The heat of the sun not only warmed the garden but also heated the queen’s reception room located on the second floor of the palace.
In an attempt to cool the room, all the windows were left open to let the breeze flow.
Golden threads of Delia’s hair fluttered through the gently swaying curtains.
Despite the scorching sun where she would naturally seek shade, Delia was glued to the window sill, seemingly unable to detach herself.
Delia, with her gaze fixed outside the window, asked her maid, Agnes.
“Agnes, I’d like a glass of cold water, please.”
Delia was scanning the palace garden below her.
Her sparkling blue eyes, reflecting light, were swiftly scanning, searching for something.
Instinctively, her slender and pale hand gripping the edge of the oldfashioned curtain tensed up.
“The imperial soldiers who have filled Iorenti Palace…”
In the garden, construction for a water fountain was in full swing.
The soldiers of the Empire, who had once drawn their weapons to seize Iorenti, were now busily digging the ground.
Perhaps the scorching heat of the sun was unbearable as they began to take off their upper garments one by one.
The sweat dripping down their wellsculpted muscles shimmered in the light.
The heat they emanated filled the palace and made it heat up.
“Until recently, we were pointing guns at each other.”
“It’s hard to believe.”
In response to Delia’s muttering, the maid Agnes answered while preparing the water.
“When the Imperial Army stormed the palace on the first day, I thought we were all going to die.”
Perhaps recalling the fear of that day, Agnes gripped the water bottle tightly.
The stream of water pouring from the bottle trembled slightly, as if reflecting Agnes’s fear.
“But then such a peaceful day has come.”
“I couldn’t have imagined this would happen.”
Even when she drew her sword to assassinate the enemy’s commander, she could never have imagined this.
That there would come a day when she had to have him.
Even when she ate the snowdrop to get away from him, she couldn’t predict this.
That there would come a day when she could have him.
Her blue eyes, looking at the imperial soldiers filling Iorenti Palace, blinked repeatedly, as if trying to reaffirm the unbelievable reality.
“All thanks to Her Highness the Princess.”
“What?”
“You dramatically secured a marriage alliance, didn’t you?”
Agnes, handing a cup of water to Delia, chimed in.
“If Your Highness hadn’t stepped forward, we would have disappeared without a trace like Roieni and Kirens.”
“It’s not decided yet. We still need the approval of the Council.”
Stopping there, Delia turned her head to look at the door to the reception room.
“We need mother’s permission too.”
“But why does Her Majesty the Queen reject the commander? His Majesty the King has already given his permission.”
“Because it’s difficult to accept someone who has been our enemy.”
“It’s best for us to form a marriage alliance now.”
Was it really the best choice?
Every now and then, when she felt uneasy, she asked herself, but the conclusion was always the same.
Even if she could go back to that time, she would have made the same choice.
“Boswell, who seemed like an eternal ally, betrayed us, didn’t they? So what’s wrong with joining hands with the enemy?”
“It’s harder for her because she has relatives in Boswell. Joining hands with the Empire means turning her back on them.”
“Why is it so complicated?”
“And because she seriously misunderstands the commander.”
Recalling her mother’s horrified expression on the first day, Delia sighed softly.
“I’ll have to reassure her until she clears up her misunderstanding.”
“I wish they would marry soon and end this war.”
Listening to Agnes’s voice, Delia took a sip of water.
The cool sensation of the water trickling down her throat calmed her uneasy heart.
It was a good choice, just being able to protect Iorenti and end the war.
“But why did the commander change his mind so suddenly? He stormed in ferociously, and now he’s talking about a marriage alliance.”
“I wonder.”
“I think it’s clear that the commander fell in love with the princess.”
Love.
Delia clenched her hand that was touching the curtain as if it was ticklish at the mention of love.
“Why do you think so?”
Delia’s casual inquiry held a small excitement.
“In Roieni and Kirens, they killed all the people in the palace. But they spared us.”
“You call sparing us love?”
“And he’s trying to look good in front of Her Majesty the Queen. He even volunteered to repair the garden.”
Delia, who was thinking of Aaron, let out a soft, small laugh.
The man, who was usually whimsical, became respectfully deferential in front of his mother.
As if he was protesting that he was not an imperial brute, but rather a gentleman who knew propriety.
Unable to resist her curiosity at Delia’s smiling face, Anes asked.
“Are you okay, Princess?”
“With what?”
“With marrying the commander of the empire.”
“I have to. For Eorenti.”
“Not as a duty of a princess, but as a woman. Would you be okay?”
“As a woman….”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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