As I emerged from the underground prison, the night air felt incredibly refreshing. The guard I had sent out was hesitantly looking at me.
“It turned out this way, and I had hoped the nanny would be honest, but she…”
“Oh dear.”
I pretended to wipe my eyes with my sleeve, and the guard seemed to mistake it for ‘poor Miss Annette.’
When Annette was truly the unfortunate lady of the Porshe family, no one cared, but now people’s attitudes change with just a few false tears.
I deliberately bit my lip.
“Please take care of the nanny until the end.”
“Of course.”
What punishment comes with stealing? Whatever it is, she won’t be able to work in noble households again. She won’t be able to secretly torment weak children anymore.
As I turned toward my room, someone emerged from the darkness.
“You seem to be feeling better.”
“Your Grace?”
Darius’s black hair and eyes blended into the night’s darkness. The guard recognized the Duke and quickly bowed.
“It seems late to be visiting your family home for the last time.”
He escorted me as if guiding me. I walked slowly away from the prison.
“I still wanted to hear the nanny’s side. She was my nanny, after all.”
“Did you find her story forgivable?”
“No.”
I shook my head, feigning deep disappointment.
“She resented me to the very end.”
“Oh, that’s unfortunate.”
We walked slowly back to my room. He was silent, and so was I.
“Thank you for walking me back.”
“Did the maid really steal the necklace?”
My hand slipped from the doorknob.
That was a question I hadn’t anticipated.
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“The person described in the initial reports was weak and faint-hearted. But the Annette I met is pleasantly resilient.”
It was just the two of us in the corridor. In the silent stillness, Darius gazed at me intently.
“The Annette I know wouldn’t just cry helplessly if a maid stole her necklace.”
“So, if someone stole my necklace, would I run after them and kick them? Is that what I am?”
Yes, that’s right. I’m the one who pulled Kaitlyn’s hair. If something as precious as that necklace was stolen, I wouldn’t just lie down and cry. I’d go out and find it myself.
“Nanny did torment you, she couldn’t deny that. But she didn’t seem to be lying about not stealing.”
This was a crisis.
‘The main characters are fundamentally on the side of justice.’
If he finds out I falsely accused the nanny, the goodwill I’ve built up might plummet. It was an unjust means.
Would he push to know if I was lying, if the nanny didn’t steal the necklace?
Shouldn’t he trust me more, now that we’ve agreed to live together?
But my response was completely different.
“What if I couldn’t get over the wrongs the nanny did to me and falsely accused her of stealing the necklace?”
His hand twitched, and I grabbed it firmly. The 20-year-old Duke might act tough but was still naive.
“And if Your Grace knew this and still pretended not to know. Then we would have our first secret as a married couple. Would you keep this secret?”
Darius didn’t answer but looked down. That was enough.
Today we got married and shared a secret as a commemoration.
Returning to his quarters after escorting Annette, Darius was deep in thought. He hadn’t expected Annette to so readily admit to wrongdoing.
〈Suppose I did falsely accuse the nanny.〉
〈Then, Your Grace, would you become an accomplice to my secret?〉
She casually confessed as if handing over a wedding ring. Yet she behaved as if it wouldn’t matter even if he demanded a divorce because of this.
In reality, Annette was internally very shocked and anxious about how things would unfold, something he would never believe.
A rose with thorns. During the dinner they shared, people were captivated by her seemingly lovely exterior. They thought her a fragile, lovable, typical noble girl.
But the woman he encountered in the night breeze was different.
She was not just a pretty ornamental flower. She had resilience and thorns to protect herself.
She did not hesitate to retaliate against those who attacked her.
Darius actually appreciated Annette’s thorns.
〈The people of the South are so spoiled by peace they have all gone soft in the head.〉
〈There’s at least one person here with a brain.〉
He didn’t need a flower that could only grow in the blessed environment of the South. His ‘wife’ needed to be able to sprout and bloom even in the harsh cold and rugged conditions of the North.
Trapping someone is wrong.
Yet, strangely, he didn’t feel bad about sharing this sin with her. Instead, he started to look forward to a productive partnership.
‘Am I going soft just because she’s now my wife?’
Darius scoffed at himself.
Secrets bring people closer. Without the miraculous release of the unjustly imprisoned nanny, we left the South.
“The North is a cold land. Colder than you might expect.”
He advised me as he fixed my coat.
“The journey by carriage will take over ten days. It’s cold, the land is barren, and even beasts attack us. We fight every day for our survival.”
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.
