It was strange.
Normally, even if not in front of the camp, someone would have watched him return from outside.
She often stayed in the fields, but here she had no fields.
He had told her to stay in Ferdinand Fortress because it could be dangerous, but he was secretly delighted when she insisted on coming down with him.
He didn’t want to put her in danger, but he eventually yielded to an odd feeling of not wanting to be apart.
‘I thought we had gotten closer….’
When he lightly looked around and she was nowhere to be seen, he assumed she must be in the barracks. She looked quite tired while moving, so she was probably asleep.
The battle was over quicker than expected, so she might not have anticipated his return so soon.
It was hard to call her lazy, but she slept a lot. Well, she would need to replenish energy to move with that thin and fragile body.
‘She really has poor stamina.’
Ian recalled the moment he had held her. The easily gripped bones, the ribs, and the collarbone that cast a vivid shadow.
‘I’ll have to feed her well when I return. Winning the war will solve the food problem.’
He was surprised to find himself recalling the sensation of that moment and felt shame at his own audacity. So he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Ian liked seeing her sleeping in his barracks like a relaxed hamster. Looking at her gave him a warm feeling, making this place feel more like a human dwelling, a place where human work was done.
He headed toward the barracks with familiar steps.
“Your Highness!”
It was then. A soldier came and delivered a message from the chief of staff.
“It looks like you’ll need to come see this. The prisoner is making a fuss….”
“Didn’t I tell you to treat him well since he’s a valuable hostage?”
“Yes, it’s not a matter of treatment, but he’s screaming and demanding someone to be released, and calling for Your Highness.”
Ian sighed, picturing the face of the prisoner, ‘Duke Jacks McCarthy’. Such a fuss for such a politelooking man.
He turned his steps and headed toward the barracks where Jacks was being held.
The soldiers guarding the barracks made way for the Duke to enter.
“What’s the matter?”
“The prisoner is looking for a woman. Demanding to release some pitiful girl named Brody.”
Chief of Staff River replied cynically, arms folded.
“Brody?”
“Must be a significant servant. Looking for her even in captivity.”
“How insolent!”
Jacks’s roar cut through River’s sarcasm.
The very wheezy breathing, it felt as if it was shaking the barracks.
Ian frowned, and River covered his ears as if expecting this.
“Is there a woman named Brody among the prisoners?”
“I don’t know. Mrs. Murphy, who manages the list of female prisoners, shook her head.”
“She may have changed her name.”
River shrugged, his arms still folded.
It was a gesture that said, ‘So how will you find her?’
“You didn’t kill her, did you?!”
Jacks’s thunderous shout shook the barracks again.
Why does he have to do that? River clicked his tongue with a very annoyed expression.
“I can’t find who the prisoner is talking about. If you tell me why you’re looking for her and under what conditions, I may decide whether or not to make an effort?”
“Damn.”
Ian’s terse reply made Jacks overdramatically feign agony. A reasonable suspicion arose that he must think he’s on a stage, acting.
River was utterly disgusted, but Ian patiently waited.
Jacks seemed to think he had suffered enough and ended with a last whimper, mumbling something. It looked like a soliloquy.
It was a very soft murmur and hard to hear, but to Ian, blessed by spirits, the sound came clearly.
[Did the assassination fail, Brody? I should have stopped you.]Ian was taken aback.
But apparently, no one else heard it, as River just continued to look annoyed.
“Why do you want that woman, esteemed prisoner? Shouldn’t we, the reckless, have a proper reason not to make a decision?”
River cast a taunt in a polite tone.
Jacks didn’t seem to understand the taunt or get angry, and continued talking.
He looked like someone writhing in guilt for losing a woman.
“That woman is precious to me more than anything. Though I made a mistake and let her go, if she returns, I’m confident that I can treat her better than anyone.”
Ha… Who asked about that?
River’s lips twisted coldly.
Jacks kept on talking, lost in his own world.
“Her Highness the Princess cherishes that child very much, too. If I send her back with me, I can receive great praise.”
Praise? Speaking of praise in the face of losing a war? River was dumbfounded, but he couldn’t deny that it was the first interesting thing Jacks had said.
“So… you’re saying she has value as a hostage?”
“That’s right.”
As River showed interest, Jacks seemed excited.
“Then we, who are not opposed to your request, shall try our best. Can you give us a clue other than her name? Such as her appearance…”
“That woman’s name is Brody. She’s beautiful with light brown hair like milk chocolate and sparkling green eyes like emeralds.”
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
