Squeak, squeak.
As I was crafting magical engineering weapons, Nokxia rushed over to me.
“Unnie, have you heard the news?”
“What news?”
“The Emperor of the Kalua Empire has abdicated.”
“Oh, so it finally happened.”
After Askan’s whereabouts became mysterious, many events unfolded in the Kalua Empire.
The Emperor of the Kalua Empire, whose lifelong dream was to expand its territory, began to feel threatened in his imperial authority by his third son, Helcyon.
Although it wasn’t intentional, the starting point was the incident where the attempt by the Razent Empire to kidnap me to restrain the Kalua Empire was exposed to the public.
Only a few nations knew that the Kalua Empire was experimenting with human weapons, but fearing reprisals, they kept it secret and prepared quietly.
However, with the public revelation of human weapon experiments, many nations began to sever diplomatic ties with the Kalua Empire.
As a result, the vast Kalua Empire, with a lot of barren land, faced a shortage of food, leading to incidents where numerous imperial citizens starved to death.
At that time, it was the third prince, Helcyon, who stepped forward to raise issues with the Emperor’s politics.
The Kalua Empire was divided into the Emperor’s faction and Helcyon’s faction, plunging into constant internal strife.
It was a completely different story from the original work “Beloved Saint.” In the original novel, the Emperor of the Kalua Empire successfully invaded the Arwen Empire and prospered significantly.
I didn’t care much since I had long realized that the original could deviate.
If the Kalua Empire, which could potentially cause a war in the future, weakened its power due to internal strife, it was not bad news.
Moreover, if I could use that opportunity to find Askan, it would be even better.
But even after ten years…
Still, Askan’s whereabouts remained unknown.
Tock, I put down the weapon I was assembling and turned to face Nokxia.
Nokxia, now 25 years old, retained the beauty of her childhood and had grown up to be still dazzlingly beautiful.
“If the Emperor has abdicated, we may have to send more people to the Kalua Empire. Since the internal strife is over, those who go to inquire about Askan may face difficulties.”
Although I had found the building where I thoroughly investigated the Kalua Empire’s human weapon experiments a long time ago, it was already burnt to ashes, and there was nothing to salvage.
Due to the Kalua Empire’s efforts to prevent the breakdown of diplomacy by discontinuing human weapon experiments, Askan’s traces were nowhere to be found since then.
However, I had not yet given up on finding Askan.
Nokxia looked at me with a cautious expression and said, “Unnie, I know you hate hearing this, but… shouldn’t we consider giving up now since we haven’t found him so far?”
“I told you. Until I see Askan’s body with my own eyes, I won’t give up.”
A long time had passed. The idea of meeting Askan again had become faint, but even if more time passed, I had no intention of giving up.
It wasn’t easy to define exactly, but I owed something to Askan.
I couldn’t forget his last serene expression and the affectionate gaze filled with love toward me.
“But how long will you keep driving away those proposing to you, Unnie?”
At Nokxia’s words, I found myself unconsciously looking out the window.
The laboratory had changed a lot over a long period. If I had been satisfied with sturdy outer walls, bunkers, and secret passages before, it was different now.
The area around the laboratory was armed with magical engineering weapons to prevent anyone from approaching recklessly.
With the recent development of the detection system, various devices automatically activated an attack function if someone approached beyond a certain distance.
I had witnessed men who came to propose to me screaming and fleeing from the entrance more than once.
Today was no exception.
“Screaaaam!”
With a loud scream, a vague figure collapsing on the ground from a distance caught my eye.
It seemed that someone had come to propose to me again.
“It’s really annoying to death.”
Even though warning signs not to enter recklessly were clearly posted at the entrance, the number of proposers only increased over time.
Although I installed devices at the entrance that relatively intimidated people, if someone intruded into the laboratory without my permission, their life could be in danger.
As I sighed, Nokxia laughed as if she couldn’t stop her.
“Think about it. Who in the world wouldn’t want to marry Unnie? The continent’s top weapons master and this young and beautiful, you know.”
I wrinkled my nose at the irritating compliment, but Nokxia didn’t stop there. She took my hand and walked towards a full-length mirror not far away.
Reflected in the mirror was a cold beauty with glossy black hair and icy blue eyes. It was my appearance.
Next to me stood Nokxia, who, unlike me, had a warm atmosphere with her sacred silver hair.
Twins we may be, but we were truly different.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
