I immediately stood between Cain and Raven, creating a tense atmosphere as if they were about to engage in a sword fight.
“There will be no fighting in my palace. Raven, Cain is our guest today. Hold back your irritation.”
“It’s not like that, Bella. I just requested a friendly sparring match.”
“Don’t act like a fool. Save your nonsense for someone else. Can’t you feel the atmosphere now?”
“…Are you angry?”
“Not yet. But if we fight, I’ll genuinely get mad. If you’re curious, you can try.”
Turning my head as if I were annoyed, Raven seemed bewildered, not knowing how to react.
Unlike the mischievous and villainous Cain, Raven had a somewhat innocent side, which added to his rough and uninteresting charm.
Thinking I should tease him a bit more, I avoided eye contact with Raven on purpose.
Cain, who had been silently watching us, murmured as he opened his mouth.
“I thought about it last time too, but you two seem to get along quite well. Maybe it’s a feeling called jealousy.”
“What? What nonsense are you suddenly talking about?”
As I made a puzzled expression, Cain looked at Raven in a displeased manner.
“How many people within the kingdom can dare to address the princess by name? Moreover, someone who is neither royalty nor nobility.”
“I’ve said it before. Raven is my friend. His status doesn’t matter.”
“Of course, if the princess permits, it’s certainly allowed.”
“Then why do you keep poking your nose into it? It’s such a trivial matter.”
“The princess’s generous heart deserves praise. However, the boy seems unaware of how remarkable this is. I thought I might teach him a little through a sparring match.”
As Cain revealed a faint resentment, a tense atmosphere once again enveloped the space between the two.
Coming to the conclusion that it would be better to separate Cain and Raven for the sake of our peace and well-being, I grabbed Cain’s arm and pulled him away.
“Let’s stop, Cain. We didn’t come here for this today.”
“Understood. I apologize for causing unnecessary trouble.”
“Sorry for interrupting your practice, Raven. We’ll be going now.”
As I hastily said goodbye, Raven’s complexion darkened.
“…I can stop practicing. Bella, can’t you come with me?”
“No, I have some things to discuss. Keep doing what you were doing.”
Though it felt somewhat awkward for Cain and me to leave first, it seemed there would be no good in prolonging our stay here.
Feeling Raven’s gaze sticking to my back, I quickly left the place.
A while later, when we reached a deserted area, I brought up the main topic with Cain.
“But why did you mention the Repel family during the banquet? Were you trying to tell me about it because you wanted to keep coming here?”
If my guess was correct, Cain nodded silently. After looking around to make sure no one was nearby, he opened his mouth to respond.
“That’s right. The content is a bit ambiguous to send in writing, so I wanted to meet and tell you. It’s a bit late, but I’m glad we finally had the chance.”
“Tell me in detail. Why do you think the Repel family is suspicious?”
Toying with my age, Cain smirked, “Don’t treat me like a kid. I might look like this, but I’m quite smart, you know?”
“Hehe, I already know that you, Bella, are much wiser than your peers. So, I waited until I could meet you rather than conveying the story to Sione. Although she was once a close confidante of Lord, there’s no guarantee she can be completely trusted.”
After taking a deep breath, Cain slowly continued his explanation.
“We accidentally discovered that fact while investigating information related to the underworld for another matter.”
The Fernan Marquis, Cain’s family, was a noble family that had raised excellent soldiers for generations and was quite renowned among the aristocracy.
His father, holding a somewhat important position in the Elder Council, was secretly pursuing the corruption of a person named Gallio, who held the position of Chairman. In the process, he discovered an untraceable sum of money.
While tracing the flow of funds, Cain found a suspicious intermediary and, by appropriately threatening him, managed to obtain surprising information.
It turned out that some of that suspicious money originated from none other than the Repel family.
“No one knows the connection between the Chairman and the Repel family. But the intermediary I interrogated said so. The reason the money was so significant is that it was involved in entering the royal court rather than going to an ordinary noble family.”
“…So, Cain, are you saying that the intermediary introduced an assassin to someone?”
“Exactly. He mainly introduced assassins wanted for grade 1 crimes. Very heinous individuals. Since they received money from the Repel family, there’s a very high probability that the employer who hired the assassin is somehow related to that family.”
“Do you have any evidence secured? It would be advantageous if you have something like that.”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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