The recent excessive awareness of the Duke, feeling his emotions as if they were her own, worrying about his mother, and the nervousness about the curse—all of it was because she liked the Duke.
Not knowing this innermost thought of Nellia, the Duke gently kissed her lips.
“Thank you for coming here with me.”
“…”
“The Duke’s residence was a place I wanted to avoid. I’m glad I came here with Nellia.”
Realizing her feelings, the voice that murmured above her eyelids was overly sweet.
“Nellia is indeed my savior. She has saved me many times.”
The Duke’s lips lightly touched the tip of his nose and parted, then met again.
Gradually, the kiss deepened. Normally, Nellia would have pushed away the Duke’s physical contact in an unfamiliar place, but her head, heated and dizzy, made it difficult for her to think rationally.
Nellia wrapped her arms around the Duke’s neck, and the Duke’s response to her gesture intensified the passionate kiss.
And just as the Duke’s hand reached for the buttons on his shirt…
Snap!
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
Nellia hastily pushed the Duke away at the sound of Reunite’s voice, which came with the opening door.
Nellia quickly got up from the bed.
“Re-Reunite, did you have a good look around Duke Hart’s residence?”
“Yeah, when are we having dinner… Huh? The Duke is here too?”
“…We were just having a little conversation.”
Nellia glanced at the disgruntled Duke.
As the Duke, who was slowly getting up from the bed, walked past them, he narrowed his eyes as if he had no intention of hiding his annoyance.
“Where does it hurt, Your Grace?”
He asked with an innocent face, but without waiting for the Duke’s answer, he replied, “If this situation repeats, you might get hurt.”
The Duke turned around, leaning his hand on the doorknob.
“I’ll be in my room. Nellia.”
“Yes…”
As the Duke closed the door and left, Nellia had to calm down the flush on her face.
Fortunately, it seemed that Reunite wasn’t particularly interested in Nellia’s face as he lazily lay down on the bed.
“Did you explore the residence well?”
“Yeah. Nothing special.”
“I see…”
Nellia, who nodded, suddenly remembered that she had something to ask him.
“Reunite!”
As Nellia quickly sat on the bed, the mattress trembled. Thanks to that, Reunite, who had been closing his eyes, opened them.
“Why are you calling me so loudly when I’m right next to you?”
“It’s about the book we saw in the basement.”
Reunite replied in a dull voice.
“Why that book?”
“There was a drawing of something like a dragon in it. Do you think it’s a dragon, Reunite?”
Reunite turned his gaze and stared blankly somewhere on the ceiling.
“I don’t know.”
With a weak response, Nellia frowned.
“Yeah…? Reunite, you’re a dragon, and you can’t even recognize another dragon?”
Reunite remained silent.
Sensing an unusual atmosphere in his sudden silence, Nellia gave up asking more questions.
He occasionally closed his mouth like a clam when he didn’t want to speak, regardless of the relevance of the topic. At such times, no matter how much she asked, he wouldn’t open his mouth.
As if giving up, Nellia lay down next to Reunite.
“If Duke’s ancestors were really dragons, why did they become such lowly creatures like snakes?”
“Maybe they committed a crime and received punishment.”
Although Nellia did not expect any specific answer from Reunite, he spoke calmly as if stating the truth.
“Even if they committed a crime, it’s too cruel to make them suffer for such a long time.”
Nellia hugged the pillow and chuckled.
At that moment, a maid knocked on the door, announcing that the meal was ready. Nellia, who had already risen from the bed, prepared to go to the dining room.
On the other hand, Reunite was still lying on the bed, gazing at the ceiling.
He murmured in a small voice, “…It’s been a very long time.”
As they descended to the dining room, a luxurious feast awaited them on the table.
Contrary to the somewhat subdued atmosphere just moments ago, Reunite, appearing almost like a different person, eagerly sat at the table.
“There’s no specific arrangement, but eat as much as you want.”
There was no arrangement… Nellia greeted the smiling Duchess and picked up the fork and knife.
While marveling at the bountiful table, Reunite’s voice echoed with admiration.
“Wow, this bread is incredibly delicious!”
Reunite, holding a brioche that appeared as an appetizer, opened his eyes wide with excitement.
Normally, when Reunite ate something delicious, he would act as if he had awakened after thousands of years, saying, “Back in my time, there were no such gourmet dishes.” However, this time, his reaction was particularly intense.
However, as soon as Nellia took a bite of the brioche, she understood why Reunite was so excited.
‘It’s incredibly delicious…!’
As Nellia blinked, looking at the soft brioche in front of her, the Duchess explained with a hearty smile.
“The wheat from Duke Hart’s territory is of excellent quality. The soil is soft, and the weather is mild throughout the year, which not only ensures a good harvest but also produces excellent seeds.”
Just as good rice makes delicious rice, it seemed that excellent wheat produced such fantastic bread.
“Yes, it’s really delicious. I’ve never had brioche this tasty before.”
In response to Nellia’s words, the Duchess spoke with a pleased expression.
“That’s why we celebrate a grand Thanksgiving every year. Come to think of it, tomorrow is that Thanksgiving. We’ll have a big festival in the evening, and it would be great if everyone went together.”
A festival…!
Nellia had never attended a festival in this life, and not even in her past lives.
However, Nellia, who was momentarily delighted, soon realized the reason for being here. It wasn’t a time to casually attend a festival.
‘Now, the lunar eclipse is only a few days away.’
So, while she was here, she needed to find out everything she could.
Although she couldn’t read the book in the basement due to a different language, there might be other hidden spaces to explore.
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Surprisingly, it was Duke Hart who agreed with the Duchess’s words. When Nellia looked at him with a surprised face, he gave a faint smile.
“After all, the festival starts in the evening. We’ve come this far; I guess it won’t matter much.”
“Still…”
“Wow, a festival!”
It was Reunite who interrupted Nellia’s words. Reunite stood up abruptly from his chair.
“I love it, Duke! I really wanted to go to the festival!”
No, how does a dragon even know about festivals… Did he learn it from the many books he’s been reading lately?
The Duke looked at Reunite, closed his eyes, and spoke in an affectionate tone.
“Then let’s all go together.”
“That’s great.”
The Duchess looked at the delighted Reunite, raising the corners of her mouth.
The atmosphere already seemed to lean towards going to the festival.
Nellia also quietly let go of her initial resistance. Nellia’s heart was secretly excited at the thought of going to the festival.
‘A festival…!’
On top of that, it felt like the delicious brioche had become even more delicious.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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