Isaac had good reason to be renowned as an alchemist.
Not long after drinking the potion he made, the muscle pain that had plagued his body disappeared. The fatigue that seemed to be crushing him had also vanished.
“Wow.”
After the magic had disappeared, modern alchemists were akin to pharmacists. Once, there were potions that could fully heal any wound just by drinking them, but such potions had become hard to find.
Yet, the potion Isaac made was as effective as the unknown potions crafted by ancient alchemists.
He had just seemed like a charming, cheerful person, but now Isaac appeared in a new light to Ariana.
As Ariana secretly grew to admire Isaac, he was quietly asking Cyrus a question.
“Cyrus, does your Queen Consort also want to go to the Northern Kingdom?”
“No.”
“What? Are you planning to abduct her then? Only savages engage in kidnapping marriages.”
“I neither plan to marry nor abduct her. Why would you think I would marry that woman?”
Isaac wanted to retort, “Are you asking because you don’t know?” but held back. Cyrus genuinely seemed unaware.
Having lost his parents at a young age and living only to solidify his position as the Northern Emperor, Cyrus was clueless about male-female relationships.
“Then why do people call Ariana your Queen Consort and you do nothing about it?”
“What does it matter what people call that woman in relation to me?”
“Oh, then it’s okay if people call Princess Charlotte of Blenweit, who is infatuated with you, your Queen Consort. I’ve always called her that…”
Isaac cut off his words as he felt Cyrus’ icy gaze. Cyrus spoke in a subtly threatening tone.
“Don’t irritate me, Isaac.”
Isaac thought to himself.
“Look at this! He gets this angry, this ready to kill, just because I call the Princess his Queen Consort!”
Cyrus glanced subtly at Ariana, who was with Louis, and spoke.
“That woman is interesting.”
“Sure, I bet she is.”
“How did she learn to ride like that, having been confined to a house doing maid work?”
“Ah, now that you mention it… Where did she learn? That was not the skill of a novice.”
“We have limitations on the information about her. If we find out how she gained all those skills, it would be easier to use her.”
At Cyrus’ cold tone, Isaac sighed inwardly.
He knew why Cyrus built walls around himself and allowed no one in. Few people understood Cyrus as well as Isaac did.
Cyrus’ position as Northern Emperor seemed solid but was as fragile as a candle flame in the wind. A small gust could easily extinguish it.
Cyrus couldn’t relax until his candle flame turned into a stable flame, then into a roaring fire.
While Isaac understood Cyrus’ feelings, he worried that Cyrus would come to regret this approach.
“Use? You’re still talking about that?”
“What other reason would I have to help her?”
Because Cyrus genuinely seemed not to know, Isaac placed his hands on Cyrus’ shoulders and spoke seriously.
“Whatever the reason, if you keep talking like that, you’ll end up regretting it someday.”
Cyrus chuckled and shrugged off Isaac’s hands.
“I have no regrets in life, Isaac. Regrets about the past only bring despair.”
+++
All throughout dinner, Louis and Noah had been whispering.
As soon as dinner was over, Louis headed into the forest, and Noah started to roast a large, round rock over the fire.
“What is he doing?”
Feeling lethargic from a full stomach, Ariana barely managed to lift her heavy eyelids and watch Noah’s actions.
“Is this some sort of ritual unique to the Northern Kingdom? Or do people from the North eat rocks as well?”
The Northern Realm, where magic still lingered, was a land of mysteries. Ariana felt as if there were countless unknowns hidden within.
Soon after, Louis returned carrying a large log on his shoulders.
Thud—
Setting the log down made the ground vibrate slightly. Despite carrying such a heavy object, Louis showed no signs of strain.
Louis unsheathed his sword and began to hollow out the log. His skillful swordsmanship poured into the wood, sending wood chips flying.
What resulted was a large wooden tub, big enough for two people.
‘What is he really doing?’
Ariana couldn’t make sense of it. The peculiar activities of Louis and Noah woke her from her slumber.
Louis lifted the hollowed log once again, went to the lake, and returned with water.
Thud—
After setting down the tub filled with water, Noah took out two short knives and used them to pick up hot rocks, placing them in the wooden tub. One, two, three…
Several hot rocks were dropped into the water-filled tub. Louis dipped his hand into the water and gave Noah a slight nod.
Then Noah lifted the water-filled tub and took it into the bushes, returning empty-handed.
Louis approached Ariana.
“Your Highness, your bath is ready.”
Ariana was speechless, her eyes wide as she looked up at Louis.
“The water is warm, so you should be comfortable bathing.”
Ariana covered her mouth with her hand and blinked before asking,
“So all this time… you were preparing my bath?”
“Yes.”
“Ah…”
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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