I naturally thought we were heading to the office, but that was not the case.
The place where Duke Ferdia’s footsteps stopped was right in front of his private bedroom.
‘Why did we come here?’
Since my mother brought me to Ferdia, I have been raised in an annex.
I had never received any noticeable discrimination, such as being prohibited from entering the main building. However, there were still a few spaces I could not enter.
The first was the Duchess’s greenhouse, the second was the mansion’s basement, where the sealed gluttony among the seven deadly sins that Ferdia had sealed was said to be, and the third was the Duke’s bedroom.
When I only knew that I was a bastard child, I did not even dare to approach the Duke.
And now that I know that I’m not even his real daughter, I had to keep an even greater distance from the Duke.
Without any hesitation, the Duke opened the bedroom door and went inside.
Not knowing what to do, I hesitated, and the Duke turned to look at me.
“Come in.”
“Yes……!”
I quickly entered the bedroom and closed the door.
The Duke’s bedroom, which I saw for the first time since I was born, was a heavy atmosphere that suited the Duke.
Although the bedroom itself was spacious, there were minimal pieces of furniture, making it look somewhat empty.
Despite being daytime, most of the windows had thick curtains drawn, and there was only one small window through which sunlight came in.
It was a bedroom that was very much like Duke Ferdia himself.
While looking around the bedroom, to the extent that it would not be rude, I suddenly realized that the Duke was starting to take off his shirt.
‘Gasp.’
I quickly averted my eyes. It seemed like he wanted to change his clothes because blood had splattered on them while questioning the adjutant.
‘His body is really nice.’
The muscles of a father of two grown sons did not seem like a father’s body at all. They were like works of art. Since he had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship and the aging of his body was slow, he still looked like he was in his 20s and did not look like a dad at all.
‘No wonder so many ladies admire Duke Ferdia.’
I could fully understand their feelings.
On the Duke’s upper body were countless large and small scars.
It was a side that showed how many hardships he had gone through to firmly hold his position as the power holder of Ferdia’s shadowy family.
I discreetly waited for the Duke to finish changing his clothes.
Whoosh, the Duke, who had carelessly thrown his bloody sword and dirty clothes aside, looked at me.
“Sit down.”
I, who had been standing awkwardly, sat on the sofa, and the Duke sat down opposite me.
The Duke immediately got to the point.
“How did you know?”
Even though neither the subject nor the object was mentioned, it was not difficult to understand what he was asking.
How did I know that the adjutant was colluding with the second prince?
It seemed better to mix some truth with a lie rather than beating around the bush.
“I ran into Lord Arold in the corridor shortly before His Majesty’s birthday party.”
“…….”
Duke Ferdia watched me intently with serious eyes, not responding.
Even though his gaze was neither reproachful nor inquisitive, I felt a lump in my throat.
“At that time, Lord Arold left with a strange misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Yes. That I like the second prince.”
Creak.
I stopped speaking at the tremendous noise and glanced down to see the distorted desk in the Duke’s hand.
“……?”
Could he mean to break me like that desk? Terrified, I vehemently denied the truth.
“Of course not! There’s no way I’d like that fool!”
When I vehemently denied it, the Duke took his hand off the desk and leaned back on the sofa with a slightly relaxed face.
It’s rare for the Duke, who rarely shows emotion, to lose his rationality for a moment.
‘Because if I, the means to maintain a bond with the first prince, cling to the second prince, things would go awry.’
That was the only reason I could think of.
But wasn’t that a bit excessive……?
Anyway, the Duke seemed to believe my words. I took a small breath and continued the story.
“Lord Arold misunderstood, and I didn’t bother to correct him, but at the party, the second prince approached me. As you saw, Father.”
The Duke nodded his head briefly without saying a word.
I recalled the conversation on the balcony where he warned me.
“So I advised you to be careful.”
I wasn’t lying.
I simply omitted the fact that I deliberately leaked fake information to the Duke’s aide that I liked the second Prince. Everything else was true.
“Yes. So that’s what happened.”
The Duke did not particularly doubt my words.
It was fortunate for me, but I was taken aback as I didn’t expect him to believe my words so easily.
An awkward silence flowed.
If there had been tea in front of us, I could have distracted myself by drinking something, but unfortunately, there was nothing in front of me.
Fiddling with my fingers and looking around, I asked a question that I had been contemplating whether to ask or not.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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