Hersis’s bewildered expression soon turned into a thin gaze as he confirmed whether he had heard correctly.
Liz bowed her head deeply and, in a hesitant voice, said, “Contraception… let’s do it. Us.”
“…”
Hersis could confirm that he hadn’t misheard.
He withdrew his hand from Liz’s bodice and asked, “Why? All of a sudden?”
He wanted to know the reason. He had to know.
“Just… I’m not ready to become a mother yet, and also…”
“…”
“For now, I want to focus on fulfilling the duties of the Empress. I’ve heard that every foundation must be laid in the early stages. After establishing myself properly as the mistress of the imperial palace. Then, we can think about getting pregnant. Right?”
“Liz.”
Hersis’s voice echoed like a growl from deep within a cave.
“I told you. There’s no need to feel burdened by the Empress’s role. Just stay by my side…”
“I can’t be satisfied with just that.”
Liz’s determination was firm.
“I want to fulfill the role of the Empress properly. It won’t be easy once a child comes.”
“…”
No one knew Liz’s stubbornness as well as Hersis.
He knew that once Liz set her mind on something, it was impossible to change it.
“How long will it take? To establish yourself… in that position.”
“Two seasons.”
Liz answered without making any estimations, as if she had been prepared in advance.
‘Crazy.’
Hersis found himself sinking deeper into the abyss.
It felt like there was no ground beneath him.
‘Two seasons? Not two days or two months, but two seasons.’
Liz was suggesting not to join for the next half-year.
“Sit down for a moment.”
Passing by Liz, Hersis slumped into the comfortable chair by the window.
He never thought he would sit in this chair again, but within a day, he found himself sitting in it.
Liz sat across from him. The buttons on her bodice were neatly fastened, as if they had never been undone.
Hersis wiped his face with both hands, as if wiping away distracting thoughts.
‘Why is this happening all of a sudden? Why contraception all of a sudden…’
A glimmer of hope flickered in his mind.
“As for that contraception thing, isn’t it something couples can do even during normal married life? For example…”
“Oh, that. It has a very high failure rate.”
“…”
“There’s Lady Flenard, right? She caused a stir in high society with a premarital pregnancy. She also tried contraception like that, but it failed, didn’t it?”
Hersis completely lost hope. Liz seemed to have no intention of changing her decision or devising a solution.
By now, he even began to think that she rejected him for another reason.
Perhaps she found their intimate moments unsatisfactory…
The flushed face and the muffled moans. When I recalled the countless nail marks etched on my back, it felt unreal, but…
Still, there seemed to be no reason to suddenly suggest contraception.
“I’m sorry.”
Liz bowed her head as if to say she had no face. The intertwined thumbs, constantly fidgeting and hiding within her palm, seemed to represent Liz’s desire to disappear somewhere.
Hersis knew he had revealed too much of his disappointment on his face.
‘What’s the matter?’
Hersis corrected his emotions and smiled.
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
“…”
“Do as you wish.”
Liz raised her head.
“Really?”
Liz’s eyes sparkled with a radiant purple. Hersis felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he didn’t show it.
“Didn’t I tell you before? You have the right to do as you wish. If you want contraception, then I’ll…”
It took some effort to continue speaking.
“I’ll go along with it.”
“Thank you. Really, thank you.”
Liz finally smiled. It was the brightest smile Hersis had seen in this room today.
While Hersis’s self-deprecating care was enough as a response, the bitter feeling was unavoidable.
“Whew…”
Liz let out a long sigh and muttered to herself.
“You did well. You did a good job.”
She had been repeating that sentence since earlier, as if casting a spell on herself.
But it was all in vain.
Seeing the empty pillow next to her, it didn’t feel like she had done well at all!
“Separate rooms. It doesn’t feel like we’re married.”
Originally, Liz was supposed to move to the main palace today, but she used contraception as an excuse to get a six-month extension at the Empress’s palace.
Convincing her, who was unwilling to accept it at all, took a lot of effort.
‘Why go to such lengths?’
‘If you’re going to use contraception, you should do it properly. How can we live under the same roof and not consummate the marriage?’
‘But we won’t use separate palaces.’
In the end, tears had to be brought into the argument.
‘Hers. It’s only two seasons. It’s just half a year out of the many decades we’ll live together. Can’t you spare me just half a year?’
After pleading so earnestly, she finally succeeded.
There was no other choice for Liz.
There would be a lot she had to do without catching Hersis’s eye in the future, but it was impossible to avoid while living in the same building.
“You did well. You did a good job.”
Liz cast the spell on herself once again.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
