Nelia knew that her parents, who lied about going to the estate, are well at the capital’s mansion. If the Duke visits her home, he would easily expose the lie. In a situation where sighs were already escaping, Nelia hurriedly spoke.
“Duke, you don’t need to care about Layton so much.”
“Why not? He’s your family.”
The Duke slowly rolled his eyes.
“Since I’m visiting Nelia’s place, I might as well greet her parents.”
“Why would you greet my parents?”
“Because they are Nelia’s parents. Isn’t it natural to want to make a good impression on the parents of someone you like?”
At the Duke’s straightforward answer, Nelia momentarily closed her mouth. Lately, when he expressed his feelings so directly, it felt strangely uncomfortable.
Ignoring this unfamiliar feeling, Nelia waved her hand.
“No need for that. My parents already like you. Trying harder will only make it troublesome.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, so don’t even think about coming to our house.”
After firmly stating this, the Duke made a sulky face. Pretending not to see such a Duke, Nelia asked.
“By the way, why did Layton come here?”
“Well, it seems like he came to see Nelia. I was too busy to ask him properly.”
Nelia’s eyebrows furrowed.
“This guy… He seems to be loitering around where I am these days.”
But he was probably going to make a request to see Elena’s tears again.
With a slightly uncomfortable feeling, Nelia, hiding her awkwardness, brought up the subject to the Duke.
“There’s probably no special reason. He probably just dropped by while passing by.”
But the Duke didn’t think so. He raised his head seriously.
“That won’t do. If it’s not to my liking to visit Nelia’s place, it might be more comfortable to invite Layton to the mansion.”
What…? Invite Layton here?
Opposition to such a thing was absolute.
If Layton came here, he might rudely retort to the Duke or casually damage rare items in the Duke’s mansion.
If he came alone without parents, there would be no one to stop him from behaving recklessly.
And above all… If Layton came here, it might be revealed that Reunite is not my cousin.
In fact, that was the most crucial reason why Layton should not come here.
“Duke, really, really! You don’t have to worry about it. Instead, I’ll apologize to Layton in a letter.”
When Nelia strongly rejected, the Duke blinked his eyes slowly and nodded after a while.
“All right. If Nelia doesn’t want it that much, I can’t help it.”
Knowing that the Duke is well aware that his relationship with Layton is not so good, Nelia wouldn’t find his aversion strange.
Nelia decided to send a letter to Layton tomorrow to find out why he came here. Meanwhile, Layton visited the Duke’s mansion and was wandering through a hidden alley the next day.
‘Where is this…’
Squinting his eyes, Layton’s gaze lingered in front of the door of a building.
There was a crow drawing on the entrance of the gray-brick building.
‘A crow drawing!’
Layton, known for picking up shiny things like a crow, imitating a crow collecting shiny objects, was called Crow.
Confirming the crow drawing, Layton knocked on the door.
Soon, a man wearing a black robe and covering his head deeply with a hood appeared.
“What brings you here?”
“Are you Crow, the fortuneteller?”
Although his face was covered by the hood, the slow up-and-down movement of the eyebrows seemed to be scrutinizing Layton.
Now it was time to let him in, but Crow asked in a wary tone if Layton didn’t trust him.
“Why did you come here?”
“Um… I want to sell something.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know the apothecary Griff who sells medicine behind the Verter Farm? He made a tonic. It’s labeled.”
Apparently thinking that Griff, the apothecary, is quite remarkable, Crow stepped aside.
“Come in.”
Inside the building, there were all sorts of items. There were liquids emitting green smoke, and strange things with teeth like plants.
Frowning, Layton cautiously walked inside.
“Please sit here.”
Crow pointed to a chair in the middle of the space. Layton, carefully scanning for anything around the table, slowly sat down.
In a frighteningly large chair on the opposite side, Crow asked.
“First, can I see that tonic properly again?”
Layton placed a glass bottle containing pills on the table.
“Here.”
“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”
Crow seemed to examine the label on the glass bottle carefully. Soon, he spoke again.
“It is indeed made by Griff.”
“Of course… Did you think I was lying?”
Even with Layton’s confident attitude, Crow stroked his chin in puzzlement.
“However… He doesn’t sell this much tonic at once. How did you acquire it?”
“Uh, I’m a special customer!”
Layton thought that even if Griff were an exceptional apothecary, he would have treated Layton as a special customer because he was the Duke Hart.
Although he wasn’t really the Duke Hart, Crow had mentioned that he didn’t ask for the customer’s status.
So, pretending to be someone great like Duke Hart and acting like a special customer should be okay.
“Since the customer says so, I won’t inquire further about the quantity of the medicine.”
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.”
