Dietrich always acted together with Celia.
Whether during meals, walking in the garden outside, or staying within the mansion, he never separated from Celia.
The rumor that Dietrich was Celia’s lover had spread openly.
Especially after the recent masked ball incident.
Not only within the imperial palace, but throughout Abelon, there was no one unaware of their relationship.
Because Dietrich guarded Celia so fiercely, complaints began to erupt among men who had desired her.
Candles flickered like dancing flames before the men seated around an oak table.
“It’s truly unacceptable. The Angel of Brillion must never have a lover. Wouldn’t that tarnish her purity?”
“Exactly. How much money have we lavished upon her? We cannot simply stand by and watch someone else snatch her away.”
The men seated around the oak table varied greatly in age, ranging from young men to elderly elders.
Their common trait was that they were all extremely wealthy.
They were also all men who had seen Celia at least once during the public courtship event held at the Brillion mansion.
Though they had constantly fought and clashed over who would make her their wife, now an imperial knight commander had suddenly snatched Celia away.
Their temporary alliance, united by a common enemy—Dietrich—was exceptionally strong.
“To speak frankly, it was entirely thanks to us that he was released from prison when he was detained on suspicion of attempting to assassinate the Emperor.”
“That’s right.”
“But Calypso is the Grand Duke and Commander of the Imperial Knights—a man who holds the deep trust of the knights and commands military power.”
Each man strained his mind hard.
All of them desired Celia.
Eyes resembling lush greenery, a delicate face with striking features, silver hair that sparkled like stars.
She was precisely the kind of woman every man would naturally desire.
“Hmm… Could it be, as rumors suggest, that the Angel of Brillion is perhaps a witch? Doesn’t it seem strange? The Grand Duke Calypso, who never allows any woman near him, now has the Angel of Brillion as his lover?”
At the young man’s words, an elderly man with deeply wrinkled eyes scoffed.
“To believe such nonsense as truth—these are just jealous lies spread by women envious of ultimate beauty.”
“…But isn’t it strange? Even His Majesty the Emperor reportedly asked her to dance first. He’s never done that before.”
Bang!
The old man slammed his fist onto the table and abruptly stood up.
The young man hastily reached out to calm him.
“No, what I mean is—why not use this against him? If we truly turn the Angel of Brillion into a witch, wouldn’t even the Grand Duke Calypso be powerless?”
“…What do you mean?”
The old man glared and sat back down.
“We turned the Angel of Brillion into a saint to clear her of the assassination charge and get her out of prison. This time, let’s brand her a witch to break them apart.”
“…”
“We have more than enough money. Can’t we manipulate public opinion through the mouths of foolish people? Even Calypso will hesitate to keep a ‘witch’ as his lover if he cares about his reputation.”
[This is the timeline separator]Celia gazed quietly at Dietrich, who was lost in thought.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Hmm.”
Dietrich looked into Celia’s eyes and asked.
“Celia, once everything is settled… what’s the first thing you’d want to do?”
“After Abelon’s destruction?”
Dietrich nodded.
Celia thought deeply.
She had never once considered what would become of her after Abelon fell.
She had only imagined a vague death.
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“…Why not?”
Why.
Celia repeated the word Dietrich had uttered, turning it over in her mind.
“Is it because I’m dying? Or because I see Abelon’s end as the end of my own life?”
Many answers came to mind.
Yet, strangely, when she looked at Dietrich’s face, the words wouldn’t come out.
Would Dietrich remain by her side even after Abelon’s destruction?
“No, will I even still be alive by then?”
Her body was ruined beyond what even a physician could heal.
Even if Dietrich possessed a healing ability, he likely couldn’t fully restore her decayed internal organs.
Though Dietrich had explained that he had a healing power, Celia didn’t know exactly what its limits were.
There was something more troubling than her broken body.
“After Abelon falls… will you still stay by my side?”
Dietrich answered immediately.
“If you wish it.”
Celia wasn’t satisfied with Dietrich’s answer.
It felt as if she were the one clinging.
“Dietrich, I want to know what you truly think.”
Dietrich slowly blinked his eyes before replying.
“I….”
Trailing off, Dietrich closed his eyes toward Celia and smiled warmly.
Unlike Ileon’s artificial smile, Dietrich’s carried genuine sincerity.
“I want to be by your side. If you allow it… always.”
His voice was incredibly tender.
“May I… touch your face for a moment?”
Celia gave a faint nod in response.
As soon as permission was given, Dietrich gently caressed Celia’s face.
His large hand, tracing her contours, touched her cheek, her rounded forehead, and her lips in turn.
Celia watched the expression on Dietrich’s face as he touched her.
His crimson eyes beneath black lashes were beautiful.
His touch was warm and soft, entirely free of any trace of base desire.
It was distinctly different from how any man she had ever known had touched her.
Like handling a porcelain piece coated with varnish—precious and careful—his touch slowly, gradually, withdrew.
As Dietrich’s hand pulled away, Celia felt a hollow ache in her chest.
The alliance they had formed out of mutual use now seemed unimportant.
A contractual relationship.
She had firmly believed it was nothing more and nothing less. Yet now, Celia felt she couldn’t live without Dietrich.
Being with him had become not just familiar, but utterly natural.
Perhaps because they shared the same wounds and pain, Dietrich now felt like a part of herself.
Celia leaned her body against Dietrich’s chest and reached her hand up to trace his neck.
On Dietrich’s neck remained the scar Celia had once made with a dagger.
The scar had faded so much it was nearly invisible upon close inspection, yet Celia still disliked that it remained.
“Why don’t you heal your scar? You healed me just for a little skin damage.”
Instead of answering, Dietrich took Celia’s hand tracing his neck and interlaced their fingers.
His knuckles, hardened from years of wielding a sword, tightly embraced hers.
“It’s proof that you trusted me.”
Celia recalled the past.
The day Dietrich had urged her to stab him with all her strength, she couldn’t bring herself to slash his neck and dropped the dagger instead.
Now, the man before her called that scar a mark of her trust.
Celia felt a sharp pain in her chest.
“Even without this scar, I trust you completely now.”
At Celia’s words, Dietrich softly called her name.
“Celia.”
When Celia lifted her head, Dietrich was looking down at her with a gentle expression.
“I feel the same.”
[This is the timeline separator]A gentle breeze swept through Arthur’s platinum hair.
Leaning casually against a marble pillar, Arthur pulled out a vial from his coat.
As he shook the vial, a deep red liquid, reminiscent of fresh blood, swayed inside.
He had been waiting for the chance to use the potion, but Dietrich’s constant presence beside Celia had prevented Arthur from carrying out his plan.
“Disgusting man.”
Arthur glared at Dietrich’s mansion with a look of disgust.
If Dietrich had been an ordinary knight instead of a Sword Master, Celia would already have been in his grasp.
But he was far stronger than expected.
Even when Arthur sent out a clone to fight, he had clearly been overpowered.
Though a clone could only exert half of Arthur’s actual strength, being defeated by Dietrich alone had deeply scarred Arthur’s pride.
Thus, Arthur had left the palace to investigate Dietrich and Celia.
After thoroughly investigating the dark void within him, Arthur discovered that Dietrich was a survivor of a kingdom destroyed and erased ten years ago by Ileon.
It was then that Arthur also learned Celia was a princess—a revelation that filled him with immense delight.
Celia, possessing extreme beauty, was actually a princess!
“Perfect…”
Arthur swallowed hard, as if overcome by thirst.
Unable to bear seeing Celia remain in that mansion any longer, Arthur took a firm step forward.
At that moment, a woman with curly pink hair passed in front of him.
It was Reina, Ileon’s younger sister.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed as he saw Reina glance at the mansion and fidget with something in her pocket.
Arthur approached behind Reina and in an instant snatched the object away.
“What?!”
Reina, suddenly robbed of her item, widened her eyes and glared at Arthur.
Arthur examined what he had seized.
It was a needle coated with a powerful sedative.
“Lady. Didn’t your brother tell you about me?”
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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