From early morning, the maids busy themselves in the duchess’s powder and dressing rooms.
“Miss Idel, please lift your face a little.”
Feeling the sensation of the brush sweeping down her face, Idel was trying to get accustomed to this process. Following the maid’s skilled hands, a bright vitality was added to her clear skin.
At the Earl’s house, Bien, a dedicated maid, skillfully dressed her. However, the seasoned maids at the duke’s house were much more numerous and professional.
“A banquet at the royal palace requires a dress that fits the formality but isn’t too extravagant.”
The sparse wardrobe at the Earl’s house, which Idel usually showed little interest in, always caused Bien much trouble.
The dressing room, of a scale different from that wardrobe, was filled with luxurious clothes made from fabrics brought from Charlotte’s wardrobe.
A maid came holding a creamcolored dress intricately woven with delicate lace.
A dress with a natural line, rather than the overly puffed crinoline style, and pastel colors rather than strong primary colors were in vogue.
“My heavens! Miss Idel, you are so beautiful.”
Her wheatcolored hair, moisturized with perfume, flowed down smoothly like honey. Atop the flower pin that held her hair was an intricately engraved Turkish diamond, softly shining.
“You look like a fairy of flowers.”
“The duke will be smitten when he sees you!”
The young maids’ eyes sparkled at the sight of the future duchess.
The icecold duke melting only in front of the future duchess was the hottest topic among the maids these days.
“Miss Idel, if you’re ready, shall we head to the Duke’s dressing room?”
Marlene, who was watching the scene with a satisfied expression, suggested to her.
“To His Highness’s dressing room?”
“Did you see in the instructions we gave you yesterday, that before His Highness’s formal outing, the wife should take care of him personally?”
Idel recalled the contents of the Duchess of Roman’s instructions she had read carefully the night before. What she should take care of before a formal outing… Ah!
“Do you mean tying His Highness’s cravat?”
“Exactly. Now that the duchess is here, I can finally stop doing the job for her.”
Marlene led her to the Duke’s dressing room with a warm smile.
The Duke and Duchess’s spaces were mostly interconnected. After opening the inner door of the Duchess’s dressing room and crossing a short corridor, the door leading to the Duke’s dressing room appeared.
“Your Highness, may I enter?”
As she entered the dressing room after a brief knock, she saw Caeron standing in front of a fulllength mirror and the attendants holding the clothes he was to wear.
He was buttoning up the dress shirt casually draped over his shoulders. His collarbone, coolly stretching out from the opened shirt, was exposed. Below that, the sculpted, smooth, and delicate pectoral muscles took away Idel’s gaze for a moment.
“It’s difficult if you keep staring at me like that.”
Surprised by his voice filled with mirth, Idel’s eyes met his in the mirror. His deep blue eyes seemed interested in her changing expression.
Idel lowered her gaze in embarrassment and gently pressed her cheek with her hand. Her entire face flushed as if a flower had bloomed.
“What’s the matter? I’m still getting ready.”
“Miss Idel has come to tie your cravat personally.”
“Ah… I see.”
Caeron’s smile deepened at the sight of the woman, her face still flushed, not knowing what to do.
Her freshly made up, pure look caught his eye, but her shy expression, like a blooming bud, drew his gaze even more.
“Over here. Closer.”
When Caeron turned and called her, Idel hesitated before slowly approaching and standing in front of him. The attendant next to him handed the cravat to her.
“…I learned it in theory, so I might be clumsy.”
“That’s okay. The first time is always like that.”
Idel, holding a cravat in her hand, took a small breath. Avoiding the gaze that looked down on her with effort, she reached out and wrapped the cravat around his neck.
With the enveloping action, like a hug, her scent deeply penetrated. His gaze became deep and profound as he watched the woman trembling slightly as she tied the knot of the cravat.
“Grandmother once told me why the tradition of the Duchess tying the cravat for the Duke before an official outing came about.”
His voice became a little lower as he brought up the story of the previous Duchess of Roman. Idel lifted her head and looked at him with curious eyes.
“It’s meant as a reminder that the Duke is the Duchess’s, even when he is outside. Just like tying this cravat, it means to remember that they are dependent on each other.”
His deep blue eyes filled with a thirsty gaze seemed to imply something. Unconsciously, strength flowed into Idel’s hand that was holding the cravat.
[This is the time separator]The carriage engraved with the crest of the Duke’s family arrived at the entrance of the royal palace. The Duke and his prospective Duchess, who was to accompany him, descended from the carriage.
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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