To My Beloved, I Present My Exquisite Nightmare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
I’m going to drown, Laila thought. It wasn’t just her throat—she could actually feel water filling her airway all the way down into her lungs, bubbling up from deep within.
“How do you feel? Less dizzy now?”
That sensation vanished instantly the moment she heard Eustar’s voice. Laila gasped for breath as if she’d just been pulled from water, reflexively clutching her own throat. The suffocating feeling had completely disappeared without a trace.
Laila, her wide eyes darting around, finally spoke.
“Is every portal like this? Do I have to leap off cliffs or experience vivid drowning sensations each time?”
Eustar burst out laughing.
“Not all of them are like this. There are nicer ones—smoother and safer. Hmm… but I suppose it’s better to warn you in advance that not all portals are pleasant. You’ll be traveling through many of them from now on.”
“Are there any worse than this?”
“There are. But you’ll adjust quickly. After all, it’s just an illusion.”
Who on earth had such twisted taste? Laila looked down at her clothes with disbelief. It had felt so real—as if she’d plunged into unfathomably deep water—yet not a single drop clung to her, making it seem like she’d wandered through a bizarre dream.
“Where are we?”
As she glanced around, Laila unconsciously tilted her head upward. The ceiling soared so high it made her dizzy. It seemed circular, but it was too distant to confirm its exact shape.
“Is there a hole up there?”
Laila pointed toward the pinpoint of light pouring down from the very top. Eustar looked up at the ceiling in a relaxed posture.
“No, it’s not a hole. If it were… can you imagine the chaos if it ever rained?”
“Then is it glass?”
“Something similar, but not exactly glass. I’ll explain later. Let’s leave this place for now.”
As usual, Eustar gently wrapped an arm around Laila’s shoulders and guided her forward. All the while, Laila kept turning back, taking in the interior.
Unlike the first branch they’d just visited, everything here was white or nearly white. Not a single person was in sight; only a low, steady hum occasionally vibrated from machinery-like devices.
“This is the capital, isn’t it?”
When Laila asked, Eustar nodded.
“Yes. This is Cercita of Benalis—the central headquarters of the Tentinella Knights.”
“Are there no people here?”
“There are some, but not many reside here permanently.”
After a brief pause in thought, Laila spoke again.
“You’re the Director-General of Tentinella, aren’t you?”
Eustar glanced at her with an amused glint in his eyes.
“What made you think that?”
“The place we just visited—the First Branch, named after Lord Romel… The branch director there addressed you with honorifics. He called you ‘Lord Eustar.’ That must mean your rank is higher than his, right?”
A faint smile touched Eustar’s lips.
“You’re right. I am the Director-General of Tentinella and oversee all the knight orders. But I don’t just sit here receiving reports. I have the authority to visit any branch anytime without prior notice or permission, and I can access any Synch, no matter its scale. That’s why I’m always on the move—and why the Director-General’s seat here in Cercita is almost always empty.”
“Then where are we heading now?”
At that moment, the door—previously appearing firmly shut—swung wide open on both sides. Outside stood armored soldiers lined up at regular intervals, arrayed before an elaborately engraved stone door adorned with ornate, antique patterns.
But that wasn’t all that startled Laila. Stretching beyond the doorway lay a corridor lined with a lavish carpet unlike any she’d seen in her life.
The pillars spaced evenly behind the soldiers gleamed as white as freshly fallen snow, and their decorative finials sparkled brilliantly, studded with all manner of gemstones.
Utterly bewildered, Laila stood with her mouth agape and murmured almost to herself,
“Just where in the world is this…?”
Eustar gave a playful bow with a mischievous grin.
“Welcome to the Searrow Palace, Miss Laila Chrisrad.”
“The palace…!”
Laila instinctively shrank back. She glanced down at her hood and the grimy hem of her dress beneath it, then stared up at Eustar as if she’d just been slapped.
“Did you say palace? Here?”
“Yes, indeed. Cercita, the Tentinella headquarters, is directly connected to the Searrow Palace—through the corridor we just passed.”
“But… what am I supposed to do in a royal palace?”
Eustar shrugged.
“Well, for starters, you could use a warm bath and something to eat, don’t you think? Look—someone’s coming to greet you.”
Laila whipped her head around.
An elegant, dignified woman, appearing slightly older than Laila or Eustar, was walking toward her with a gracefully lifted chin.
Eustar leaned in and whispered,
“Don’t worry, Laila. You look like someone dragged straight to the slaughterhouse.”
“Isn’t that exactly what this is? If I accidentally step on that lady’s dress, won’t my head roll?”
He let out a short laugh.
“That won’t happen.”
Whether Laila liked it or not, the woman had already reached them. One imposing figure alone would’ve been overwhelming—but behind her stood what looked like eight or nine additional attendants.
Two of them wore refined gowns like the woman in front, while the others were dressed more plainly, likely palace servants.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince—you’ve returned.”
“Marchioness Himiard, it’s good to see you alive again. Has anything unusual occurred at the palace?”
“No, all has been well.”
The woman at the front—whom Eustar had addressed as Marchioness Himiard—turned toward Laila. Her jade-like eyes flickered briefly with confusion, but Himiard skillfully masked her emotions.
Eustar spoke.
“This is my guest, Miss Laila Chrisrad.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Chrisrad.”
The marchioness’s voice was slightly stiffer than when she’d addressed Eustar, yet not impolite.
Still dazed, Laila stared at the hand extended toward her.
The glove looked as if woven from the world’s finest, sheerest fabric—so translucent that the skin beneath was nearly visible. Could she possibly be expected to shake hands? Laila, suddenly aware of how filthy her own hands were, slowly lowered herself into a curtsy.
“Hello, I’m Laila Chrisrad.”
“You’re not offering a handshake?”
At the marchioness’s flat inquiry, Laila’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“My hands are… rather dirty.”
For a fleeting moment, the marchioness’s expression shifted oddly—somewhere between amusement and pity.
“Nonsense,” the marchioness said brightly.
Before Laila could step back, the woman reached out and swiftly seized the hand hidden beneath Laila’s long hood. It felt less like a handshake and more like she’d forcibly pulled Laila’s hand into the open—but regardless, they had exchanged greetings.
Eustar said,
“Himiard, could you prepare a bath, some tea, and a light snack for Miss Chrisrad? I must go see His Majesty first.”
“Understood.”
The marchioness gave a light bow, and all her attendants bowed toward Eustar as well. He flashed a reassuring smile at the bewildered Laila and said,
“I’ll be back shortly. Let Marchioness Himiard assist you in the meantime.”
Laila couldn’t even respond. Her mind was in utter chaos, overloaded with too much information at once.
First, she’d leapt off a cliff; then she’d been forced to swallow some nauseating candy-like thing, only to endure a drowning simulation afterward…
“And now we’re in the Searrow Palace, surrounded entirely by nobles. Back in Rijikus, I wouldn’t have dared look these people in the eye. And Eustar…?”
Crown Prince. Himiard had clearly addressed him as such.
“Miss Chrisrad, are you unwell? You look pale. Shall I summon a servant to carry you if you’re feeling faint?”
At the marchioness’s words, Laila truly felt as if she might faint from dizziness.
“No, no… I’m fine. I mean—thank you, I’m alright.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Come this way. After such a long journey, you deserve some rest.”
[This is the timeline separator]The palace was practically a labyrinth.
Laila tried to memorize the path she’d taken, just in case—but by the fifth turn, she’d completely lost her sense of direction.
It was no wonder: every direction offered dazzling lights, ornate wallpapers, finial decorations, enormous tapestries, sculptures, and countless huge reliefs that appeared crafted from real gold and gems.
Having spent her whole life in the small village of Rijikus—and even there, rarely venturing far—Laila felt as if she’d stepped into a fairyland.
She abandoned memorizing the route entirely and instead gazed, spellbound, at the magnificent chandeliers and portraits seemingly painted with real diamonds.
Despite wearing a dress so layered its number of skirts was impossible to tell, Marchioness Himiard walked with remarkable speed and lightness, forcing Laila to practically trot to keep up.
“This should do.”
Before her words had even fully settled, the servants flanking the door swung it open. Though clearly different individuals, their matching hair color and uniforms made them appear momentarily like twins.
Laila, who had imagined a modest chamber beyond the door, was once again left speechless with astonishment. It was a room—but unlike any room she’d ever known… It might as well have been an entirely new palace.
At a quiet word from Marchioness Himiard, the servants at the rear quickly disappeared to the left side of the grand hall. The rest vanished to the right and out the doorway.
Still dazed, Laila slowly took in her surroundings, uncertain who had gone where.
The broadest wall directly ahead glowed with an impossibly rich amber hue—upon closer inspection, it seemed crafted by meticulously cutting and assembling polished mineral pieces, one by one.
Marchioness Himiard spoke.
“A beautiful wall, isn’t it? It’s made entirely of amber.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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