Making someone fall in love with me was easy. However, the condition my sisters set was for me to fall in love with someone. And for that, they had to somewhat match my tastes…
“I don’t particularly like overly bright personalities, excessive talkers, cutesy behaviors, roughness, gloominess, or calculating natures.”
With that in mind, none of the knights seemed like someone I could love.
“Besides, none of them are particularly handsome.”
I glanced at the boy mingled among the training knights. His skin smooth like a heated ridge, eyes sharp like the talons of a desert eagle, lips forming an appealing shape.
Yes, someone like Meruem would do.
“But Meruem is just a child.”
Moreover, since everyone seems to wish for Meruem’s demise, I didn’t feel like complying.
“What about the devil’s law? How could I kill a child who has shown me gratitude?”
No matter how beautifully my sisters wrapped it up as a gift, I wasn’t inclined to do it.
“Sigh.”
“What are you pondering about?” Derek inquired immediately after I sighed deeply.
I looked up at Derek’s well-chiseled jaw and sighed again.
“If I proposed to Derek to become my lover, he would happily agree.”
But Derek’s heart belongs to ‘Leonarda.’
Using his pure love for Leonarda would be an easy path, but it wouldn’t leave a pleasant aftertaste, so I was hesitant.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Is it because of the royal from the desert country?”
“Not exactly that…”
Back to square one.
Listening to the sound of wooden swords striking training dummies, I thought about joining in, and that’s when Derek spoke up softly.
“I know it’s presumptuous, but may I speak, Your Majesty?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
I pretended not to know, but in fact, I did. Derek was still coldly glaring at Meruem’s back.
“Kuan is not our ally. The emperor of Kuan is an arrogant man, always desiring to invade Nix.”
“Yes, I noticed that.”
During the entire banquet, Enrique was eyeing him suspiciously.
And he’s been sticking around here for over a week now.
Why, indeed.
He probably came to assess our military strength and internal layout of the palace.
“Kuan’s emperor has a secret intelligence organization. They carry out his commands anywhere, trained to kill their emotions and follow only his orders.”
“You’re suggesting Meruem is a member of that organization?”
“Yes. His eyes don’t seem typical for a boy his age. Please keep your distance.”
Hmm, but I’ve met those guys…
‘Meruem isn’t one of them.’
From my observation, the Kuan royal family has been strangely dysfunctional since the current emperor’s reign.
“Then you don’t know much.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s why it’s even more pitiful.”
About to stand, I sat down again, resting my elbow on my knee and propping up my chin.
Meruem had just split another training dummy in half with his strike, the third one today.
“To have such strength at his age, imagine the struggles he must have faced.”
“…”
“Please be lenient with him, knight. That’s my request.”
“How can you make such a request of me? A command would suffice.”
Derek bowed his head.
I continued speaking gently to him.
“Knight, being so loyal and conservative, might find it hard to trust Meruem. You might dislike the changes happening in the Empress’s palace.”
“That’s not… true.”
For someone who claims otherwise, he sure has a lot of tension in his jaw.
I need to address this, or it will inevitably lead to problems.
My power needs to expand externally, but for that, internal solidarity is essential.
‘What to do…’
Tapping my cheek with a finger, I raised my hand.
“Meruem, could you come here for a moment?”
“Why did you call?”
Meruem approached, wiping sweat with his shirt pulled up.
Derek tensed up at this, his eyes filled with more force.
He must not like behavior that’s inappropriate according to Nix’s etiquette.
“You’ve been breaking several training dummies. Not satisfied?”
Meruem, who started with real combat training, clearly never received formal training.
Probably, surviving Enrique’s sword was thanks to his excellent survival instincts and superhuman reflexes.
Raw as he was, Meruem was strong, but he needed a bit of refining.
“Cedeph, Giovanni.”
“Yes! Did you call us?”
The two knights, as big as mountains but as agile as rabbits, hurried over.
“I want you two to start teaching Meruem swordsmanship from tomorrow.”
“Us? Really?”
“Yes. Your level of expertise is necessary for Meruem to learn.”
Having lived for over a thousand years and reveling in war, I’ve met countless knights and mercenaries, knew their connections, and how they died.
I can tell who matches whom in terms of skills and compatibility.
In the royal knights, only Cedeph and Giovanni had the physical strength to match Meruem.
The rest… well, they’d probably lose.
‘Of course, in the desert, Meruem would probably have the upper hand.’
Here, he can’t use even half of his original strength.
“Your Majesty’s wish is our command!”
“Thank you, knights.”
Even as I spoke about him, Meruem remained silent, showing neither like nor dislike.
Then, I turned and called Derek.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
