intention of being friends with Lady Reina.”
Kirian’s red eyes began to gleam sharply.
“What do you mean by that?”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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BWAHAHAHAH if only we all had a buff in life 🫡🫡it should be tha easy 😩