But protection was needed… Just until she could find a way. It’s not that she was asking for something for free, she could pay a price that matched.
Brody hurriedly continued.
“I’m not just asking for protection. I will also help the North prosper. My abilities will be more than sufficient to help.”
Brody’s calculation was this:
‘If I help the faminestricken North, that foxlike chief of staff will agree to protect me. He may not like me, but he’s not a fool who would abandon someone valuable.’
With Brody’s abilities, the North could become stronger in a short time.
If the stronger North could silence the original protagonists who were fixated on her, it would be killing two birds with one stone! If she could find a way to ‘neutralize the magic controlling the body,’ it would be perfect.
Even if her presence caused diplomatic issues, war wouldn’t break out during the 3year truce. So, 3 years.
‘By that time, he might give up on me. When he goes back to the North and sees the situation, he will face the reality of how reckless it is to marry me.’
Since she decided not to become the Duke’s concubine, there was no need to stay in the North afterward. She could go find a peaceful and uneventful life, as originally planned.
It was a logical choice. Good for her, good for the North.
“So… you mean…”
No, maybe… except for Yurik among the people of the North.
“You will not marry me…?”
As expected, he seemed shocked.
“Then… how…”
“I will serve diligently if you give me an appropriate position.”
“So… you mean, you want to be a subordinate, not a wife…?”
“Yes, marriage…, can’t happen.”
Aidan was hurt by Brody’s firm response, which left no room for negotiation.
“Why is that?”
He swallowed the question rising to his throat, ‘Could it be that you dislike becoming my wife?’
Again, Brody’s answer came flying.
“…Because, as Your Highness said, maintaining the marriage for 3 years is difficult.”
Aidan felt relieved that she didn’t answer ‘because she dislikes me.’
But it was just as depressing.
Because she was talking about leaving in 3 years.
“In 3 years… you’re saying you’ll leave.”
She looked down at the man’s hand tightly holding her own, her head bowed.
Despite his desperate expression, Brody firmly nodded, trying hard to hide her apologetic feelings.
If she gave him any leeway, Aidan would be more tormented. If she said the reason was ‘because she’s not confident,’ she would never burden him and would persuade him.
So, cutting it off as coldly as possible seemed right.
“Your Highness, please understand my feelings. If I wanted that, I wouldn’t have left the northern army in the first place. Then and now, there’s no change in what I want.”
Aidan looked down at her hand that he was tightly holding and responded.
“Freedom, you mean.”
Brody nodded once again.
At that answer, Aidan deeply sighed, bowing his head and holding his forehead.
An uncomfortable silence settled, but it didn’t last long.
A voice was heard clattering from outside the window, a familiar voice boasting perfect diaphragmatic breathing.
“Bring it out, bring it out!”
Aidan’s deep frown sharply gleamed as he held his forehead.
He lifted his head, wrapping his arms around Brody’s pale, tense shoulders.
From his clenched teeth came a growling sound.
“Jax…?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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