Surviving as the Adopted Daughter of the Genius Duke (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
“Wammaya! What’s that?!”
I desperately jumped up and pointed at the sky to steer the conversation in another direction. If talk of “betrothed” or “future spouses” started here, it wouldn’t be surprising if an entire garden tree got yanked out by its roots.
If Kirian found out I’d promised to avoid becoming an adult as much as possible so I wouldn’t have to marry—yet secretly planned to get engaged behind his back—he’d feel utterly betrayed.
“No way! Something like that actually exists?!”
Unfortunately, no one fell for my dramatic performance.
“What just passed by?”
Hith gave an awkward smile and pretended to scan the sky.
Meanwhile, Kirian never took his eyes off Hith for even a moment.
“There’s absolutely nothing there—you know that.”
Kirian crossed his arms and even crossed his legs while sitting on his imaginary chair.
“What did you just say, Prince Hith?”
“I was saying I’m with Princess Reina—and—”
“Best friends!”
I hastily cut back into their conversation.
“We’re best friends!”
I shot Hith a desperate look, and he slowly nodded.
“Yes. We’re inseparable best friends, Princess Reina and I.”
But Kirian, whom I expected to accept this readily, looked deeply shocked instead.
“Best… friends?”
Kirian stammered the words, his eyes fixed on me yet trembling faintly. His earnest gaze made me briefly wonder if “best friends” meant something different that I didn’t know about.
“I… I wanted to be your best friend too…”
Kirian whispered quietly and clenched his fists tightly.
At some point, I’d unconsciously started a countdown: three seconds before a tree gets ripped out, two seconds, one second…
Kirian finally lifted his head. For a moment, his eyes seemed glistening—but he rubbed them vigorously, so I couldn’t be sure.
“I’ll have to try harder.”
His lips curved ambiguously upward, and his tone sounded forcedly cheerful. Though he appeared to be smiling, anyone could see he was deeply hurt.
“You’re my best friend too.”
My heart softened instantly, and I added those words before I could stop myself.
Kirian slowly shook his head.
“No need to lie, Nyuna. You know you can only have one best friend.”
Then Kirian’s crimson eyes sharply locked onto Hith again.
“That’s fine. I’ll work harder and become your best friend.”
Somehow, his words about “working harder” sounded more like a threat to eliminate his rival.
“Princess Reina, shall we take a stroll in the garden as well?”
Hith changed the subject, signaling with his eyes to move somewhere Kirian wasn’t. I gave an almost imperceptible nod—too faint for Kirian to notice. We still had much to discuss, and time was running short.
“Yes, let’s go.”
As we stood up, Kirian abandoned his imaginary chair and began trailing after us with his short legs.
“Nyuna, Nyuna, I want to come too!”
But I couldn’t afford to get dragged into Kirian’s pace any longer. I resolved to be firm. Kirian seemed to like me quite a bit now, so it felt acceptable to say what I needed to.
“We’re just going for a short walk together. Can you wait here for a bit?”
“We have something private to discuss—just between best friends.”
At Hith’s words, a tense standoff of glares erupted between them. Sparks practically flew from Kirian’s eyes, narrowed like a cat’s, while Hith maintained his composed expression but refused to back down.
Just as I feared another tree might be uprooted, Kirian slumped his shoulders and lowered his head.
“So… if I’m not your best friend… I can’t even take a walk with you…”
Kirian rubbed his eyes several times.
When he looked up, his eyes were red and swollen. Yet even that was transformed by his natural beauty into a pitiful, delicate sorrow rather than a puffy mess.
Kirian grabbed my sleeve with his small, trembling hand.
“Nyuna… Even if we can’t walk together today… it doesn’t mean we’ll never do it again, right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Though Kirian’s pleading eyes tugged at my heart, I gently pulled my arm away.
“Next time. We’ll walk together next time.”
As I quickly moved off with Hith, a muffled sob from behind caught my ankle like a chain.
“Huhuh… I could’ve… been a really good best friend too…”
I glanced back briefly and saw a small, hunched figure hiding his face in his arms. His drooping shoulders trembled occasionally.
In the end, I had no choice but to turn back.
“No, Kirian. Come with us.”
I tried rationalizing it as not wanting to make him hate me—but I had to admit the truth.
I was growing weaker toward Kirian. His irresistible beauty played a part, but more than that, I’d genuinely grown fond of the boy himself.
“Really?”
Kirian bounced over as if he’d never been downcast. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were completely dry—but I chose not to press the matter.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
When I held out my hand, Kirian took it without hesitation. Then he looked up at Hith with triumphant eyes.
“I knew it! Nyuna wanted to walk with me too!”
Hith raised one eyebrow slightly and let out a soft chuckle.
“It would be wonderful if you joined us as well, young master.”
As we began walking, I deliberately steered us toward the northwest garden. The drawing room where the duke and duchess were likely hosting King Kussia should be over there.
I was certain that if the duchess spotted Kirian with us through the window, she’d come to help immediately.
No matter how hard I tried to leave Kirian behind, I couldn’t stop him from secretly following.
I still had matters to discuss with Hith—if Kirian overheard even a word, it would be disastrous. At times like this, the only person who could reliably rein Kirian in was the duchess.
Before long, we reached the stone steps leading to the northwest garden. The old stone steps were uneven, cracked in places.
As I always did, I gathered my skirts to hop lightly down the steps.
Just then, Hith—who’d already descended one step—naturally extended his hand.
“The path is rough. Let me help you.”
His manners were astonishingly natural, as always. Without thinking, I placed my hand on his palm.
“Thank you.”
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kirian’s eyes narrow slightly as he watched us.
The moment I leaned on Hith’s hand to take my first step, my body floated gently upward—and in the blink of an eye, I was already at the bottom of the stairs.
While I stood bewildered by what had just happened, Kirian set me down lightly.
“Since when do you walk down stairs one by one?”
Kirian grumbled, shooting Hith a sidelong glance.
“Nyuna, next time you want to go down stairs, just tell me. I’ll handle everything for you.”
“Mm. Okay.”
How he managed to lift me despite being shorter than me was beyond me.
“Nyuna, let’s hurry!”
Kirian tugged my hand and glanced back again at Hith, who was still descending the steps.
Unaware he was about to be escorted away by the duchess again, Kirian urged us to head straight to the garden.
“No, we have to go with the prince.”
I spoke firmly. Kirian’s lower lip jutted out, but he didn’t argue.
Though Kirian pressed to start walking first, I waited until Hith reached the bottom.
“Thank you for waiting.”
Despite Kirian’s sudden actions, Hith showed no sign of annoyance.
“Shall we go, Miss Reina?”
Hith offered a faint smile and extended one arm. His manners flowed as smoothly as water, and before I realized it, I’d looped my arm through his.
He was utterly flawless. Yet his ingrained politeness felt so natural it didn’t weigh on me at all.
“Let’s go.”
I pointed toward the path closest to the mansion.
“This is my favorite path.”
Fortunately, Kirian hadn’t yet grasped my bigger plan and obediently followed me.
“If we go a bit deeper, there’s a truly beautiful spot.”
As I hurried toward the drawing room window, I felt Kirian’s gaze intently tracking us.
His persistent stare clung to me so stubbornly I almost panicked—had he figured out my plan?
Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and asked first.
“Why are you staring so hard, Kirian?”
Kirian stopped abruptly and looked up at me intently. I swallowed hard.
Had he realized I was trying to hand him over to the duchess and stopped on purpose? Truly, his sharp insight was worthy of a novel’s male lead.
Yet instead of interrogating me right away, Kirian just stood silently.
Then, with eyes full of quiet expectation, he held out his arm to me.
I blinked, staring at the offered arm.
“Does your arm hurt?”
Kirian pressed his lips together tightly, then spoke haltingly.
“My arm…”
Hurt? Kirian’s arms were so strong a sword would shatter if struck against them—so this worried me greatly.
“I want to hold your arm too…”
“You don’t mean… linking arms?”
Kirian nodded solemnly, his expression dead serious.
“Khuh.”
I clenched my stomach hard to keep from bursting into laughter. Through gritted teeth, I barely managed a reply.
“Yes.”
I desperately wanted to coo, “Aww, Kirian wanted this too?” and pat his cheeks—but my life felt more precious at the moment.
When I slipped my hand into Kirian’s arm, he smiled contentedly and resumed walking.
But after only a few steps, I had to stop again.
“Um… Kirian?”
Kirian’s expression darkened, as if he’d anticipated my words.
Because I had to bend nearly in half to match his height, I could only shuffle awkwardly along.
“Linking arms might be a bit difficult, don’t you think?”
“Mm…”
Kirian obediently let go of my hand. Then his gaze fixed on Hith, who stood a full head taller than me.
“Nyuna, wait just a little.”
Kirian looked up at me with serious eyes.
“Father says I’ll grow as tall as him someday.”
I bit my tongue again to suppress a laugh. Even Hith’s lips twitched slightly.
“Yes. Grow up quickly.”
“So until then… you won’t go anywhere without waiting for me, right?”
Kirian, oddly perceptive in this moment, took my hand again.
I gave an awkward smile.
“Yes. I’ll wait.”
We finally arrived in front of the drawing room window. As expected, the curtains were wide open to enjoy the sunny weather, and the adults inside were clearly visible, deep in quiet conversation.
“That tree over there is my favorite.”
I deliberately pointed toward the distance, circling near the window to divert Kirian’s attention away from it.
But no matter how much I loitered in front of the drawing room, the adults remained absorbed in their serious discussion and never glanced outside.
I anxiously peeked at Kirian, who was still glaring at Hith. Though his mind seemed elsewhere for now, it was only a matter of time before he noticed the duchess.
“I’ll be right back—just need to use the restroom.”
In the end, I left the two of them and headed back toward the mansion.
I worried leaving Kirian and Hith alone—openly hostile toward each other—but surely nothing serious would happen.
I still didn’t know Kirian well enough.
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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BWAHAHAHAH if only we all had a buff in life 🫡🫡it should be tha easy 😩