“…!”
Aeli’s eyes widened in surprise.
Just seeing the jet-black hair without a speck of light and the golden eyes was enough to infer the identity of the intruder.
Moreover, there couldn’t possibly be another skilled person capable of breaking through the defenses of the ducal residence with ease and entering the bedroom in an instant.
‘Even if I wasn’t expecting a touching reunion with hugs and tears, this is a bit too much…!’
Noel Mason.
The current head of the Mason Count household and Adi’s uncle, he was Aeli’s elder brother.
…In other words, he could also be called her family tree mate.
“Cough, koff!”
As dust thickly settled inside the bedroom along with a loud noise, Aeli coughed continuously with her eyes half-closed.
Even so, her head reflexively turned to check the child’s safety.
“…Hic! -Hic!”
Adi seemed quite startled, clinging to Aeli’s side with both arms and hiccuping, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere.
It appeared he had cast a defensive spell beside her in an instant.
‘Th-Thank goodness.’
Aeli stroked her startled heart and reached out to gently rub the child’s back. At the same time, her eyes were darting around busily.
Because as soon as she confirmed the child’s safety, anger surged up as if it had been waiting.
“…”
“…Hah.”
As the fog subsided and their eyes met, Noel twisted his lips and let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
It was because Aeli was glaring at him with sharp eyes.
However, this side was just as absurd, so Aeli paid no heed.
Aeli’s mind raced as she recalled what Noel had said when he first set foot in the bedroom.
‘It seems Lutis hadn’t shown himself for a long time even after returning from the battlefield, so he finally came to find him himself.’
They probably hadn’t been in contact for several years, so he couldn’t be in a good mood in that situation.
Moreover, as soon as he entered, he discovered a woman who looked exactly like his deceased sister, lying side by side with a child presumed to be his nephew.
On top of that, the place they encountered each other was none other than the bedroom used by his sister and her husband.
…It was understandable to be angry if he put himself in Noel’s shoes. So it wasn’t that she couldn’t understand his actions.
However-
“…”
Just because you understand it in your head doesn’t mean you aren’t angry.
It was appalling enough to be attacked out of the blue as soon as she woke up, but on top of that, the target was her own flesh and blood.
Aeli swallowed hard and faced off against Noel, who was coldly glaring at her.
Although right now, she was no different from a fragile ordinary person without a single drop of mana, let alone the fact that a single attack from Noel would easily send her back to being a ghost.
But she had her own trusted corner.
‘The initial attack wasn’t with the intention to harm.’
This might sound absurd, but it was the truth.
If what she confirmed in an instant was correct, the magic that flew at them wasn’t lethal, so even if it had hit, they wouldn’t have died.
Although the child had cast a defensive spell, the direction the magic was shot in the first place was subtly off target.
It couldn’t have been a mistake, so from the beginning, it was closer to a threat aimed at venting anger rather than an intention to attack.
Still, if it were just her, that would be one thing, but to do such a thing with a child right next to her made her blood boil-
Thud.
“…”
Dirt crumbled down right next to Aeli’s head, from the wall that took a direct hit from the magic.
Aeli stared blankly at the dirt settling on the already dirty floor, chewing the inside of her cheek and slowly lowering her gaze.
‘…He attacked without intending to kill, right?’
Looking again, it seemed to have just missed.
It was when her insides turned cold and she was holding the child next to her even more tightly for no reason.
“Th-This is an order!”
“…!”
The child, who had been stuck to Aeli’s side, screamed.
It seemed he had calmed down enough to stop hiccuping, but now the child was glaring at Noel just like Aeli had earlier, shedding tears.
Both Noel and Aeli were startled by the unexpected reaction, their eyes wide open.
Bang!
The bedroom door opened roughly and someone entered.
Since it was obvious who would enter the bedroom of the ducal residence’s head without knocking like this, Aeli turned her head.
“…”
“…”
As her gaze briefly crossed with Lutis’, he scanned the inside of the bedroom with his eyes as if trying to grasp the situation.
The terribly damaged wall right next to Aeli’s head, the child sniffling and shedding tears, and lastly, Noel, the presumed culprit of it all.
Perhaps surprised by the unexpected person, Lutis’ eyes, which seemed to waver weakly for a moment, gradually became clear.
Soon, just like Noel, it was only natural for his face to become fierce, filled with anger just like Aeli’s earlier.
Lutis immediately took a step and entered the bedroom.
Aeli quietly looked up at Lutis, who was now standing in front of her, blocking her way.
He had a rare disheveled appearance, as if he had rushed over, his usual neatness nowhere to be seen.
That was quite impressive, so she looked up at him silently.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“…Huh? Me?”
But if there was one unexpected thing, it was that she never even imagined he would ask about her well-being first in this situation.
Aeli, who was rolling her eyes and asking back in response to Lutis’ question, slowly opened her mouth.
“Ah… uh, um- we-well, I should be fine?”
If she’s fine, she’s fine, if not, she’s not. What’s with the question mark?
Aeli, who belatedly nodded her head, felt like her insides were burning with the thought that her absentminded answer was stupid even to herself.
However, even so, there was something else immediately important, so she didn’t pay much attention to it.
It was the moment when Aeli was trying to assure Lutis that the child she was holding and comforting, who was still sobbing, was unharmed.
“…This is absurd.”
Noel spoke in a low, sinking voice as if dumbfounded.
“Duke, I think an explanation is needed for what this is all about.”
“That’s something Count should not be the one saying. What kind of tantrum is this, coming to find me arbitrarily without any notice?”
Their words and actions didn’t hide the fact that they were both in a foul mood.
After all, one side had a woman who looked exactly like his already deceased sister pretending to be the Duchess, and the other side had his wife and child’s safety threatened from the morning.
Unless she revealed the fact that she was indeed the sister Noel thought she was, this misunderstanding would never be resolved.
‘The problem is, even if I say it, there’s no way he’ll believe it.’
A person who passed away more than four years ago suddenly pops up and claims to have been recently resurrected?
Even in the romance novels that were popular when she was still attending the academy, if the plot developed like this, the author would have been criticized to the point of gathering dust.
It was confusing even for Aeli, who experienced it firsthand, so there was no way Noel, who didn’t witness the process of her going from being a ghost to regaining her body, would believe it.
Aeli sat on the bed in an awkward position, unable to do anything in the cold atmosphere, and looked up at the two of them.
Even if she tried to add a word, as mentioned earlier, there was no way they would believe her, and apart from that, there was nothing else to say, so it was only natural.
‘…What should I really do about this?’
Aeli closed her mouth and observed Lutis and Noel.
The child in her arms had buried his face in Aeli’s bosom, unable to bear the chaotic situation he faced as soon as he opened his eyes and the sharp voices.
It seemed he hadn’t stopped crying yet, as she could feel her chest getting soaked.
Noel would growl at Lutis, but if she made even the slightest movement from her spot, he would glare at her with fierce eyes.
Yet, when she actually tried to say something, he wouldn’t even give her a chance to speak, so it was just frustrating.
Even if he did give her a chance to speak, it didn’t seem like the situation would change much, as she had nothing else to say.
“After returning from the battlefield, I heard you were spending time with the young master and getting much better, but that was my misconception.”
Noel twisted his lips, saying one would have to be crazy to do this. He turned his head.
Aeli’s shoulders trembled as she unexpectedly made eye contact with Noel.
Seeing how he took that, Noel opened his mouth again.
“Bringing some fake from who knows where and playing this act- seeing this, it’s obvious what kind of situation you’re in even without looking further.”
“…”
“You’re not in your right mind right now. I can’t just stand by and watch, so I’ll have the young master taken to Mason soon.”
Lutis, who had been quietly listening to Noel’s following remarks, let out a deep sigh.
“It seems you’re not ready to listen to others. …There’s no point in continuing this conversation in this state.”
Aeli held her breath for a moment in the cold atmosphere.
Before marriage, she was also a young lady of Mason, so she had spent a considerable amount of time living in the same mansion as Noel.
Naturally, in terms of time spent together, it was much longer than with Lutis, but even to Aeli, Noel’s expression was unfamiliar.
She thought they had a moderate relationship, not very close like other families but not bad either, but they had fought quite a few times.
Occasionally, when he was really angry, he would scold her quietly with a blank face, but even in those moments, she had never seen a face like that.
“…”
In a way, it was more shocking than when she first saw Lutis’ condition as a ghost.
It was the moment when Aeli lost her words and slightly opened her mouth.
“Sob, soob…”
“…”
“M-Mom is not fake! Uncle is mean, go! Go away! I said go!”
“…Adi?”
Perhaps bothered by being called a fake, the child who had been in Aeli’s arms until then shouted with a face soaked in tears.
At the same time, he raised his hand and brought it to Aeli’s hair.
…This doesn’t feel like a good sign.
Aeli tried to stop the child belatedly, but it was already too late.
“This- this is proof. Sob… that she’s not fake…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The golden hair that had been faintly visible in her sight had turned jet-black again.
Aeli closed her eyes tightly.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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