“You’re back again.”
At the awaited voice, Neris raised her head.
Returning from his swordsmanship lesson, Cledwin was wearing a tough leather shirt and trousers. Through the dark teal shirt, his pale skin was glimpsed, showing a red line as though he had just been injured.
“Who hurt you?”
Neris asked carelessly. Cledwin raised one eyebrow.
“Why? Are you worried?”
“Why would I be? If there’s someone in this school who can hurt a senior, I need to know, so I’m asking.”
As far as Neris knew, there was no one in the academy at this time who could hurt Cledwin Maindland to that extent.
At least, among the people she had heard about in her life before she became a crown princess. Cledwin wore a cold look and a smile that didn’t look like a smile at all.
“It’s not someone from the school.”
Ah. Neris understood. When she closed her mouth, Cledwin slightly tilted his head. Leaning against a pillar, his face looked like a statue attached there. It was that refined.
“Is your curiosity satisfied with that?”
“Why? Do you want to satisfy my curiosity?”
Not a single word would pass easily.
Although he could have been angered by the impertinent response of a young child of lower status and wealth, Cledwin just laughed. And a moment later, he looked into Neris’s face and replied.
“Because I wish you would satisfy my curiosity, if a price is necessary, I will pay it.”
“What curiosity?”
Neris leaned her body comfortably into the chair recognized as Cledwin’s. At her leisurely attitude, Cledwin crossed his arms.
“I don’t think you’ve forgotten.”
Indeed, but people sometimes learn more from the way an answer is given than from the answer itself.
She didn’t know why he was so troublesome. He relentlessly threatens others with a sword but never wants to lose anything himself.
Neris rolled her eyes, complaining inwardly.
“I have an urgent matter. But I can do it without your help.”
“Liar.”
Cledwin immediately retorted without thinking time. Neris raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“Your movements are precarious, great Lady Trued. You’re holding on because you’re lucky, but there have been several dangerous moments, and your victims are hostile to you. One false step, and you’ll fall off the cliff.”
He was right.
At Angarad’s party, someone could see a spider being added, in the laundry room, someone could see a ribbon being stolen, and in the student council room, someone could see Neris’s entry and exit.
It was sheer luck that she hadn’t been caught yet, moving under the eyes of others. No, since Cledwin knew about it, she had obviously been observed at least once.
But what other way was there? Neris’s eyes cooled.
Cledwin spoke leisurely, just like Neris’s earlier attitude.
“I don’t think bullying two childish kids is your goal. To a smart person like you, they wouldn’t be worth dealing with. What’s the reason? Who are you targeting? Lord Nine and Lady Berta have no common enemies. Count Berta’s father and son never met you before. What’s the dissatisfaction?”
The answer came even before Neris thought.
“They ruined me, that’s my dissatisfaction.”
Spitting it out, Neris regretted it right away.
She should have been careful with her words, but she inadvertently spoke out because she had a lot on her mind. Cledwin wore a strangely twisted smile.
“Isn’t it the opposite?”
“Yes, I misspoke. They never ruined me. I just don’t like them. They annoy me. So I’m going to get payback for offending my feelings.”
Considering the past, Angarad and Lianon had never really ‘ruined’ Neris. At least not intentionally.
They probably just had fun. They probably just wanted to feel safe.
About the fact that they were not the most miserable beings in this terrible school.
Cledwin’s eyes shone coldly.
His gray eyes were remarkably clear, revealing everything within, but his emotions were difficult to read. Perhaps there were only a few people in this world who could read his feelings.
“You may want whatever you want, I won’t judge its value. But it seems like your ‘payment’ isn’t all finished yet.”
“How do you know that, senior?”
“From the first day of admission, there were those who were hostile to you, and you know that fact as well.”
Why had Cledwin, who was in a much higher grade and of different status, investigated Neris to this extent? Neris was dumbfounded.
These days, doesn’t the successor to the Grand Duke have anything to do?
“Why are you so interested in me?”
Cledwin shrugged his shoulders.
“I told you. I need talent. You have many deficiencies, but they are all compensable. I’ll give you a fair price, so sell your ability to me.”
“Do you really think you’ll consider me a necessary talent after hearing my price, senior?”
After speaking, Neris smiled.
Even Cledwin was momentarily surprised by the sinister light that appeared on the child’s face for a moment. He narrowed his eyes.
“Tell me. You have to know the other party’s value if you want to bargain.”
“Then I’ll tell you. There are several people I want. I want them to be ruined.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
