From the day he returned to Bukryeong, Cyrus was incessantly busy. He punished those who needed to be punished, awarded those who deserved rewards, and executed those who had to be killed.
Thus, after several sleepless days resolving various tasks, Cyrus found a moment of respite and rode his horse out of the castle.
It was April, but Bukryeong was still covered in snow. The blue sky entered his sight—a sky as pure as Ariana’s hair.
Suddenly, he wondered.
No, actually, in the midst of his ceaseless activities, he had been curious even during his brief moments of rest.
‘What might she be doing now?’
+++
Three weeks had passed since Ariana came to Dongryeong.
During this time, the Eastern Emperor had captured and killed spies sent from Soryeong, and Rachel, who had been waiting for news from the spies, finally sent a message to the Eastern Emperor.
[Do you happen to have Ariana with you?]The Eastern Emperor replied,
[No.]Meanwhile, in preparation for the trial, he exchanged secret letters with witnesses. The maids who had been expelled from the House of Bronthe were a bit hesitant, but the witnesses Ariana mentioned willingly agreed to testify.
The preparations for the custody battle were methodically underway; now, only notification to Rachel remained.
For three weeks, Ariana had been so comfortable that it was almost embarrassing.
The maid Catherine, assigned by the former Empress Kerardy, followed Ariana without any sign of surveillance, and the majority of the maids were kind and polite to her.
Phelos, who occasionally visited, was always boisterous, and even Langsti, who had been somewhat cold, showed no signs of assessing Ariana’s usefulness.
Although breakfast and lunch were often eaten separately, she always had dinner in the restaurant with Russel and the former Eastern Emperor and Empress. The atmosphere, which had initially been awkward and tense, was gradually becoming more comfortable.
Dongryeong had slightly colder temperatures than Soryeong but possessed soft air. The sky was always clear as it rained less often than in Soryeong.
In Soryeong, she always had chores, but in Dongryeong, there was nothing to do. For the first time, she didn’t know how to spend her free time.
Knock-knock—
The sound of knocking was followed by a jingling voice.
“Move aside. Do I need permission to enter my sister’s room?”
The door burst open, and Isabel entered, her vibrant green dress swirling around her. With her long dark blue hair tied back and her sparkling blue eyes, Isabel looked full of life.
This was the first time seeing Isabel since shortly after arriving at the mansion, when all the members of the White family had gathered for a meal.
Isabel stopped in front of Ariana, her expression sour.
“You still look like this?”
“Miss Isabel, please stop,” said Catherine softly, but Isabel ignored her.
“Didn’t I tell you? No one wears those colors anymore. Didn’t His Majesty buy you a dress?”
“I have plenty.”
Ariana’s wardrobe was filled with dresses.
Since coming to Dongryeong, she had gained some weight. Whether Catherine reported this to Russel or not, a tailor regularly visited to take measurements for new dresses.
It was questionable whether she would ever wear all those dresses.
“Aren’t they all pink?”
Isabel, without waiting for permission, entered the dressing room to inspect the wardrobe.
“See, see? I knew it. His Majesty has no sense.”
Ariana quietly observed Isabel, not understanding what she was trying to do.
Returning to Ariana, Isabel abruptly grabbed her hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Where else? To the dress shop. I’ll buy you a dress that perfectly suits you in the latest fashion.”
“Isabel, I am—”
“Don’t do that, okay?”
Isabel snapped.
“Stop calling me ‘Miss Isabel,’ or I’ll curse. I’m barely holding back, you know?”
“……”
“Call me sis. And stop using that annoying formal speech. Ah, really pretending to be nice. Unbearable.”
Ariana looked back at Catherine for help, but Catherine only smiled awkwardly.
‘Sure, everyone seemed to be struggling with the family, and Catherine couldn’t handle it.’
Ariana decided to act as Isabelle wanted.
“Yes, sis.”
Isabelle looked at Ariana and smiled brightly. Her smile was as refreshing as ripe fruit.
“Ah, it’s low. Let’s go; we have to prepare for the festival. Even if we start fitting the dress now, it’ll be a close call.”
“Festival?”
“Yes, Dongryeong holds a Prosperity Festival from May 6th to 8th. It’s a festival to pray for a good harvest this year. Every home and store prepare lots of delicious things to treat people. Even many merchants come; it’s so much fun.”
Isabelle excitedly chattered about how exciting the Prosperity Festival was as she held Ariana’s hand tightly and walked down the hallway.
When Isabelle paused for a moment, Ariana spoke.
“But sis, no one should know I’m still in Dongryeong.”
“It’s okay; I got permission.”
“From whom?”
“Of course, from His Majesty Dongjehu…”
“Isabelle, you’re lying again.”
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.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
