And she straightforwardly reached out her hand to him.
As if saying she would die together with him.
I always treated her brusquely. I never uttered her name even once, pretending it was a mistake.
“Marian.”
At Espen’s call, she, who sat in front of him again, looked up beyond the centuries.
Espen found himself laughing foolishly without realizing it. Even though he knew it was embarrassing, the muscles around his mouth moved on their own. There was no helping it. The person he had been dreaming of was now sitting in front of him, and facial expressions were beyond his control.
Espen cautiously uttered the confession he hadn’t been able to spit out due to lack of courage long ago.
“Marry me.”
Just saying those words made his nose tingle, and tears welled up in his eyes.
He truly wanted to say it like this.
“Marry me.”
I doubted my ears. What? Marriage?
“…Are you crazy?”
At my question, Espen’s eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed thinly.
“I expected that kind of reaction.”
No matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t a topic suitable for discussion between us. After blinking for a moment, he asked.
“Or are you making fun of me?”
Even thinking positively, it was only this much. In response to my question, Espen let out a bitter laugh.
“Have you been teased a lot? Did someone propose to you? Was it the fiancé you mentioned back then?”
“Espen.”
The conversation I wanted to have was not about marriage now. Calling his name as a warning not to cross the line, he suddenly flashed a sly smile.
“Yeah, that’s my name. Call my name. No, isn’t ‘Prince of the Birds’ better? It seems nice that you use honorifics with me.”
To me, it was just disgusting talk. I clenched my fist and grumbled.
“Then you should have called me nicely.”
“You are not the one who comes when called nicely. Besides, why didn’t the report about you come from the Northern region in the first place?”
I bit my tongue since I was the one who intercepted the report. The birds chuckled.
“Did you want to surprise me?”
“Ha.”
Did he learn somewhere how to think positively?
‘Talk needs to happen for conversation.’
I had no idea where to start the conversation.
Espen pushed a plate towards me.
“Eat this quickly.”
“What do you believe in you?”
“Just let’s have teatime. People are too negative. If you’re skeptical, you can’t use magic.”
His overly friendly tone was more awkward. As much as his words were true, my hands didn’t reach for the food that was my favorite on the table, and Espen’s eyes sharpened when he saw me not eating.
“Let’s stop here.”
Just as a heavy voice seemed to intervene between us, someone stood in front of me, seemingly protecting me. It was Hadel.
Espen’s expression became more annoyed, but the voice that came out was smooth.
“Long time no see, sir.”
Hadel spoke to Espen without lowering his guard.
“It’s not that long. Not too long ago, you came directly to the Northern region yourself.”
“Yes, until then, sir, you struggled because you couldn’t control the flames properly. But now you look very dignified.”
“Well.”
At the mention of Hadel mastering fire control, Espen openly displayed a displeased expression as if provokingly reached out toward me.
“That’s interesting, but what I’m interested in is over here.”
“Get out of the way.”
Hadel swatted Espen’s hand away. Since the two had opposite attributes, their clash only resulted in a faint touch, but a sizzling sound accompanied the evaporation of steam.
“Oops.”
The attendants, who had been pretending not to see and had lowered their heads, were startled by the unexpected clash between the brothers.
Espen, still needing to manage his image, gestured for the attendants to step back first.
“Everyone, step back.”
The attendants hurriedly retreated as if fearing sparks might fly. Espen then turned to Hadel and implored.
“Brother, would you please step aside as well? I want to talk with the woman I met after a long time.”
Hadel responded without yielding.
“Isn’t using the term ‘brother’ something you shouldn’t do anymore? You’re not my brother among the birds.”
“Haha, that’s true.”
With no visible eyes, Espen immediately revealed his true colors.
“And as it is, calling you ‘brother’ seemed like I was having a seizure.”
Hadel’s face stiffened, appearing somewhat shocked. He asked in a lowered voice.
“When did it start? Where is my brother?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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