Erich, rapidly approaching, wore a severe expression.
‘It’s a crisis!’
Honestly, I was not scared when it was only Betty. Even if I couldn’t fully trust Betty, she didn’t forcefully pry if I wanted to keep a secret.
I believed she would honor my request.
‘But Erich is different.’
The more I tried to prevent him from opening the door, the more suspicious he grew, a man who would unlock the door.
‘Johann would have hidden the fact that he rampages from Erich.’
I felt that the situation would become more complicated if Johann’s fallen figure was discovered. Erich, who arrived in front of me, scrutinized me with sharp eyes.
“What are you plotting in this Duchy of Blanchett?”
“Erich Blonu!”
Betty, who had been whimpering at me, suddenly became angry. I had never seen such a scary expression on Betty’s face.
“What are you saying to the Madam now? The Madam and I are in the middle of a conversation, so do not interrupt.”
“No. I cannot just listen to your words and get killed. This is a problem related to the security of this mansion.”
Ignoring Betty’s words, Erich tried to open the door. I instinctively reached out to stop him.
“Why is there blood……”
Erich caught my arm. His eyes trembled at the sight of my hand.
‘Ah. This can’t be.’
It was a perfectly healthy hand when I had just gotten up. But now, the wound that came out in my dream had appeared on my hand.
‘When did this happen?’
I was so frantic I didn’t even realize it had occurred. The palm of my hand was not only scratched but also stained with blood.
‘I didn’t realize because it didn’t hurt.’
I quickly hid my hand.
‘What should I say as an excuse.’
Both Betty and Erich were silently watching me uncomfortably. Drip. Drip. The blood that I hadn’t wiped off fell to the floor.
Betty’s eyes, which were originally moist, were more drowned in sorrow, and Erich.
‘Why is his reaction like that?’
He was pale as if he had seen a ghost.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Recently, Erich could not shake off his thoughts about Estelle.
‘The master has really made that woman the Duchess of Blanchett.’
Johann had married Estelle without a single consultation.
He even received the Emperor’s approval, and even the seal of the temple.
Even if it was the Duke of Blanchett, it was hard to arbitrarily kill a formal wife. Johann made several rational reasons, but to Erich, it all felt like an excuse.
Around that time, he came across Estelle. She was sitting on top of a tall tree as if she were about to fall.
“It’s been a while, Lord Blonu.”
With those thin arms, how did she climb up that high tree?
Erich, whose mind was blank, was angry at Estelle. It would only be good if that woman died.
‘Don’t worry about it.’
Estelle’s answer was a given.
From the start, he treated her neither as a hostess nor, no, as a basic respect for humans, but as a mockery and laugh, it was Erich himself. He also tore apart knowing that it would be a wound to the other party.
‘You hate me anyway. I will come down on my own, so you don’t have to interfere anymore.’
‘I will handle it. Even if I fall, I won’t die anyway.’
A voice filled with resignation as if she had tried hard to die.
‘Then wouldn’t it be a good thing if I died?’
‘If I accidentally die, you would be happy.’
It was a logically correct argument. But since the moment Estelle mentioned Blonu, Erich felt an unknown despair.
Estelle’s pale complexion, like a person about to disappear at any moment. Without realizing it, Erich spat out words he hadn’t thought of.
‘… If you want to die, do it somewhere else.’
Estelle Libertan. She was just an adopted child from the Blonu family that was thrown away. A tool for the master’s revenge that will soon be eliminated.
‘You are nothing but a fake.’
But why is it scary when you say you are going to die? Erich denied the incoming impulse and rambled and fled from Estelle.
“No. It was my mistake to think I would have a conversation with a person like you.”
From the start, it was not a conversation with Estelle.
He felt stupid for having a conversation again, knowing it was meaningless to have a conversation with Estelle. Erich, who had left the garden immediately, was worried about Estelle and found that tree.
‘This is to prevent the master’s revenge from being ruined.’
He went to check if she couldn’t get down, but Estelle had already disappeared from the tree. As if the moment he had just had a conversation was an illusion.
Erich blankly stared at the tree for a moment.
‘Who on earth is that woman?’
Erich knew Estelle had secrets. From the sudden exposure of the amethyst case to the orphanage, it was nothing but questionable events.
Frankly, it was somewhat valid for Erich himself to find Estelle confusing.
But most of the Blanchett family did not know about these things.
Yet, now they naturally accepted Estelle and treated her as the real lady. Even Patricia, who he thought shared the same thoughts as him!
Upon returning to the mansion, Erich discovered a handkerchief in Betty’s hand.
‘That handkerchief. What is that handkerchief?’
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
