To You, So Noble and Vulgar (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 7
It was a long while before Ariana finally came to her senses.
She could still feel Cyrus’s palm pressed against her back.
Just like the hand that had covered her mouth earlier, the hand now pressing against her back was cold. The chill seeped through her thin, seasonally inappropriate dress, making her shiver uncontrollably.
As she tried to quietly pull away from him, his crimson lips moved first.
“I’ve done you a kindness. Now you owe me a debt.”
Ariana was utterly speechless at his unexpected remark.
If he hadn’t appeared in the storeroom in the dead of night, none of this would have happened—what absurd nonsense was this?
Yet Ariana concealed her true feelings and replied calmly.
“I had no idea His Highness, the Duke of the North, was the sort to impose debts through kindnesses never asked for.”
“You couldn’t have known. We’ve only just met today. It would be wise to remember this from now on.”
“There won’t be any future meetings, so I see no need to remember anything further.”
“Hmm. Neither you nor I can know what the future holds, can we?”
Ariana lifted her chin sharply and glared at him.
Though Cyrus spoke as if flirting with a woman, his eyes still held an icy chill.
Yet his excessively beautiful features softened the harshness coiled within those eyes.
Had Ariana been an ordinary woman, she might have been flustered by his words.
But Ariana’s heart—having endured countless trials and even death itself—remained utterly unmoved by Cyrus’s kindness, however beautiful he was, like a god of the moon.
“Does Your Highness desire something from me?”
“What could someone like you, who isn’t even treated as a proper noble daughter, possibly offer me?”
“We’ve only just met today, yet Your Highness seems to know quite a lot about me.”
“There’s nothing I don’t know.”
“How envious. I, on the other hand, know nothing at all.”
“Then shall I bestow another kindness upon you?”
“There are countless others who would eagerly receive Your Highness’s kindness—I shall gladly yield my place to them.”
“Aren’t you curious why your own mother favors the first noble daughter over you, her trueborn child?”
Ariana’s eyes widened.
She already knew why Rachel was unusually lenient toward Helena—it had come to light by chance.
That secret had been so thoroughly hidden that, had it not been for the Third Prince, she would have died never knowing the reason.
‘How does this man know such a thing?’
Ariana wanted to know how much Cyrus truly knew and what his intentions were for sneaking into this estate.
Though she had no desire to become entangled with him, understanding his motives would make it easier to deal with him in the future.
So she answered obediently.
“Please, bestow your valuable wisdom upon me.”
“And what will you give me in return for this valuable wisdom?”
“What could Your Highness possibly want from someone like me, locked away in the ducal household and treated worse than a maid?”
Cyrus gently lifted Ariana’s chin with his index finger.
He looked down at her with amusement before speaking.
“You show not the slightest shame for your current situation.”
“That’s because I’m not the one who should feel ashamed.”
As Cyrus tilted his head slightly, his excessively handsome face drew closer. Only then did Ariana realize she was still pressed tightly against him in the narrow space between him and the storage shelf.
As she tried to pull away, a low, secretive voice slipped from his lips near her ear.
“Helena isn’t the late Duchess’s biological child.”
Ariana clamped her mouth shut.
“In truth, she’s Rachel Bronte’s own daughter.”
Cyrus knew precisely.
It was the truth meticulously concealed by the Duke of the West, Rachel, Jacob, the former Duchess, and Helena.
“Surprised?”
“Yes, I am.”
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
“You’re standing so close you can’t even see my face—perhaps that’s why you fail to perceive my astonishment.”
“You’re not pressing further. Did you already suspect the truth?”
“Impossible. I’m simply too shocked to express it properly in the moment.”
Cyrus, who knew even the secret of Helena’s birth, surely understood Ariana’s situation as well.
If Ariana—who was treated like a burden—already knew their secret, that would be suspicious. So she decided to feign ignorance a little longer.
“How could Helena possibly be my mother’s true daughter?”
“You don’t seem particularly curious, but I’ll tell you anyway. Rachel was already pregnant with Jacob’s child when talks of her marriage to the Duke of the East began.”
The Duke of the West, who had planned to marry Rachel off to the Duke of the East, flew into a rage upon learning the truth. He immediately summoned a physician to force her to abort, but Rachel and Jacob knelt and begged him.
“Rachel threatened the Duke of the West, saying she’d kill herself if her child died. Since the Duke of the West absolutely had to send Rachel to the Duke of the East, he had no choice but to compromise. So he found the daughter of an obscure noble family in the western provinces—someone who held only a baronial title—and brought her here.”
Marianne of House Wood.
The first wife of Duke Bronte.
Marianne, from a powerless family, had no choice but to obey the Duke of the West’s command and marry Jacob.
Right after their marriage, she pretended to be pregnant and raised Helena—Rachel’s child—as her own daughter.
Rachel, immediately after giving birth, was sent off to marry the Princess of Dongryeong without proper postpartum care, while Marianne performed the role of duchess under constant surveillance.
This continued until Rachel returned to the western provinces once more.
“By the time Rachel returned, Jacob had divorced Marianne. He claimed Marianne committed adultery and sent her back to the countryside, but Marianne never reached the Wood baronial estate.”
The powerless Baron Wood dared not ask Duke Bronte about his daughter’s whereabouts. He likely guessed what had happened—but speaking up would mean certain death, so he remained silent.
Rachel, having given birth to Ariana, returned and immediately remarried Jacob. Their affection must have been profound, for she conceived Victoria right away.
Yet Helena remained Rachel’s sore spot.
“It must weigh on your heart. Helena carries the Duke of the West’s bloodline, yet she’s recorded as merely the daughter of a provincial baroness.”
“So that’s why she’s even more indulged than Victoria, the third daughter.”
Rachel revealed the truth to Helena once she was old enough to keep the secret.
Upon learning the truth, Helena chose to hate Ariana rather than resent Rachel and Jacob.
She believed it was because of Ariana that she couldn’t reveal her true lineage as the Duke of the West’s blood and had to live as Marianne’s daughter—even though Ariana herself hadn’t chosen to be born that way.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I’m interested in what you intend to do next.”
“I have no intention of doing anything at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I’m merely a woman who isn’t even treated as a proper noble daughter.”
When Ariana pushed his chest with both hands, the palm that had been holding her back easily fell away.
She stepped back one pace, then looked up at him with perfect composure and said,
“It’s been the singular honor of my life to meet His Highness, the Duke of the North.”
“‘The singular honor of your life’—does that mean you never wish to see me again?”
“If you’ve understood, Your Highness, you should also know the courtesy of pretending not to.”
“If you’ve heard rumors about me, you must have also heard that I possess no such thing as courtesy.”
“Rumors are just rumors. I only trust what I see and hear for myself.”
“And what do you see and hear of me, then?”
It seemed Cyrus had no intention of letting Ariana leave just yet.
Ariana swallowed a sigh before replying.
“How could I possibly presume to judge Your Highness? However, such infinite honor is already overwhelming after just one encounter—I’m terribly exhausted and shall take my leave now.”
She quickly moved to leave before he could grab her again.
“Second Noble Daughter of Bronte.”
Hearing this title—for the first time in both her past life and this one—Ariana halted and glared at him.
Cyrus watched silently as her usually calm blue eyes blazed like they’d been touched by flame.
“I am neither Bronte nor a noble daughter.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“Anything at all.”
A cold smile briefly flickered at Ariana’s lips before vanishing.
“Surely there will be reason to call you someday?”
+++
Cyrus didn’t hold her back any further.
Only after Ariana’s footsteps faded down the corridor—having left the kitchen—did he finally emerge from the storeroom.
Isaac, who had been perched on a tree outside the storeroom, wore an expression as if he’d witnessed something he shouldn’t have.
“Cyrus… just what did you do?”
Isaac couldn’t believe his own eyes.
Cyrus had entered the storeroom despite having no need to, chatted idly with Ariana despite having no reason to talk, and pulled her tightly against him—despite no need for physical contact—to cast a concealment spell.
Moreover, even though Ariana clearly showed her distaste, he kept flirting like a common street rogue and even spilled the Bronte family’s hard-won secret.
Ariana’s cold demeanor in Cyrus’s presence was astonishing enough, but Isaac felt as if his heart had dropped straight out of his chest—or perhaps it had already rolled far away.
Cyrus’s behavior toward Ariana was truly unprecedented.
Unlike Isaac, who was utterly shocked, Cyrus remained calm.
“That girl has her uses.”
Even that answer failed to satisfy Isaac.
Was Cyrus really flirting and spilling secrets just because she was useful? Cyrus Karha, of all people?
Just who was Cyrus?
He was the sort who, if someone had value, would torture men, women, and children alike to extract every bit of usefulness from them.
Cyrus, who would draw his sword even against the Emperor if necessary, certainly had no reason not to act this way toward a girl treated like a servant in the Bronte household.
Yet here he was, engaging in idle chatter—something he’d never normally do—and then claiming it was all for her “usefulness.”
‘Is he unwell? Could the western water disagree with him?’
Isaac was so bewildered he genuinely worried about Cyrus’s health.
Noticing Isaac’s gaze, Cyrus asked,
“What?”
“Are you feeling unwell? Does your head… hurt or something?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
Cyrus knew exactly what Isaac was thinking, but he offered no explanation to ease his friend’s concern.
Normally, Cyrus would have grabbed Ariana by the throat and threatened her into spilling everything she knew.
But somehow, he sensed Ariana wouldn’t easily reveal the cards she held, even under such treatment.
He couldn’t explain why he felt that way about a mere sixteen-year-old girl.
Ariana didn’t seem like an ordinary girl at all.
Aside from a brief flicker in her eyes when they first met Cyrus’s gaze, she had remained composed and calm throughout.
Even someone seasoned by countless hardships couldn’t possibly remain so calm before the infamous Duke of the North.
“I never expected His Highness, the Duke of the North, to visit Bronte Manor at such an hour. Had I known, we would have all come out to greet you.”
The moment he saw her masking her shock only to immediately mock him, Cyrus became certain Ariana held something significant.
So he’d tested her by mentioning Helena’s birth secret—a truth difficult to uncover but of little real value—and Ariana seemed to already know it.
That a girl imprisoned and abused in this estate knew a secret so thoroughly hidden by the Duke of the West, Rachel, and Jacob was no trivial matter.
If he could obtain whatever Ariana was hiding, dealing with the Dukes of the West and East would become much easier.
‘If she proves useless, I can always discard her later.’
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I finally found the chapter corresponding to chapter 42 of the manhwa!
Here’s a mother who refutes the “instinctive motherhood” notion.