Wow!
I hastily turned my head upward, and Edan was looking down at me.
“Latie, what are you doing?”
“Uh… I’m, uh, scouting?”
Edan chuckled and asked in return.
“Who?”
“You. And…”
Trailing off, I leaned my head out to the right side of Edan’s legs and looked at Princess Siela.
Siela, who had been staring at Edan’s back with her lips tightly pressed together, lowered her gaze toward me.
Our eyes met, and hers narrowed ever so slightly—as if she were trying to figure out who I was.
Perhaps due to her naturally delicate features, her gaze didn’t seem malicious…
But how could it possibly not be malicious!
This was the woman who, despite Edan’s stone-cold rejection just moments ago, kept trying to cling to him. And considering the conversations I’d overheard between them, she clearly had done something very, very wrong. You can’t trust that innocent-looking exterior.
“Edan.”
I stood up from my spot and pretended to brush dust off my dress while straightening my clothes.
Then I stepped sideways so Princess Siela could see me clearly. Immediately, both Edan’s and Ruben’s gazes focused on me.
“Hold my hand.”
I extended my hand, and without the slightest hesitation, Edan grasped it.
Good.
I squeezed Edan’s large hand firmly and smiled contentedly as I looked at Siela.
Just as I’d expected, her gaze had landed on our clasped hands.
I could see her previously composed expression slowly crumbling.
It was a very subtle change.
I watched her and spoke.
“Edan.”
“Hmm?”
“Pet my head too.”
“…”
Though he didn’t answer, Edan willingly ran his large hand through my hair.
I could see tension tightening Siela’s tightly closed lips.
“Edan.”
“Hmm?”
“Can you touch my cheek too?”
“…”
Again, Edan didn’t reply verbally, but lowered the hand that had been stroking my hair and gently caressed my cheek.
“So soft, like flour dough.”
He chuckled, then halfway through, playfully pinched my cheek before letting go.
“Edan.”
“Yeah?”
“I meant touch me sweetly, not like that.”
“…”
Edan let out a low chuckle and then gently stroked my cheek again with his palm.
“My princess sure has a lot of demands today. So picky.”
Unable to endure any longer, Ruben finally spoke up.
“…Am I invisible to you two?”
I couldn’t tell whether he was addressing me or Edan—my gaze was still locked on Princess Siela.
“Ruben, turn around.”
“You have no intention of stopping here, do you?”
“Nope. It’s fun.”
“…”
Ruben fell silent.
I remained still, blinking expressionlessly as I continued to stare at Princess Siela.
I had begged Ruben to explain their relationship, but I’d already formed a rough guess.
Piecing together everything I’d heard so far, Siela had lied about liking Edan. And that lie was likely connected to why Killian started hating Edan.
It aligned with the timing when Killian declared he wouldn’t marry until he ascended the throne, and when he banned Edan from entering the temple.
That lie had clearly driven a wedge between Edan and Killian.
Why on earth did she tell such a lie? And why now come asking for help? Help with what? And why is she making that face while looking at Edan?
Siela, who had been watching every gesture Edan made toward me, now hunched her shoulders and lowered her head as if she were the wounded victim.
As if she couldn’t bear to look at us any longer.
But after a moment, Siela, who had been staring downward, lifted her head again.
Unconsciously, I tightened my grip on the hand I was holding—and at that moment, Edan abruptly pulled me toward him.
“Ugh!”
My face buried into Edan’s chest, and Siela instantly vanished from my view. Edan wrapped his long arm around my waist, pulling me close against him. He bent his head and whispered into my ear.
“Latie. Didn’t I tell you not to tempt me in public?”
His voice, so clear and distinct, finally brought me back to my senses.
“Huh? No, it’s not like that…”
I hastily turned my head to look at Princess Siela.
By then, she had already turned and was walking out of the garden. Her light, fluttering steps caused her neatly arranged hair to sway gently.
I whipped my head around to face Edan.
“What’s your relationship?”
Edan dropped his playful gaze and loosened the arm that had been around my waist.
“Already done?”
“What are you talking about?”
I was the one who asked first, yet he was the one questioning me. Smiling gently as he brushed my hair aside, Edan asked with wide-open eyes.
“Jealousy.”
“Oh.”
I shook my head rapidly from side to side.
“It’s not over yet.”
At that, Edan laughed lightly.
“Good. Keep going.”
This man—I’m being serious right now!
“More importantly, that woman is Princess Siela, right? She rejected your marriage proposal, so why is she acting like that? No, seriously—what’s your relationship?”
“Hold on.”
Edan looked at Ruben.
“Ruben, go make sure the princess crosses through the portal. Don’t let her linger in the North under any circumstances.”
“Yes.”
Ruben sprinted off toward where Siela had disappeared.
For a moment, the garden was left with only Edan and me.
“So, Princess. How far did your ‘scouting’ go?”
“That Princess Siela lied.”
“That she liked me?”
“Yes.”
I nodded vigorously. Edan slowly closed his eyes as if choosing his words carefully, then opened them and spoke.
“Though she came here now as the Eastern Empire’s princess, Siela was originally a princess of a small kingdom—now long since fallen and gone.”
Edan paused briefly, sinking again into thought.
He seemed to be considering how much to explain about Princess Siela. Then, apparently deciding, he calmly continued.
“She was my brother’s first love. I, too, gladly hoped she’d become my sister-in-law and ascend to future empress. Of course, Princess Siela also liked my brother. Their relationship was approved by His Majesty the Emperor, and they were set to marry without issue—if only she hadn’t suddenly claimed to like me and broken off the engagement.”
I was momentarily speechless.
Killian’s first love. If Siela also liked Killian, that meant it was mutual! Even the Emperor and Edan had acknowledged their relationship. Then what on earth went wrong?
“Why did she tell such a lie?”
“For my brother’s sake.”
“…What?”
That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. I’d be less shocked if someone splashed ice water on my face while I was asleep.
“You said she liked Lord Killian?”
“Yes.”
“And Lord Killian liked Princess Siela too?”
“Yes.”
With a perfectly calm nod, Edan affirmed something that made no logical sense whatsoever.
“How is that even possible? Then why did it end up like this? I don’t understand!”
Overwhelmed, I grabbed fistfuls of my hair with both hands.
Edan opened his mouth to speak again, but paused as his gaze drifted toward the far end of the garden.
Ruben and two other subordinates were approaching.
“That’s enough for today. I’ll explain more when I return. I wasn’t even scheduled to come back yet—I only stopped by briefly because I heard the princess had arrived.”
Edan took my hands down and gently ruffled my hair.
“Where are you going?”
“To prepare to cancel the wedding.”
As Edan turned to leave, Siela’s words flashed through my mind.
‘There’s no way this marriage will be canceled.’
But Edan had said he had many ways to overturn the marriage.
“Edan, can you really cancel the wedding?”
Edan, who had been standing idly waiting for his subordinates to arrive, tilted his head slightly and looked down at me.
“Latie.”
With a sly smirk curling one side of his lips, Edan spoke in a tone dripping with arrogance.
“There’s nothing that can’t be accomplished through blackmail.”
[This is the timeline separator]I wanted to ask exactly whom he intended to blackmail…
What on earth is he up to?
Edan was genuinely swamped for several days. Princess Siela remained quiet after that incident, and I went to the temple on the day I’d arranged with the High Priest to brew potions.
“Lady Latieana!”
Maxium was the first to come out and greet me.
Am I really that welcome? Well, Maxium, you’ve gone through a lot being the only one in the temple who’s consistently taken my side.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on, Maxium.”
“Of course! I’ll gladly break this body of mine to serve Lady Latieana!”
Maxium absentmindedly spread his arms wide—then noticed Ruben’s icy glare. He immediately lifted both arms straight up toward the sky.
“Wahaha! Anyway, I’m truly delighted to become Lady Latieana’s attendant!”
Ruben and I followed behind Maxium as he cheerfully turned and walked ahead, beaming.
“The High Priest visited the Imperial Palace several days ago.”
“Why? Surely not to meet Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes. Ever since I became Lady Latieana’s attendant, the High Priest has kept me close, so I’ve been able to overhear all sorts of secrets.”
“…”
Ruben and I exchanged glances simultaneously.
How does someone this clueless manage to be a spy?
“He relayed your message perfectly—said there are candidates for the Great Saintess, but nothing’s confirmed yet, so more time is needed. Her Majesty the Empress seemed satisfied with that.”
And despite his cluelessness, he somehow brings back useful information. How strange.
With Maxium’s assistance, work at the temple went smoothly.
I brewed potions while priests marveled at my power, and infused tiny amounts of healing energy into pills.
Honestly, I thought ordinary people wouldn’t notice any difference whether healing energy was inside the pills or not.
But once I actually infused the healing energy, I finally understood why the High Priest needed my power.
The ordinary white pills turned translucent upon infusion, shimmering inside like auroras.
When I asked a priest who was preparing medicine, he confirmed that only when infused with healing energy would the pills glow like this.
He was a full-on, proper con artist.
It was at the moment when I, along with Ruben, was shaking my head and exiting the preparation room.
“L-Lady Latieana.”
“What’s wrong?”
Maxium’s face, which had been cheerful and animated just moments ago, had turned pale.
“Knights sent by Crown Prince Killian have arrived.”
What?
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.
Link to read
