“It’s okay, this friend is on our side.”
At Enoch’s words, Alexandr smiled kindly.
“Then, please make yourself comfortable.”
“Phew. It’s my first time meeting you.”
Dalina sighed and sat down across from Enoch.
“You were going back and forth behind the building instead of staying by Philip’s side throughout the opening ceremony. What’s with this change of heart?”
Just as Enoch said, today she was supposed to be by Philip’s side.
Being with Philip and conversing all day would leave all sorts of speculation among the nobles.
Alexandr, passing by yesterday while she was discussing fervently with Enoch, had offhandedly remarked,
“Count Morris is going to wear the same color as the Countess tomorrow.”
“What? I thought they were divorcing.”
“It seems the Count is still going to match the mood since they’re still married. After all, it’s a place where the domain’s people are watching.”
“It’s probably another one of the Countess’s schemes.”
Enoch stuck out his tongue, saying Ellen was wicked.
“Philip’s friend is too generous. It’s clear that it’s the Countess’s strategy to appear to have her husband’s support.”
At his words, Dalina quickly made up her mind. She would wear the same color too.
There was no set dress code for the opening ceremony anyway, and Ellen was busy with her own affairs.
If she, wearing similar clothes, was by Philip’s side, it would blur Ellen’s scheme and people would feel Dalina as the future Countess.
But what in the world was happening?
Today, her stomach was not cooperating at all. It was hard even to sit in the chair.
On top of that, Enoch was being tactless.
“That’s not it.”
Dalina couldn’t hide her discomfort.
Despite being so busy, she still felt her stomach bubbling.
“It seems like the food was strange.”
“The food? It tasted good though.”
Enoch rolled his eyes once, puffing out pipe smoke.
“Well, with the Countess’s temperament, she probably tampered with your food.”
Dalina drank a glass of water, suppressing the hot feeling in her face.
At the same time, Alexandr burst into laughter.
“That seems likely. But the culprit won’t be our Ellen. Ha ha ha!”
“Our Ellen,” Dalina, sensing an unusual expression, carefully examined Alexandr.
Leaning back on the sofa, he exuded arrogance and conceit.
“Our Ellen wouldn’t be that good. If she had tampered with the food, you would have vomited just enough not to die. You might have died if unlucky.”
At Alexandr’s words, Dalina felt goosebumps. And Alexandr found her stiff expression amusing.
“It’s just her nature. Putting poison in food is a serious crime that even a duke can’t escape punishment for. Rather, a slap is simply passed off as a bad temperament.”
“You were teasing me.”
“I might not know if you didn’t catch on.”
Dalina, slightly frowning, looked Alexandr up and down.
“But at yesterday’s party… I don’t think I saw you.”
“I’m not a noble of the Cigarette Kingdom, so I wasn’t invited. A bit disappointing….”
Without changing his posture, Alexandr blew out a long trail of cigarette smoke.
“My name is Alexandr Zephyros Bourbon.”
“The seventh prince of the Bourbon Kingdom.”
At Enoch’s following introduction, Dalina was taken aback and quickly bowed.
“Oh, it’s okay. Just be comfortable.”
Alexandr, pulling up the corners of his mouth, gestured Dalina to sit.
“Now we’re in the same boat.”
Though his smile felt somewhat overpowering to Dalina, she cautiously asked about Alexandr’s intentions.
“The same boat?”
“The object of your unrequited love is Count Morris, right? You didn’t dare approach him because your mother’s lineage was low, so the Count didn’t even know about you?”
Dalina’s face turned red.
“You started to aim for the remarriage opportunity when you heard the divorce papers were filed, right?”
“Master Enoch.”
At the name Dalina called out in a moaning voice, Enoch spoke as if it was no big deal.
“You don’t have to look so embarrassed. Your Highness is in the same position as you.”
“Huh?”
Alexander laughed with a grin.
“I too want a seat at Ellen’s remarriage. But our Ellen is so stubborn and foolish.”
“…Huh?”
“But that’s what’s charming. This time, it seems I’ve been lucky with my business, but…”
He reached out his hand to Dalina.
“I will ruin Ellen’s business and send her back home penniless.”
Alexander said that if I did that, Ellen would be even more stressed and her panic attacks would worsen.
“Your Grace will withstand the panic attacks with Ellen’s daughterinlaw and gain the sympathy and favor of Count Philip Morris.”
Listening to his plan, Dalina kept holding back laughter.
If she indulged in the panic attacks, that disgraceful woman would disappear on her own.
“Your Grace, you must move like a beautiful doe. That is our point of collaboration.”
“Is there something to embellish like a doe? I am already that kind of woman.”
Dalina confidently accepted his requested handshake.
“That way, Prince Enoch can get what he wants too.”
Alexander pointed at Enoch with a meaningful gesture.
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
