Sharti widened her stride, picking up the pace.
“Ah, anyway, be careful about what you say in the village. Even when alone, surveillance was strict. If you bring Ren along, they will surely find even the smallest flaw to exploit.”
Sharti emphasized repeatedly, having been through quite a lot.
She couldn’t take a deep breath or even sip water easily.
The atmosphere in Ashu’s village was so heavy, feeling almost rejecting.
Ren, who had been staring blankly at Sharti, quickly caught up with her.
“If that’s the case, they probably won’t believe I’m a helper.”
Sharti immediately looked at Ren. In response to her gaze, Ren feigned ignorance.
Sharti sighed.
“There’s nothing I can do. Because Ren suddenly intervened, I’ve already introduced him as a helper.”
Sharti was also at a loss.
While it was fine to introduce Ren as a helper during greetings, once the treatment began, Ren’s ignorance would become apparent.
“I roughly told them you’re a young doctor.”
Ren had already learned about his duties and posture as an assistant in Tane before departure.
It was due to his pride.
Being introduced as an assistant to Ashu, he didn’t want to show an incompetent side in front of Sharti.
“I’ll try to handle it on my own as much as possible, so don’t worry, Ren. Originally, I’ve been doing this alone, so your assistance might look awkward.”
“Then it will look even more suspicious. Last time, I came alone, and I did well alone. Why did I bring a useless assistant this time?”
Sharti swallowed a groan.
“Then I’ll have to make the same excuse as last time. I saved a runaway slave, and now I’m protecting Ren as an assistant.”
It was a useful excuse.
Even if it looked suspicious, there was no immediate way to verify it, so it could be smoothly overlooked.
‘Then, Ren’s clumsy actions won’t be strongly suspected.’
On the other hand, Ren looked at Sharti with a thoughtful expression.
If becoming a runaway slave could help Sharti, he could easily become a slave and kneel in front of her.
It was something that could be accepted naturally, without involving pride or anything else.
However, Ashu kept bothering him.
[An assistant?]He didn’t know why she was so concerned, but anyway, Ren was irritated by Ashu.
Even Ashu’s glances and the glinting eyes towards Sharti were not to his liking.
Ren, frowning and stretching his neck, relaxed his muscles.
“There’s another way. There’s a more natural setup that doesn’t require bringing an assistant unnecessarily.”
“What is it?”
As Sharti looked at him, the surrounding fog scattered in the wind.
In a situation where they could see each other more clearly, Ren took Sharti’s hand.
“……!”
Sharti was startled, but Ren grabbed her hand, pulling her close and planting his lips on the back of her hand.
As Sharti took a sharp breath, Ren’s breath clung to the back of her hand.
“Just let them have the same misconception that Manulsang created last time.”
“Yes, yes?”
Her momentarily frozen mind slowly recalled the illusion that Manulsang had created.
Sharti’s face turned pale as she remembered the misconception Manulsang had induced.
Ren glanced at Sharti’s blushing fingertips.
A tingling sensation ran from the nape of his neck to the center of his chest.
“W-What nonsense…!”
Sharti immediately withdrew her hand, even sighing.
Unlike the confident Sharti, Ren was gazing at her with a perplexed expression.
Sharti took a calm breath and found solace in her heart.
“I already introduced you as an assistant to the village chief’s son. Who introduces their husband as an assistant?”
“There were no circumstances then, or we could say I was appointed as an assistant, and recently our eyes met, right?”
A forced explanation.
Sharti looked at Ren with narrowed eyes.
‘He doesn’t think this will work, does he?’
It was supposed to be a natural setup.
Sharti shook her head firmly.
“It absolutely won’t work. No one will believe it. Mr. Manulsang deliberately said that with ulterior motives. Who sees Ren and me that way?”
Ren raised one eyebrow.
It was an expected rejection and opposition, but denying it so vehemently made him feel quite awkward.
“…Fine. I just threw it out there.”
Ren turned his head.
It was just something he tried once, but now that his feelings were hurt, it seemed as if he had been thrown up.
Sharti, who was brushing against Ren, stroked the back of his hand that she held.
‘Did I react too strongly?’
But they were a married couple. Who would see Ren, who looked perfectly fine, and her in such a situation?
Sharti bit her lip.
“But in this state, regardless of the relationship we set up or whatever status I take, no one will deceive us.”
“…?”
“Think about it. Whether it’s an assistant or a slave, who treats each other like this?”
Ren looked at Sharti with a serious gaze.
If they couldn’t set up the husband and wife scenario, they at least had to narrow the distance. He needed to show that he was closer to Sharti than the son of the village chief in a distant town.
His turquoise eyes glowed resolutely.
“Sharti, you need to control me.”
“What?”
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
