My Husband Was Stolen Twice (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“What did you say you wanted me to call for?”
Eric, having just finished dealing with a commotion, adjusted his disheveled hair while wearing a robe and twitched his eyebrows.
A tutor, out of the blue?
Earlier, when he’d told her to stop lazing around and do something—anything—she hadn’t lifted a finger.
Eric found Roje strangely unfamiliar.
The woman who had once cared only for herself was now rejecting him, no longer looking at him with that ever-familiar, longing gaze.
Yet he hardly paid attention to Roje’s change—after all, to him, “Roje” wasn’t someone who occupied much space in his life.
In short, Eric didn’t care at all what Roje did.
“Let her do as she pleases.”
Eric waved dismissively toward the butler, clearly annoyed.
At Eric’s words, the butler exhaled in relief and quickly pulled out some documents, handing them to Eric.
“Then, which tutor shall I summon? I’ve already narrowed down a few candidates…”
“Handle it yourself. Don’t keep asking me about every little thing.”
“Ah… understood.”
The butler neatly stacked the documents he’d taken out and bowed toward Eric. Eric didn’t even glance at him, merely gesturing impatiently for him to leave.
The reason Eric was so eager to send the butler away was likely the woman sleeping beside him.
‘Could that girl be… Doana?’
The butler momentarily doubted his own eyes.
Doana was lying in Eric’s bedroom—naked, no less.
“What are you staring at?”
Flustered by Eric’s question, the butler fumbled awkwardly. He was embarrassed—he’d been staring too openly at the woman.
Eric gently covered Doana’s sleeping body with a white sheet and spoke irritably.
“I don’t have a habit of sharing what’s mine.”
“W-what are you talking about? That’s a misunderstanding!”
Unable to hide his flushed face, the butler hurriedly left Eric’s room.
“Hmm… Eric?”
Awakened by their voices, Doana rubbed her eyes and called out to Eric. Eric grabbed her wrist before she’d even fully opened her eyes and pulled her toward himself.
“What is it? Still not enough?”
Doana nestled into Eric’s arms as if pouting.
“You liked it, didn’t you? You fell asleep as if you’d fainted.”
At Eric’s self-assured tone, Doana nearly burst out laughing.
‘So there really is no such thing as a perfect man…’
Truthfully, she was extremely disappointed. He was supposed to be the romantic male lead, yet he’d been utterly underwhelming last night.
But since Eric was her lifeline—her only hope—Doana had no choice but to humor him.
“It was wonderful.”
She forced words she didn’t mean and burrowed even deeper into Eric’s embrace. In truth, she’d fallen asleep simply because she’d been bored out of her mind—yet he’d taken it as something else entirely.
“Come here.”
He pulled Doana into his arms once more. Doana unleashed every ounce of acting skill she’d cultivated over the years.
Wearing an expression of pure bliss, she lavished praise upon Eric more than anyone else ever could.
“There’s so much to memorize.”
Roje sighed, wondering if she’d started something foolish. The butler had arranged her first lesson for the very next day, just as she’d requested to begin as soon as possible.
Was the very first lesson supposed to be this difficult? It was giving her the same suffocating pressure as studying for the national college entrance exam all over again.
“So our family declined because we backed the wrong side…”
Roje’s family, the House of Count Serbiat, had fallen from grace during a struggle for imperial power.
Though the members of Roje’s family—once thorns in the side of other nobles—had narrowly escaped death, they’d lost their lands and tumbled into ruin.
Surviving at all had only been possible thanks to the support of the Crown Prince, whom her parents had backed.
“They must’ve thought I was utterly pathetic…”
What must they have thought of her, knowing nothing about her own family? Roje’s cheeks burned hot with shame.
In truth, the tutor hadn’t been surprised at all by Roje’s ignorance. After all, she’d married the very man who’d ruined her family—of course she wouldn’t know anything.
Roje lightly slapped her cheeks to refocus her mind.
She’d appeared flustered during the first lesson, but she refused to project the same image in the second.
‘The former imperial couple passed away early from illness, and the emperor’s younger brother ascended the throne in place of the young crown prince.’
Roje recalled the tutor’s words. He’d openly revealed his political leanings while instructing her.
‘It was for the best. The young crown prince was nothing more than a troublemaker within the imperial family—ruthless and devoid of compassion or tears. Everyone avoided him. You likely won’t cross paths with him, but stay cautious. Under no circumstances should you become entangled with that man.’
The tutor had stressed this point emphatically to Roje.
[Grand Duke Arteum.]The former crown prince, now holding the title of Grand Duke.
Roje mentally crossed out Grand Duke Arteum’s name and muttered to herself.
“Right. Better safe than sorry.”
He hadn’t played a major role, yet she remembered him clearly—he hadn’t been portrayed favorably in the novel either.
Hadn’t he recklessly wielded power until the emperor’s faction finally executed him?
The execution scene had been depicted so horrifically that she remembered it vividly. How could she forget such brutal punishments, unimaginable in her original world?
“Ugh… I remembered it again.”
Shuddering as if she’d witnessed it firsthand, Roje shook her head firmly.
Then she blacked out Grand Duke Arteum’s name so thoroughly it was no longer visible.
At that moment, Roje had no idea she would soon meet the very person she so desperately wished to avoid.
Roje groaned for a long while, repeatedly reciting what her tutor had taught her. After who knew how much time had passed, she finally set down her fountain pen, having sat motionless at her desk the entire while.
Outside the window, the sun was already sinking low on the horizon.
“My body feels stiff.”
She stretched her stiff limbs and slowly rose from her seat, then walked leisurely toward the terrace.
Resting her arms on the railing, Roje admired the sky painted crimson. How long had it been since she last looked up at the sky like this?
A cool breeze brushed pleasantly over her skin. Roje gathered her loose hair and began slowly braiding it.
Her work was clumsy.
In her previous life, Roje had always kept her hair short—long hair took too much time to dry and required daily upkeep she never had the patience for.
“Hmm… it’s harder than it looks.”
She’d always assumed it was easy—after all, maids braided her hair in an instant. Roje fiddled awkwardly with her hair and gave an embarrassed smile.
Just then, someone knocked on Roje’s door.
“Madam, your carriage is ready.”
A maid entered Roje’s room.
“The carriage?”
“Yes. You said you needed to go see the Count’s gift—he asked me to have the carriage ready by nine.”
“Oh… did I say that?”
Roje gave an awkward smile. Of course she hadn’t—she’d only just possessed this body. The original Roje must have made the request.
‘So the rumors about her short-term amnesia from shock must be true…’
The maid looked at Roje with pity in her eyes.
‘Poor Countess… It seems the Count is now openly having an affair.’
The rumor had already spread like wildfire among the servants.
Word had traveled fast that Doana had spent the night in the Count’s bedroom until late.
Rumor even had it that Doana, who’d once been assigned to Roje, had been reassigned to serve the Count himself at his request.
“I’ll help you get ready for your outing.”
Before Roje could even say “It’s fine,” the maid had already undone her braid and skillfully began re-braiding her hair—far more expertly than Roje ever could.
Satisfied with her work, the maid admired Roje’s reflection in the mirror and tucked a fresh flower into her hair as decoration.
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
The maid tended to Roje’s hair with extra care, moved by sympathy for her as another woman.
“But… isn’t nine at night rather late? Do shops even stay open at this hour?”
“Didn’t you say you’d be attending an auction today?”
“…Right, I did. I’ve been so scatterbrained lately.”
Roje offered a vague agreement and an awkward smile.
“Yes, I’ve kept the invitation ready for you, Madam.”
The maid held out a small, palm-sized invitation. On the black card were written the location, time, and a brief list of auction items.
The glossy paper clearly indicated high-quality material. As Roje scanned the auction catalog, one item caught her eye—something oddly familiar.
‘Tears of Luna…!’
Roje grasped at a faint but returning memory.
Eric, who had always been fond of fine crafts, had long desired the “Tears of Luna,” and Roje had gone through great trouble to acquire it, hoping to earn his favor.
Unfortunately, she never did win any points with Eric.
‘Because… it turned out to be a fake.’
Eric had sent the “Tears of Luna” as a gift to the Empress—and it was then exposed as counterfeit.
Furious that Roje had shamed him so publicly, Eric had yelled at her mercilessly, and she’d wound up tumbling down the stairs after clinging desperately to his trousers, begging for forgiveness.
‘…And that very night, Roje had shared his bed again—pointlessly.’
And it had been the heroine herself, despite being unwell, who’d sought him out first.
“Um… Madam?”
Seeing Roje standing blankly, the maid called to her cautiously.
“…Do I really have to go?”
“Pardon?”
Hearing Roje’s sigh-laden murmur, the maid’s eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s an auction you’ve been waiting for days to attend! If you bring back the ‘Tears of Luna,’ won’t the Count be so pleased? His love for you might finally blossom!”
When Roje just stared at her silently, the maid forced an awkward smile and mumbled,
“Haha… I didn’t mean to imply he doesn’t love you now or anything…”
Anyone could see that wasn’t how someone treated the person they loved.
Roje thought to herself as she watched the maid carefully gauge her reaction, trailing off mid-sentence. The maid, still wearing that strained smile, gave Roje a firm nudge on the back and practically pushed her out the door.
‘This could be your chance to win back the Count’s heart…!’
Clenching her fist with the fervor of someone on a noble mission, the maid pointed toward a young man standing foolishly nearby.
“Lord Sern will accompany you as your guard.”
“My name is Sern, Madam!”
He bowed to Roje with a visibly nervous expression. He looked barely twenty—quite young, with a fresh-faced demeanor.
“I’m counting on you.”
When Roje greeted him in return, Sern’s face flushed bright red. Roje accepted his escort and boarded the carriage. As it moved, she gazed out the window, lost in thought.
“What should I even buy…”
She couldn’t possibly return empty-handed after going all the way to the auction… but buying another counterfeit felt equally unappealing.
While she was lost in thought, the swiftly moving carriage gradually slowed and came to a stop. Outside, the coachman announced their arrival, and Sern opened the carriage door, offering his hand to Roje.
“We’ve arrived, Madam.”
Roje took Sern’s hand and stepped slowly down the carriage stairs. She glanced around, surveying the auction house. It didn’t seem particularly secretive.
When Roje showed her invitation to the man standing at the entrance, he handed her a small round badge.
The badge bore the number ‘38’.
‘Is this my seat number?’
Inside the auction hall, Roje began searching for her assigned seat.
‘Huh? Someone’s already sitting there.’
There, right in her seat marked ‘38,’ sat a man.
Roje walked slowly toward him.
“M-Madam? Why are you heading over there?”
Sern called out in a panicked voice, urging her not to go—but Roje seemed not to hear him. She found it strange that every seat around hers was completely empty.
‘Do they assign seats on a first-come, first-served basis?’
Tilting her head in confusion, Roje tapped the man’s shoulder lightly.
“Excuse me, but this is my seat.”
She showed him her numbered badge. The man seated in her spot frowned and turned his head.
His icy blue eyes locked onto Roje with an intense, piercing gaze.
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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