Tiendavis - For Perfect Salvation - Chapter 2
Before coming to Tienda, Ibi didn’t have a surname.
Forget a surname, she didn’t even have parents or a home, spending her childhood as an orphan in the slums.
On an ordinary, eventful day, an astrologer with a deeply pulled-down hood asked:
“Ibi, what kind of person do you want to become when you grow up?”
At this sudden question, young Ibi stared blankly at the astrologer and then clicked her tongue.
“Mister, why are you asking such things when someone’s nose is bleeding?”
Ibi said this while giving a sideways glance at the astrologer sitting at a shabby stall.
True to her words, Ibi was battered and bleeding from her nose at that time. The handkerchief the astrologer had lent her was already soaked with blood.
That day, twelve-year-old Ibi had been brutally beaten by a gang in the back alley. It was because she had been caught after dodging paying protection money for a while.
So when Ibi grumbled with an irritated face, the astrologer made a lame excuse.
“When a person comes back from the brink of death, they usually make new resolutions, don’t they?”
“Why don’t you just pray for my death instead?”
“Our Ibi is so cold-hearted today too…”
The astrologer muttered, pretending to be sad at Ibi’s cold reply. So Ibi frowned for a while and then let out a deep sigh.
After all, in this filthy back alley, the astrologer was the only one who treated Ibi like a human being.
Although he never told her his name or showed his face, and she had no idea why he set up shop in this place with nothing, Ibi was always indebted to the astrologer, so she reluctantly answered.
“I want to become a difficult person.”
“A difficult person?”
“Look, why do you think I ended up like this since morning? It’s because I’m easy and vulnerable, right?”
Ibi said bitterly as she looked down at her battered hands.
“I have no strength, no money, and nothing difficult about me, so I end up in this state.”
Ibi raised her head, disgusted by the pitiful shape of her hands.
“So I want to become someone others find difficult to deal with. Like those people living in Tienda up there.”
Ibi said this while pointing to the sky. There was a huge floating continent and several islands guarding it.
That place was called Tienda. It was the land where noble and high-ranking people lived.
Long, long ago, the sea covered the earth.
When destruction came in the form of a flood, God showed mercy and scooped up the land with both hands.
Then He commanded four dragons resembling the sky to protect that land that had risen into the air.
Thus, the two sky continents born by God’s grace are what we now call Tiendavis… or so the astrologer had taught her before.
Among them, the land that monopolizes the sunlight from the highest place is the Tienda continent, while the one suffering from shade and curses in the lower place is the Vis continent where Ibi lives.
“Didn’t you say so, mister? That nobles live up there. Just wait and see, I’ll go up there someday.”
Ibi stretched her dirt-covered hand towards Tienda. Her bony fingertips looked miserable, but the black eyes shining through them sparkled like stars.
“Up there, I’ll become an incredibly difficult person!”
.
.
.
Eight years after making that declaration.
Having achieved her goal of ascending to Tienda, and with the position of Saint within reach, Ibi was nevertheless feeling deep self-loathing for her still precarious fate.
“Now, Lady Ibi. What’s your wish?”
“World domination.”
“Apart from such wild dreams, what’s a realistic goal?”
“I’ll become a Saint and seize power.”
“Then, what would you like to say to the Tower Master?”
“Get out of my life, you psychopath! … Oh, what should I do?”
After answering without hesitation, Ibi put her hand to her forehead at her own words.
Perhaps if it were the usual Ibi, when asked about her wishes, ambitions, and acquaintances, she would have answered like this:
―May the world be filled with peace.
―I want to become a Saint and bring hope to people.
―Respected Tower Master, thank you so much for guiding this inadequate me.
But the anomaly that started last night had stripped Ibi of her tact.
Having exposed all of her dark, worldly true feelings, Ibi had to hold her forehead for a long time to swallow her disillusionment.
“It seems you’ve become excessively honest.”
Just then, a relaxed voice came from nearby.
The man who said this was wearing a butler’s tailcoat under his reddish-brown bob. His name was Dies. He was Ibi’s butler who shared life and death with her.
Dies immediately noticed Ibi’s condition last night. Ibi had also confided everything to her butler this morning, so now the two were putting their heads together to find a clue to this curse.
“You can’t hold back answers or change the subject, right?”
“Yes, my mouth moves on its own.”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Dies lifted Ibi’s chin with his gloved hand. Then, looking deep into Ibi’s black eyes, he said:
“As I thought, it’s definitely Noche’s curse.”
“Noche… it’s been a long time since I heard that name…”
Ibi smiled with a clouded face at her butler’s affirmation.
Noche. Originally, it was one of the four dragons that protected Tiendavis.
But 300 years ago, Noche rebelled and lost his life to the other dragons.
Noche didn’t stop struggling until his final moment, and eventually turned the grace he received from God into a curse and spread it throughout the world.
That’s how Noche’s curse began. It was the most threatening and malicious calamity in the world that started 300 years ago.
“To utilize the curse, you need the cooperation of the Night Clan, but contacting them is dangerous even for nobles. Is there anyone around who would risk cursing Lady Ibi?”
“Other Saint candidates, aristocrats, or men who confessed to me and got rejected.”
“There are many suspects.”
“Growing up with nothing, I like having a lot of anything.”
Dies’ eyebrows curved downward at Ibi’s quip.
Being so nonchalant despite being under an unknown curse. Finding this suspicious, Dies asked again.
“Are you alright?”
“No, I’m just pretending to be fine. Actually, I cried all night.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Aack!”
Dies screamed and pulled his hand away from Ibi’s chin. Ibi, whose weakness had been exposed, had bitten his thumb hard.
As Dies looked at her in surprise, Ibi smiled gracefully as if she had never bitten him and warned:
“Please refrain from unnecessary questions.”
“You put on airs yourself, why take it out on me…”
Dies muttered as he shook his sore hand, but Ibi pretended not to hear and sighed.
“I’m so upset, of all curses to be afflicted with…”
“The basic principle of the curse is the realization of weaknesses. In other words, Lady Ibi’s weakness is the exposure of her true nature, the revelation of her pretense.”
“…Thank you for the kind explanation.”
Ibi smiled tightly at her butler’s scathing reply. But Dies added calmly, as if without any malice:
“To be afflicted with such a curse two months before the Saint selection, it seems whoever commissioned this curse wants to prevent Lady Ibi from becoming a Saint.”
“It seems so.”
Ibi nodded weakly at her butler’s conjecture.
As Dies said, the next Saint would be decided in two months. So the Saint candidates should naturally be cautious and careful until then.
But due to the sudden curse, yesterday Ibi had picked a fight with a great noble and caused a scene at the banquet. It would be understandable if she was disqualified from becoming a Saint.
As Ibi put her hand to her forehead again, remembering yesterday, Dies asked discreetly:
“But why did you do that to Count Laurel?”
“I was minding my own business when that damned bastard provoked me first. …No, Ibi. Don’t do this.”
Ibi grumbled without realizing it, then hurriedly shook her head.
Damned bastard, how could such words come from the gentle lips of a Saint candidate?
Ibi slapped her mouth with her hand repeatedly, then explained again in a composed voice.
“…It was an unexpected accident. But if we were to assign blame, I think Count Laurel is the one responsible.”
Ibi said this while looking into the distance. Then with a wistful face, she recalled yesterday’s events.
.
.
.
A sweet minuet flowed through the banquet hall yesterday.
The space carved from marble was brilliantly radiant, and the endless supply of drinks and food elicited admiration from gourmets.
In that luxurious social gathering, the lovely Saint candidate, Ibi Ariate, was dragging her water-colored dress around, greeting people.
Ibi’s appearance, smiling with sparkling eyes, was very cute. But that was just a well-crafted facade; in reality, it was full of sinister calculations.
‘There won’t be such a big banquet for a while. Let’s make the most of it today to leave an impression.’
Ibi, on the verge of being selected as a Saint, was busy managing her reputation that day as well.
The Saint, a symbol of hope, was an honor bestowed upon the most outstanding among the girls purifying water at the ‘Mañana Tower’.
Due to the bottom of the continent being in mid-air, Tiendavis rapidly depletes its water. So the Mañana Tower regularly purified seawater to prevent droughts.
The water purification was done by special girls blessed by God, and Ibi was the most talented purifier among them.
Therefore, everyone said that the next Saint would naturally be Ibi Ariate, but she couldn’t be certain of the result yet.
‘After all, the final decision is made by the previous Saint and the great nobles.’
No matter how talented one is, if the previous Saint and the great nobles oppose, one cannot become a Saint.
In the end, ability is merely a qualification to be put to the test, and what determines the Saint is reputation and connections.
Ibi, well aware of Tienda’s ecosystem, was skillfully going around today as well to win the favor of the nobles.
But an exclamation that burst out from somewhere caught Ibi’s ankle as she was moving smoothly.
“My goodness, is that Count Laurel?”
With that fuss, the previously convivial banquet hall stirred.
The nobles who had been engaging in refined conversation or savoring gourmet food all turned to look in one direction.
So Ibi also turned her head following them, and there she discovered a man surrounded by people.
And unknowingly, she held her breath.
He was shouldering brilliant golden hair like a halo. His superior height and shoulders exuded an unapproachable dignity, and his handsome face captivated attention even from afar.
He was a man with an overwhelming presence, as if a scene from a sacred painting had been plucked out and placed there.
‘So that’s Count Laurel…’
Ibi repeated the man’s name without hiding her admiration.
Although it was her first time seeing him in person, Ibi already knew quite a lot about him.
Sion Laurel. The half-brother of the great noble Duke Laurel and the Commander-in-Chief responsible for the stability of Vis.
It was the duty of the Laurel ducal family to rule Tiendavis, and among them, protecting the lower continent, Vis, was the destiny given to the second son of that family.
So Sion Laurel, the younger brother of Duke Laurel, went down to Vis as the Commander-in-Chief overseeing the lower continent at the age of seventeen, receiving the title of Count.
Then he performed his duties perfectly and never came back up to Tienda.
Even during important festivals or regular holidays, he continued to stay only in Vis. It was the same even when his older brother, Duke Laurel, called for him.
But today, after 7 years, for some reason, the Count broke his long silence and returned to Tienda.
This gathering today was a welcome party arranged by Duke Laurel to greet such a Count.
‘I heard he was outstanding, but he really has it all.’
Ibi nodded unconsciously as she looked at the Count.
Born as a great noble, yet also talented and with such a handsome face, indeed, the world is full of unfairness.
Thinking this, Ibi observed the rapidly changed atmosphere of the banquet hall.
Just a while ago, this place was a social gathering where nobles flaunted their friendships, but now everyone was distracted by the Count.
Prominent nobles twisted their bodies around him trying to get a word in, while relatively lower-ranking nobles couldn’t even approach him and just stamped their feet in frustration.
And Count Sion Laurel, standing at the center, seemed unaware that he was the main character of the banquet, not receiving anyone’s greetings and coldly keeping his distance from people.
‘He doesn’t seem to be a very sociable character.’
Thinking that at least he had a flaw, Ibi swallowed a wry smile, realizing that even this was not a flaw but a privilege.
Anyway, with the appearance of this big shot, Ibi had no choice but to pause what she was doing.
If she approached the nobles now, she would only be told she was getting in the way, and if she dared to approach the Count, she would obviously receive glares from the nobles who were already trying to curry favor with him.
So Ibi decided to tactfully withdraw, but the situation actually pulled her in the opposite direction.
It started when the Count’s gaze, from far away, suddenly pierced into Ibi without any warning.
The Count, having spotted Ibi among the people, just stared at her.
No, he glared at her.
As if he would devour her, as if he had been looking for her.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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