Rembrandt spoke with a smile.
“Sir Arthur, you may not know, but Duchess Julius is famous for not interacting with people at all. The only place you can see her is at the temple.”
Arthur seemed intrigued and asked back.
“The temple?”
“Yes. She’s a hard person to meet, but she has always attended the victory prayer service at the temple without fail. It’s quite a famous joke around here that the number of worshippers coming to the temple to see her, who’s said to be the most beautiful woman in high society, has tripled.”
“Hmm.”
Then, tales of Christina’s dedication praying for Arthur’s victory for five years were added.
There were also ritualistic praises for Christina’s unusual dedication, who adhered to the imperial command to restrain from social gatherings and remain modest during the war more thoroughly than anyone else.
Duchess Julius’ wife was nervous at Rembrandt’s words, constantly looking at Arthur’s reaction.
In fact, participating in religious events was a means to show off Christina’s exceptional beauty instead of the prohibited social events.
The reason she didn’t interact at all was to hide her less than angelic personality.
The fact that she strictly adhered to the imperial command to refrain from social gatherings and remain modest was to block any incoming questions about Christina’s marriage.
She hadn’t anticipated it would be misinterpreted as devotion for her fiance who had gone to war, but anyway.
As a result, everything fell into place perfectly, and the beautiful and noble Christina, veiled, had reigned as the queen of the social world without any social gatherings for the past five years.
As the cherished only daughter of the wealthy Julius family, with a huge dowry and inheritance promised, she could be called the bride of the century.
‘I managed her reputation so that if Arthur died, I could send her off to a good family again…’
But now it was all useless.
Among the words elevating Christina as the top lady, Rembrandt carefully watched Arthur’s expression.
Arthur seemed uninterested, as if he was asking out of formality.
To make them squirm, and to act superior in such an interesting situation….
Without revealing his judgment, Rembrandt asked breezily.
“May I have the honor of greeting your wife?”
Rembrandt innocently added, as if he had no idea about the current ‘Christina’.
“Duchess Julius actually asked me to capture your reunion in a painting, and I accepted with joy. I am free today.”
The duke’s eyes opened wide as if they were on fire, and he half rose from his seat.
The duchess, forgetting her pride, stared at Arthur with desperate eyes.
‘Please… Please, Arthur! Refuse!’
Arthur answered smoothly.
“Of course. My wife will be happy too.”
The color drained from the faces of the Duke and Duchess.
The Duke even pushed his chair back and stood up.
“Ha, ha. I need to prepare Christina!”
“I’ll do it!”
The Duchess also hurriedly got up.
But Arthur didn’t even look at them and added.
“But today will be difficult. My wife worked hard all night, so she won’t be well. Let’s create an opportunity soon.”
The faces of the Duke and Duchess, who had jumped up in surprise, turned red with embarrassment.
[This is the time separator]Reina anxiously rolled her eyes.
I wanted to ask these girls about what’s going on outside, why I was in this room…
After being made up in an uncomfortable silence for a long time, Reina awkwardly tried to start a conversation.
“Um… I’m Reina.”
The blackhaired maid who was applying scented oil to Reina’s hair and combing it peered at Reina through the mirror and answered curtly.
“Yeah, I know. Do you think any of us don’t know you?”
Reina, who had barely interacted with her fellow maids, was taken aback by the unexpected words.
“You know me?”
Sure, because you stand out.
Unlucky you.
The blackhaired maid laughed scornfully, but she at least introduced herself.
“Don’t you know me? I’m Marina. And she’s Brodie.”
The maid with a resentful look, Brodie, who was touching the hair on the other side, also exchanged eye contact with Reina through the mirror.
From Reina’s point of view, she was worried that the false bride situation might have leaked outside, but Reina was originally quite famous among the maids.
Nine out of ten new servants and maids who come to this mansion ask ‘Who is she?’ as soon as they find Reina.
And the next words that the maids and servants who asked such questions would hear after her name were,
‘She can’t be friends with her. She’s a wall builder.’
Did she attempt to blend in this time?
Marina messed with Reina’s hair and pouted her lips.
“Is it true that the lady is sick?”
“……”
“Why did you go instead of the lady?”
“……”
Reina shut her mouth.
Because these were questions that she couldn’t answer.
Reina was not particularly talented at lying.
Not that she couldn’t do it at all, but she lacked the quick thinking and agility to dodge the questions as soon as she received them.
For Reina, her grandmother’s wellbeing was at stake.
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.
Link to read
