“What is it!”
At Helena’s shouting, the door opened gently, and a maid entered. The still young maid politely spoke, seemingly unaware of the atmosphere in the room.
“Miss, lunch is…”
“Do you think I’m in the mood for lunch right now?”
“Yes?”
The unknowing maid blinked her eyes.
The maids sent Helena sympathetic glances.
“Do you think I can enjoy a meal happily right now!”
Helena grabbed a teacup beside her and threw it.
Crash!
The teacup grazed past the maid’s face, hit the door, and shattered. Only then did the maid realize that the atmosphere in the room was unusual, and she huddled her shoulders.
“S-Sorry, miss.”
“If you’re sorry, leave!”
Helena needed a way to vent her frustration.
Her mother, who returned a few days ago, was making expressions Helena had never seen before. Covered in anger, despair, hatred, and resentment, it was difficult to even speak.
Her father, Duke Jacob Bronte, hadn’t returned home since that day. Sometimes, when he did come home, he smelled like a woman’s perfume.
The family dinner they used to have every evening was now nonexistent.
Her father not coming home, her mother lying in bed without leaving the room, and Victoria, hidden in her room, reading suspicious books with a dark expression.
The Bronte mansion crumbled because of one person, Ariana.
But now, not only did Ariana receive help from the Northern Empress, but she had also become the Princess of Dongryeong.
Thinking about Ariana, living happily as the ‘Princess’ in the beautiful land of Dongryeong, made Helena feel like her insides were about to burst.
“We! Should! Be! More! Subtle! While! Working! For! The! Bronte! Family!”
Helena shouted while kicking the young maid, who received the beating without understanding a word, and begged for forgiveness.
“I’m sorry, miss. I’m sorry.”
Helena continued to kick the maid until her body turned red, but her anger didn’t subside. Helena picked up the crumpled and thrown newspaper and rushed to Victoria’s room.
Victoria was calmly reading a book, seemingly indifferent to the household atmosphere. Helena threw the newspaper she was holding at Victoria.
“Now is the time for you to comfortably read your book?”
The newspaper hit Victoria’s face and fell.
Victoria calmly closed her book. Although the title [Paganus and the Curse of Blood] was written on the book cover, Helena didn’t see it.
“Read that article!”
Victoria picked up the newspaper without a change in expression and began reading. There was no emotion on her face that would have twisted unpleasantly in the past.
“They say the Northern Empress helped Ariana! Even the Emperor’s wife got involved in the trial. Now people know that we harassed Ariana. We won’t be able to step into imperial society now!”
“…….”
“No matter how much we read books and cultivate our minds, we’ve become the pitiful sisters who harassed Ariana. Do you still have the heart to read books and pretend to be sophisticated like this?”
While Victoria was reading the newspaper, Helena continued to chatter beside her. Victoria finally lowered the newspaper and stood up from the sofa.
“Where are you going!”
“I have to go see Grandfather.”
“Grandfather…? I, I’ll go with you too.”
“Sister, just stay home.”
“Why? I want to go too. I also have things to say to Grandfather…”
Helena couldn’t finish her sentence. It was because of Victoria’s gaze.
A mysterious madness in Victoria’s eyes.
When Helena’s eyes met Victoria’s eerie glint, she released the hand that was holding Victoria’s wrist. For some reason, her younger sister in front of her looked like someone else’s sister.
Victoria stared at Helena with a creepy glint in her eyes and said, “I’ll be back, sister.”
+++
When Ariana finished her month-long journey and arrived in the capital city of Dongryeong, Elles City, it was a clear day in early June.
Entering the gates of Elles City, Ariana, looking out of the carriage window, was surprised by the panoramic view.
The entire city seemed to be under the sky.
“What is that…?”
Looking at the wide-eyed Ariana, Caradee laughed cutely.
“It’s a welcoming festival for you, Ariana.”
“Festival…”
Only then did Ariana understand the reason Caradee had dressed her in a beautiful dress upon arriving in the city.
“Everyone is waiting for you to come back.”
Ariana blinked her eyes, gazing at the sky that had descended on the city.
Buildings adorned with sky-blue cloths that appeared almost white under the sunlight. The sky-blue cloths stretched between buildings fluttered in the wind, creating a magnificent scene.
Eventually, the carriage stopped, and the carriage door opened.
Ariana took the hand of Duke Russell, who was waiting outside, and stepped out of the carriage.
Nobles lined both sides of the wide street, and behind them, commoners who came out to watch stretched their necks.
Everyone was watching Ariana.
Since it was her first time experiencing such a welcoming procession, Ariana felt nervous.
“I am now the Princess of Dongryeong.”
Finally, as the Princess of Dongryeong, she stood in this place.
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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