Carlos didn’t respond immediately and scanned the surroundings. He had always been an arrogant and selfcentered person since I’d known him.
I guess it qualifies him as a male lead because he shows a warm side only to my girl, right?
Carlos’s gaze landed on Nelia, who was slightly peeking out from the stairs above.
Nelia was momentarily taken aback, but thankfully, Carlos quickly turned his head away.
“The Duke hasn’t been frequenting the palace recently, so I came to visit myself.”
It was a suspicious reason. Surely, Duke Hart would have felt the same.
“I recently hurt my foot and asked for permission to work from home.”
“I heard about that.”
Carlos’s indifferent gaze went to Duke Hart’s foot.
“It seems perfectly fine though…”
“Not all pains show on the surface.”
Duke Hart responded with a faint smile.
“Come in, Your Majesty. You came all this way, I should at least offer you a cup of tea.”
Stepping back, Duke Hart led Carlos inside.
“Ton, bring tea to the reception room.”
Carlos waved his hand lightly.
“I’d like to go to where the Duke works, not the reception room.”
“…”
The corners of Duke Hart’s eyes hardened slightly.
Observing him closely for a few days, I could quickly catch his emotional changes.
It was a subtle change in expression, but I felt that Duke Hart didn’t welcome Carlos’s request.
“It’s not a difficult thing, you can do it, right?”
“Of course.”
Duke Hart was adept at hiding his emotions.
Even though he clearly didn’t like the request, his calm response was impressive.
“Ton, bring the tea to the study.”
“Yes, understood.”
Nelia quickly climbed up before the two men started up the stairs.
Nelia swiftly took her place. Soon, the Duke and Carlos entered the study.
Carlos’s gaze was once again on her.
“Who’s that woman?”
“She’s my maid. She helps with simple tasks.”
Upon Duke Hart’s explanation, Carlos chuckled.
“She seems familiar.”
That’s because… we’re acquainted.
Nelia remembered the incident when she dropped her necklace.
Thanks to Duke Hart, she avoided the event that day, but Carlos might still suspect the real culprit who dropped the necklace.
Thinking so made her mouth feel bitter.
“You probably recognize her from the party.”
“Oh, that lady.”
Carlos feigned recognition dramatically.
“What a coincidence, Duke Hart? The lady I saw that day turned out to be the Duke’s maid.”
His tone was sharp. It seemed like he was digging up the past.
“Nelia was recently hired. I injured my foot and have trouble moving, and my servant happened to go back to his hometown.”
As the maid placed a tray with a teacup and a teapot and left, Duke Hart explained while pouring the tea.
Carlos, who had been continually looking at Nelia, withdrew his gaze and asked.
“Were you and that lady acquainted before?”
“No, we happened to meet by chance.”
Their tones were both calm without any rough edges, but the atmosphere was chilly for some reason.
Carlos, trying to find something strange, and Duke Hart, not showing a single gap.
It was like a fight between a spear and a shield.
As Duke Hart handed over the teacup, Carlos took it without a word of thanks.
Carlos, who had taken a sip of tea, slowly opened his mouth.
“Talking about the day the necklace was dropped.”
Carlos withdrew his interest in Nelia and brought up another topic.
“I went to check the record device of the exhibition hall that day, just in case, but it happened to be broken.”
“What a shame.”
Duke Hart had a surprised look on his face.
Nelia was equally surprised.
I didn’t think of it that day because I was so preoccupied, but if the record device hadn’t been broken, Leighton would have been caught as the culprit.
Carlos held the cup in his hand as if cooling down the car, staring into its calm surface.
“It’s strange……. Why do unusual coincidences only happen to the Duke?”
Carlos’s eyes, which had been looking down at the tea, turned towards the Duke. Duke Hart put down his tea cup.
“Only God can explain coincidences.”
Despite Carlos’s sharp attitude, Duke Hart was as composed as if dealing with a child.
“Well, I have no intention of holding onto the past. The necklace is perfectly restored too.”
“Thank you for generously understanding my mistake.”
Duke Hart smiled softly.
On the other hand, Nelia felt guilty seeing an innocent person apologizing, and had no choice but to bow her head deeply.
Damn Leighton…….
“Your name was Nelia, right?”
“Yes……? Yes.”
When Carlos suddenly called her, Nelia’s head shot up.
“Come and sit here.”
Nelia blinked her eyes like a fool.
‘Drink tea together……?’
Even though there was no class distinction, it was a bit unusual. A maid herself intruding on the conversation between the Crown Prince and the Duke.
In the moment Nelia was taken aback, Duke Hart answered on her behalf.
“Your Highness, Nelia has a lot of tasks to take care of. Please understand…….”
“Are you so busy that you have to refuse my proposal?”
Carlos cut off Duke Hart’s words.
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.
Link to read
