“I heard she knelt before the Madam and begged earnestly. Hah.”
Cella covered her mouth as if finding it amusing.
A faint smile also formed on Esika’s lips.
Yesterday, it was said that Yuri knelt at the Madam’s feet, crying and swearing loyalty.
Saying she would not marry and would be loyal to the Madam for life as her head maid.
Thanks to that, the paper listing potential groom candidates was reportedly discarded.
It was not good news for Esika that Riona had received a loyalty oath from Yuri.
But how could a ragtag duo joining hands be frightening?
Above all, they do not trust each other.
The suspicion of Yuri that has begun will continue to tighten around her neck.
Yuri must have realized that Riona had not the slightest intention of putting her up as a candidate for Callian’s partner.
Having set a dog and a monkey against each other, there was no need to worry.
“The Madam will demand a price for loyalty.”
“But the head maid… has nothing left, does she?”
“So she will have no choice but to become desperate.”
She can no longer pilfer Esika’s jewels.
Desperation breeds impulse, and impulse leads to ruin.
For Esika, who had memories of dealing with countless rivals by exploiting such psychology, what was to come was anticipated.
“I am too ignorant to understand my lady’s plans…”
Cella said to Esika, her eyes shining.
“But I can tell that my lady is extraordinary. And I believe that what my lady does will succeed.”
Esika smirked at Cella’s words.
And after a moment, she opened her mouth.
“I should have Hemos send a gift to Yuri.”
“…A gift?”
“Well, it might be closer to bait than a gift.”
Esika was not so naive as to hold the hand of an enemy stepping back from a cliff.
If anything, she would push them one step closer to ruin.
**
‘If I’m caught approaching the Duke recklessly, I might not survive next time.’
Yuri followed behind Riona with a cold gaze.
As usual, Riona sat in the garden and began listening to the musician’s performance.
The sweet melody was artistic, but such things did not even register in Yuri’s ears.
Her mind was too complicated.
‘I barely managed to stay by the Madam’s side… but this way, I have no way to approach the Duke.’
Since the last incident, the maids had begun reporting about Yuri to Riona.
They would give her looks if Yuri even went near Callian.
Her anger boiled every day at this unexpected obstacle.
If only Esika hadn’t said such damned things, it would have gone smoothly.
“I will bring refreshments from the kitchen.”
Yuri reported to the Madam and went to the kitchen.
Earlier, she had received a note from Hemos.
Saying he would prepare some fruit good for scars.
While waiting to receive the snacks she had ordered in advance, she heard voices from inside.
“Don’t take that green bottle. That’s chicken medicine the butler left temporarily, and it would be terrible if a person drank it.”
“Would they die?”
“No, it causes stomach upset. They’d be sick out of their mind for a week.”
The conversation between Hemos and a maid was heard.
Yuri’s gaze turned to the shelf, and she saw three or four small green bottles.
Could that be what Hemos just mentioned?
“…”
And at that moment, something occurred to Yuri.
If the Madam was wary of her, she should make it so the Madam had no mind to be wary.
She often feigned illness to receive attention from her son.
So even if she were sick for about a week, it wouldn’t be a special event.
Yuri reached for the bottle with a greedy expression.
And quickly hid one of them in her apron.
A moment later, Hemos came out carrying an elaborate plate of snacks.
He also held out a small pouch.
“Here are the refreshments. And this is a fruit called ‘pagwa,’ it’s a bit bitter but should be good for scar recovery.”
“Thank you, Hemos.”
Yuri took the pouch and looked at the plate.
The plate of delicious desserts momentarily made her mouth water.
‘If I marry a commoner, I couldn’t even dream of this.’
And then she thought.
‘But if I become the Duchess of Klaus in the future… I could enjoy such luxuries every day. I’m not a fool like Esika who can’t even take care of her own.’
Yuri smiled at Hemos as she received it.
“I’ll be going. Good work.”
Hemos watched Yuri’s retreating figure until she disappeared into the distance.
And belatedly, he exchanged glances with Cella, who peeked her head out of the kitchen, and smirked.
**
It didn’t take long for the signal to come from the Madam.
On the way back, Yuri had to support the Madam whose face had turned pale, but she didn’t find it particularly tiring.
To think that medicine would be this effective.
They said she would be sick for a week, so during that time, it would be Yuri’s world.
“Madam, I’ve called for a doctor, so please endure a little longer.”
Yuri put on an expression of utmost concern, while the Madam lay in bed with her eyes closed, as if dead.
She had to empty her stomach several times.
The maids went to Hemos to complain, but Hemos countered that he had simply served the cookies sent by the Empress yesterday on the plate.
Since they couldn’t confront the Empress, the matter would be dismissed.
“Mother!”
A moment later, Callian burst into the room.
Yuri bowed her head to Callian with a sad expression.
Callian rushed past Yuri to Riona and took her hand.
“Oh no, have you collapsed again? Mother…”
Normally, Riona would have acted as a loving and frail mother, saying she was fine with teary eyes, but today she lacked even that strength and could only blink her eyes.
Not long after, a physician came and concluded it was indigestion.
“Callian, today I really… ugh…”
Riona suddenly furrowed her brow.
Callian was looking at Riona with worried eyes, but Riona felt disappointed by that gaze.
She felt like she was dying from the pain, but compared to that pain, her son’s reaction seemed to lack sincerity.
Callian had developed some immunity because she had pretended to be ill too often.
Of course, he was still a filial son who would drop everything and rush to his mother, but still.
Riona, not wanting to think about anything, closed her eyes in irritation.
Nothing was going well these days.
A moment later, Yuri followed behind Callian as he left the room.
‘How can his shoulders be so broad and dependable?’
“Your Grace.”
At Yuri’s words, Callian hesitated, turned around, and looked at her.
Today, she had put extra effort into her appearance.
Yuri deliberately showed a faint melancholy and stood before him with a worried expression.
And she welled up with tears.
“Please punish me.”
“…”
Callian’s eyebrows twitched.
“I brought cookies to the Madam, which caused such severe indigestion…”
It was a sight that stimulated a man’s protective instincts.
Callian let out a small sigh.
“It is not thy fault.”
“But…”
Callian raised his hand and wiped away the tears flowing down Yuri’s cheeks.
Suddenly, Esika came to mind, causing a tingling discomfort in one side of his chest, but still, he didn’t want to ignore Yuri who was so anxious.
**
The next day, the carriage carrying Esika came to a stop in front of a mansion.
She had gone out for a suddenly decided schedule.
It was nearly two years since she had left the Klaus mansion.
The place where Esika stopped was in front of the mansion of Count Alhemitz, a distant relative of the Klaus family.
‘I’ve grasped the geography from the duke’s residence to the city center.’
As the carriage ran, Esika scanned the outside scenery with her eyes.
The terrain, geography, and the direction of the bustling streets.
Things that would be useful when going out someday.
‘The first objective of today has been achieved.’
She had also obtained information about a high-quality weapon shop, so she was planning to go out soon.
This was not the martial world governed by the law of the jungle, and she had no intention of subduing or taking revenge on her enemies with a sword.
But a sword was absolutely necessary.
Even when living as a spirit, a sword always stayed by her side.
Whenever times were hard and difficult, she always looked at the sword to set her mind straight and gained enlightenment while training in swordsmanship.
The sword was a symbolic pillar of support and her only friend to the lonely her.
So she planned to order a sword that closely resembled the one she had used all her life, but…
It would be troublesome if someone noticed her using qinggong recklessly.
So she set out like this, riding a carriage with the intention of grasping the surrounding geography.
After all, a rehearsal is needed for everything.
‘The second objective is…’
Today, there was a tea party hosted by Countess Alhemitz, a gathering to commemorate Count Alhemitz receiving a special medal from the Emperor.
Originally, the Madam was supposed to attend, but she reportedly had severe indigestion.
Thanks to Hemos fulfilling his role perfectly.
The Madam’s maids handed over a dress with disapproving faces.
After all, one cannot attend an external tea party in an old, shabby dress.
And the Madam gave Esika instructions through a maid.
To sit quietly and then leave.
“Esika Klaus, Duchess of Klaus.”
The greenhouse garden of the Alhemitz Count’s mansion.
At the maid’s announcement of Esika’s entrance, about ten noble ladies who had gathered turned their heads to look at Esika.
Esika approached them, stopped, and greeted them with a smile that gave a somewhat chilly impression.
“It has been a long time since I’ve seen you all.”
‘The second objective is… to make future allies.’
She had no interest in Callian, whom Yuri wanted so badly that her eyes were on fire.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
