The woman standing in front of the man silently looked up at him.
Not only was there a height difference between the two, but the man was also standing in a higher position than the woman, creating a level difference.
Looking down at the woman, the man spoke in a choppy tone, as if displeased.
“I heard that Viscount Duran has been investigated for the slave auction. Did you know?”
“How could I not know when the whole empire is buzzing with that story?”
“Hah…!”
The man let out a sardonic laugh at the woman’s answer.
The man opened his mouth in a slightly more agitated tone than before.
“It was even the Duke who arrested him. It’s only been a few days, but as you said, it’s splashed all over the newspapers and gossip magazines.”
“…”
“If you have a mouth, why don’t you explain how to resolve this situation?”
To this, the woman lowered her gaze quietly and answered in a calm tone.
“…I’ve always kept in mind the option of using Viscount Duran as a scapegoat if necessary. I’ve made careful preparations, so they won’t find clear evidence that we’re behind this.”
Even if there’s suspicion, without physical evidence they can’t easily take action. After saying this, the woman added:
“Also, I truly didn’t know about this incident. What fool would recklessly continue with a scheduled auction when the Duke suddenly heads to his territory?”
“…”
“It was Viscount Duran’s independent action. In the first place, if he hadn’t stupidly kidnapped the young lord, he wouldn’t have been caught.”
The woman said.
It was a promise to be more careful to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
When there was still no response from the man, the woman proceeded to offer a solution.
Since it happened within the Duke’s territory, she suggested stirring up public opinion that the Duke had failed to properly manage his territory, causing fear among the residents.
The man opened his mouth with a derisive laugh.
“…You don’t even show signs of remorse.”
“…”
“Do you even understand the situation? If we do as you say, I can clearly see what will happen next.”
“…”
“At first, we might be able to slightly damage the Duke’s reputation by saying that due to his absence from military service, the management by his vassals was neglected.”
“…Yes, however-”
“Then what next?”
“…”
The man interrupted the woman, glaring at her and grinding his teeth.
“There’s no one in the empire who doesn’t know that Viscount Duran was involved in the slave auction. Why was the auction led by Viscount Duran held in Rattliffe territory? If it had been held in his own territory, it would have been much easier to hide or cover up.”
“…”
“They will speculate that there must have been a reason why it had to be done this way.”
“…”
“Could it be that the Viscount was planning to frame the Duke if things went wrong, intending to cut off his own tail? How dare a mere viscount think of such a thing, surely there must be someone behind this.”
The man spoke rapidly, then took a breath.
It seemed his breathing quickly became labored due to his heightened emotions.
It was when the woman maintained her silence with her head bowed.
The man looking down at the woman narrowed his eyes, letting out an exaggerated deep sigh. He continued:
“…Such stories will emerge, and among those pointed to as being behind this, won’t the Imperial Family be included?”
“…”
“Even if they are, would tarnishing the Duke’s reputation be important enough to risk staining the name of the Imperial Family?”
“…No, it’s not.”
The man spoke as if chewing his words.
“Knowing that.”
“…”
“Knowing that, you pull this stunt and spout such nonsense!”
As the man shouted asking if she had lost her mind, the woman bowed her head deeply.
Her golden eyes, barely visible through her cascading red hair, were blazing.
Seeing the woman’s unwavering gaze despite his scolding, the man ran his fingers through his hair, trying to quell his anger.
He had thought the golden eyes reminded him of someone, but now he realized they were completely different.
The man, having calmed down somewhat, spoke in a more composed tone.
“Regarding what we agreed on earlier, I’ll have to reconsider. There are too many unreliable aspects to trust and entrust it to you.”
“What…!”
At the man’s words, the mask of calm the woman had been maintaining cracked.
Seeing her mask badly cracked and peeling in places, the man continued without regard:
“I’ll change this meeting from the Second Princess to the First Princess.”
“Second Princess? Your Majesty has only one child!”
The woman shouted.
As her voice rose, the man looked down at her with fierce eyes.
The woman seemed to hesitate for a moment but didn’t back down from her opinion.
The man’s eyes curved slightly. It was a dramatic change that made one doubt if this was the same person who had been pressuring the other party with an oppressive attitude just moments ago.
The man slowly descended from the platform and stood face to face with the woman.
“…”
“…”
When it finally became so quiet that no sound could be heard.
The man bent down.
He opened his mouth close to the woman’s ear.
“No, the gypsy’s daughter you locked up in the Cold Palace and tried to kill is still alive.”
“…!”
“But there’s no need to take it too seriously. I hear the young lord is now five years old?”
With such an age difference, how could I possibly pair them up? The man lightly laughed, grasping a handful of the woman’s long, luscious hair.
Bending down to kiss her soft hair, the fragrant scent of roses stimulated his senses.
“…”
“The First Princess has been quiet until now, so she won’t act presumptuously. You know that best.”
“B-but…”
“…Does it look like I’m asking?”
“…”
“This is a warning. If you try to stain my Imperial Family again, be prepared to give up your succession when you pull such a stunt.”
The man said with a coldly set face.
The woman’s slender shoulders trembled for a moment before she slowly nodded.
“Good. So I hope you’ll manage things properly from now on to prevent this from happening again. I want to get along well with you.”
Before being the father and mother of a country, aren’t we a couple with a lovely daughter?
The man pulled up the corners of his mouth with a willing expression.
It was a scene that could easily be mistaken for a passionate love confession by someone who hadn’t heard the previous conversation.
The man straightened up and spoke.
“Are you outside?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Go and bring the First Princess. We should at least make her presentable.”
“…I will bring her right away.”
As the servant disappeared.
The Empress clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut.
The Emperor, who had been looking down at the Empress, grabbed her shoulders and raised his voice again.
“Send a messenger to Rattliffe territory right now with an imperial edict!”
It was no different from words that would choke someone’s breath.
[This is the timeline separator]Meanwhile, what happened in the Duke’s territory the next day when such a conversation was taking place elsewhere?
It was a very unexpected yet somewhat anticipated situation.
After a week, the wound on the child’s foot had finally disappeared, and the weather was clear.
“Eh, Your Grace.”
“…”
The child was enjoying playing with dolls while riding a boat on the lake with Lutis.
Sitting on a comfortable seat on the boat with a sunshade installed to avoid the sunlight, the child bowed their head to the doll and spoke.
It was the doll that Lutis had gifted before, which had been torn to pieces but was mended like new by the dressmaker’s master, stitching it up one stitch at a time.
“I’m honored to meet you.”
“…”
Aeli sat across from Lutis, watching the child talking seriously with the doll.
It was fortunate that while they got carsick, they didn’t get seasick. However, after coming out to ride a boat, it was a bit disappointing that they were constantly distracted by the doll after only briefly enjoying the scenery.
In fact, this outing itself was meant to divert the child’s attention, so it was more or less successful.
‘They said they would wake up in the first three or four days, but it’s been over a week and they show no signs of waking up.’
As the child kept poking around the boy every other day asking when he would wake up, they had no choice but to take this boat ride.
“Until we return to the capital. Do you know why this person is here? Also, learn about the slave auction case.”
“…”
“Eh, Your Grace.”
“…”
“Those people in the underground chamber, release them? Don’t do that, always keep them locked up, understand?”
“…”
“I’m honored to meet you.”
…But who would have thought they would be impressed enough to memorize that day’s conversation.
When Lutis casually asked, the child said this looked so cool. Seeing the child answer with shining eyes, Aeli turned her head and gritted her teeth.
Lutis’s face, hearing his own words repeated verbatim right in front of him, was as red as the autumn leaves about to fall, despite his calm expression with closed eyes.
“…Can’t you stop that now?”
“Eh? Why?”
“…If we came to enjoy a boat ride, don’t just look at the doll, look outside. We won’t be able to ride for a while when it gets cold.”
“Mmm…”
“That’s right.”
“Eh, Your Grace.”
“…”
Lutis, who had been nodding at the child’s agreement, suddenly froze.
At his seemingly broken appearance, the corners of Aeli’s mouth trembled.
“Is there anything else you’d like, young lady?”
The rabbit doll, dressed identically to the child in beige checkered shorts, a white shirt, and a jacket with red accent colors, cleared its throat solemnly.
Witnessing the scene of the child’s mouth corners trembling as they fiddled with the doll, Aeli…
-Pfft…
“No, well…”
“Eeng… I wanna play a little more.”
“…”
-Aha, ahaha! Kuhuk…
Finally unable to hold it in, she clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.
Lutis buried his face in one hand and said to the child.
“…Only until sunset. We can’t stay after that because your clothes are too thin.”
“Yes! I’m honored to meet you!”
“Haah…”
It was truly so funny she felt like she could die laughing twice over.
__________
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation (Female-dominant)
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.
Synopsis:
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.
He even had his eyes on another woman.
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.
Su Mu expressed her disdain.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
She also wanted to embrace Xie Yi, who had silently stayed by her side in her previous life and committed suicide by taking poison after her death.
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.”
[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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