At first, the Emperor had been relieved when the Empress, whom he had married in a calculated political move, had given birth to a child with black hair and blue eyes.
And though he was pleased to see Caeron, his successor, rise as the finest royal blood in the imperial family, a part of him was not content.
At the root of these complex emotions…
The Emperor’s gaze turned to Pascal, his second son, who had blonde hair and blue eyes just like him. Pascal knew exactly what the emotions in the Emperor’s eyes meant.
However, Pascal was different from the Emperor. As if to prove that, a relaxed smile spread across his face.
“When my brother returns, we’ll hold a royal banquet for the first time in a while. Then we can all meet with the Duchess.”
“…Let’s do that. After hearing about the Duchess, I’ve become curious about her.”
The conversation naturally shifted to the newly entered Duchess of Elyos.
‘House of Fleur…’
The Emperor stroked his chin as he thought of the Duchess, who came from the noble House of Fleur.
Understanding every noble family in the empire was the most basic education for an emperor. The House of Fleur, which had a large territory in the south, had a long and storied history dating back to the early days of the Jupiter Empire.
‘But something’s strange.’
When he heard the sudden news of the Duke’s marriage, and that the bride was the eldest daughter of the House of Fleur, the Emperor felt an inexplicable discomfort.
Something about the House of Fleur seemed familiar yet elusive, frustrating him.
‘Surely there was something…’
Just as the Emperor’s contemplation deepened, Katrina’s voice, tinged with curiosity, interrupted his train of thought.
“I’m also quite curious about Her Grace the Duchess. I heard she’s enrolling in the imperial college this time? I was quite surprised to hear that.”
“Yes. She’s entered as the top student in the Department of Public Administration.”
Pascal answered Katrina’s question in a brusque voice.
“My goodness! Top student! That’s difficult even for men, let alone a female noble. This is also the first time a female noble has entered the imperial college.”
Katrina, her eyes wide and hand over her mouth, soon spoke cautiously in a tone tinged with worry.
“However… the Duchess’s actions do seem a bit worrisome. I’m also concerned about the conservative nobles within the empire.”
Her face was full of worry, but Katrina’s eyes subtly shone.
Her gaze subtly shifted to the conservative nobleman sitting next to her. As she looked at the increasingly stern face of the Emperor, her mood elevated. It was time to make her final move.
“Seeing a Duchess as educated and insightful as you, I can’t help but be reminded of the late ‘Empress Sun.’ After all, she was a woman far superior to most men.”
At this, the Emperor’s face completely hardened. A faint sense of animosity towards a Duchess he had never met before was evident on his face. Satisfaction filled Katrina’s eyes upon seeing this.
Katrina knew all too well how to handle men who felt inferior deep down to capable women.
Thanks to this knowledge, she had enjoyed wealth and glory so far.
‘No matter how noble and excellent…’
A woman not loved by a man was as miserable as the late Empress Sun had been. In the end, the ultimate victor was a woman who captured a man’s heart. Just like herself.
‘Duchess of Elyos…’
Katrina had only heard rumors; she had never actually met the Duchess.
However, the more she heard about how insightful the Duchess was to enter the Imperial College and how she was esteemed by the citizens…
It made her uncomfortable to think that she was also the woman chosen by Duke Elyos.
As Katrina thought about Caeron, she unconsciously trembled. The emotion she felt when his icy gaze was directed at her resurfaced, and Katrina rubbed her neck.
Now, it was Pascal, not Caeron, who sat on the throne, but… a Duke held power almost equivalent to an Emperor and was still imposing.
‘The Duke’s influence must be scattered.’
Even if completely breaking him was difficult, she needed to shake his surroundings to gradually weaken him.
Katrina instinctively knew this. That’s how she would survive.
Today was the day she would play her final card.
“The Emperor should also welcome an excellent woman like the Duchess as his companion. It would stabilize imperial power and further prosper our Upipter Empire.”
At Katrina’s words, one of Pascal’s eyebrows raised.
He knew that Katrina had put in considerable effort to elevate a daughter from a noble family close to herself to the Empress’s position.
‘Who is she talking about this time?’
Pascal had always played along with Katrina’s setup. He comfortably leaned back in his chair.
As he looked at Katrina as if to say, continue speaking, she met his gaze with a meaningful smile.
“I heard from the palace maids that you recently spent some alone time with a certain woman in the imperial salon. The two of you seemed very affectionate while discussing the exhibited art.”
Pascal sat up a bit at Katrina’s words.
‘Could it be…’
“Indeed, the flowers of Fleur must be truly beautiful. After all, they’ve captivated not just the Duke but even His Majesty the Emperor.”
With narrowed eyes and a broad smile, Katrina gestured slightly to a maid. The maid then loudly declared what had been prepared beforehand.
“Roselin of the Fleur family wishes to make the Emperor’s acquaintance.”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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