〈Do you think you’re something special because you’re marrying into the Duke’s family? Going to the difficult North that can’t even survive the winter without our help!〉
〈Apologize.〉
〈Insulting me is a family matter. But you insulted the North where I’m going to be married. I can forgive anything else, but not that.〉
Annette’s voice echoed in my mind. The voice of the eldest daughter of the Forshee family.
Did she request a meeting this evening just to show me her fight with her sister? Yet, Annette’s voice then seemed genuinely filled with anger.
‘Why?’
Did she truly think of the North as her future territory as she said?
Impossible. We haven’t known each other long enough to develop a bond, let alone for her to have affection for the North, a place she never set foot in before.
‘Is she exceptionally bold, or an excellent actress?’
If it’s the former, the Duke has nurtured a formidable woman; if the latter, she could have been a great con artist.
“You worked hard.”
Daniel approached and attended to him. Darius removed his mask. Finally, the young Duke’s face, hidden behind the silver mask, was revealed.
His face, framed by crow-like black hair, shone pale in the moonlight.
Caitlin, who had mocked Annette for marrying into the North, would change her mind and die of envy if she saw him. Annette wasn’t marrying a gloomy Duke of the North but a handsome one.
“What do you think of the South on your first visit?”
“Everyone here is just a peace-addled fool.”
To Sir Daniel’s question, the young Duke coldly replied.
Excessive luxury in food, a careless attitude never considering the possibility of war.
“If a northern snowstorm ever hits here, I wonder how many of these fools would survive.”
“The South can live without any preparation. It’s different from our North in every way.”
In their North, those who do not prepare for winter do not survive.
“But there seems to be at least one person in the South who does think.”
Annette Forshee.
She was different from the other peace-drunk fools of the South. She clearly knew who she was marrying and where she would live.
She seemed to already be preparing for the cold of the North, armoring her heart.
“A girl pushed around by her stepmother’s children, living quietly?”
The Duke scoffed.
That’s hardly a description of a woman who can’t even speak up for herself.
“I’m sorry. There seems to have been a confusion in the report.”
Daniel looked awkward.
While apologizing, Daniel couldn’t hide the smile rising from within.
“Miss Annette seems like a good person. I’m relieved.”
Daniel had repeatedly advised caution before arriving at the Forshee house, not knowing what schemes they might be plotting. Seeing him already relent made Darius uneasy.
“So, you’ve also lost your guard, Daniel. Tasted the peace of the South and already let your guard down?”
Annette’s bold confrontation with Caitlin earlier was impressive, but that was it.
“Don’t forget why our North has shed blood.”
It hadn’t even been a year since the previous Duke died.
Father and son, too busy managing their lands, had hardly seen each other.
〈Darius, be happy.〉
The previous Duke wished for his happiness as he died.
Some see marriage as the first step towards happiness in life.
‘But the purpose of this marriage is solely to secure food for the South.’
Thinking of the starving people in his Northern lands, Darius could easily forsake his own happiness.
‘The woman from the southern family that brought down the North.’
I had no intention of genuinely trusting a woman from the Forshee family, not even as much as the size of a fingernail.
‘Annette has been acting strangely these days.’
Annette’s nanny had been a maid since Annette was born. With no mother, Annette had been weak-willed from a young age, complying without a fuss whenever she was scolded. She was an easy child to raise.
‘She’s been like this since she heard the Duke was coming. Acting all high and mighty just because she’s getting a husband!’
Even now, it was the same.
Suddenly, she had me clean her room because the Duke was visiting, claiming it was too shabby. Clearly, she’s gotten cocky, thinking she has someone to rely on now.
‘There’s no way to fix the habits of a girl who will be leaving soon!’
The nanny scrubbed the floor irritably. That’s when it happened.
A glint of light from a slightly open drawer caught the nanny’s eye.
“What’s this…?”
As if bewitched, the nanny opened the drawer.
Annette had apparently tried to hide it amidst a pile of clothes, but the job was done poorly. A jewelry box was hidden among them, not quite closed, revealing the sparkling jewels inside.
‘So Annette got back at Caitlin and managed to reclaim her belongings.’
The nanny examined the items in the jewelry box. Rings, necklaces, bracelets – all of them were high-quality.
A blue emerald necklace, in particular, caught her eye.
‘Annette hasn’t had these for long… Would she notice if one went missing?’
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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