Raven seemed serious, as if he had been pondering the question for a while, his eyes meeting mine.
“Ever since you came here, I’ve never seen you go out. Nor does it seem like anyone from the outside ever comes in.”
Ah, so that’s why he’s asking.
He must have sensed something odd about the atmosphere of Rose Palace while observing his surroundings.
‘I would find it suspicious, too.’
Rose Palace gave off a very bright and peaceful vibe, but it was far from lively.
Only certain people were allowed in and out, and there was absolutely no interaction with the outside world. It was eerily quiet for a palace where a cute kid like me was living.
“Don’t you know, Raven? I’m trapped here. Dad won’t let me go out.”
“To confine such a young daughter, he must be a very wicked man.”
Raven’s face was contorted in anger, but I shrugged it off nonchalantly.
“I’m fine with it. I’m used to it.”
“Why would he do something like that to you?”
“Um… I guess?”
I stammered, unable to find a proper response.
‘Indeed, from others’ perspectives, my dad must seem like an awful guy.’
I couldn’t say I harbored no resentment against my dad either.
However, I’d grown accustomed to this life, and considering I was suffering from magical depletion, living in the palace wasn’t a bad option.
I hadn’t been feeling particularly dissatisfied until Raven voiced his resentment, but now I felt a little strange.
“That man who brought me here is your dad, right? He’s silver-haired and well-built.”
“Uh-huh. Maybe Mazel?”
“He’s put some weird spell or dependency magic on me. I don’t like a single thing about it. I’ll kick him in the shins when I see him.”
“What? Haha!”
Imagining 12-year-old Raven kicking my adult father made me laugh spontaneously.
I too had vowed countless times to give my dad a piece of my mind someday, so Raven’s words felt oddly satisfying.
“Kids, I like your chatting, but it’s getting really late. Can I go now?”
The spirit that had been dozing off in a corner yawned languidly.
Apparently, waiting for our conversation to end was beginning to bore him.
“Oh, guess it’s that late. We should go.”
“…You’re leaving?”
His short question carried a hint of sadness.
Just then, a shaft of moonlight shone on Raven’s face through the window.
This night, more clearly than ever, his face displayed a vivid loneliness.
‘Of course, it’s lonely to be alone in such a dimly lit room.’
Looking up at Raven, I wondered if I hadn’t worn the same expression in my past life.
Because I was lonely, his face seemed to say, ‘Please stay with me.’
I couldn’t miss the emotion, something I had thought about hundreds, thousands of times when I had to spend long nights alone in the tower.
“I’ll come again, Raven. I’ll bring lots of cookies and other stuff.”
I was surprised to hear myself say those words, as memories of my past with Ranian came flooding back.
“I’ll be back, Elena. Take care.”
“…When will you come next?”
“Very soon. I hope I can find that book you wanted to read.”
When my fiancé Ranian left the tower, I would always wait for his return.
I had no idea what he was doing outside, but Ranian always kept his promises and brought me whatever I wanted.
Even goods from another continent across the sea.
‘I still don’t know what kind of person he was.’
I still despised Ranian for betraying me.
However, moments like these would sometimes come back to me, tightening my chest.
Because I knew all too well that the man who had burned me at the stake along with my brother was once my salvation.
I was lost in a melancholy reverie, revisiting the past.
Raven touched my shoulder, breaking the silence.
“Why do you look so unwell?”
“Huh? No, I’m fine!”
Embarrassed by my sudden return to reality, I waved my hand hastily, causing Raven to furrow his brow slightly.
He must’ve thought my state was a bit off.
“Is it like last time? Are you feeling sick again? Are you going to collapse…”
“I’m fine. I have the magic stone Tiione gave me.”
I pulled out the magic stone I had recently started carrying in my pocket. I briefly explained its function, and Raven finally appeared relieved.
“But it might still be best for you to rest when we get back. There’s no guarantee it won’t happen again.”
“Heh, are you worried about me?”
I exaggerated my gesture to lighten the mood, but Raven turned his head, unimpressed.
Really, it’s hard to figure out what he’s thinking.
After a brief farewell with Raven, I returned to my room, dismissed my spirit, and slipped into bed.
The soft blanket emitted a familiar warmth and comfort.
‘I think I’ll sleep well tonight.’
Even though I was once confined by those close to me, I was no longer alone.
That fact filled me with immense satisfaction and happiness.
I hugged the rabbit doll on my pillow and soon fell into a deep sleep.
A few days later, Elga finally arrived at Rose Palace.
Elga, who was much older than my father, appeared as a 14-year-old girl, and was an owner of a brash tone contrary to her innocent looks.
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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