Etienne turned to Zen, smiling. Since he had been walking with her, she assumed he also saw the beautiful scenery she did. So, she sought his agreement.
“Isn’t it…”
Etienne’s words trailed off when she noticed someone else standing in front of Zen.
A man with gold hair tinged with red and blue eyes with a hint of green. People said the crown prince was a gift from nature.
His hair resembled the sunset and the sun, and his eyes contained the forest and the sea.
His angelic face was so beautiful that everyone who saw him would praise him.
“It pleases me that you appreciate the beauty of this place.”
Frozen in front of the crown prince, Etienne was speechless. Prince Lehart looked around, his face filled with pride.
“Can you tell me more about its beauty?”
“It feels like nature has been brought here.”
Though surprised, she responded calmly. Compared to the distinctive gardens in the inner city, the outer city appeared unstructured but held its natural order.
“It strangely comforts me. That’s why everything seems more beautiful here.”
These weren’t mere words; they came from Etienne’s heart. Lehart looked directly into her eyes and then smiled lightly.
“I personally bought the seedlings for the flowers here, and those trees in line, I pruned them myself when I was young.”
Lehart walked slowly with his hands behind his back, and Etienne maintained a one-step distance as she followed.
“Not many nobles appreciate this beauty. I wish they would calm their thoughts and enter the inner city more peacefully after enjoying the outer city, but hardly anyone does.”
Listening to Lehart’s regretful words, Etienne looked around the outer city. She had walked here hoping to encounter him, and that was all…
“It’s nice to see someone understanding my intentions.”
Unable to look directly at Lehart’s smiling face, Etienne avoided his gaze. She, too, had walked here with ulterior motives.
But had there really been no nobles who walked through the outer city before? Probably none walked with a pure intention to appreciate it.
They all moved according to the prince’s inner thoughts, trying to win his favor.
Etienne was no different from the others.
‘I want to save the crown prince ultimately for my family’s sake.’
Her desire wasn’t for money or power, but it was true she sought to gain through the crown prince. She couldn’t deny her impure intentions, yet everything she felt while walking through the outer city was genuine.
Etienne kept a distance from Lehart as they both observed the scenery. They would stop at certain points, and sometimes rest under the shade when the sun felt too hot.
Though it seemed like she was following Lehart, Etienne moved as she wished, and it appeared as if the crown prince was adjusting to her pace.
It was amusing to Lehart that he should be the one following her.
“What’s your name?”
“Etienne Clare.”
“Ah, the daughter of Duke Clare. I remember hearing that. I’ve seen your face before.”
Lehart nodded, recalling her, and then turned around again.
“But did you recognize me as the crown prince right away?”
“Yes, I’ve seen Your Highness before.”
“Really? Then, how was I when you first saw me?”
Unlike his earlier casual demeanor, Lehart now smiled with pride in his appearance. Etienne looked directly at his smile and asked back.
“May I be honest?”
“Of course.”
Lehart gestured confidently, making Etienne almost laugh.
Many had praised his appearance, and he seemed to expect a similar response from her. Knowing what he wanted to hear, she planned to be completely honest.
“You were so cute, I wanted to bite you.”
He was adorably irresistible back then. There’s a fountain with a baby angel statue that reminded her exactly of the young crown prince.
She had wished to sit with him and share cookies. That was all.
“….Bite?”
Me? Lehart looked astonished.
“Yes, when I first saw Your Highness, you were very young.”
So, more cute than handsome, right?
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.”
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