The carriage carrying Carlott and me raced across the main road of the capital, Somnia.
I leaned my chin and quickly took in the view of the capital’s landscape as it whizzed by.
In the first place, Carlott and I were not close enough to engage in friendly conversation, so the silence was not awkward at all.
How much time must have passed like that?
Suddenly, Carlott called me.
“……Hey.”
“Speak, Carl.”
“Didn’t you bring the maid? You have a maid you hang around with every day, don’t you? Misa or something.”
As much as Carlott disliked me, there was no way he could not know the name of Misa, a maid who had been with me since birth.
‘Childish fool….’
He seemed to have deliberately mispronounced the name to provoke me.
Of course, if I were the old me, I would have loudly corrected Carlott’s name, but now I was quite rational.
I smiled and answered Carlott.
“Yeah. Misa’s a little busy with other things.”
“Heh…….”
He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it, laughing bitterly. He hadn’t expected me to respond this way.
Seeing his stunned face made me feel good.
I kindly added an explanation to Carlott, whose mood seemed to have soured.
“And besides, Carl, it’s fine without anyone else since you’re here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean exactly what I said.”
While not as strong as Yansi, Carlott, a direct descendant of the Ferdia family, could exert the destructive power of ‘ground collapse’.
Carlott’s power was ‘ground collapse’.
It was a largescale destructive power that could collapse the ground in a narrow to fairly wide range.
Since it was a power likely to be used in largescale battles and there had been no recent wars, it had not been displayed.
But Carlott was quite fond of his power, training it along with his swordsmanship as a member of the family’s knights.
He even had a genius talent for swordsmanship and was said to be able to take the upper hand in duels against most adult knights.
In conclusion, Carlott was the perfect escort.
I told the truth, and he thought it was a compliment, his lips twitching in delight.
“Well, I am, a bit, strong. Hmm, ahem.”
“…….”
The intelligence of the second son of the family is questionable. I was worried about Ferdia’s future.
It was fortunate that the more intelligent Yansi was the successor.
Carlott, who had been coughing and blushing for a while, suddenly asked me.
“But where are we going now?”
“Twanette Street. I have something to buy.”
Twanette Street was a place named after Queen Antwanette, who was dearly loved by the first Emperor.
It was a highend commercial street filled with clothing and jewelry shops frequented by nobles and wealthy merchants.
“Okay, then.”
Carlott seemed to have no doubt since I usually went to Twanette Street when I went out.
It was good for me.
The more Carlott was off guard, the easier it was to deceive him.
Eventually, the carriage slowed down and then stopped completely.
It seemed that we had arrived.
The first to get out of the carriage was Carlott. Normally, when a man and woman were riding in a carriage, the man would get out first and escort the woman getting out next. It was common sense.
I didn’t know if Carlott, who didn’t even consider me family, had common sense, but he stood in front of the carriage door waiting for me to get out.
I suddenly remembered something that happened when we were young.
One day, when I was nine and Carlott was seven, just the two of us went to the temple.
When we arrived home, Carlott, who got out first, looked at me about to get out and said in a cold voice.
“I don’t want to hold your hand. Get out yourself.”
And then he was gone, leaving me behind.
Carlott’s blatant rejection hurt my young heart quite a bit.
In the first place, I hadn’t even expected him to hold my hand.
No, judging by the frustration, there might have been anticipation. Foolishly.
“Miss. Hold my hand and come down.”
“Okay…….”
Whether or not she found me pitiful, she had first grabbed the coachman’s hand and got down from the carriage.
The height of the carriage that was once frightening to descend alone had now become nothing.
“……!”
I pretended not to see Carlo’s reaching hand and jumped down from the carriage by myself.
Carlo’s extended hand grabbed the air in vain, but I ignored it and instead urged Carlo.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
“Huh? Oh.”
Imagining Carlo’s dumbfounded expression following me, I smirked and laughed bitterly.
‘When have I ever acted like an escort?’
That sort of thing didn’t suit Carlo and me.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]My first given task.
Spend more than 100,000 Lariet.
What the Duke meant was ‘an additional 100,000 Lariet’ from the amount already spent, so spending around 130,000 Lariet seemed to be no problem.
The place I first visited with this heavy mission was a dress shop, recently considered the most popular among ladies.
The dress shop was indeed full of ladies who had come to have their clothes tailored.
“Look there, the second Duke of Ferdia has arrived!”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
