“Is the perimeter completely sealed?”
“Yes. I have deployed forces to maximize the blockade, making it impossible to escape.”
“Don’t be overconfident, and don’t let your guard down. Search every nook and cranny. We can’t afford to miss even a rat. We’ve had enough incidents like the last one.”
Bake recalled the recent attack on the castle and gritted his teeth.
It was an unbelievably reckless plan, but they fell for it.
The intruders ransacked the inside of the castle like it was their own home and, in the end, escaped using a secret passage. Not a single enemy was caught, and all that remained were the losses.
“But, will it really go as planned?”
“What?”
“If Duke Pieren really exists.”
“I’m only searching for my wife.”
Bake firmly cut off the lieutenant’s words.
He knew exactly what the lieutenant was worried about, but Bake wasn’t rushing in blindly either.
He had a plan. It was a method proposed by the emperor himself, claiming it was the price of trust.
“The culprit who kidnapped Lady Countess Crayton is Duke Pieren. Just think about that.”
“…”
“We just happened to cross paths with the culprit by chance.”
Bake clenched his fist and focused his gaze. He couldn’t completely trust the emperor, but the plan he suggested wasn’t bad.
If Felt truly wants Calix, he will have to easily give up Rivianna to gain favor. Bake just needs to wait for that moment.
Even though the office he should have was empty, and people murmured that he might not be alive, the emperor had no intention of reversing his brother’s death. The missing prince, Felt von Beiden, was dead. No one in the empire could deny that fact. And the dead couldn’t do anything.
Even if he committed a crime, he couldn’t be the culprit. The reason for needing someone to take the blame for him was also because of that.
“But the opponent doesn’t seem to be in good condition.”
“Don’t be afraid. No matter how formidable, in the end, he’s just a human. How can he defeat this many forces?”
The corner of Bake’s mouth curled up slightly.
Waiting for a knight to rescue the princess was quite challenging, but just thinking about the expression Calix, who was in a predicament, would make was enough to make his heart beat fast.
If Rivianna weren’t the only one missing, he would have mocked him to his heart’s content. Rescuing the princess might be a knight’s duty, but marrying her was ultimately a prince’s duty. Mocking him thoroughly while doing so.
‘I wish I could have just killed him.’
Bake bit his dry lips in regret.
Anyway, Calix was a duke. Unless he was accused of a major crime like treason, immediate execution was impossible.
Of course, he could secretly kill him and clean up the mess afterward, but the problem was the army. In the empire, moving a certain amount of troops required a separate report to the emperor.
“Even if the emperor closes his eyes for now, as long as records remain, it will eventually become a problem. Having one’s life pawned away due to unnecessary records has already happened once.”
Initially, the emperor was not someone trustworthy. He may speak of an alliance, but internally, there was no telling if he was calculating how to deal with them later.
“I need to be as careful as possible. So that I can tidy up immediately if any issues arise, I should prepare in advance.”
Bake glanced at the young knight standing on the other side.
Just as Calix borrowed troops from the emperor, Bake also brought someone from the emperor. The young knight was a valuable figure who would prove that the situation had completely changed for the soldiers taken by Calix.
To declare Duke Pieren as the culprit who kidnapped Lady Countess Crayton was nothing other than becoming the emperor.
It was the first gift the emperor decided to present to Bake in celebration of their alliance.
“When is he going to show up, anyway?”
“Should we send in a search party?”
“No, we might end up exposing ourselves if we move troops carelessly. Let everyone just hold their positions.”
Bake, pretending to be nonchalant, checked the time. He had been running and holding his position since dawn, and now the sun was already tilting.
If a little more time passed, the spider would descend, and night would fall.
“…I hope he didn’t lie.”
As the wait prolonged, the first person to be suspected was the emperor, who was like a crafty spider. Bake furrowed his brow and nervously rotated his foot. Once anxiety set in, only negative thoughts kept coming up.
It was at the peak of his anxiety.
A presence was felt. Without anyone asking, all eyes were focused on one place.
Bake first confirmed the face of the person emerging from the forest and smiled brightly to make sure he could be seen.
Finally, the long-awaited moment of facing that face arrived. But…
Bake’s well-defined forehead narrowed again.
One by one, soldiers followed behind Calix, but the most important figure wasn’t visible.
Bake turned his head quickly with a frustrated expression. Even after looking again, it was the same.
She wasn’t there. Riviana was nowhere to be found.
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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