Darius took me to the back of the castle. Under a large poplar tree.
It was an old tree about 300 years old, but I remained indifferent even after hearing the legend that the founder of the Inkhart family had planted it himself.
‘Fortunately, Lady Egritte’s evil hands haven’t reached here.’
I could only feel regret thinking of my cotton flowers that I still couldn’t plant because she had fired the gardener.
“A leaf has fallen on your hair.”
I could have done it myself.
Darius reached out his hand over my head. I felt a gentle touch brushing my hair, and then I heard a click, the sound of metal locking.
‘Huh?’
Just as I thought there was a strange feeling in my hair, he smiled.
“Hmm.”
He hesitated, unlike his usual self.
Meanwhile, I touched the top of my head directly. So, this cold and hard feeling like small stones is probably… some kind of hair ornament?
“I don’t know how to praise the beauty of your hair like other knights do.”
It’s not just something, it really is a hair ornament!
“If you ask why I’m suddenly giving it to you, well. I remembered that I gave wedding gifts to the Porche family, but I didn’t give you a separate dowry.”
I was frozen, and it felt like 50 years worth of embarrassment had flashed across my face. It didn’t matter that the period I had lived, including before and after the possession, wasn’t even 50 years yet.
“This is my first gift to you.”
He said with an expectant voice.
“It suits you very well, just as I thought. Come here.”
He stroked my hair with a loving touch.
I was weak to such romantic gestures. At this moment, I could believe that the withered leaf that fell on my head was a flower petal.
‘This person doesn’t like me. Get a grip, Anette. You’re not the female protagonist of this novel.’
Does he really not like me at all? Not even a little bit?
I tried to recall how this gentle Darius had spoken coldly to Daniel.
Ah, he was so cruel.
“Don’t you like it?”
As if he cared about me, asking like this.
“I…”
“Excuse me for interrupting, Your Grace. My Lord, My Lady.”
Sir Lucian’s urgent voice brought me back to reality from the sweet dream.
“Ah, Sir Lucian. It’s already evening.”
“What’s the matter? I don’t believe there was anything particularly urgent.”
Darius asked Sir Lucian in a slightly disappointed voice.
No, that’s my imagination.
“I apologize. I know you were in the middle of an important conversation. I didn’t want to disturb your time, but I had no choice…”
“That’s enough. Just get to the point briefly.”
“Rose has disappeared.”
I blinked. It was unexpected news.
“Rose?”
“She participated in the ceremony held at the castle today. But afterwards, she left a strange message with a servant and disappeared.”
Sir Lucian was about to say something about the message Rose left, but then shook his head.
“It probably isn’t anything serious, but she’s still an immature child, and as the sun is setting, I’m worried. So I’m truly sorry, but if you could help with the search…”
“No, Rose is like a little sister to me too. I’ll deploy the castle’s personnel to find Rose. If everyone moves, we should be able to find her soon.”
Sir Lucian let out a big sigh, as if relieved.
“I’m grateful for my lord’s consideration.”
‘The last memory I had of her was when she was looking at me angrily during the ceremony.’
But even then, Rose was still in front of everyone.
“I’ll return to my room. I have a lot to discuss with Lady Egritte about the documents.”
“It might get late, so don’t wait for me and go to bed first tonight.”
I nodded to Darius.
* * *
Right now, Lady Egritte’s matter was giving me a headache. I was certain that Lady Egritte was embezzling money behind the scenes because I had read the original work, but I had no evidence.
‘I need to find evidence to corner Lady Egritte as soon as possible.’
There was so much to do, yet I only had one body. As I was sitting at my office desk, lamenting the insufficient conditions…
‘Hm?’
My eyes rolled around. Various documents, quill pens and ink, books borrowed from the Grand Duke’s library.
‘No way…’
“Did anyone come to my room today?”
Someone had touched my room. While I was away.
“W-well, now that you mention it, Lady Rose came to your room today because of the punishment you gave her! But it was really brief, and Lady Rose said she was just leaving the book she copied!”
Apple immediately confessed, her face turning pale.
‘These documents, even though they’ve been reorganized, are clearly different from how I originally arranged them. Rose must have thoroughly examined them.’
I opened the book again, laid out the map, and looked for the most recent memo I had written.
‘There’s a circle drawn on the map.’
There were three places I had been considering as candidates. Among those three, there was a new circle drawn on one that I hadn’t seen before.
“Tell His Grace the Grand Duke, no, tell everyone in the castle! Rose Temery is not where you’re looking! Rose is in the ash forest beyond! Beyond that hill!”
* * *
I didn’t know I could ride a horse. The moment I realized that Rose had gone to the ash forest one step ahead after seeing the map and materials I was looking for, my body headed to the stable first.
Ridiculously, only after roughly grabbing the reins of a whinnying horse did I realize that Anette’s body knew how to ride.
“No, Rose Temery. No, you shouldn’t go.”
I muttered like a madwoman, not even knowing what I was saying.
“My Lady!”
“It’s the ash forest! Do you understand? Right now! The night forest is dangerous! She probably doesn’t even have a torch!”
I frantically left only these words to the servant chasing after me and immediately rode off.
“Oh my, My Lady!”
For days and days, I had been cooped up in my room, looking only at maps and documents of the North.
I had memorized the map long ago. But just because I had a map in my head, could I really find my way without getting lost?
I rode smoothly, ignoring the possibility of things going wrong, as if something was guiding me. It was actually close to a sense of mission.
‘Please, Rose. It’s still much earlier than in the original work.’
The northern treasure vault that the female lead finds in the original work. In the original, Rose Temery is involved with the northern treasure vault in the same way.
Rose was jealous of the saintly female lead who suddenly appeared and captured Darius’s heart.
But there was no way Rose could do it. She didn’t have holy power like the saintly female lead, so she couldn’t help people.
Then Rose also thought of the ‘legendary treasure left by Grand Duke Inkhart,’ which she had only considered a fairy tale.
If it was real, and if she could just find that treasure. Wouldn’t Darius reconsider her?
The place where the female protagonist found the northern treasure was next to Rose’s corpse.
They both thought of the treasure at the same time, and finally reached it, but it was after Rose had already died. Embracing the cold corpse of the woman who had been jealous of her, the female lead obtained the northern treasure while crying.
‘I thought I had twisted the original story! Since I was a person who wasn’t supposed to be here at this point, and since the time I’m trying to get the northern treasure is earlier than in the original, I thought such a thing wouldn’t happen!’
I didn’t pay attention to Rose.
Because she was a character destined to lose to the female lead. Moreover, she was a character who would lose to the female lead and even die.
Knowing her fate, she seemed ridiculous and even pitiful.
No matter what you do, you’ll never win Darius’s heart anyway. No, you’ll even die because you don’t know your place and act out.
‘But just because she acted a bit spiteful, that’s not a sin worthy of death. If you die now, you know, you’ll be dying even earlier than in the original.’
Please be alive.
The treasure vault I was looking for was right where Rose was. But I couldn’t tell if what I was looking for was the treasure vault or Rose herself.
“Rose, Rose Temery!”
I screamed.
“If you die now, I’ll take the male lead! For real! I won’t give him up to you even while the female lead is gone!”
My voice echoed meaninglessly across the white snow field.
* * *
Neigh, I heard the sound of a horse.
‘Ash forest.’
It was one of the places I had been deducing. It was also a place where Darius, Rose, and Sir Lucian used to play when they were young.
The place where the founder Inkhart had hidden the treasure.
‘It’s too vast.’
All I could see in front of me were dense trees. There were places to go, but I didn’t know where to go.
‘Rose…’
Answer me, Rose.
So that I can save you.
At that moment, I saw something like a green firefly in front of me.
‘What is this?’
The firefly moved slowly and gently, as if sending a signal to me.
‘There’s no guarantee it’s not… evil magic.’
This forest was a place where legends and treasures slept. A place where danger and charm coexisted.
Haah.
I took a deep breath and pulled on the horse’s reins.
“Neigh!”
The horse reared up on its hind legs and stomped its feet.
‘Rose, just be alive. I’ll make you copy etiquette books for the rest of your life.’
Without hesitating any longer, I followed the strange green light.
“Anette!”
At that moment, I heard an urgent voice calling me from behind. It was Darius.
‘Darius!’
“This way, take my hand!”
A group of knights was following Darius.
I turned around urgently, but it was already too late.
The Male Lead’s Obsessive (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: She is his lifelong obsession, to the point where he was willing to be a third wheel, scorned by society, just to wedge his way into her relationship with her fiancé.
Synopsis:
Cold-hearted and indifferent female lead + Scheming and subservient CEO male lead
Summary:
Rong Xiu’s biggest regret in life was missing out on Fan Xia.
He secretly loved Fan Xia for 7 years.
Watched her go public with her boyfriend.
Watched her kiss her boyfriend at their wedding.
Until that man blissfully nestled in Fan Xia’s arms, obtaining everything he could only dream of.
The crazy jealousy stripped away his hidden secret love, layer by layer, burning like wildfire.
Fan Xia, how can I have you!
【Reading and Trigger Warning Guide】
1. Female dominant, male submissive, male pregnancy
2. Male lead schemes his way to the top, male competition
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