“Do you not remember? You always have the habit of drinking wine after spending time with me. How would you know what I could have added to it.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Why, are you excited? If this child isn’t yours, it shouldn’t matter. If you didn’t spend time with me, you wouldn’t have had that wine.”
“…..”
Bake’s firmly closed lips trembled.
Margaret looked at me as she pulled her body back, adding a little more strength to the arm that hugged her belly.
Seeing her bloodshot eyes, I furrowed my brows. She wasn’t just talking to Bake. She was taunting that things wouldn’t go my way.
“I didn’t want to say this either. I wished you wouldn’t do this.”
“…..”
“Don’t forget. It’s your child. Your only child of your bloodline. Without this child, you will no longer have a child.”
Contrary to the hardened voice, the trembling that started from the hand grasping her belly spread throughout Margaret’s body. Her huddled body was far from confidence. Anyone could see she was barely suppressing her voice.
Bake saw this too, he was about to raise his voice but then put his hand on his chest. His rapidly calming breath was harsh.
“One should be rude to a certain extent. I don’t understand why I should listen to such nonsense.”
“If you want to believe it’s a lie, do so. After all, you’ll know as time goes by even if I don’t try to prove it.”
“You, Lady Fisher, should prepare for legal action.”
“But here’s the thing. To confirm, you’ll eventually have to embrace another woman. Because your wife can’t have a child anymore. Because, Mary.”
“Everyone seems too excited. It would be better to catch our breath for a moment.”
The sharp conversation that was going on stopped with the Emperor’s intervention, but the heavy breathing due to excitement remained. The Emperor signaled to clear the surroundings lightly with his hand and placed a teacup in front of me.
“Lady Countess of Creighton, you don’t look well either.”
Only after the Emperor mentioned it, Bake finally looked back at me.
I avoided his gaze by taking a sip of tea, then took a short breath before opening my mouth again.
“Since neither of them seem willing to back down, it looks like this won’t end as it is.”
“Riviana, don’t tell me you don’t trust me?”
Bake pleaded.
In response, I put down my teacup and placed both hands on my knees.
“Riviana.”
Unable to bear it, Bake grabbed my wrist. I firmly pushed away the hand that held me and looked at the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, is there any evidence other than Lady Fisher’s testimony that he tried to kill her?”
“We haven’t found any yet. It’s all circumstantial evidence.”
“Then, the formal trial cannot proceed.”
“It’s not like we can confirm who the father of the child is either.”
One corner of the Emperor’s mouth rose.
“Then, how about doing this?”
“How?”
“Lady Fisher would like you to take care of her as you are doing now. Of course, we will cover all the costs at Creighton.”
“Is it worth it?”
“Assuming that what Lady Fisher says is all true, it would be.”
Even amidst this, Margaret, who realized what my words meant, briefly regained her color. If what she said was true, her child would be the only successor to Creighton.
“How would you know if that’s true?”
“We can know when the baby is born. We can see if the baby resembles my husband.”
At this moment, I remember my young daughter, who had to hear dirty words for not resembling her father.
Do those who gossiped about my child know? I could tell a hundred ways how Meriel resembled Bake.
Meriel had a mole in the same place behind her neck as Bake. She liked to sleep on her right side just like him, and she had a peanut allergy, so peanuts were never included in Creighton’s meals.
But the courtiers were not affectionate enough to pay attention to such small things. They were abhorrent enough to make a small child the protagonist of a dirty story with just one appearance.
“So, what if the child doesn’t resemble him?”
“She will have to pay for tarnishing the honor of Creighton. Of course, this applies to everyone involved in this matter.”
Margaret flinched and covered her belly with both hands.
My eyes were solely on her belly.
Nobody knows what the child in her belly will look like. But sometimes, children are born looking too much like one parent.
Like my young daughter, like the Emperor in front of me.
“I do not think Margaret is unaware of the possibilities I am considering.
But she must not feel wronged. I am merely giving back in kind.
If my daughter would have, then so should your child. They must live their life as the seed of illegitimacy, without recognition from their father.
Didn’t I vow? I have no intention of releasing her until I get the answer I want.
I can swear. Regardless of the location, time, whatever changes, her life will not change.
She will continue to fear and torment herself every moment.
Because I will make it so.
Until the day comes when I break her thin neck with my hands, always.
[This is the time separator]“It’s all a trap. You know? I’m trapped.”
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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