“How did you know I was here of all places?”
“It’s my mansion. How could you think I wouldn’t know with so many hidden eyes around?”
Come to think of it, he wasn’t wrong.
The mansion was mostly filled with Askan’s people. The only ones who belonged to me were those from the Brellopf family, who came with me to the Kalua Empire.
There were many flaws in my hasty movement after receiving the information. Moreover, without Zen, I couldn’t be prepared for such unexpected situations.
Askan’s eyes silently scanned the interior of the carriage, as if he were searching for something.
“Where are you looking?”
In response to my question, Askan answered with a somewhat relaxed expression.
“I wasn’t planning to leave my mansion.”
Huh?
I was utterly surprised by the unexpected words.
“Why would I leave here?”
“I wondered. You called a carriage without saying a word to me, so I thought maybe that was the reason.”
“What, that’s such an unreasonable thought.”
Although my words were reprimanding, somehow, his mood seemed to lighten.
We had kissed not long ago. It wasn’t officially confirmed that we were dating, but if he left without saying anything, it would be no different from a breakup notice.
First of all, that wasn’t the most important thing right now.
I glanced around the deserted surroundings once again and pulled Askan into the carriage.
Askan, despite sending a puzzled look, willingly entered the carriage.
I looked at him next to me and spoke to the coachman again.
“For now, take me to the busy district.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Soon, the carriage started moving.
I kept the tension until the end, fearing that Zen might notice and follow me.
Only after the carriage left the mansion and entered the safe zone did I turn my gaze to Askan.
“…!”
I was momentarily surprised.
Askan had completely turned his body toward me, with his fist clenched, staring at me.
I couldn’t help but be surprised by how intense his gaze felt.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you worried someone might follow you?”
“Oh, that… actually.”
I hesitated for a moment about whether I could tell the truth, but since Askan wasn’t part of the Brellopf family, there was no need to hide it.
“I purposely didn’t inform Zen to avoid being followed.”
“If it’s Zen, you mean your bodyguard?”
“That’s right. Where I’m going now is a secret to Zen.”
“Let me guess. You were afraid of being followed and tried to avoid it.”
It sounded like a meaningful statement.
In my mind, various ways to prevent Zen from following me in the mansion came to mind.
It could involve tying him up and detaining him or causing him to injure his legs, such methods.
Although it seemed too sinister, it wasn’t excessive considering it was the dark character Askan from a novel, not anyone else.
If he hadn’t turned dark. If he were already dark, he might have used even more brutal methods than I imagined.
I nervously opened my mouth.
“Enough. Don’t even think about touching a single hair on Zen’s head.”
In an instant, Askan’s eyes sharpened. Looking at me with narrowed eyes, he spoke in a deeper voice.
“Hearing those words, it makes me want to do the opposite, to be honest.”
“That kind of joke isn’t funny.”
Even to my words, Askan had no response. He only gave a chilling smile.
Askan now was different from the boy I remembered. I wasn’t sure if it was because he used to be a slave or not, but it seemed like he could stop when restrained.
However, the current him was entirely uncontrollable.
It felt like the safety line between us had completely disappeared.
“Don’t forget. I promised not to harm innocent people.”
At my words, Askan recalled the promise he made not long ago, and his expression became uncomfortable.
“Did we make that promise just for this situation?”
“What are you talking about?”
“To side with other men in front of me.”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter unintentionally. I didn’t expect Askan to take those words so seriously.
I had worried about Zen getting hurt, but the thought of siding with someone else in front of Askan never crossed my mind.
“What are you talking about? I’m always on your side.”
At my words, Askan’s gaze, which seemed as sharp as a lie, softened. His eyebrows narrowed, but the corners of his mouth lifted.
“Are you trying to train me now?”
“Do you have any intention to resist?”
Askan chuckled, raising his eyebrows. He didn’t say anything, but his lack of refusal was already an answer.
‘I really must be crazy.’
Why is it like this?
It felt like all the dormant cells of love had suddenly awakened.
The ambiguous relationship with Askan was making my heart pound so much that it felt hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the coach arrived at the bustling district, and the coachman spoke cautiously.
“Miss, we have arrived at the destination.”
“Ah, thank you.”
As I tried to get off the carriage, Askan moved first.
He got off first and reached out to me. Thanks to that, I could naturally receive his escort and get off the carriage.
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.”
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