When Dele was still in Parma, Kardian tested him by mentioning his name, and he tested him again by showing himself in person here. However, Dele showed a surprisingly nonchalant reaction in front of Kardian.
Since he can’t hear, he probably doesn’t know about the ceasefire agreement that the prisoners or guards are talking about.
Losing his hearing is unfortunate, but thanks to that, he has a chance to meet his younger sister alive. However, it’s dangerous to let him out of here and learn about the news of the world.
There were many ways. He could blind him to completely block external news, or when his relationship with Ansi develops further, he could bring her here to meet him then.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
Kardian turned around. As he walked down the corridor, he asked the manager.
“Did you prepare what I told you?”
“Yes.”
The manager took out a small envelope from his pocket and handed it to Kardian. Kardian looked inside and smiled.
This was another gift he had prepared for Ansi, who had faithfully responded to the dog tag he had sent.
He was curious to see how Ansi would react to this.
Kardian got into the carriage. The carriage headed towards the cafe where he was to meet Ansi.
[This is the timeline separator]Ansi, wearing a veil, entered a room at the back of the cafe.
“You’re here?”
Kardian, who was already waiting, laughed at her appearance. Perhaps she feels more at ease hiding her face like that. Well, that aspect of her was also cute enough to overlook.
“…Where is Dele?”
Ansi asked, keeping her back straight. Once again, she didn’t even sit down.
Kardian gestured to the teacup placed across from him.
“Have some tea first.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Rejecting me like that won’t get you the story you want to hear, Ansi.”
Ansi tightly gripped the hem of her skirt. However, now was not the time to assert her pride. She sat down in front of Kardian and took off her hat.
“You really do look alike. You and your elder brother.”
At Kardian’s words, Ansi glared at him. Kardian raised an eyebrow and took a sip of tea, swallowing it.
“I have no intention of using your elder brother’s life. On the contrary, why can’t you understand that I’m protecting your elder brother because I want to help you?”
“Tell me where my elder brother is.”
“If you just do as I ask, Ansi, I’ll let you meet him. Be satisfied with this for now.”
Kardian took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Ansi. With a doubtful face, Ansi opened the envelope and her face turned pale.
“What is this…?”
“Recently, Dele had his hair cut. I thought you might like to see something like this.”
Ansi took out a few strands of hair from the envelope and examined them. Her hand trembled. The ash-gray hair was definitely Dele’s.
She glared at Kardian, who was sitting across from her. Tears welled up in her wide-open eyes. The urge to pour hot tea on Kardian’s face arose. However, he had a hostage. Ansi couldn’t do anything to Kardian as she pleased.
“Is he really alive?”
“Yes. I wish you would believe my words a little…”
“I can’t believe it without seeing his face.”
“If you do as I ask, I’ll show you his face.”
Kardian continued to speak calmly, not at all agitated by Ansi’s reaction.
Ansi put Dele’s hair back into the envelope carefully with her eyes downcast. She swallowed and stared at Kardian.
“What is the request?”
“It’s nothing special. Just…”
Kardian smiled languidly and handed her a piece of paper. Ansi lowered her gaze to the paper.
Piaget Hotel 10th floor, Room 1001
It was a luxury hotel in the capital.
“In three days at 4 o’clock, call Damion alone to come here. It seems Damion has been avoiding me these days. I want to have a long conversation with him.”
“Sir Kardian can call him directly.”
“I want Damion to come without any wariness. That way we can talk well, don’t you think? So Ansi, you must never tell Damion that I called him. Tell him that you booked the room and called Damion.”
Kardian raised the corners of his mouth. However, his eyes were cold as ice.
“If Damion doesn’t believe that… the price of the deal will change.”
It meant that even if she called Damion, he might not hand over Dele. Ansi bit her lower lip hard. She didn’t know what would happen to Damion if she sent him there.
“If Damion gets hurt, I won’t stay still.”
“Don’t worry. Damion is my precious younger brother. I was also heartbroken when he got hurt this time. I have no desire to harm his body.”
It was true.
Kardian had thought of killing Damion several times, but the conclusion he reached at the end of those attempts was that it was more fun to keep him alive than to kill him.
After failing the first attempt, he saw Damion struggling to gain a foothold in the capital upon his return.
Seeing that, Kardian realized that he had quite a bit of affection for Damion.
A wriggling Damion was much better to look at than a limp, dead one.
When the second attempt failed, he gained an even greater realization.
He had tried to kill Damion thinking he could have Ansi if Damion died. However, it resulted in Damion and Ansi becoming even closer.
Even when Damion was shot and collapsed this time, didn’t she stay by his side day and night as if she couldn’t live without him?
So this time, he was thinking of trying an experiment other than death.
A way to have Ansi while also seeing the wriggling Damion alive.
“I told you, I won’t do anything that harms Ansi. So believe my words.”
Kardian rested his chin on the table and spoke in a subtle voice. Ansi got up from her seat. Kardian looked at her intently.
She left the room of the cafe without even saying goodbye.
However, Kardian smiled with satisfaction.
Because the paper he had handed over had disappeared from the table.
[This is the timeline separator]Damion walked at Ansi’s pace. Walking in the garden with her every day was one of his greatest joys these days. As the heat subsided, it became even more pleasant to walk.
“What about Brigada or Relge, my lady? After all, an environment similar to Belgader would be good to live in. For now, I’m thinking of finding out more about Relge, is that alright?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Damion stopped talking and stared intently at Ansi. Without knowing, Ansi was just blankly looking at the flower bed.
It was unlike her to just nod her head unconditionally to Damion’s words. It seemed she had something on her mind.
“Ansi.”
Damion grabbed Ansi and made her stand still. Only then did the light return to Ansi’s eyes, which had been unfocused.
“Yes?”
“Are you very worried about living in another country?”
It was understandable. No matter how much they could rely on each other, it wasn’t easy for them, who had only lived in Belgader all their lives, to abandon their home and settle in another place.
“If you want, we can live within Belgader.”
He had thought of a foreign country because he wanted a place where Orphe’s name could not be heard at all and Kardian’s eyes could not reach… but if Ansi wanted, they could look for such a place in Belgader.
“No. Anywhere is fine.”
Ansi shook her head and smiled. Damion took Ansi’s hand and led her somewhere.
“I have something to show you.”
They entered the glass garden. The flowers he had requested from the gardener had just been planted today. Damion wanted to show them to Ansi.
“Here.”
Ansi, who had stopped following Damion, opened her mouth slightly.
On one side of the garden, red anemones were in full bloom. It was the flower they had used in the bouquet when they got married.
“I invested in a company that researches flowers that bloom regardless of the season. The anemone is what they have produced this time.”
Anemones are flowers that bloom in spring.
However, even now in late summer, they were blooming brilliantly before Ansi’s eyes.
As if telling her not to forget their meaning.
The meaning of anemones is love.
But the hidden meaning that is rarely known is… betrayal.
“Damion, I… have something to say.”
Ansi spoke heavily.
Kardian had said he wouldn’t do anything to harm her.
So there would be no critically damaging incidents for Damion.
If that was a lie and Kardian tried to kill Damion, she could see it beforehand in her dreams. She could prevent threats against him.
So now she had to find Dele.
“What is it?”
Damion asked gently. The man’s gaze looking at her was heartbreakingly affectionate.
“I thought it would be nice to spend time with you… so I booked a hotel for tomorrow. Do you have time?”
Ansi deliberately laughed as she spoke to hide the anxiety and uneasiness that were rising like crazy. With each word she uttered, it felt like her tongue was being cut out with a sharp knife.
“That’s great.”
Damion immediately answered, filled with joy.
Even if he didn’t have time, he could make as much as needed for Ansi.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Damion raised Ansi’s hand that he was holding and kissed the back of it. The smile on the corners of his mouth did not disappear.
Wherever it was, the fact that Ansi had arranged a place to spend time together thinking of him made him happy. Although she doesn’t express much, the fact that she is always thinking of him made him excited.
A delight that felt like walking on clouds dominated his entire mind. Thinking that he could always live life with this feeling as long as he was with her, he was simply happy.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
