It was late in the afternoon when Sinclair and Elaina returned to his villa.
“……”
Elaina’s face was clearly weary as she staggered into her seat.
It couldn’t be helped. From the moment she stepped out of the carriage, it was no exaggeration to say that all the emotions she had ever felt in her life came crashing down on her like a storm.
That is, anger at how he could so shamelessly make excuses.
The frustration of being able to hear an apology she had never heard before from just a few threats by Sinclair.
Nevertheless, the exhilaration that they had bowed their heads before her.
Even the emptiness she felt towards herself for feeling exhilarated by such an insincere apology that she was only now hearing…
“Let me know anytime if you change your mind.”
Unlike Elaina, Sinclair, who didn’t look the least bit tired despite what he had done, sat across from her and spoke.
“Killing is easy, after all.”
“……”
“But it’s harder to live having lost everything. Especially for humans like Melvin and his wife and daughter. That’s the only reason I let them live.”
“No. You’re right, Your Highness.”
Elaina answered with an understanding expression.
“There could be no more miserable end for them than this. In the first place, they tried to sell me off to Duke Hank for the same reason. Of course, he probably called out the highest price, but anyway, the Duke has connections to His Majesty the Emperor, so they must have wanted to gain his favor somehow.”
Sinclair looked a little surprised.
He wondered what kind of expression they would have made if they had known that Elaina, whom they called a half-penny, had calculated all of this as well. He was a little curious.
“Besides, the person who saved me and became my husband is you, Your Highness, so they must be even more frustrated. You’re not on good terms with His Majesty the Emperor, are you?”
“You sure can say that without any fear.”
“I apologize if I have offended you.”
Sinclair laughed at her quick apology.
“No, it’s better than timidly looking at me and trembling in fear. That would be too boring.”
Elaina wondered to herself whether she should be happy about those words or embarrassed.
“But it’s a little amusing.”
“…Pardon?”
Maybe he was a little displeased after all, even though he said that.
It might really be the case. Although she and Sinclair were to become husband and wife, it was only a relationship based on a contract. So Sinclair had no obligation to lightly overlook Elaina’s rudeness.
“You call me ‘Your Highness’ every time now.”
However, the words that came back were something Elaina had not expected at all.
“Even though you called my name so well earlier.”
“Ah, that’s……”
Elaina mumbled with a somewhat flustered expression, unlike a little while ago.
“…I thought I should do that. Especially to deceive others.”
“……”
“If this also displeases you, I will never use such a title again. You can tell me honestly if it’s alright.”
“No, continue doing that from now on. Even when it’s just the two of us like now.”
“Pardon?”
“That way, the misfortune of attaching ‘Your Highness’ in front of others won’t happen. It means to keep getting used to it.”
It won’t be too bad. For me, and for you. Yes, this much.
A subtle emotion that was not easily noticeable flashed quickly through Sinclair’s eyes as he looked at Elaina.
“And Melvin will be stripped of his viscount title. You should know that beforehand.”
“Then… will Melissa and Leila… become commoners?”
“Edenbell isn’t a good-natured empire to the extent of giving the status of a commoner to a criminal, you know?”
Elaina’s face subtly changed as she understood what Sinclair’s words meant.
He was right. A criminal with clear evidence. Especially those who committed crimes related to the imperial family became slaves regardless of the reason. It would have been the same even if Melvin had been a duke or grand duke instead of a viscount.
“Of course, you are also of Aswald blood, but you had already signed the marriage contract before they committed their crimes, and on top of becoming my wife, you are also a victim who was harmed by them, so it’s not something you need to worry about.”
She wasn’t particularly surprised by that, as she had already expected it, but various thoughts swirled in Elaina’s mind.
Melvin and Melissa, whose only desire was a greedy ambition to endlessly climb up.
Leila, who took after her parents and was extravagant and vain, treating those lower than her like livestock.
They would now become the class they despised the most and live in Edenbell.
As Sinclair said, there was no worse hell for them.
“And the same goes for Duke Hank.”
At the sudden mention of the Duke, Elaina flinched slightly.
“Anyway, there is evidence that his side paid for your body, so the deal was mutual. So he will also become a slave. I did tell them at the mansion that I would take their daughter as a concubine to see what kind of reaction they would show, but it was nothing more than a play on words.”
Elaina was not unaware that Duke Hank was the Emperor’s man. In other words, he was one of Hister Butler’s greatest forces.
To sum it up, it was no exaggeration to say that Sinclair had gotten rid of the most troublesome person to him along with this incident.
Maybe that was the original purpose. Not for my sake.
Sinclair had said he would rebel and become the Emperor. So it would be advantageous in many ways to get rid of Duke Hank beforehand, who had one of the largest number of private soldiers…
“……”
Sinclair, who had no idea what Elaina was thinking, made an expression that was a little remorseful, which did not suit him at all.
It was something that should have been taken care of in advance. Long, long ago.
I don’t know about anything else, but at least this, definitely. I should have stopped it no matter what I had to do.
Because I took the long way around, I ended up resolving it after too much time had passed, but it still felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders a little bit.
Of course, even having such thoughts was no different from sinning against Elaina…
“But I’m really sorry… may I ask a favor?”
It was Elaina who changed the subject. Sinclair quickly changed back to his usual dry face and looked at her as if telling her to speak.
“I’d like you to move my mother’s grave.”
“Grave?”
“Yes. Because even if Melvin is imprisoned for the time being, he won’t be like that for the rest of his life.”
Elaina was right. Melvin and his family were most likely to become slaves and be subordinated to another noble family.
“Whenever I disobeyed even a little, he always threatened me. Saying he would dig up my mother’s grave and show it to me at any time. Asking if I didn’t want to see it too.”
Elaina gave a bitter smile at the renewed sense of shame.
“So I’m worried. He will definitely hold a grudge against me…”
“It would be better for you to take care of that yourself.”
Maybe it was a bit too much to ask for that as well. She didn’t say it without knowing, but still…
“All of the Aswald family’s territories will be yours now.”
“Pardon?”
Elaina had a blank expression at Sinclair’s sudden words.
“To be precise, all the money and territory they have will become the empire’s. I was thinking of giving it back to you.”
“……”
“Demolish the Aswald family’s mansion and build a new building there. Then it would be good to relocate your mother’s grave there. Or you can move it to a completely different place. Melvin was so crazy about power and wealth, so he’ll have a lot to leave you.”
Sinclair continued.
“Of course, if he had known things would turn out this way, he wouldn’t have accumulated money so tenaciously. But it’s also the only thing he did for you as a father. He’s a very wonderful father. I’m moved to tears by his paternal love.”
At Sinclair’s sarcastic words mixed with a bit of playfulness, Elaina burst into laughter without realizing it. And she continued to laugh out loud for a long time after that.
Sinclair silently watched Elaina for a while. Soon, silence fell between the two again, and Elaina, who belatedly felt embarrassed, was about to open her lips to change the subject, but Sinclair was a little faster.
“For a half-penny, your laugh is quite appealing.”
“…..Pardon?”
“Keep doing that from now on. At least just now, you didn’t look like a half-penny.”
You’re not actually a half-penny, seeing how you were today, right?
As if muttering to himself, Sinclair reached out and placed a small bag that was on the floor on the table.
It was the things they had brought together from that squalid attic.
Actually, it was too embarrassing to even call it luggage.
“I thought there might be something great, but it seems there wasn’t much.”
Instead of answering, Elaina took the bag and began to arrange the contents one by one on the table. She didn’t want to miss anything.
And she slowly parted her lips.
“There’s probably nothing that would look great to others. Maybe just junk.”
The first thing Elaina’s hand picked up was a worn-out baby outfit, frayed from being so old. The one she had worn a very long time ago.
“But to me… they are precious things in their own way.”
Her mother’s cheap shoes that she often wore. The medicine she took until her last day while she was sick. A diary with worn corners that had been used for quite a long time. A few books…
Elaina, who kept taking out items, flinched slightly.
“What.”
“……”
“Is there a problem?”
But Elaina didn’t say anything in reply. She pondered for a moment, then took out the last remaining item from the bag.
It was a very small box.
“What’s that?”
Sinclair asked, looking at the box with slightly narrowed eyes.
The box was clearly different from the other items that were not properly taken care of.
The affectionate traces of being cherished and opened and closed repeatedly for a very long time. The surface was so shiny that fingerprints were clearly visible. As if it had been frequently polished…
“I’m curious.”
At Sinclair’s words, Elaina hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened the box with a very subtle expression.
As the contents of the box were revealed, Sinclair reflexively hardened his face.
“That’s……”
Then, in a voice that was much lower than before, he parted his lips.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
