Inside the turning carriage.
There were four people, but the interior was desolate.
“What happened?”
I was half out of my mind.
“So, I almost got whipped… and the rice wine won the auction, but then the Emperor appeared…”
The jumbled memories were exceedingly fantastical.
“Wow, I almost died.”
Is a party a place where people go to die?
A chill ran down my spine as the tension eased.
“I never want to go again.”
Though I had somehow survived the Empress’s clutches, I did not want to experience it twice.
“I wonder if the kids are alright.”
I finally calmed down a little and had a chance to look around.
I carefully called out to the children.
“Louise, Evan?”
“Uhm?”
Louise suddenly raised her head.
She seemed very surprised, her face blank.
“She doesn’t seem hurt.”
I worriedly stroked the child’s head.
“Are you alright?”
“…Yes, Aileen protected me.”
The answer was correct, but she looked extremely gloomy.
I turned my gaze to Evan and asked him as well.
“What about you, Evan?”
It was Evan who had fought.
I was worried that he might have a bruise somewhere.
“He was on the attacking side, though.”
I wanted to applaud him for hitting well, but Evan avoided my gaze with his lips tightly sealed.
“Does he hate to look at me now?”
My heart ached at the child’s reaction.
But I shouldn’t show it.
Forcing my head up, I found Kashar sitting across from me.
“At least he saved me.”
Thanks to his timely return, I was able to avoid the whipping.
I don’t know if it was because of someone’s gaze, or if there might be a disruption in our lovers’ act, but either way, I survived.
“Think of it as a bonus.”
According to the contract, he had no obligation to save me.
I carefully expressed my gratitude.
“Sir, Count. Thank you for helping.”
“……You’re welcome.”
With that one word, silence followed again.
Kashar was looking out the window, resting his chin on his hand.
The night was deep, and everything outside was dark.
“He’s not angry, is he?”
He might think I messed up while he was away.
“What to do about the atmosphere?”
I helplessly washed my hands dry.
“You know, Aileen.”
“Yes?”
Unexpectedly, the first to speak was Louise.
When I listened, the child seemed to have made up her mind to ask.
“What does it mean that this older brother is our guardian?”
Louise was asking me about something she heard from someone else.
“I should have told you myself.”
I felt quite sorry about that fact.
There was no more hiding it now that she was asking.
I held the child’s small hand and said,
“It’s exactly as it sounds. I asked the Count.”
“Asked?”
“Yes. To protect you, Princes.”
I can’t protect you, just as a nanny.
In the end, I let it all out.
“I wanted to protect you, but I ended up saying that.”
To be receiving sponsorship, without parents.
I never thought I would hear such a disgrace.
“Moreover, the Emperor…”
Daios’s gaze at his children was the epitome of indifference.
“You were surprised, weren’t you? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand.”
“Uhm, no!”
Louise shook her head.
Her unstable gaze was directed at me.
“Is Aileen alright?”
“Of course, look how fine I am!”
I flexed my arm to show off my muscles.
“Since Louise is worrying about me, I feel all the fatigue is gone!”
I deliberately spoke cheerfully, but Louise’s expression did not lighten.
Rather, more.
“We couldn’t do anything…”
Tears, big as grains of sand, dropped from her large eyes.
“Lo, Louise!”
Startled, I immediately embraced Louise.
I hugged her first, but I didn’t know why she was crying, so it was hard to calm her down.
“Shh, it’s okay. You have to stop.”
As I fumbled around, laughter came from across the room.
Kashar was looking this way.
“The baby doesn’t have to do anything.”
“I’m not a baby!”
“Lord Louis!”
I barely managed to grab the struggling Louis.
“You must not be rude to the Duke.”
“But…!”
Louis puffed up his cheeks.
Meanwhile, Kashar was busy teasing the child.
“That’s because you’re a baby.”
“Why are you doing that to a child!”
That gentleman has no manners!
As I glared at Kashar, he shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m not a baby, I’m going to be an adult too!”
Louis clenched his fists.
Seeing his fists like round dumplings, Kashar chuckled.
There was no mess like this one.
‘Oh dear, what a headache.’
I’m the only adult among the three children.
I found comfort in thinking that way.
‘But I think I know why Louis is acting like this.’
I turned Louis, who was arguing with Kashar, towards me and sat him down.
“Lord Louis, did you want to help me?”
At my words, Louis shook his head.
“No!”
“Then what?”
When I asked again, Louis hesitated.
After fidgeting with his fingers for a while, Louis said in a small voice.
“I wanted… to protect Aileen.”
The child was upset that he could not do anything.
“Aileen almost got hit by something scary. But I couldn’t do anything. It makes me so sad.”
There was a mixture of grief and anger in his blue eyes.
‘So young.’
Children have various reasons for wanting to grow up.
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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