“……So, if you send His Highness the Prince, the father of the child in her womb, wouldn’t it become difficult to uncover the truth of this crime?”
Esika continued speaking while looking at the Empress.
“And who would dare harm the imperial bloodline.”
The Empress’s eyebrows were frozen coldly.
After a brief silence, the Emperor asked sternly.
“What do you mean? Brayton…… impregnated a woman? Hasn’t it been only a short while since he broke off his engagement with the Grand Duchess of Heinz? Brayton, you speak.”
Brayton stood with a stiff face, his mouth half-open, unable to say anything.
He was greatly flustered.
“Your… Your Majesty… I… I know nothing of this!”
“Regarding this matter……”
Astia interrupted with a calm voice to answer instead.
“I am aware of it.”
A faint smile formed on Esika’s lips as she lowered her gaze.
The Empress immediately frowned deeply and shifted her gaze towards Astia.
It was an important moment for Astia’s role.
“Please follow me.”
Astia said as she stood up.
**
Astia walked in the lead, followed by the Emperor supported by attendants, the Empress, and then Brayton, Resban, and Esika.
As they passed, the palace knights knelt on one knee in salute, but no one looked around.
Brayton was so nervous that he was biting his fingernails.
Their procession was long, and they descended several floors. Brayton wanted to run ahead to see the situation, but the Empress signaled with a stern gaze to stay put.
“……”
Soon, when they reached the underground level with a chilly atmosphere, Astia stopped.
The Empress glanced coldly at Esika before speaking to Astia.
“Who is here? Imperial Princess?”
“Please wait…… Bring it.”
As Astia commanded some attendants, they soon brought something like a chest.
The large chest, big enough for one or two people to fit inside, was emanating coldness.
After the attendants retreated, Astia herself raised her hand to grasp its lid.
The Empress bit her lip firmly. The card of victory or defeat was contained in this.
The Emperor was watching the situation with a serious expression.
“……”
After a moment, Astia slowly extended her hand and lifted the chest lid.
And laboriously raised the heavy thing.
With a thud, the chest lid slid off and fell, revealing what was inside.
“……!”
The corpse of a young and beautiful woman was so decomposed that it was difficult to recognize her face, and Brayton raised his hand to cover his nose and mouth.
Esika looked at the chest with a calm expression at the sight of the dead woman.
Esika knew the bracelet worn on the woman’s wrist.
The one Brayton said he gifted to his lovers.
He said it was a symbol of love and joy.
“I don’t want to die.”
What were her last words, I wonder.
Astia smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
‘Did you think I was on your side, Esika?’
Meanwhile, the Empress revealed the smile she had been holding back and looked at Esika with a pleased expression.
Yesterday, Astia had confessed to her that she had been contacted by Esika.
She said they had entrusted her with the body of a courtesan pregnant with the Second Prince’s child.
Even the plan to reveal this to the Emperor. And Astia, following the Empress’s orders, had switched the corpse with that of another woman.
So this game seems to be a certain victory for the Empress, who reversed Esika’s plan.
“……”
Resban’s eyes, observing the situation, were just coldly gleaming.
“……It’s a corpse.”
The first to speak after a brief silence was the Empress.
The Emperor, frowning, asked Astia.
“Who… is this?”
Astia answered with a calm expression.
“A woman who did odd jobs in the palace.”
“Why is a woman who does odd jobs wearing a dress?”
“According to her fellow maids, she liked to dress up and wore such clothes and bracelets.”
Astia’s eyes turned towards Esika.
In the dim space, Esika’s eyes were coldly shining.
“……She was said to have been going around talking about receiving love from Prince Brayton. That bracelet is proof of it. I’m not sure if there’s a child in her womb or not.”
“……Th-This is nonsense. Why would I… with such a lowly woman……”
Brayton stammered before confronting Esika.
As suspicion rose like lint, the Emperor frowned. He already knew that Brayton gave such bracelets to the women he met.
“Sister-in-law, surely you didn’t report to His Majesty after hearing such… such nonsensical stories circulating among lowly women?”
“……”
“How could this happen? Even knowing how my mother and I have been struggling since the broken engagement with the Grand Duchess of Heinz. This is too much!”
Esika just silently looked at Astia with coldly sunken eyes.
You must have noticed that the corpse has been switched.
The Empress looked at Esika’s face, then turned her gaze while covering her emerging smile with her hand.
The Emperor looked at the woman’s corpse in the chest for a long time before speaking.
“An autopsy would be important. To determine whose words are true.”
“A priest with medical qualifications is waiting.”
And a few seconds later, Eril Fuse appeared behind Astia.
Esika’s eyebrows twitched.
He soon bowed to the Emperor with a snake-like voice.
“Your Majesty the Emperor. I am Eril Fuse, an imperial priest serving Tameron.”
And he began to autopsy the corpse directly in front of the Emperor with the long blade he had brought.
It wasn’t much of an autopsy, just a matter of cutting open the abdomen and uterus with a knife to reveal them.
It was a frown-inducing process, but it was settled after a few minutes.
“I’ll ask straightforwardly. Was there a fetus in the woman’s womb?”
All eyes turned to Eril Fuse.
Eril Fuse looked at Esika with a pleased expression for several seconds.
And a moment later, he bowed his head and said.
“There was no fetus in the woman’s womb.”
The Emperor frowned and looked at Esika, saying.
“Then the story about Brayton is all lies.”
He looked angry, and then a scolding voice flowed out.
“Crown Princess, what is the meaning of this?”
“Your Majesty.”
Resban came forward to calm the Emperor’s anger.
“We all came here after hearing the Crown Princess’s words. And to hear such a story…!”
The Emperor admonished the two in a tone full of anger.
The Empress added a few words beside him, touching her forehead.
“Although Brayton has a good personality and is close to women, he’s not a child who would thoughtlessly play around with maids. Many women go around saying they received bracelets and gifts from Brayton, but they’re just lying for social climbing. Isn’t that right, Brayton?”
“Ah, Mother. Of course. How could I… do such a thing?”
The Empress intended to take this opportunity to somewhat quell the bad rumors about Brayton as well.
Eril Fuse said to the Empress in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Although I am teaching the Crown Princess about imperial etiquette and theology, she still has many shortcomings. I will educate her well so that she does not cause trouble to the imperial family by acting rashly like this in the future, Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress sighed and looked at the Emperor with a worried expression.
“Your Majesty… Although the Crown Princess acted foolishly today, what can we do when she’s already a member of the imperial family? I will tell the priest to educate her strictly, so please don’t worry too much.”
“The Crown Princess was almost deceived by the delusional stories of mere maids and… nearly tarnished the honor of the imperial family, causing suspicion and discord.”
The Emperor rebuked Esika, narrowing the space between his wrinkled eyebrows.
Esika silently lowered her gaze and listened to the Emperor’s admonishment.
“I thought you were a wise child… I’m truly disappointed.”
A voice mixed with a sigh flowed out.
And looking at Resban, he admonished him together.
“A wife’s mistake is the husband’s mistake. You also bear responsibility for today’s incident.”
“I will rectify it.”
Resban answered softly.
The Emperor, who had been looking alternately at Resban and Esika with a vacant expression for a moment, turned around abruptly.
“The Crown Princess shall reflect for the next fortnight!”
Soon the attendants followed the Emperor, and the Empress, who had been looking at Esika with seemingly joyful eyes for a long time, also moved her feet while making tsk-tsk sounds.
Brayton and Eril also slowly followed.
“Esika.”
Resban raised his hand to grasp Esika’s shoulder and looked at her for several seconds before speaking.
His golden eyes held affection for her.
Esika nodded, and Resban removed his hand from her.
After a while, the only people left were the servants of the morgue holding their breath like objects in the darkness, Astia, and Esika.
“……”
Esika slowly approached Astia.
Astia was looking straight into Esika’s eyes.
Today’s events were, to anyone’s eyes, Astia’s perfect betrayal of Esika.
After all, what was in the chest was already a switched corpse.
‘Why are you going this far?’
Astia looked at Esika with eyes that couldn’t understand.
She wouldn’t know. That to catch a big fish, you need a large net.
Esika had gone through a similar process at Riona’s birthday party before.
Esika silently looked at Astia for several seconds before brushing past her.
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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