Trapped in the Mad Duke's Snare (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8
The two people who had gone into town didn’t return to the mountain villa until late evening.
Upon returning, Adeline went straight into the kitchen, saying she’d cook dinner, and didn’t come out again.
Not even a single step.
‘He said his memories wouldn’t come back…’
In truth, Adeline had been deeply troubled ever since seeing the doctor in town.
It wasn’t just that the Duke regaining his memories would be a problem—she felt utterly lost at the thought of what to do if they truly never returned.
And that wasn’t all.
Remembering what had happened at the tailor’s shop, Adeline paused mid-chop while preparing vegetables for dinner.
For a village at the edge of the empire, the tailor’s shop in town was surprisingly large.
She’d picked out several outfits befitting a Duke and pushed him into the fitting room.
It was while she sat waiting for him to finish changing that she overheard the conversation.
“Say, that young man changing clothes—his hair color is quite unusual.”
“Hmm, indeed. Jet-black hair like that is rare in the Empire. It’s just like Duke Torpeo’s.”
Adeline focused intently on the voices from the distant counter—the shopkeeper chatting with the neighbor.
“But seriously, what man has hair that long? He looked perfectly decent otherwise.”
“Handsome, is he? I should take a look. Has he come out of the room yet?”
Just then, as if on cue, the Duke finished changing and was about to step out of the fitting room—so Adeline abruptly stood up.
She quickly shoved him back inside before he could fully emerge.
Afterward, she had all the clothes packed, took Cassis’s hand, and hurried out of the shop.
“Sigh.”
Thinking back on it now, Adeline sighed, her heart pounding.
His hair color was truly eye-catching.
In the Empire, no one possessed hair as deeply black as Duke Torpeo’s.
In the Solatarius Empire, black hair was considered blessed—a rare hue appearing only occasionally in the imperial bloodline, thus highly prized.
Yet here was a commoner with black hair.
Not only was his hair color already drawing attention, but its length made him even more conspicuous.
Adeline’s worries deepened.
Could she really just keep him confined to the villa forever?
Soon, she shook her head.
That would be impossible. Even if he’d lost his memory, he’d surely notice something was off if kept locked away in the villa indefinitely.
Then there was only one solution.
Adeline’s eyes sparkled with resolve.
[This is the timeline separator]“How about sitting over there?”
“You’ll cut it yourself, Del?”
Adeline’s solution was simple—give the Duke a nice, short haircut.
Short hair would draw far less attention than long hair, and she figured this was the best course of action for now.
“Yes. Since it’s just the two of us living here, if I don’t cut it, who will? Sit down.”
Adeline seated the Duke at a table in the study, prepping to trim his hair.
As she draped a white cloth over his shoulders and began tidying his bangs,
she stared blankly at the Duke before her.
His haphazardly chopped hair looked utterly unlike that of a Duke.
Who on earth had cut the Duke’s hair to look like it had been chewed by rats?
It was a complete mess.
She didn’t know why, but it seemed highly unlikely that Duke Torpeo—the man known as the Iron Duke—had done it himself.
But since Adeline couldn’t even begin to guess the reason, she decided to stop worrying about it.
Right now, what mattered was making his hair look neat and presentable.
Leaning closer to tidy his bangs,
she said, “Keep your eyes closed. Hair might get in them.”
At her words, the Duke quietly shut his eyes.
Snip, snip. As the bangs covering half his face fell away, his straight, long eyelashes were revealed.
Adeline’s hands stilled mid-cut, and the Duke—who’d been gazing downward—lifted his eyelashes.
Adeline, so focused on styling his hair, hadn’t even realized how close they were.
“Is it turning out alright?”
The Duke was the first to speak to her.
But Adeline, too absorbed in her task, didn’t hear his question.
“Del?”
When repeated inquiries went unanswered, the Duke finally opened his eyes.
Flutter. His neatly lined eyelashes trembled as his eyes opened.
And slowly—very slowly—Adeline’s gray eyes met his vivid red ones. Their gazes locked in that instant.
It should have been a romantic moment.
“…!”
Instead, Adeline’s heart plummeted.
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen those eyes—but meeting the Duke’s crimson gaze up close left her frozen.
Eyes red as blood.
On the day they’d first met at the villa, she’d only glimpsed them in the darkness or glimpsed them fleetingly through his hair.
Now, unhidden by his long bangs, his eyes were fully revealed.
‘Duke Torpeo.’
It was said that the Duke’s red eyes held the blood of countless slaughtered foes from the battlefield.
That their vivid hue came from being steeped in slaughter.
People reportedly flinched whenever they met his gaze.
That’s why the Duke always wore his bangs long.
This was the first time Adeline had seen his scarlet eyes so closely.
So she froze completely.
Even though she knew the man before her wasn’t Duke Torpeo—but Mel, who’d lost his memories.
“Del?”
When she’d first devised her grand survival plan, she’d underestimated Duke Torpeo somewhat.
Rescue the Duke when he’s in mortal danger, win him over, then ask him to save her from the Crown Prince.
It had all started with that deceptively simple plan.
But now, truly facing the Duke, Adeline began to feel uneasy.
Would this man—this man who’d killed countless others to claim his dukedom—really save her?
‘Have I… made a mistake?’
This man could easily eliminate someone like her without a trace.
Yet here she was, deceiving him while he had amnesia, living together as if it were natural…
Only now did Adeline realize just how perilous her actions had been.
She even forgot to breathe.
Her mouth felt parched, as if all moisture had vanished. She avoided the Duke’s persistent gaze.
“Is something wrong? Did I cut your hair badly?”
But the confused Duke didn’t understand why Adeline was pulling away.
“No, it’s nothing like that. Close your eyes.”
Unconsciously, Adeline leaned back—because Mel kept trying to meet her eyes up close.
She tightened her grip on the scissors. Her hands had started trembling without her noticing.
It’s alright.
Once he closes his eyes, it’ll get a little better.
Once those vivid red eyes disappear from view, her heart should stop racing.
Repeating this to herself, she said,
“Mel, please close your eyes…”
She was about to ask him again to shut his eyes.
But just then, a large hand emerged from beneath the white cloth around his neck and rested on Adeline’s shoulder.
Clang!
The metal scissors fell to the floor with a dull thud.
Adeline had flinched instinctively at his touch.
After the scissors dropped and the noise faded, silence hung between them.
Adeline’s lips trembled slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
At the Duke’s question, Adeline bit down hard on her quivering lip.
“It’s nothing. Let’s just continue.”
“You’re trembling.”
Cassis nodded toward the mirror behind him, where Adeline’s reflection showed her shaking hands.
Realizing the Duke would notice something was off, she decided to finish styling his hair as quickly as possible.
“I’m not trembling at all. Close your eyes, Mel. We still need to tidy up more.”
Adeline forced her voice to sound calm and unaffected.
Then she bent down to pick up the scissors, stood back up, and resumed trimming his hair.
“I said close your eyes!”
She just wanted to end this situation quickly and be alone.
But seeing the Duke refuse to cooperate, her patience began to wear thin.
It was already hard enough to avoid his gaze—and he kept refusing to close his eyes. Without realizing it, her voice rose sharply.
The Duke, who’d been staring intently at her, suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Then,
“Del, let’s stop.”
He gently took the scissors from her hand and placed them on the table.
“Let’s eat dinner first and continue later. You’ll hurt yourself like this.”
With those words, Mel stood up and left the room.
Adeline’s eyes followed his retreating back, trembling endlessly.
Thump, thump. Her heart pounded wildly.
But she couldn’t tell whether it was from the man’s concern for her—or from the tightening grip of those blood-red eyes on her heart.
Male lead Asks for a Divorce Every Day
It’s not often you come across a plot like this in the female-dominant genre — make sure to check it out!
This is a novel I’m planning to reread as well.
The male lead is strong, skilled in martial arts, and not the usual fragile type you often see in matriarchal novels.
Meanwhile, the female lead is a scientist—rational and logical. Even when she falls for the male lead, she doesn’t let her emotions cloud her decisions.
If you push through the first few chapters, you’ll gradually find the story really intriguing.
It has a mix of mystery, detective elements, and romance.
The author’s writing style is like crafting a puzzle—except they deliberately leave out a few pieces, making it hard to predict what happens next, yet keeping you hooked.
In the end, everything will come together and be explained.
One-sentence summary: Wife, stop playing with beakers and look at me!
In a laboratory accident, research scientist Zhu Wansheng accidentally travels to a matriarchal world. The original owner of the body is an eighteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy rouge merchant, already married with a handsome young man.
Zhu Wansheng grins: Nice! She always said she was heaven’s favorite granddaughter. After a life of toil in her previous life, she can enjoy blessings in this one.
However, her joy lasts no more than three seconds as bad news arrives: the original owner’s family is about to go bankrupt, and her husband wants a divorce.
Even worse, she’s stuck with a research system full of restrictions.
Zhu Wansheng: ? Is this the destiny of a research dog?
——
Faced with this mess, Zhu Wansheng pours herself a bowl of wine to drown her sorrows. In her drunken haze, her husband arrives.
His figure is imposing, holding a long sword, with a dignified air that captivates Zhu Wansheng.
Gu Yingqing, however, looks at the alcohol-reeking Zhu Wansheng with undisguised disgust and coldly asks, “Divorce or not?” The intoxicated Zhu Wansheng mumbles vaguely, “I think… it’s not… it’s not… impossible!”
——
The next day, after sobering up, Zhu Wansheng is full of energy, rolling up her sleeves ready to make a big move. As for yesterday? She has no memory of it.
Zhu Wansheng is ambitious; a research dog fears nothing!
Upgrading rouge, extracting fragrances, producing perfumes, researching lipsticks… all shall bow to the power of modern technology!
The original owner’s dying rouge shop is revitalized. Her mother is pleased and with a wave of her hand, passes on the family business to her. As she takes control and her experimental results gain popularity, it’s the pinnacle of her life…
——
But there are always those who can’t stand to see her doing well. Jealousy, scheming, assassination attempts – they want nothing less than her life.
The person who has always kept his distance from her suddenly holds her tightly in his arms, eyes full of concern.
She is unharmed, but he falls into a pool of blood…
Zhu Wansheng feels guilty, “I can grant you one wish.”
Gu Yingqing tentatively circles his arms around her, carefully resting his head in the crook of her neck, pleading softly, “I regret it. Can we not divorce?”
Zhu Wansheng: ? When did I agree to a divorce?
[Small Theater]
The newly developed rouge is beautifully packaged, and Zhu Wansheng is eager to try it.
Gu Yingqing suddenly appears: “My lady, may I apply it for you?”
Cool fingertips lightly brush her lips. His Adam’s apple bobs as he leans in for a light bite.
Zhu Wansheng: ?
Gu Yingqing: It smells so good, I wanted to taste it…
On a warm spring day, Zhu Wansheng tries a new perfume: “Spring Night.” Gu Yingqing corners her against a wall.
Warm breath lingers on her neck.
“My lady, from now on, may I test the fragrances for you?”
[Humorous female scientist vs scheming live-in son-in-law male lead]
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MANGA DISCUSSION
3 Comments
Chapter Comments (65)
Honestly, she should have just run to another country or something instead of trying to find and rely on the Duke. Too late for that I suppose.
She didn’t read the novel and reincarnation to this novel was so funny 🤣
I feel the Duke is truly being wronged. Why is Adeline doing this?
Inline Comments (34)
The Duke stormed out of the study.
Hmm, I feel that the Duke hasn’t lost his memory and that he’s trying to uncover it.
Faced with the sudden risk of being mislabeled a married woman, Adeline hastily
You just had a golden opportunity to turn this misunderstanding around and save your future self some pain and embarrassment…why claim to be lovers?
Counting the falling raindrops, Adeline soon drifted off to sleep.
This female lead is creating all sorts of issues for herself. Behavior like this makes forfeit any right to complain regarding future complications.
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Miioo
Why did you only feel threatened now, Adeline? From the beginning, it was dangerous to get close to the Duke.
Blairwoods
Funny she was just realised how reckless she did to suddenly came to the duke
Artemtisforaday
It’s a bit too late to realize how reckless your plan was, Adeline…