So this is…
‘Some sort of tactic!’
A tactic to verify whether I recognize this face or not.
But by the time I realized it, it was already too late.
“Your Grace? Are you alright?”
The Duke was staring intently at her.
“Why are you so surprised? Is there… a problem?”
Her words were soft, filled with concern, but Liz knew. These were clearly probing words. About the source of her evident disturbance a moment ago.
“Ah, no. I just…”
Not being able to control my emotions doesn’t mean I can’t lie.
“You are too handsome. His Majesty the Emperor must have been quite the beauty. I was surprised.”
Even in my second life,
I had enough tact to dodge the subject skillfully.
Liz asked, her eyes shining with intrigue.
“You must have been quite popular, right? Naturally. With such looks, there would be few in not just the empire but the entire continent.”
The Duke seemed less animated than before, but he still answered sincerely.
“Yes. My brother was very popular. Not just among the noble ladies but also princesses from other kingdoms were discontent they couldn’t be with him. I can still see the scene of those women lining up in front of the palace.”
“I see.”
“If the Crown Prince were still alive, he would have grown up just like this…”
The Duke’s sharp gaze returned to Liz.
He stared intently, not missing a single flicker in her eyes or expressions, but all he saw was a foolish woman lost in the portrait of a handsome man.
In truth, Liz was indeed lost in admiration, but it was not for the man in the portrait, but for her uncle-in-law.
‘A scary person. How could he deduce his current appearance from what he looked like over ten years ago? And with complete accuracy.’
A silence ensued for a while.
Shall we leave now? Just as Liz was about to speak, the Duke suddenly asked.
“Excuse the impertinence, but do you have someone on your mind?”
Liz was greatly surprised but did not hesitate in her reply.
“Yes, there’s no one.”
That was the truth.
“Why do you ask?”
“Ah… Just in case.”
“Just in case?”
“Yes, when I proposed, you seemed a bit uncomfortable. I thought perhaps you had someone else in mind… In which case, I planned to step back.”
Of course you would. If the person in her heart wasn’t the crown prince.
Liz smirked inwardly, though her expression remained unchanged.
“In that case, I should clarify once more.”
Although slightly conflicted at the notion of stepping back, there was no other way to dispel doubts.
“There’s no one. Absolutely no one.”
Liz stated firmly.
The Duke appeared momentarily perplexed. Liz’s expression was too decisive to be a lie.
‘What? Is it not?’
It was rare for him to doubt his own conviction so much.
Years ago, when they found a half-burnt corpse in the forest, everyone assumed based on its appearance that it was the crown prince. However, he alone refuted that idea. And a few days later, it turned out the body was indeed not the crown prince, but a mountain guide.
Could his instincts be wrong? Impossible.
“But I’ve heard you’ve turned down many suitors for quite a while. Ah… this is something I heard inadvertently. As you know, I sometimes have to entertain women from social circles due to the absence of a hostess, and I heard it there. If it displeases you, I apologize.”
“Why should it? Your Grace has every right to investigate your prospective spouse.”
‘Investigate.’ At the word, the Duke’s face showed a hint of awkwardness. It felt as if he was digging through the affairs of women like some lowly scoundrel.
“The reason I refused them was…”
Because of Kain.
“Back then, I just didn’t want to get married. I had no concept of the idea that one should pair up and start a family at a predetermined time. I was immature. But now…”
She had come to her senses.
“I also want to get married and start a family. That’s why I accepted your proposal. It’s an honor far beyond what I deserve.”
Or perhaps a shortcut to ruin.
“…I see.”
Until he entered the room, the Duke’s certainty had been rock solid.
Yet even then, he observed all the formalities until the end.
“You said it’s an honor far beyond what you deserve, but I don’t think that way.”
“…?”
“Count Berium has ample qualifications to ascend to the position of Duchess. They are not a family of founding meritorious retainers? If the first Count Berium hadn’t protected the capital, the current Luzencia wouldn’t exist.”
Indeed, surviving until now on the merits of that single exploit.
A momentary relief seemed to be setting in, tinged with cynicism.
“No, what is a Duchess? If she’s to ascend, she should become the Empress, should she not?”
Liz realized this was the final hurdle upon seeing Duke Bellion’s purple eyes flash sharply.
His conviction had not disappeared. Like the faint scar on Liz’s forehead awakened by her possession, it had merely faded.
“Do you want to become that bastard’s mother-in-law? Huh?”
It seemed as if he was asking into the abyss of Liz’s soul with his deeply sunken eyes.
Liz felt her mouth go dry. It seemed like sweat was beading densely on her palms.
It was overwhelming charisma that made one want to spill everything.
The intimidation laden with an instinctual ambition and self-elevated pride in one’s honor was too much for an ordinary woman to bear.
She had no choice.
Liz’s lips, quivering from tension, firmly closed and then slowly parted.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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