The news that both the Crown Prince and Prince of the Empire were about to be engaged spread throughout the Empire.
While many had anticipated the marriage between the Second Prince and Aria Heinz, daughter of Duke Heinz, the news about the Crown Prince brought great shock to high society.
First of all, who is Crown Prince Resban Deon Lucein?
With black hair and shining golden eyes, he was known as the ‘War Maniac’.
Due to his brilliant military achievements in reclaiming lost territories and treasures from the enemy, no one opposed him becoming Emperor, but there was no disagreement that he would not make a good husband.
It was said that Resban always exuded a strong scent of blood, and there were rumors that the vengeful spirits of thousands of enemies he had beheaded followed him.
Moreover, he trusts no one to the extent that he even enters the bedroom carrying his sword.
Just making eye contact with him makes one’s knees weak from his intense killing intent, making him too overwhelming for a delicately raised daughter of a noble family to handle.
Of course, there was no disagreement that the Crown Prince would eventually marry someone.
If an imperial decree were issued designating a daughter from a powerless family, how could they refuse?
But for the Crown Prince’s fiancée to be none other than Esika.
Esika Klaus, who had been abused by the Klaus family for years until the family went bankrupt and she divorced.
And strangely, after the divorce, she paid off the debts attached to the Klaus mansion and lives there alone like a widow, conducting business under the Klaus name.
“Look over there. Oh my.”
The ladies who were gathered in small groups chatting closed their mouths upon seeing her silhouette entering from afar.
Today was the day of the tea party prepared by the Empress.
Ostensibly, it was for a select group of high-ranking noble ladies to converse with the future Crown Princess and Princess on the occasion of the Crown Prince and Second Prince’s engagements, but no one would take this at face value.
Who is Empress Mariela? She is the aunt of Duke Klaus, Esika’s ex-husband.
For her nephew’s divorced wife to become her stepson’s wife… she couldn’t possibly view Esika Klaus favorably.
Moreover, while the Crown Princess would outrank the Princess in terms of status, the backgrounds of Esika, a divorcée, and Aria Heinz, the esteemed daughter of Duke Heinz, were vastly different.
Even now, before the official engagement has taken place.
The obvious disparity between the two was undoubtedly meant to lower the Crown Prince’s standing and elevate that of the Second Prince.
“……”
Aria Heinz was equally tense.
She watched Esika Klaus approaching from afar with a hardened gaze.
She could feel the Empress’s gaze on her back.
“I greet Your Majesty the Empress.”
Esika Klaus, wearing a dress with blue tones, was beautiful enough to captivate men’s souls.
The ladies thought to themselves that they hadn’t known the Duchess of Klaus was such a beauty, as they looked at Esika with startled expressions.
How could her skin be so fair? Her eyes, like embedded sapphires, were luminous.
Moreover, her etiquette was clearly the formal imperial court etiquette and showed not the slightest flaw.
“……”
The Empress, seated, stared at Esika who was greeting her before finally speaking.
“Welcome.”
Despite the literal meaning, the atmosphere was chilly.
However, Esika didn’t seem to find this uncomfortable at all.
Her cool smile seemed more natural than Aria Heinz’s, and she appeared more accustomed to this place than the high-ranking noble ladies.
The Empress disliked her attitude but, finding no fault to pick at, merely bit her lip slightly.
‘Where did she learn etiquette in such a short time?’
The etiquette of the Turessian Imperial Court is complex.
Thinking it would take at least a month to even approximate it, she had set the tea party for two weeks later.
She had hoped that, without even having to point it out, word of Esika’s clumsy demeanor would spread among the ladies.
But Esika only elicited admiration with her perfect imperial court etiquette and demeanor.
“Um, I have prepared a gift for Your Majesty the Empress.”
At this moment, Aria Heinz’s voice was heard.
Everyone’s attention turned to Aria.
She had red hair and green eyes, and was wearing a dress that looked even more luxurious than Esika’s.
With a nervous expression, she held out the item she had brought to the Empress.
“…My goodness.”
A deep smile appeared at the corners of the Empress’s lips.
“You will be evaluated in comparison to Esika Klaus, that divorcée. It may be humiliating for the Heinz ducal family, but it’s better than being judged inferior to Esika. As Breyten’s mother, I also hope you will uphold my son’s honor.”
She had already had a private audience with Aria a week ago.
And she had instilled a sense of pressure in Aria, who had grown up in the wealthy and privileged Heinz ducal family, knowing little of the world.
“The first gift I receive from my future daughter-in-law, how special.”
Aria’s face brightened at the Empress’s praise.
Aria’s gift to the Empress was a pearl jewelry box containing perfume – seven types of imported perfumes in elongated bottles, each adorned with a ring set with various jewels.
It was a precious perfume worth a thousand ling per drop, and the rings were also extremely valuable.
The noble ladies’ eyes were also sparkling.
To receive such a precious gift, how pleased Her Majesty the Empress must be.
“……”
Aria glanced at Esika with eyes that already seemed victorious.
Those from Brigitte were not fit to set foot in the imperial family from birth. Moreover, being Klaus’s divorcée, the fact that she would have to serve her as a superior was quite insulting to her pride.
So if she could subdue her like this…
“Congratulations. It truly is a wonderful gift.”
However, Esika didn’t even twitch an eyebrow.
Rather, she smiled with a calm gaze as if genuinely admiring it.
Aria met Esika’s gaze with a sour expression.
‘What’s with this naive reaction?’
Esika smiled brightly and said to the Empress.
“I apologize, but I did not prepare a gift. I am sorry for my lack of sincerity on the day of meeting Your Majesty the Empress.”
The Empress looked at Esika with twisted lips.
This was the picture she had wanted.
Esika, Resban’s fiancée, compared to Aria Heinz, the fiancée of the Second Prince Breyten.
A woman lacking in manners and sincerity.
It would have been better if she had shown a slightly flustered face, but it seems the intense reaction she wanted didn’t come out.
‘Your Majesty the Empress sent me a letter in advance, didn’t you? Saying that if I brought a gift, you wouldn’t accept it. So I simply didn’t bring one…!’
If she were to refute like this, the Empress could deny it ever happened and brand her a liar, completely ruining her reputation.
But even this was satisfactory enough.
The high-ranking noble ladies would already start to negatively evaluate Esika’s lack of sincerity, and ruining things from the very start like this was meaningful.
“So as a way of apologizing…”
Esika continued.
Her blue eyes then gleamed coldly.
“I would like to gift all the ladies present here with the Merhin Marnel Premium Edition, in Your Majesty the Empress’s name.”
At those words, suddenly all chatter ceased as if cold water had been poured.
The Empress’s eyebrows twitched, and the corners of Aria’s mouth, which had been wearing a faint smile, also moved.
Soon, intense reactions began to erupt among the noble ladies.
“The Merhin Marnel Premium Edition?”
“Oh my. Do you mean the Merhin Marnel cake?”
“It’s been sold out for a week, impossible to find anywhere!”
The Merhin Marnel cake was currently all the rage in high society.
The cake’s creator was so skilled that he was called to be the Emperor’s chef, and the so-called hot figures in high society poured out praise for the Marnel cake.
Lower-ranking nobles were stomping their feet in frustration at not being able to get the cake.
Although the recipe had been quite widely distributed and shops imitating it had sprung up, the Merhin brand had already established itself and everyone wanted to eat the Merhin Marnel cake.
Meanwhile, the sold-out situation that had been going on for a week had been frustrating the ladies.
And now, the Merhin Marnel Premium Edition?
That was a set consisting of three cakes with different flavors that were announced to be released soon, along with a bottle of wine.
Could there be a more desirable gift than this?
“Oh my goodness!!”
“I love it so much, my lady.”
The gathered noble ladies couldn’t hide their excitement.
No matter how beautiful a gift Aria Heinz presented to the Empress, the thrill of merely looking at it would soon be forgotten.
But when it comes to a benefit that directly comes to oneself, no one can help but be delighted.
“Please consider it a gift from Her Majesty the Empress to the ladies.”
Though she said this, everyone knew.
That this was Esika’s gift.
The Empress slightly raised the end of her eyebrow but couldn’t refute anything.
There was no justification to point out or scold when a future daughter-in-law said she would distribute popular products to noble ladies in the Empress’s name.
The noble ladies’ eyes were sparkling as they looked at Esika.
The Empress ended up receiving nothing while Esika’s status only rose.
The ladies, with excited and joyful expressions, were smiling, and Esika looked at the Empress with a bright smile.
‘Truly… beyond expectations…’
The Empress’s hand, half-covered by her lowered sleeve, was clenched.
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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