Tick-tock.
While deeply engrossed in morning duties, a knocking sound echoed through the Emperor’s office window.
“…?”
Beyond the window, a messenger bird was tapping on the glass.
“I’ll check it.”
Druhan, who got up from his seat, untied the note attached to the bird’s leg and began reading the contents.
“What’s going on?”
Icar asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the documents.
“The planned task has been successfully completed.”
“There wasn’t much resistance, huh? I heard the deposed prince was quite skilled with a sword?”
When Vane, who had risen from his seat, asked, Druhan explained the situation.
“It seems the knight who was his closest confidant didn’t know he would betray him. Considering the suspicious deposed prince, it seems he was deceived.”
Vane nodded knowingly.
Knights swear to serve only one lord throughout their lifetime during their knighting ceremony.
However, Alan, the knight who was the closest confidant of the deposed prince, struggled with financial difficulties and betrayed his lord for a sum of gold.
Thus, Icar’s plan, which gave hope and then brought despair to the deposed prince, was successful.
“What about the fake princess side?”
Still not taking his eyes off the documents, Icar asked.
Druhan conveyed the report he received without changing the wording.
“The situation concluded with the presentation of a hood in the commonly used color in that area.”
Icar, still not looking away from the documents, nodded silently and continued signing the papers stacked on the desk.
Tick-tock.
At that moment, a knocking sound on the office door echoed. Vane got up from his seat and said.
“I will go check, Your Majesty.”
Vane went out into the corridor but soon returned to the office.
“Your Majesty, a female rabbit has arrived.”
It didn’t need to be explicitly stated. The creature hanging loosely in Vane’s hands was large enough to catch one’s attention, a fluffy rabbit.
“It’s not gray.”
Icar said, looking at the rabbit, and Druhan agreed.
“That’s right. It’s not gray.”
“……Did it have to be gray?”
Vane asked with a perplexed expression.
Icar, looking down at the white rabbit swaying in Vane’s hands, nodded.
“It should be a female, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Icar nodded and gestured towards the large window in the corridor.
“Would it be okay to attempt mating with the male rabbit right away?”
Druhan asked with a worried tone, but Icar just pulled up one corner of his mouth.
“Sure. Hurry.”
In the central garden of the palace, Renev sat at a table, taking a break and sipping tea.
It was all thanks to the Duchess Vendorfelt’s suggestion that he not confine himself to the stuffy office but enjoy the grace of the sun.
Renev readily accepted her proposal.
He wanted to bask in the sunlight rather than being trapped in the gloomy office and, as the Duchess Vendorfelt had suggested, enjoy the grace of the sun.
It was when Renev, sitting and petting the soft gray fur of the rabbit, looked at the documents.
‘… Huh?’
Something on the paper moved slightly.
Renev raised his gaze slightly. Soon, at the end of his gaze, a large and long ear came into view.
‘Why did the rabbit’s ear suddenly… turn white?’
Renev looked down at the rabbit with a puzzled face. The fur between the rabbit’s fingers was still gray.
‘Then what was it a moment ago?’
As Renev continued to stare at the still gray ears of the rabbit, something quickly passed at the end of his sight.
“….?”
Renev immediately raised his head and looked around.
“Wow…”
As soon as a pure white rabbit, as white as snow, entered Renev’s view, admiration escaped from his lips.
“Empress, why are you… Oh my!”
In response to Renev’s reaction, admiration also came from the lips of Duchess Vendorfelt, who had taken her gaze off the documents.
“A white rabbit. Where on earth did this rabbit appear from?”
As Duchess Vendorfelt raised her voice slightly, the half-closed gray rabbit, lying lazily with its eyes half-shut, perked up its ears.
“That’s right. Where did the rabbit suddenly appear from?”
Renev got up from his seat and wandered around the palace garden.
At that moment, the white rabbit started running somewhere.
“Empress, I will go after it.”
The imperial knight guarding Renev, with a stern expression, spoke, placing his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Renev felt a little uneasy. What if he harmed the white rabbit?
“No, I’ll go after it once.”
Renev said this and turned to follow the white rabbit. Upon doing so, Duchess Vendorfelt asked with concern.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“If it seems too much, I’ll ask for help. I’ll be back in a moment, taking a short walk. Please take care of this little one.”
“Oh, I understand.”
Duchess Vendorfelt nodded, glancing at the spread gray rabbit on the wide table.
Still, the gray rabbit had not yet been granted the right to be caressed by Duchess Vendorfelt.
Slightly worried, Renev quickly followed the white rabbit.
“Hah, hah…”
When his breath became slightly short.
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.”
