The Emperor and Empress, who had been observing from the stage, had already left, and the festive atmosphere of the banquet gradually waned.
Belia and Khalid, avoiding the attention of the people, moved to a quiet place. When they arrived in a small lounge, Duke Tessa spoke first.
“Creating such a private space intentionally indicates you have something to say to me.”
Duke Tessa, from the declining family in his previous life, was a weakening force, pushed further by the rising first prince.
After the death of the Empress and Raul’s appointment as Crown Prince, the power dynamics of the Empire shifted entirely towards the first prince.
Since then, Duke Tessa, who rarely left his territory, became even more reclusive and hardly visited the capital.
Although Belia didn’t see him often, she remembered his always polite attitude whenever they crossed paths.
“Still, becoming the grandfather of my husband by marriage, it seems I’ve never properly greeted you all this time.”
Before starting the conversation, Belia emphasized that their relationship was very close.
“Haha. You don’t have to be so considerate with me.”
However, Duke Tessa politely kept his distance from her.
Watching this, Khalid sighed and spoke up.
“Does acting so stiff make you feel better?”
“Haha. I hope it’s not too stiff.”
“Why avoid people when you know everything?”
When Khalid sarcastically questioned, the Duke asked him in return.
“Your Highness, how much does the Crown Princess know?”
“Most of it.”
Duke Tessa’s expression subtly changed with Khalid’s response.
“You two are the people I trust the most, so don’t treat me so formally.”
However, even with his words, Belia still had a suspicious expression.
Why didn’t he take any action in their past lives? Was it because Khalid didn’t seek the throne?
All doubts started from there. Since Khalid didn’t fight and accepted defeat, she couldn’t trust the people around him.
So, what did Duke Tessa do at that time? What was in the mind of Duke Elington in the north?
Why did Duke Caprié not take any action?
One by one, as Khalid’s people were revealed, Belia’s heart became more and more complicated.
“So much has changed from that time. Now, there are many unpredictable things.”
Khalid trusts Duke Tessa. But did Duke Tessa really remain loyal to Khalid until the end?
That was something she couldn’t know, making her frustrated.
“And the most annoying thing is…”
That she knew nothing about Khalid from that time.
Belia sighed softly.
What was Khalid preparing for at that time?
Certainly, there were suspicious movements. That’s why she even warned Raul to be cautious of Khalid. But why did he not take any action and stayed in the eastern territory?
“Belia, the Duke may not treat me like a prince, but he’s not someone to betray.”
Finally, Belia sighed and brought up the main point.
“…Honestly, I’m curious about what the Duke truly wants.”
She wanted to confirm the intentions hidden behind the Duke’s purpose.
In response to Belia’s cold tone, Duke Tessa faintly smiled and nodded.
“I understand your suspicion, Crown Princess. I have been the same.”
They couldn’t be sure of trusting each other yet. While not ignoring Khalid’s words, this place was a fierce battlefield where they couldn’t even create a contingency. Therefore, confirmation was necessary.
Duke Tessa wiped away the smile that had adorned his face.
“There is only one thing I wish for.”
With a determined gaze, he looked at Belia.
“I hope the Emperor doesn’t meet a peaceful death.”
“…That’s a dangerous statement.”
Belia’s brow slightly furrowed.
It wasn’t something she could easily bring up.
“But to some extent, it aligns with what I desire.”
Belia also wanted to see Raul desperately crumbling and struggling.
Acting to destroy someone might seem negative at first glance. However, such anger could serve as a driving force to make someone move.
“I plan to reclaim everything that should have belonged to Prince Khalid originally.”
Khalid chuckled in agreement with Belia’s words.
“Well, if my princess wants that, I have no choice but to cooperate.”
“It looks good that you get along well.”
Duke Tessa smiled knowingly. Then, he turned his helpless gaze outside the window and slowly began to speak.
“My daughter lives like a discarded doll after becoming the Empress. And the Emperor doesn’t feel any guilt about it. As a parent, watching my daughter like that, I can’t just let it go.”
Although there was undoubtedly love for his grandson, Duke Tessa’s self-blame for sending his daughter away with his own hands weighed much more.
Seeing the face of his daughter, who had spent a long time restraining herself in the Empress’s palace, Duke Tessa found it challenging to suppress his boiling resentment.
The Emperor, shamelessly busy with his mistress by his side, seemed to have forgotten even the fact that Duke Tessa came to the palace and witnessed everything.
Perhaps it was because the Emperor no longer needed Duke Tessa. Or maybe he was too foolish to even notice.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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