After a while, Ariana came to her senses.
She still felt Sairus’s palm touching her back.
The hand that had covered Ariana’s mouth earlier, and now pressed on her back, was cold. The chill had crept through her thin, outofseason dress, making her shiver slightly.
As she slowly tried to pull away from him, his red lips moved first.
“I have bestowed favor upon you. Now you are in debt to me.”
Ariana was taken aback by his unexpected words.
If he hadn’t appeared in the storeroom late at night, none of this would have happened. What audacity.
But Ariana responded without revealing her feelings.
“I didn’t know that His Highness the Northern Emperor bestowed debts with unwanted favors.”
“You wouldn’t know. We just met today. It would be good to know from now on.”
“I don’t think we need to know any more, since we won’t meet again.”
“We’ll see. Neither you nor I know what the future holds, do we?”
Ariana looked at him sharply, raising her head.
Sairus, while speaking words that seemed to deceive the lady, still had an icy look in his eyes.
But his excessively beautiful appearance hid the cruelty that lay within those eyes.
If Ariana had been an ordinary woman, she might have been thrilled by his words.
But Ariana, who had experienced all kinds of hardship and even faced death, was not swayed by Sairus’s kindness, as beautiful as the moon’s reflection.
“Does His Highness the Northern Emperor want something from me?”
“What can you, who are treated even worse than a maidservant in the Duke’s house, offer me?”
“We just met today, yet Your Highness seems to know a lot about me.”
“There’s nothing I don’t know.”
“I’m envious. I know nothing.”
“Shall I bestow another favor, then?”
“There are countless people who want favors from Your Highness, so I’ll leave it to them.”
“Aren’t you curious why your mother favors your older sister more than her own daughter?”
Ariana’s eyes widened.
She already knew why Rachel was weak to Helena. She found out by chance.
The secret that was so carefully hidden, that if she weren’t the Third Emperor, she would have lived her life without ever knowing.
‘How does this man know?’
Ariana wanted to know how much Sairus knew, and what his intention was for sneaking into this mansion.
She didn’t want to get involved with him, but knowing his intent would make dealing with him in the future easier.
So she answered obediently.
“Please bestow your precious teaching.”
“What will you give me in return for this precious teaching?”
“What could Your Highness want from me, who is treated worse than a maid in the Duke’s house?”
Sairus lifted Ariana’s chin slightly with his forefinger.
He looked down at Ariana, seemingly amused, and said,
“You don’t seem ashamed of your situation at all.”
“Why would I be? I’m not the one who should be ashamed.”
Sairus’s face came closer as he nodded, his excessively beautiful face drawing near. Only then did Ariana realize she was still pressed against him in the narrow space between the shelves.
As she tried to pull away from him, his low and secretive voice flowed from his lips near Ariana’s ear.
“Helena is not the child of the former Duchess.”
Ariana clenched her mouth tightly.
“She’s Rachel Bronthe’s real daughter.”
Sairus knew exactly.
The truth thoroughly hidden by the Northern Emperor, Rachel, Jacob, the old Duchess, and Helena.
“Surprised?”
“I am.”
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
“Since you’re so close, you can’t see my face, so you can’t discern my surprise, can you?”
“You don’t ask further. Did you already suspect?”
“Of course not. I was just too surprised to express it on time.”
Sairus, who knew even the secret of Helena’s birth, would have known Ariana’s situation.
Ariana, treated like a mere object, knew their truth, so it seemed suspicious, and Ariana decided to pretend to know nothing more.
“How can Helena be my mother’s own daughter?”
“You don’t seem particularly curious, but I’ll answer. Rachel was already pregnant with Jacob’s child when she heard about the marriage with the Eastern Emperor.”
The Western Emperor, who planned to marry Rachel to the Eastern Emperor, became furious after learning the truth. He immediately called a doctor to terminate the pregnancy, but Rachel and Jacob fell to their knees and begged.
“Rachel threatened the Western Emperor that if the child died, she would die too. The Western Emperor, who had no choice but to send Rachel to the Eastern Emperor, had to give in. So, he found a nameless noblewoman with the title of Baroness in the Western countryside and brought her.”
Marianne of the Wood Baron’s family.
The first wife of Duke Jacob Bronthe.
Marianne, from a powerless family, had no choice but to obey the Western Emperor’s orders and marry Jacob.
She pretended to be pregnant as soon as she married and raised Helena, born to Rachel, as her own daughter.
Rachel went to the Eastern province right after giving birth without properly recuperating, and Marianne performed the role of Duchess under surveillance.
Until Rachel returned to the Western province.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
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