“Did you see what just happened to me?”
“What happened?”
Etienne hadn’t seen anything because she was busy talking to Fernand.
“Well, a leaf fell and landed in my hand… Anyway, did anything change about me? Or is there some kind of aura emanating from my body?”
Leharht extended his arms as if asking her to take a closer look. Etienne took a step back and stared at him.
His appearance was not much different from before. The light reflecting in the temple was not strong, but his blond hair still shone brightly, and his beautiful eyes, reminiscent of a forest and a sea combined, were gazing at him.
“How do I look?”
“Just handsome.”
“Something more special than being handsome?”
“Like a sculpture.”
“…Are you talking about that angel statue I mentioned last time? Now is not the time for such jokes.”
“Is it weird to have a serious conversation about how handsome you are?”
“Anyway, take another look.”
Leharht adjusted his posture again.
Etienne looked at Leharht with a serious expression.
‘What am I supposed to see?’
No matter how she looked, she didn’t understand. All she could see was a handsome face.
The angel statue resembled him from his younger days, and now, what, a piece carefully carved by a god? Whether it’s this or that, what’s the difference? Anyway, people are saying he’s handsome.
“Did you fall for my face?”
“…I don’t know what has changed. Can I go now?”
Afraid that he might grab her again, Etienne quickly turned away. She then looked at Fernand, showing a puzzled expression, and shook her head.
“I don’t know. He came and asked weird questions.”
“Ignore him.”
Fernand, too, turned his back to the Crown Prince.
In the temple, where day and night were indistinguishable, as fatigue set in, Etienne was the first to fall asleep. Fernand, who covered her with an outer garment as she slept huddled on the floor, approached the water.
He had awakened the power of water not long ago. It wasn’t yet a considerable force, but his ability was noticeably growing.
Fernand knelt down on one knee by the water’s edge and lowered his upper body. As he looked into the transparent water and dipped his hand, he felt a cool sensation, as if cold water was circulating inside his body.
“Why didn’t you do anything in front of Etienne?”
Leharht, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, asked.
“You like Etienne. Wouldn’t you want to show your abilities if you have feelings for her?”
It was a question implying that if you want to be seen, wouldn’t you want to show your own special ability?
“Just being by Etienne’s side in the current state is enough.”
“Is silently being there and ardently watching enough?”
Leharht mentioned the things Fernand had done before.
“You’ve been hiding everything, like going to see Viscount Pigmain to threaten him, hiding the fact that others might harm Etienne. But now you’re even hiding the power of water. I don’t understand why.”
“His Highness is unaware.”
“I don’t know? You seem to know what I don’t?”
In response to Leharht’s question, Fernand closed his eyes without offering any particular reply. All expressions vanished from his face as he absorbed everything sensed in the water.
“Fine. Even if others don’t know, it seems you’re gaining something here.”
The water abilities of Shuprahega started right from this place.
After finishing his words, Leharht closed his eyes again.
“As for His Highness the Crown Prince…”
How much time had passed? Leharht, who had fallen into a deep sleep, woke up upon hearing a voice addressing him.
“Why do you keep hovering around Etienne?”
“It sounds really annoying, doesn’t it?”
Leharht smiled at the oddly sounding voice and continued, “The reason for talking to Etienne and showing interest.”
Fernand, still with his hand in the water, turned his head slightly.
“If you’re doing it for political reasons, don’t you think Etienne might be in danger?”
“Well…”
In a somewhat aggressive tone, Leharht tilted his head slightly. The back of his head touched an uneven wall, but he didn’t mind. After a moment of contemplation, he grinned.
“I don’t know everything, but I know one thing.”
Leharht playfully tapped Etienne’s head with his index finger as she slept. In response, Etienne, in her drowsiness, moved her head away to avoid his touch. Seeing this, Leharht laughed and continued to playfully touch her head.
“Etienne probably wants to keep her distance from you more than me, right?”
Watching Etienne mumble something with inaccurate pronunciation, Leharht playfully tousled her hair, seemingly finding it even more amusing.
Even if others didn’t know, Leharht was confident that he understood Etienne’s feelings as much as she did. He had grasped the meaning behind her gaze towards Fernand.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
