While Laila went to the library, Eustar had a light lunch while receiving Himierd’s report on Ord’s birthday celebration.
The bread puffed up in a hot iron pan wafted a savory and sweet butter aroma, and the cream stew boiled with freshwater clams caught only in winter warmed the stomach.
“The palace department’s budget meeting concluded today, Your Highness. It’s on a larger scale than usual. I’ll instruct them to send a summary to the administrative minister.”
“There was no need to increase the scale particularly.”
Himierd stared at Eustar as if questioning his sincerity.
“That’s not possible. This is the first birthday celebration for His Majesty the King since Your Highness’s marriage. With nobles wielding power in various regions all gathering at the palace, and news of Your Highness’s marriage, even more people will gather. The palace department took this into account when allocating the budget.”
Eustar’s head moved up and down briefly as he lightly stirred the stew with his spoon.
He particularly didn’t want to draw attention to Laila in front of others, but for an event of this scale, it was unavoidable. As Duchess Himierd said, it would be difficult not to attract people’s attention at the King’s first birthday celebration after his marriage.
Duchess Himierd said,
“However…”
She trailed off. Eustar, who was about to put a spoonful of stew in his mouth, lowered the spoon and looked at Himierd.
“However?”
“It’s unclear whether His Majesty will be able to attend the birthday celebration.”
Eustar blinked and put down the spoon he was holding. Then, with a short sigh, he leaned back against the chair. Himierd couldn’t hide her bitterness as she looked at his worried face.
Eustar said,
“Last year he managed to make an appearance somehow, but I’m not sure about this year. As you know, His Majesty’s condition worsens in winter.”
Himierd started to say something but closed her mouth. It was a wise choice. Eustar’s mood had instantly sunk as he became lost in thoughts about Ord’s illness.
“…How is Lady Kristrad?”
Eustar, who had been staring into space for a moment, turned his gaze towards Himierd.
“What’s your intention in asking?”
“I’m asking as a member of the Tentinella Knights.”
Eustar’s fingertips twitched slightly. Fortunately, hidden under the tablecloth, it wasn’t visible to Himierd.
“She’s doing very well. There would have been mountains of unsolvable issues if we hadn’t found Laila.”
Himierd’s lips twitched slightly.
“That wouldn’t have been the case. While Lady Kristrad’s presence certainly makes things easier, Your Highness has maintained the peace of Sierow without anyone’s help until now.”
Eustar gave a bitter smile.
Himierd wouldn’t know, he thought.
She would never know what he thought every time he encountered a sink, every time he faced an endless stream of strange occurrences. If she knew, she might genuinely lose her temper at Eustar.
He sometimes wondered if all these problems originated from himself.
He forgot about it most of the time, but on nights when he couldn’t sleep due to ominous whispers and rustling sounds, negative thoughts would naturally well up like pain seeping into a wound. It was fortunate above all that he didn’t have a temperament prone to depression.
Himierd said,
“If only I had abilities like Lady Kristrad, I could have been of greater help to Your Highness.”
Her voice was low and serious. Yet it contained a faint hint of shyness and shame at the same time.
In fact, Himierd had been holding back these words for quite some time. From the moment Eustar brought Laila to the royal palace, from the very moment he obediently followed King Ord’s order to marry her.
However, Eustar avoided Himierd’s earnestness with an expression so gentle it seemed almost cruel.
“You’re already a great help, Duchess Himierd. And this current role suits you better. Rather than wearing a uniform and facing demons, I mean.”
Eustar resumed the meal he had paused. Himierd’s gaze, looking back at him, rippled with faint resentment and contradictory joy.
She would do anything for him.
Himierd had never broken the vow she made to herself over a decade ago. And she would continue to keep it.
No matter who he was with, no matter who stayed by his side. As she had told Laila, it didn’t matter to Himierd who was beside Eustar.
But it couldn’t be Laila.
She couldn’t allow a red-eyed witch as a companion beside the only man who would become her king.
* **
The various branches of Tentinella were usually established near large river streams or sizeable lakes, as areas with water energy tended to gather various energies including magical power.
In other words, branches were placed at locations where sinks frequently occurred or were likely to occur.
The Tentinella 5th Branch Kiron was located at the lower reaches of the longest river in the kingdom, Solarus, where the river met the sea.
During the rainy season, the swollen river water mixed with seawater and covered the surrounding land, so embankments made by raising the land were formed along the edges of the river.
Kiron rose high like a tower at the highest point of this embankment, visible even from a distance.
“Branch Chief!”
The red-haired young man turned his head at the clanking sound. His cheeks were bulging, full of bread he had just bitten into, making him look just like a boy of fifteen or sixteen with his red hair braided back.
Kiron’s Branch Chief, Felix, who had raised his head and gulped down the bread, patted his chest and glared at the member.
“You always show up when I’m eating, Light. Do you have a problem with me eating?”
“N-No way. It’s just a coincidence.”
Felix sighed and came down from under the desk.
Unlike Muge Olga, the Branch Chief of the 2nd Branch, who looked young and small for her age and had such a thin voice that she really looked like nothing but a girl, Felix had a low, thick voice of an adult male despite looking young.
“What is it? Speak.”
“Another child has disappeared.”
Felix frowned.
“Again? How many times is this just this week?”
“The village is in an uproar.”
Why wouldn’t it be. Felix clutched his forehead as if he had a headache.
“Is it Vicious again?”
“No. This time it’s Condon. The village adjacent to the west of Vicious.”
“Damn it, how are we supposed to know what’s what? No matter how fiercely we patrol, we don’t see anything noticeable. Could it be a ghost?”
Light tilted his head ambiguously.
“Wouldn’t it be a physical demon? The abducted children are random. No distinction between boys and girls, or between children with bright eyes and those without.”
“If there’s enough sink energy, it can affect even children without bright eyes. But no sinks of that scale have been detected in this area… The closest one is across the river, but that’s not our jurisdiction.”
Strictly speaking, it was something the 5th Branch could manage, but Light swallowed that response. He knew that speaking up to Felix—who was in a bad mood and hadn’t even finished his meal—wouldn’t yield any good words.
“But we can’t just sit back because it’s not our jurisdiction. Damn, I don’t want to beg that annoying thing.”
The ‘annoying thing’ Felix was referring to was Muge Olga, the Branch Chief of the 2nd Branch Havashuka. Both had fiery tempers, and Felix and Muge, who rarely filtered what they said, had an extremely poor relationship.
“Shouldn’t we report to His Highness the Prince first?”
A long sigh escaped Felix’s lips.
“Actually, I’m not too keen on that either. Running straight to the headquarters to tattle without even figuring out the cause of the problem. What’s the point of having branches then? Might as well just set up sink detectors everywhere instead of establishing branches.”
He was a person with an extremely strong sense of pride, and almost loathed moments when he felt powerless. Light, who knew Felix’s temperament better than anyone, could only keep his mouth shut and wait for him to make a decision.
Finally, Felix said,
“Better to get an earful from Eustar than to request support from Havashuka. Send a report to Sercita.”
Only then did Light exhale with a relieved expression.
“I’ll go right away, Sir Felix.”
The clanking sound faded away again. Felix stared blankly at the bread with half a bite mark left, then irritably tossed it into the trash can.
[This is the timeline separator]“You promised half an hour, and this is what you do? I was just about to send out guards wondering where you’d disappeared to!”
Laila bowed her head tiredly at Mel’s endless nagging. The maid who was putting on her necklace from behind startled and quickly opened the clasp. She had almost choked Laila.
Laila said,
“But I came back before sunset.”
“The stars are already twinkling, but it’s fortunate you’re having dinner. His Highness the Prince said to inform him as soon as Lady Kristrad arrives.”
“So did you inform him?”
“Of course. Sila has already gone to notify His Highness the Prince.”
I’ll be stuffed like a plump piglet again today. Laila thought.
The dress of obsidian-black silk embroidered with silver thread and diamonds suited Laila well, and the season too.
With the delicate small tiara placed on her head and matching earrings and necklace completing the set of accessories, every time Laila caught the light, a rainbow of reflections danced on her cheeks.
Eustar was waiting in the corridor leading to her room. It was where the huge tapestries and old bust reliefs were.
Somehow, that place had become something of a meeting spot for Eustar and Laila. Whenever they agreed to take a walk or have a meal together, the person who arrived first always waited for the other there.
Eustar smiled kindly when he saw Laila coming out with Mel. Seeing the decorative pin stuck in one side of his neatly combed hair as usual, Laila felt her heart flutter for no reason.
“You put on a pin.”
When Laila spoke, the smile on Eustar’s lips deepened. Laila couldn’t take her eyes off the way his neat fingertips gently fiddled with the jewel of the pin.
“Does it suit me? I tried it after a long time. I used to wear such decorations often in the past.”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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