“Did you choose the wrong house?”
Turning around at the cold voice, Christine was standing there with furrowed brows.
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]Tock, tock, tock….
Christine, sitting on the sofa, gently lifted and set down the rapier he held in its sheath.
Each time his wrist moved, the tip of the sheath would hit the floor, making a tock, tock sound.
The jewels adorning the sword reflected the sunlight and dazzled brilliantly.
The sight was beautiful like a painting, but those watching could not even breathe for fear.
As if he might draw the sword and cut down the baggage in front of him at any moment.
“So you were just being loyal to your mission?”
Christine asked in a slow, cold voice.
“Yes, my duty is to serve you without discomfort, Sir. Since it’s where you’ll be staying, I thought it was only right to pay close attention!”
Though his face was taut with tension, the servant asserted his duty confidently.
“Then let me give you an answer to your best effort.”
Shring.
Christine’s rapier shot out of its sheath in a flash.
At that moment, Adel hurriedly jumped in front of the servant, blocking him.
“I requested it! I asked for the house to be renovated as a condition of you staying here! I asked for it!”
One of Christine’s eyebrows shot up.
His expression made Adel a little nervous, but she closed her eyes tightly.
“You can afford it since you’re rich! So I wanted to overhaul the house on this occasion!”
“Did you also want that oldfashioned royal floral wallpaper?”
“Yes, the royal floral wallpaper too!”
“Really?”
Christine turned to the servant for confirmation.
“No, Sir.”
“Gasp!”
At the honest reply, Adel stared at the servant in disbelief.
“You say no?”
“Think carefully, Sir Zimmer. Don’t think about covering for me. I definitely requested it.”
Adel quickly gave him a wink, signaling him to agree.
However, Zimmer stubbornly maintained an honest posture.
“It is not, My Lady.”
“You stubborn fool! Intransigent!”
Fuming, Adel muttered as Christine asked her,
“Why are you so protective of Zimmer?”
“Well, life is precious. Sir Zimmer was just thinking of you….”
“What on earth are you thinking, Adel?”
“Uh?”
“You think I’ll actually swing this?”
Christine incredulously looked down at the rapier he was holding.
With an utterly naive face, as if he didn’t even know how to swing a sword.
“……No?”
“What do you take me for? To cut someone over such a trivial matter?”
“Yes, Sir, you are not one to stain your blade at any time.”
Even Zimmer sided with him, leaving Adel feeling out of place.
“Then why did you draw the sword?”
“To polish it.”
Christine offered the sword, and
“Yes, Sir always punishes me to polish the sword if he doesn’t like something I’ve done.”
Zimmer began to polish the sword with a neatly folded silk handkerchief.
Among them, only Adel felt like a fool.
Even Tanya, who had been watching quietly, nodded that Adel’s feeling wasn’t just a feeling.
“You guys really……”
Adel shouted at the servants who had been watching breathlessly.
“Take off that oldfashioned royal floral wallpaper right now! And those dazzling frames, those insane chandeliers, and this carpet that will surely become a dust machine, take them all away! Oh yes, and block the stairs connecting the 2nd and 1st floors! With steel plates!”
At the sight of her fierce eyes, the two men flinched unconsciously.
“It seems the ambiance will overwhelm you, Sir.”
“There will be plenty left.”
[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]As the short winter sun disappeared, darkness came quickly.
Tanya, who had been running errands all day between the servants and Adel, was exhausted and went to bed.
Adel도 몹시 피곤했지만, 부엌으로 들어가 앞치마를 둘렀다.
황실에 납품할 디저트를 만들려면 시간이 빠듯했기 때문이다.
어제부터 시작했어야 했는데 어제, 오늘 정신없는 일들로 시간이 지나가 버렸다. 이제 정말 서두르지 않으면 납품기일을 못 맞출 수도 있었다.
제일 먼저 찬장 서랍에서 레시피 북을 꺼냈다. 지금껏 그녀가 개발하고 연구한 그녀의 보물이었다.
처음 납품이니 제일 자신 있고 무난한 메뉴로 구성하는 게 좋을 것 같았다.
“먼저 숙성시킬 반죽부터 해놓고……”
그 순간 Adel은 밀가루가 아직도 지하 창고에 있다는 사실을 깨달았다. 타냐에게 꺼내 달라고 해놓는 걸 깜빡했다.
어제 그 일 때문에 지하 창고에는 더 들어가기가 싫었다.
이럴 때 Christine이라도 있으면 도움이 되었으련만, 그는 황궁으로 다시 돌아가 버렸다.
오늘은 못 돌아올지 모른다는 말과 함께.
아직 직책을 맡은 것도 아닌데 황궁에서 무슨 일을 하는 걸까?
그것도 밤늦게까지.
그럼 잠은 어디서 자지?
그 순간 왜 갑자기 에이프릴이 떠올랐는지 몰랐다.
‘헉, 무슨 말도 안 되는!’
아직 혼인도 안 한 황녀님에게 그런 불경스러운 생각이라니.
‘잡념은 금물. 일 생각이나 하자!’
Adel은 등불을 들고 조심스럽게 지하 창고의 문손잡이를 밀었다.
끼이익.
새로 달아놓은 묵직한 마호가니 문의 무게가 왠지 더 두렵게 했다.
‘괜찮아, 오늘은 아무 일도 없을 테니까. 아무 일도……’
문이 열리자 어둡고 습한 공기가 그녀를 엄습했다.
“후우우!”
깊게 심호흡한 Adel이 조심스럽게 발을 내딛는데,
저벅, 저벅……
등 뒤에서 묵직한 발소리가 들려왔다.
잘못 들은 건가 싶은데 곧 시커먼 그림자가 일렁이며 집어삼킬 듯 가까워졌다. Adel은 그대로 온몸이 굳는 것 같아서 꼼짝할 수가 없었다.
그리고 무언가가 그녀의 어깨를 꽉 움켜쥐었다.
“악, 제, 제발……!”
졸도할 것만 같은 얼굴로 소리치는데,
“괜찮아?”
귀에 익은 음성이 들려왔다.
“하아아!”
긴장이 탁 풀려서 그녀가 휘청거렸다. 그런 Adel을 Christine이 잡아주었다.
창백하게 굳어진 그녀를 보고 오히려 Christine이 더 놀란 얼굴이었다.
“왜 그렇게 놀래?”
“아니야, 아무것도. 오늘 못 들어 온다더니.”
“못 들어올지 모른다고 했지, 못 들어온다고는 안 했는데?”
“아아, 그랬나……”
그동안에도 Adel의 몸은 가늘게 떨고 있었다.
“……도와줄까?”
“응, 지하에서 밀가루 포대를 좀 갖다 줘.”
“그거 말고.”
“어?”
Christine의 눈빛이 너무 깊게 들어와서 Adel은 당황스러웠다.
이럴 때는 꼭 사람의 마음을 읽는 것만 같았다.
그녀가 무얼 두려워하는지 아는 것처럼.
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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