Upon entering the restaurant, the sight of food filled to the point of collapsing the table legs caught my eye.
The main dish was a roast sprinkled with a hint of spices, accompanied by white bread, oyster dishes, and stew made from crushed grain. There was nothing missing.
I had a lavish meal at the Bacchus mansion last time, and I was treated luxuriously today as well.
I had experienced such a grand meal, which only happened once a year or so, twice now. I was happy, but at the same time, their hospitality was somewhat burdensome.
As I hesitated and looked for a place to sit, I saw the Duke, who was already seated.
Unlike earlier, his expression was as calm as usual. However, he did not speak, and he did not give me a glance.
Licking my lips, I wondered how to speak to the Duke. Because of that, I stood still.
“Lise, sit here.”
Yurik pointed to the seat beside him. With my lips closed, I looked at Yurik, who was pulling out the chair for me.
Among all these seats, the most comfortable one would naturally be next to Yurik. Not wanting to be caught looking around, I quickly tried to sit down.
“…Can’t you sit next to me?”
Yunee pulled at the hem of my dress.
She pointed to her seat opposite Yurik. They must have designated Yurik and Yunee’s seats beforehand and requested the side seat without thinking of seating me in between.
“Yunee.”
“You can give in just once, brother.”
“That’s why I let Lise go to your room first earlier.”
The two quarreled, as usual.
They raised their voices more and more in front of the Duke who was watching. It was awkward. But Yunee gripped my clothes tightly, making it difficult to sit next to Yurik.
“Yunee. Let go of Lise.”
“……I.”
“Yunee Fenton.”
Unable to endure, Yurik called Yunee’s name sternly.
Yunee’s expression began to harden despite being overpowered by her brother’s momentum. Finally, a tear dropped from Yunee’s eyes.
They had been quarreling since I entered the mansion. Fruitless verbal fights went back and forth. Unresolved grievances accumulated and continued until now.
“……Ah.”
Yurik stopped at Yunee’s tears.
“Oh dear. Lise, I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Fenton apologized to me on behalf of the siblings and hugged Yunee.
Yunee, in her mother’s arms, let out the crying she had been holding back. Yurik looked at his sister as her crying grew louder.
“Yurik. You’ve done wrong to both your sister and Lise.”
“…….”
“First of all, Lise is not an object. If you fight over who gets her, do you think Lise will like you?”
Duke Fenton, who had been just watching, spoke up. Yurik’s head hung down involuntarily.
I fidgeted in the subdued atmosphere of the quiet dining room, not even sitting down, feeling uncomfortable as an unwelcome guest who had intruded into a happy home.
“Yunee. You don’t have to sit in the designated seat. Today, let sister Lise sit in Mom’s place, and you sit next to her.”
“……Can, can I?”
“Of course. Now, let’s sit down quickly.”
The problem was settled at once by the lady, who glanced at me. Catching her gaze, I quietly sat down next to Yurik.
Yunee, still sobbing, came beside me. A maid came and moved Yunee’s bowl and spoon in front of her. Finally, the meal preparations were finished, but no one picked up a fork.
Would they wait until Yunee’s crying completely stopped?
Then, except for me, the Fenton family closed their eyes and held hands. Confused by the solemn atmosphere, I stopped reaching for my fork. I also hesitated whether or not to hold both hands.
“Thank you to everyone who helped our family have a warm meal today.”
Everyone prayed. The maids, the chefs. Naturally, they joined hands and listened to Duke Fenton’s words. In the meantime, I sat there with my eyes blankly open.
It was strange. Should I join hands too? I wondered, but just bowed my head slightly, thinking it would be weird.
A little time passed. The prayer ended.
“Let’s eat now.”
With Duke Fenton’s words, everyone picked up their forks.
“Eat up, Lise.”
“Yes, yes.”
At my wife’s words, I attacked the food in sight first. Fortunately, all the food suited my taste. Especially, the bread was savory, so I kept reaching for it.
As I ate without reservation, Lady Fenton gave a pleased smile. She pushed a plate in front of me and even told me to eat more. I didn’t refuse and picked up other foods I hadn’t touched with my fork.
“So, about the chess tournament. Are you going to participate?”
Duke Fenton, who had been silent, asked me. I stopped forking and looked into the Duke’s eyes. His expression was affectionate, but the cold look he had when we played chess lingered in my mind.
“……I’m sorry about earlier.”
“Huh?”
“I was presumptuous. You were right, Duke. I’ve been overestimating myself all this time. I believed I could solve everything. But not a single thing was resolved.”
My head dropped involuntarily. This wasn’t just a problem when playing chess. Due to my habitual nature, I had believed in myself in all aspects of life. I reassured myself that I would get better in the future by seeing my current efforts.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
