Giving a person as a trophy felt strange, but since my father formally bestowed him upon me, I had no right to refuse.
Besides, the fact that the boy came to me seemed more like a plot concocted by Elga and Thione than my father’s intention.
To sum it up, taking care of that boy is also my duty.
“Thione, take him to my room. Leave the soldiers behind.”
“Since he’s wearing a restraint, it’s okay. Rosa can handle him.”
Thione called Rosa, who had been waiting outside the banquet hall, to take care of the boy, and left with me.
Thus ended the day that had felt unusually long.
(This is a time separator.)
About an hour after leaving the banquet hall.
Having thrown off my dress and changed into comfortable everyday clothes, I took a bite of a cookie loaded with cream cheese and savored its rich sweetness.
“Ugh~~!! Really, really tasty.”
Haah, now I feel a bit alive.
As I burst into a happy laugh with white cream and cookie crumbs all over my mouth, Rosa wiped my lips with a handkerchief and smiled.
“I’m glad you’ve regained some energy. You really surprised me earlier.”
As Roy said, my condition when I returned to the palace was utterly terrible.
I didn’t feel nervous entering the banquet hall, and I thought I was fine, but then…
Suddenly Cain appeared, and my father threw a living person at me as a gift.
So many unexpected things happened, that by the time I arrived at Rose Palace, I was completely exhausted.
“Nyum nyum. But why hasn’t Thione come back?”
As I sucked the cream off my fingers and asked, Rosa scratched her cheek with a perplexed expression.
“Um, I don’t know. It seems their conversation is taking a while.”
“I see.”
Thione had disappeared into a quiet room with the Benian boy as soon as we arrived at the palace, and she still hadn’t returned.
It was late at night, but it was still too early to sleep, so I was waiting for the two of them.
“Rosa, did you talk to him in the carriage? What’s his name?”
“I did ask, but he didn’t respond at all. It seemed like he didn’t even want to open his mouth.”
That’s understandable, considering the boy’s demeanor.
Considering his appearance, it wasn’t a peaceful journey to the kingdom, and given my father’s character, he probably didn’t explain the situation kindly.
‘I hope he didn’t forcibly kidnap a child with a family…?’
While praying that he didn’t commit such a heinous act, Thione entered my room with the boy.
“Bella, you must have been waiting a long time? Our conversation took a bit longer, so we’re late.”
“Ugh, you worked hard.”
Dressed in clean clothes now, the boy looked quite neat.
Wiped down hastily with a wet towel, his face still had traces of soup on it, but it couldn’t conceal the clear facial features and handsome appearance underneath.
‘I didn’t notice it at first glance, but his eyes are really pretty.’
His eyes sparkled as if dusted with gold dust, and the pupils, unlike humans, were vertically narrow, reminding one of a cat’s eyes.
Even his sharp expression, which seemed to scrape if lightly touched, had something that reminded one of a cat.
If I had met him when I was human, I might have found him a bit scary, but now that I’ve become a vampire, the boy’s unique appearance just looked pretty and beautiful.
“My name is Bella. What’s your name?”
“……I don’t really want to answer.”
The boy answered briefly, and looking as if he didn’t want to talk any further, he avoided eye contact and let his gaze wander.
He seemed to be on guard against the people around him, including myself.
“Hmm, then wait. I’ll find out later.”
“Wait all you want; my answer will be the same. I have no desire to tell my name to a demon or the likes.”
Aha, I see what the problem is.
‘Hey, it seems he hates having the blood of demons flowing in him.’
Benian is a hybrid of demon and human.
That is, if he hates demons to the point that it’s palpable all over his body, it’s practically the same as saying that his selfloathing is at a quite serious level.
“Then is it okay if I’m human?”
“What stupid talk. I hate humans more than demons. They pretend to be good on the outside, but inside they’re no different from demons.”
“Heh, that’s exactly like me.”
“What?”
As I bared my teeth and grinned, the boy’s brows noticeably furrowed.
He glared as if to say, what nonsense is this person, who’s much younger than him, babbling about?
But I neatly ignored his displeasure and turned to Sione.
“Give him a small room. Give him food, medicine too. Understand?”
“Yes, Bella. I’ll do as you say.”
The boy looked as if he had something to say but followed the person without a word and left the room.
He limped on one leg, as if his body was not well.
“Sione, see if he’s hurt anywhere. Can you make it not hurt?”
“Yes, after bringing him food, I’ll cast a healing spell. There’s no worry of escape for a while, so it should be fine.”
After everyone left the room and we were alone, Sione calmly started to talk about the boy.
As I expected, the boy is a remedy that can solve my power depletion, and Elga directly asked my father to bring him to the kingdom.
“However, no one knows the exact method of using Benian as a remedy yet. The master only said that it is related to treatment, but further research is needed.”
“How do we keep him from running away in the meantime?”
“I checked earlier, and it seems that the Lord had taken care of it in advance. He has cast a spell that will stop his heart if he gets too far from you, Bella. It’s commonly called a subservience spell.”
“What?”
Even if he’s a living trophy, the fact that he’ll die of a heart attack if he gets a little away from me.
Isn’t this too cruel?
“It seems set so that it’s safe as long as he doesn’t go outside the palace, so don’t worry too much. As time passes, you’ll be able to adjust the distance to your liking. Subservience spells eventually transfer authority to the master, you see.”
“What are you talking about, I don’t understand.”
“I’ll explain it to you a little more simply.”
According to her explanation, a subservience spell involves the two people under the influence of the actual magic, and even if the caster is different, the authority gradually transfers to me.
At first, it was a little hard to understand, but when I associated it with what I had learned during magic time, I seemed to vaguely understand the principle.
“You should rest for now. You were more active than usual, so you must be tired.”
“Uhm. I’m a bit sleepy.”
With heavy eyelids, I managed to utter Chikapuka and lay down on the bed.
Should any teeth rot, it would be a serious matter.
“Sleep well, Lady Bella.”
“Ugh, goodnight, Dionne.”
As soon as I blinked in response, sleep poured in at a terrifying speed.
And the next morning.
When I opened my eyes, I realized something had gone terribly wrong.
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.
Link to read
