As they were almost down the mountain, it was a pitch-black night. Around the time when they could barely see in front of them, Etien took Leharht’s hand and relied on him to descend.
“The things you said while dipping your feet earlier…”
“Why mention those things? Are you trying to make me remember or something?”
Etien seemed to want to let go of the hand she had grabbed immediately. However, instead of being released, Leharht’s fingers tightly entwined with hers. Holding hands was just for assistance, and it felt burdensome beyond that.
However, the more Etien tried to pull away, the more Leharht intertwined their hands. It seemed better to just stay still. Then, the deeply intertwined fingers slightly loosened, and at the same time, Leharht tilted his head.
“I’ll remember it on my own.”
“And what about me?”
“Don’t change.”
Leharht released Etien’s hand as if he had made up his mind.
“Just endure for exactly two years. Got it?”
Given a set time to endure, Etien couldn’t help feeling awkward. Etien took a moment to catch her breath and thought,
“He’s not listening to a word I say.”
“Don’t expect anything from me.” Even during the descent, his expression looked light, and Etien had wondered if he had listened at all.
“Until then, I’ll act less burdensome, so don’t worry about it.”
“It’s already burdensome, and you don’t seem to know, Your Highness.”
“If you’re conscious of it, it will be burdensome. Being conscious of it isn’t bad for me, so it doesn’t matter either way.”
He seemed to say to choose whether to be conscious of it or not. Etien looked at him with eyes full of words, then bit her lips. Knowing that he wouldn’t listen properly no matter what she said, Etien decided to save her words.
However, Leharht interpreted that differently, and he slightly lowered his upper body to meet Etien’s eyes.
“Well, you need time to think.”
“It’s not like that…”
It was a proposal that didn’t require any thought, and it was right not to say it. So it was time to say whatever she wanted.
“Your Highness.”
Both Etien and Leharht turned their heads at the voice of someone.
“Alex?”
Seeing the approaching figure, Leharht’s expression, which was initially dubious, brightened.
“Right.”
Seeing the quickly approaching Alex, Leharht spread his arms towards him with a bright smile.
“Are you alright?”
Alex, who was trying to confirm Leharht’s safety, was suddenly speechless due to Leharht embracing him.
“Your Highness?”
“You came just in time.”
With a smile, Leharht whispered, leaving Alex looking somewhat bewildered before glancing at Etien.
“It seems like Your Highness came down well, not that I came.”
“No, you came well. Nothing happened, right?”
“Your Highness must have had something happen. But, Your Highness, you seem a bit strange now…”
“No, I’m fine.”
“It’s weirder when you say you’re fine with your own mouth.”
Alex, who hadn’t expected such a reunion, kept looking at Leharht as if something was odd, but Leharht, even breaking into laughter, walked alongside him.
As the two men walked away, Etien, left alone behind, stared at them blankly.
“It seems like he intentionally avoided the place.”
Unable to catch the person leaving and unable to refuse, Etien felt awkward.
Meanwhile, Leharht, who had distanced himself from Etien, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“What’s going on?”
“Rather than something happening… it’s like I’ve encountered a very significant turning point in my life?”
“Did you go inside there?”
When Alex mentioned the temple, Leharht smirked.
“I did go in.”
It’s just that the turning point I mentioned wasn’t that temple.
“Congratulations. Now you can try anything.”
“As if I wasn’t going to try before.”
Leharht lowered the arm that had been draped over Alex’s shoulder. Alex stood facing Leharht, bowing his head as if ready to accept any instructions.
“Did you see who said that when I fell?”
“Your Highness was correct. It was Heishi.”
Alex began explaining what happened after Leharht fell into the hole. Heishi, who had been lurking near the Metri tree, noticed and left with others. Heishi had met someone secretly.
“My guess was correct.”
Leharht also muttered to himself happily. Alex had a displeased expression but couldn’t express it.
“Do you really doubt me because I’m good at listening?”
When asked if he had really suspected Heishi just for that, Leharht tilted his head here and there, contemplating whether to tell the truth.
“To… observe Etien, should I say?”
“Not Your Highness?”
“Yeah. She was looking at me, not Etien. So it was weird.”
When Leharht mentioned that he doubted Heishi for a silly reason, Alex couldn’t help but ask.
“Do you really have no interest in her?”
“…Is Heishi good at handling things?”
It seemed like he just changed the subject. Or did he skip it because he thought it wasn’t important? Alex was momentarily confused but answered the prince’s question obediently.
“Yes.”
“If she’s been using Heishi to watch me and give orders, we should keep it that way.”
“Your Highness won’t ask about the sin of neglecting you?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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