Esika Klaus, she became the wife of Duke Klaus three years ago as a woman of the Brigitte family.
There were various rumors circulating about her, who never participated in social activities, and even a year ago, the most convincing rumor was this:
Esika, a noble of commoner origin from the rural Frihatz region, is very shy and feels burdened by the nobles of the capital Torres, causing much concern for the Duchess of Klaus.
Although she tried to educate her through her friends Bolan and Lady Marshal, Esika Klaus seemed to have difficulty acquiring the qualities of a duchess.
However, at some point, such stories about Esika disappeared.
And scandals of the Klaus family began to spread widely.
The most shocking was the story that Duke Klaus had an affair with Esika’s friend Yuri and impregnated her.
Yuri Anesis was a malicious woman who had tried to embezzle jewels by impersonating Esika.
Additionally, it was revealed that the Duchess was a commoner who had impersonated royalty from Smichen, and an imperial investigation team was about to begin their inquiry.
These scandals of the Klaus family were crumbling their long-built reputation like a sand castle.
On top of this, one story today will mark the peak like a bomb piercing a dam.
“Yuri Anesis, that woman. They say she tried to poison the Duchess of Klaus.”
“Oh my. Is there a woman as pitiful as the Duchess of Klaus… She’s such a kind person to personally host a birthday party even after suffering that pain from the Duchess.”
“This time she nearly died at the hands of a mere mistress.”
“Your Grace Duke Klaus, isn’t this too much? Unable to protect even one wife…”
The women gossiped, speaking ill of the Duke of Klaus’s household.
Riona Klaus, in fact, there was quite a bit of controversy surrounding her debut in society.
After all, she was merely a mistress of the previous Duke of Klaus.
In the end, she took the position of the mistress of the Klaus household, silencing everyone, but the dissatisfaction from that time still remained in the minds of the noble ladies.
“They say womanizing is inherited… What good is being so capable and handsome?”
“To impregnate such a vulgar and wicked woman, the future of the Klaus family is obvious.”
“Will the Duchess of Klaus file for divorce this time? With the dowry and alimony, the finances of the ducal house will be quite shaken.”
“Oh, surely not. No matter what, it’s the Klaus ducal family, how could they not have such money?”
The divorce procedures for nobles were quite cumbersome and disadvantageous to women.
Nevertheless, there was a sure way to receive alimony, which was when one was a unilateral victim of a scandalous affair that greatly tarnished the honor of an imperial noble.
A mistress pregnant with the husband’s child tried to kill the legal wife.
There was no scandal more fatal than this.
**
“……”
Esika, who had dozed off, opened her eyes.
She had fallen asleep while pretending to be poisoned.
This was inside Esika’s room, and a scented candle with a pleasant fragrance was burning.
And……
“…!”
Resban was sitting in a chair raised beside her bed, staring at her.
As the surprised Esika tried to rise, Resban grabbed her wrist and applied a little pressure.
As if telling her to lie down again.
Esika had no choice but to lie back down.
The reason she didn’t sense Resban’s presence as soon as she woke up was probably because she had dulled her senses to act poisoned.
“I didn’t know you’d come.”
“……”
Resban just silently looked at Esika.
His gaze seemed particularly heavy today.
After a long while, Resban reached out his hand towards Esika.
She thought it would be cold, but it was unexpectedly warm.
Perhaps because she had made her own body cold.
Esika’s eyebrows twitched at the strange sensation of his hand touching her forehead.
“……”
The two locked eyes.
Resban’s lips moved slightly.
“…Couldn’t you have told me first what you were going to do?”
At his reproachful voice, Esika felt a sting in her chest.
She thought that perhaps he had been worried.
After entering here and seeing her condition, he must have been able to guess the truth.
“…Once, enemies invaded the imperial palace. I was nine years old.”
His voice was heard.
“The enemies cruelly killed my brothers and sisters. It was a horrific scene……”
Had she stimulated his trauma?
Esika’s eyes wavered.
After a moment, Resban removed his hand from Esika’s forehead.
His gaze was still fixed on Esika’s eyes.
A slightly husky voice flowed out.
“After that, I was not surprised. Even if someone died and spilled blood before my eyes, I didn’t blink once.”
“……”
“But today.”
Resban’s eyebrows twitched.
His low voice flowed into her ears.
“More than being surprised……”
Esika’s eyes wavered again.
“…My heart dropped.”
Resban raised his hand and grabbed Esika’s wrist.
And placed it on his chest.
She could hear his heart beating heavily, thump, thump.
That sound was awakening her like the beating of spring.
As if a warm breeze was blowing on her frozen heart, something warm seemed to flow through her blood throughout her body.
She felt a subtle heat on her cheeks.
“I……”
She meant to speak in a rather calm tone, but the end seemed to tremble slightly.
An expert like Resban would easily notice such changes in emotion.
Esika suddenly felt the urge to run away.
If she ran away from here, her pretense of being poisoned might have been in vain.
“……”
The sound of Resban rising from his seat was heard.
His voice flowed in, as if soothing her.
“I didn’t expect to hear you say you’re sorry for making me worry.”
Esika closed her eyes.
She thought she could hear her heart beating.
Suddenly, Resban’s voice was heard, as if chuckling.
“But listening closely… it seems you feel at least a minimum of guilt, so I’ll take my leave now.”
Being with Resban gives her a strange feeling.
“Thank you.”
For worrying about me.
“I’ll drop by again soon.”
He threw in one last word, but Resban turned around, leaving a faint, mischievous smile.
He was the one who had been making long confessions, but somehow she felt like she had lost.
Still, Esika didn’t… entirely dislike that feeling.
Even after Resban left, she lay in bed for a long time.
**
“Let me see Esika… Let me meet Esika! Esika knows the truth!”
The place Yuri was dragged to was not the government office.
It was the interrogation room of the imperial palace investigation team, where criminals who committed crimes equivalent to treason were investigated.
The security there was incomparably more stringent than what she had seen at the previous government office.
The smell of blood and sounds of groaning could be heard from here and there.
“I didn’t poison her. I just… came because Esika told me to come! She said she would give me divorce papers first…!”
Count Pertos Riheim was not one to believe Yuri’s desperate pleas.
He said, flipping through documents with cold eyes.
“Your actions are too… heinous to be dismissed with such excuses.”
At the count’s words, Yuri’s eyebrows twitched.
“What do you mean heinous? I first entered the Klaus ducal house as a friend of the Duchess of Klaus, and unintentionally became pregnant while comforting Duke Klaus. There were just a few misunderstandings…”
“You’ve fed something terrible to a superior before, haven’t you?”
Yuri strongly refuted.
“That’s nonsense. Who on earth is saying such ridiculous things?!”
And then, from behind the count, a woman approached Yuri, guided by soldiers.
Recognizing her face, Yuri flinched and opened her eyes wide.
It was Emilia, one of the three maids of the Duchess.
Her face bore a large scar on the left side, showing how much she had been beaten when she was driven out.
Emilia approached the count with eyes full of resentment and said.
“I am Emilia, who previously worked under the Duchess of Klaus. I…”
Emilia’s index finger pointed at Yuri.
“This wicked woman framed me for giving medicine to the Duchess, which she had actually done herself, and had me driven out of the mansion.”
Yuri’s eyes trembled.
With a face clearly showing signs of panic, Yuri shook her head.
“That’s not true. Emilia gave the Duchess medicine for indigestion…”
“I received testimony from a servant. They saw this woman stealing medicine for livestock…! And this!”
Yuri’s pupils shook at the evidence Emilia presented.
It was the stopper that had sealed the bottle. She had thrown the stopper on the floor after feeding it to the Duchess, so how…!
“This woman’s hair was stuck in the stopper.”
“…!”
How on earth did Emilia have such a thing?
Someone must have handed it over to frame her.
“C-Count, it’s not true. This is all a lie…”
“The hair color seems to match yours exactly.”
“…T-That’s…”
“It’s easy for someone who has committed one crime to commit a second, and everything will be revealed when investigated. Very clearly.”
Yuri felt suffocated under the count’s chilling gaze.
Yuri felt truly wronged. She had indeed given medicine to the Duchess, but she hadn’t given any to Esika…
But the count in front of her seemed to have no intention of listening to Yuri’s words.
Emilia turned around triumphantly, as if she had finally taken revenge on Yuri.
“Just you wait. You’ll pay for everything you’ve done.”
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.”
