A boutique named Eclairean, serving only a very select few customers.
It was already past the time to close, yet the shop remained brightly lit.
This was because the reserved guest who had promised to come by today had still not arrived.
The owner kept glancing toward the door, muttering to herself.
“What could be the matter? She’s never once broken an appointment before….”
Lady Reina, who had loved the red veil dress last time, said she would come again today to have her measurements taken for another gown.
Today was that day.
Throughout the capital, rumors were spreading wildly that Dietrich, the Captain of the Imperial Knights, had committed treason and the Emperor had been imprisoned.
All day long, several torch-bearing knights had combed the streets under the pretense of patrol.
Most citizens of Abelon were deeply religious.
The Grand Temple, the center of their faith, had burned down, and the Emperor—the very symbol of Abelon—was now imprisoned.
People grew anxious and began to instigate riots across the city.
—It’s all the witch Celia Brillion’s fault!
Celia Brillion.
Pale white skin, shimmering silver hair.
Green eyes reminiscent of a clear forest—so stunningly beautiful that one glimpse would be unforgettable for a lifetime.
It was said that even men who despised women, renowned archbishops, and even members of the royal family had fallen helplessly under the spell of her exquisite beauty, meeting tragic ends.
Celia was originally an old, hideous hag who disguised herself as a beautiful young woman by absorbing men’s life essence.
She had even ensnared the cold-hearted Captain of the Imperial Knights as her lover, attempting to utterly destroy Abelon.
People began fabricating all manner of vile rumors about Celia, using the same mouths that once praised her.
Jealousy, envy, desire for what they couldn’t have, feelings of inferiority—every negative emotion coalesced, branding Celia completely as a ‘witch’ among the people.
The owner of Eclairean, having run the shop for many years, well understood that people’s tongues were far more vicious than blades.
How cruel rumors could be.
With enough intent, they could turn a person into a sacred saint or a witch to be torn apart.
It was foolish to blindly believe rumors without verifying them firsthand.
Ding—
The wall clock chimed midnight just then.
The owner sighed and began preparing to close the shop.
She was heading toward the door to turn off the lights and remove the “Open” sign when—
Tinkle—
A clear bell rang as an unexpected guest stepped inside.
A man from head to toe draped in a black robe.
Finally, he cast off the hood of his robe, revealing a handsome young man with hair close to ash-gray silver and eyes as blue as a lake.
There was no mistaking who he was.
“Oh!”
The owner of Eclairean gasped in surprise.
“Your Majesty, the Emperor!”
The young man’s true identity was Ileon. Ileon smiled gently at the owner, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Reina must be troubling you quite a bit, Madame. She’s always been such a spoiled child—I hope you’ll forgive her.”
The owner gazed at Ileon, who had come to the boutique in place of his younger sister despite being Emperor, and let out a heartfelt exclamation.
Rumors of him being imprisoned—how absurd.
Indeed, rumors were just rumors.
“Your Majesty personally visiting my humble boutique—I’m quite at a loss for words. Actually, today was the day Lady Reina had reserved for her fitting.”
Ileon nodded knowingly at the owner’s words.
“She mentioned it would be today for the fitting. But she caught a cold and couldn’t come out.”
“…I see.”
The owner unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.
Unlike Reina, who was difficult to please and had a temperamental, harsh personality, Ileon’s demeanor was exceedingly gentle.
It was hard to believe they were from the same Gredrick ducal family.
Of course, the owner had no idea that it was Ileon himself who had doted on Reina as a spoiled child and ultimately driven her to her death.
Yet the owner found it slightly odd that Emperor Ileon had come to her boutique outside the palace at night, wearing a black robe.
“…When is the next reserved customer?”
Ileon asked, his eyes crinkling slightly.
The owner bowed her head respectfully.
“It will take quite some time to finish the current dress, so the next appointment won’t be for about a month.”
“Then, until then, you keep the shop closed?”
The owner found Ileon’s question rather strange, but answered obediently.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I close the shop to focus on making the garments.”
“Remarkable, Madame. Truly worthy of being called the finest boutique in the capital. Now I understand why Reina insists on having her clothes made only here.”
“I—I’m deeply honored by Your Majesty’s praise.”
The owner’s cheeks flushed red.
It was late at night, and with the lights off, the inside of the shop was quite dark. She reached to turn the lights back on, but Ileon stopped her.
“No need to turn on the lights.”
At the same moment Ileon smiled faintly,
Thud—
A sound of something piercing flesh was followed by excruciating pain in her abdomen.
Blood gushed violently from between the owner’s lips.
“…Wha… what?”
The owner stared blankly at her stomach, where the knife was embedded.
The one who had stabbed her was Ileon.
Ileon pulled the knife out, then plunged it back into the exact same spot once more.
The owner’s body tumbled to the floor. A broken, gurgling sound escaped her lips.
“Wh… why…?”
The owner’s eyes slowly closed.
Ileon looked down coldly at the woman whose breath had ceased.
Behind Ileon, a large shadow loomed.
Its owner was Balt.
Balt looked back and forth between the dead woman at his feet and Ileon, his face twisting in anger.
“You never said you’d do something like this before getting out of prison! I thought the moment we left, we’d head straight to your territory!”
“…Balt.”
Ileon casually wiped the blood splattered on his cheek with the back of his hand.
“Dietrich dismissed all the palace knights. Naturally, there will be guards at my private villa or checkpoints. Even with your help, reaching my territory would be too late.”
“But killing an innocent person?”
Balt shouted in outrage.
Ileon merely shrugged at the furious Balt.
“You and I simply have different views. As long as Abelon remains intact, does it matter if hundreds or thousands of innocent people die?”
Balt ground his teeth in fury as he stared at Ileon, who treated human lives as worth less than insects.
“You’re not even trying to hide your true nature anymore. I shouldn’t have pulled you out of prison.”
“Balt. Do you know what ‘ability’ the princess possesses?”
The subject change was masterfully executed.
Balt knew he was being manipulated, yet he was desperate to hear what Ileon would say next.
“…What ability?”
“The scar on your cheek. When the princess injured you, you didn’t remember anything, did you?”
Balt flinched at Ileon’s words.
Because it was true.
He had mocked Celia, saying he’d give her anything if she could just leave a scratch on his face.
And Celia had truly scarred his cheek.
A wound no one else could have inflicted.
“The princess possesses some ability we don’t understand. Likely something similar to controlling an opponent’s movements. Since even you, a Sword Master, were defeated while wide awake, it must be an extremely powerful ability.”
Balt’s ash-gray eyes trembled at Ileon’s words.
“So that’s how you killed the cautious old Emperor—using that incredible ability.”
Ileon’s eyes sparkled with interest. Balt stared at his profile, filled with madness, feeling chills run down his spine.
“I’ll tell you the rest after you clean up the body. We’ll likely have to stay here at this boutique for a while.”
In the end, the cleanup was left to Balt.
[This is the timeline separator]“There’s still no word from the checkpoint, so it’s certain Ileon is in the capital. But pinpointing his exact location is difficult. We’ve searched every possible place he might go, including his private villa, but found nothing.”
At Dietrich’s words, Celia let out a deep sigh.
“So you’re saying we’re leaving at dawn to find Ileon?”
“Yes. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it becomes.”
“Take me with you.”
At Celia’s words, Dietrich’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Outside the palace right now, people were demanding that Celia be handed over.
They were shouting that the witch Celia should be burned at the stake, hurling all manner of curses and even showing signs of storming the palace.
Dietrich had ordered his knights to throw anyone calling Celia a witch into prison, but their numbers were so great that the prisons had become overcrowded.
Especially the Brillion family members, who were secretly inciting others to call Celia a witch, evading the knights’ watch.
‘Despicable rats.’
In a situation already fraught with complications, taking Celia outside could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Yet leaving her behind in the palace also made him uneasy.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Dietrich gave Celia the answer she wanted.
“Very well. At dawn, we’ll go together.”
At Dietrich’s words, Celia smiled brightly.
A smile so lovely it could make moonlight envious.
As he looked at that smile, Dietrich gently stroked Celia’s cheek and added,
“But there’s a condition.”
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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