“What wound?”
That face should only be gentle to the female lead. No matter what painful expression he made, it held no meaning for me.
“It was just something we needed to clear up between us. No matter how we package it, we’re in a political marriage after all…”
“No, I hurt you. I asked you to trust me, but I wasn’t trusting Anette myself.”
He added weakly.
“I’m the one who was wrong, so stop saying hurtful things about yourself, Anette. You should just hit me instead.”
I found that ridiculous.
“How fair would it be for my delicate fist to hit a trained knight?”
But it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so with all my might, I punched Darius.
“Hit me again. I’m the worst.”
“Hitting you more will only hurt my hand.”
Even as I said that, I was about to put my weight into my left fist to replace my right hand that had fallen after one hit.
“To be honest… I was also jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Well… something like, I’m supposed to be the closest person to you, so why am I the least close to you?”
Darius showed a slight smile even after being hit by me. My wrist was stinging. As expected, hitting Darius with my fist was more detrimental to me. But since my anger wasn’t subsiding, I had to hit him once more even if it hurt me.
“I instinctively knew I would come to like you. Anette is clearly a good person at first glance.”
Where should I hit him, besides the face, so that this man would feel pain but others wouldn’t know we had fought?
“It’s natural to like a good person, but… I hoped it would happen as late as possible.”
Thud.
My movement stopped as I was loosening my shoulder to put strength into my fist again. I tried my best to ignore his excuses and think of something else, but…
What was that, as if…
“In the end, everyone realized you’re a good person, just as I predicted. Even though they were so wary of southern women.”
“Ah… I thought…”
For a moment, I almost misunderstood that Darius liked me again.
“I’m sorry. I’ll apologize sincerely. I was momentarily jealous and acted immaturely, causing you to misunderstand.”
Darius took my hand and patted it as if to comfort me. The sincerity and genuine apology I felt in his eyes shook my heart.
“Since Anette’s charm is outstanding, it’s natural to fall for her at first sight, so from now on, I’ll tell everyone to treat the new lady well.”
Well, fine. I’ll let it go this once.
“Haa, alright. I’ll understand just this once.”
Instead…
‘Now I’ve earned the right to treat Darius badly legally.’
He badmouthed me first!
So, first of all.
“In exchange, move to the edge of the bed.”
“Pardon?”
“Actually, I don’t even want to share a bed with the Grand Duke. But I don’t want to spread rumors that I kicked out the Grand Duke who had already come to my bedroom, so I have no choice. Go sleep at that end. Let me use the bed more spaciously too.”
The hot newlywed life of the Grand Duke couple that was broadcasted to the castle people every morning is now over.
“But Anette.”
“Should I spread a blanket on the floor for you? You’re used to sleeping outdoors, so sleeping on the floor wouldn’t be uncomfortable, right? That sounds good. You might fall if you sleep on the edge of the bed.”
“Come to think of it, it seems like a good idea. Me sleeping at the edge of the bed.”
“Really? That’s great. I like using the bed spaciously, and the Grand Duke likes lying on the edge of the bed to improve his sense of balance. It’s a good sleeping arrangement.”
I prepared for bed, flapping my arms and legs as if throwing a tantrum. The bed is so wide! Why did I sleep worrying about possibly clinging to Darius while sleeping!
Darius, exiled to the edge of the bed, gave me a pitiful look, but I felt completely refreshed.
“Then, Grand Duke, good night.”
“Anette…”
Darius tilted his face and opened his eyes, pretending to be pitiful. No, face attacks don’t work. I’m angry.
Let him experience a morning where every muscle in his body screams from tension like I did.
I closed my eyes. I will have good dreams tonight.
* * *
Darius rolled his eyes to look at the side of the bed. Anette, wearing a satin hair net tightly so as not to miss a single strand of hair, was sleeping soundly with her back turned.
Tap.
Even when he gently touched her milk-white cheek, Anette didn’t blink an eye.
Tap tap.
Anette’s elastic cheek gently shook like pudding being touched with a spoon.
“Mmm.”
As Anette scratched her cheek irritably, Darius withdrew his arm and returned to his place.
“Strange.”
There was no longer a smile or playfulness on Darius’s face as he looked at the sleeping Anette.
What filled his heart was an unfamiliar novelty.
“Is this what being married is like?”
If you were to summarize Anette’s resentment from earlier, it would be this one sentence.
And why did he really say that?
Everyone would have behaved well on their own.
Anette was hurt. You could say such things, she said calmly, but deep in her eyes, resentment sparkled.
Why?
Why do we say things we don’t mean, and pay so much attention to every word the other person says?
When he caught a wild boar on the way back from the South, Anette yelled at him.
When he stepped forward to catch a wild boar, ordinary people would praise Darius’s bravery, no one would scold him for catching a beast as a lord while having knight escorts.
Anette would get angry when he engaged in dangerous activities. Yet Anette herself would take the lead in everything, regardless of the risks.
Anette was more bold and straightforward than rumors suggested… she always wanted to do something.
She was different from her public reputation in many ways, and with her impatient personality, she was always ready to roll up her sleeves and take on any task.
Some days she’s cute, some days I’m a bit anxious about what she might be up to, and some days it’s fun to be with her.
“No one expected us to become a couple.”
Marriage was a conceptual thing.
The vassals recommended a political marriage to the young lord who had just become Grand Duke.
His bloodline was expensive, and the Porche family from the South valued the noble blood of the Grand Duke’s family highly, offering to provide necessary resources to the North.
The interests aligned. There was no love in it.
Love. What a knight offers to his lady. Noble value, vow, belief. Comfort, rest.
All he knew about love were a few lines from chivalric literature. The romantic literature he had to read because he was a knight.
The parents who could have taught him about a harmonious family were already dead. He was a ruler, not someone to be taught by others.
He didn’t know love. So he wasn’t afraid when Anette proposed marriage. Because he didn’t know what it entailed.
“But I’ve done my best so far. Don’t you think I’m doing well?”
Darius complained to the sleeping Anette.
Except for one instance of poor mouth control early in the marriage, Darius had always been considerate of Anette.
Though that one time came back to bite him when Anette overheard it.
‘Anette doesn’t know how married couples should live either, yet she’s only harsh with me.’
“If we spend more time together, will we learn how to be a good couple?”
Like ordinary noble couples who marry after a long engagement period.
There was no engagement period, no exchange of portraits. No delegations from each territory visited to compliment the bride and groom.
Darius just met Anette one day.
It was an immature and hasty marriage with no room for the word love.
Only after seeing the peacefully sleeping face next to him in the same bed did he realize, ‘Ah, we’re a married couple.’ Still surprisingly new.
Darius looked at Anette sleeping peacefully at the far end of the bed where he had been banished. She was far away.
He didn’t like that she was there.
Darius slowly, with remarkable concentration, pulled the sheet little by little. Anette on the sheet was naturally drawn towards Darius.
Darius was still positioned at the edge of the bed, but it now appeared as if Anette had moved much closer to him.
‘This is good.’
Darius fell asleep, looking forward to the morning to come.
* * *
“Aaaaah!”
“Yawn, good morning Anette.”
“What good morning!”
A peaceful morning. I was starting my day with shock.
Why am I starting my morning in Darius’s firm arms again! This happens so often that I’m not even unfamiliar with this sturdy embrace anymore!
Yesterday, I clearly told that naughty colt Darius to go sleep at the edge of the bed!
Why is your handsome face in front of me again when I wake up!
“I slept obediently in my place as you told me, but Anette came over here.”
Darius flipped my body to show me the bed. Behind us two, uncomfortably overlapping our bodies at the edge, lay the vast expanse of the bed.
‘This can’t be.’
I was certainly sleeping comfortably in the middle of the bed. Why am I in Darius’s arms when I wake up?
“Anette just likes me too much… It’s hard being such a beloved husband.”
Darius muttered proudly today too, holding irrefutable evidence.
It’s not like that anyway. Sob sob.
Contrary to me struggling in shock, Darius seemed somewhat enthusiastic.
“A priest will come from the temple today regarding Lady Egritte’s matter. Let’s have breakfast and go meet him.”
__________
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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