Lani voiced her fear of being reprimanded for not finishing it all.
“Then I’ll help. Butler, bring another fork.”
The butler, who had already brought an extra fork, placed one in front of Etienne and another in front of himself, naturally taking a seat. Etienne laughed at his act of pretending not to care.
“Continue with your story.”
“I clean the restoration room.”
“Do you clean that big place all by yourself?”
As Lani was about to answer, the butler interjected.
“No, she doesn’t. Over ten people clean there. Lani assists others instead of being assigned to one spot, so her work varies.”
“I see. Aren’t you busy, butler?”
“I’ll get up after finishing all this.”
The butler took a bite of the cake, prompting Etienne to chuckle. Pretending not to care while sitting to make Lani comfortable…
“Now I see why everyone likes you.”
“Do they?”
His caring nature, evident in how he looked after everyone in the household, shone through.
The butler, pretending not to know, started eating dessert again. Lani, now more relaxed, drank her juice.
“But there are a lot of desserts. If the butler and I weren’t here, Lani couldn’t have finished them alone, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have someone you’d like to share with? Maybe a sibling…”
Lani’s hand, moving towards the cake, froze. However, Etienne, who had caused her reaction, calmly cut her scone and spread apricot jam on it.
‘Our house’s jam is the best.’
Tasting the chef’s jam again was one of the joys of returning to the past for Etienne.
“I had a younger sibling… but not anymore.”
“Gone?”
“We were separated when we were young.”
Lani set down her fork and forced a smile, though it was evidently awkward. She seemed unaware of its artificiality.
“When our parents separated, I lived with my mother, and my sibling lived with my father. We promised to meet often, but one day, my sibling stopped showing up at our usual spot. I don’t know where they are now.”
Etienne listened quietly as Lani shared her story. The butler, who had quietly finished three plates, quietly put down his fork. Etienne spoke softly.
“Then, shall we look for your sibling together?”
“What?”
Lani looked at Etienne with a mix of surprise and longing. She couldn’t find her sibling alone. Etienne’s offer seemed too good to be true.
Lani bowed her head, feeling undeserving.
“That would be wonderful.”
Lani murmured her response, and Etienne shrugged it off casually.
“Let’s search with Retin, the butler.”
“Why are you dragging me into this?”
“We just had dessert together.”
Etienne pointed to the butler’s clean plate.
“You seemed to have eaten the most.”
The butler coughed awkwardly, realizing he’d been outwitted.
“So you were planning this all along.”
The butler commented, realizing he had been tricked.
“Good that you know now.”
Etienne smiled, and even Lani, who had been close to tears, smiled.
“I will start the search first. But before that, please look at this.”
The butler presented an invitation and a letter. He then gestured for Lani to leave the room for a moment. Catching his hint, Lani quickly vacated her seat.
“This invitation is from Count Pigment’s estate. Your parents have other engagements that day, so they asked you to attend in their stead.”
“Count Pigment’s estate?”
While reading the invitation, Etienne picked up the letter.
“This is from the Crown Prince.”
As Etienne opened the envelope, the butler added.
“It’s probably an invitation to accompany him to the ball.”
Reading the letter, Etienne looked at the butler, amazed.
“How did you know?”
Was this another rumor? But the butler calmly explained.
“Fernando also made a similar offer. A messenger from his estate came and relayed the message.”
…Fernando too?
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
