Nelia always wanted to console the Duke, who had always lived trapped in a mask.
“I believe….. there will be someone who will understand even a man who turns into a snake. The world is full of diverse people, isn’t it?”
That was all she could say because she was not good with words, but she meant it. After all, the world is vast and people are many.
‘In fact, even I….’
She was not terribly scared by the fact that the Duke turned into a snake. But accepting such a person as a spouse was a different story.
Nelia had seen many sides of the Duke while staying with him. He was far too gentle and kind to be thought of as a cruel and ruthless villain.
The honesty of his behavior was so palpable that her wariness had faded before she knew it.
Rather, she sometimes thought that the weight of his father’s death and the curse he had to bear were too heavy for him, especially when she saw his lonely face.
To Nelia, the Duke had somehow transformed from a fearsome person into a pitiful one.
Was that why? Even though she didn’t want to get involved with him, she agreed to find out about the curse together.
Of course, he did show his injured foot, but the main reason her heart moved was his dark expression when he confessed about the curse.
The first time she saw his shadowed face, it seemed to reveal the raw honesty hidden deep within him. That shadow made it impossible for her to refuse.
On one hand, she didn’t quite welcome this change in her feelings.
She seemed to worry about him more and more, as if she would be deeply entangled with him.
Then a maid knocked on the door and entered to serve the appetizer.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
It was a dish with cream sauce laid on top of plump shrimp.
‘Well, if I can eat this kind of food every day, I wouldn’t mind having a snake husband, would I?’
Nelia tried hard to erase her confusing thoughts about the Duke and picked up her utensils.
“What about you, Nelia? A husband who turns into a snake.”
Nelia, who was about to cut the sizable shrimp, raised her head and looked at Duke Hart.
“……Pardon?”
“Could you accept a husband who turns into a snake?”
She had just been thinking lightly, ‘If I could eat this delicious food, I wouldn’t mind having a snake husband.’ But seeing the Duke’s rather serious demeanor made her hesitate to answer.
When he asked that question, it was mostly because he wanted to hear something positive. He probably wanted to gain courage.
She didn’t have much thought about a spouse yet, so she didn’t think something like, ‘I absolutely can’t have a husband who turns into a snake!’
Nelia rolled her eyes and replied,
“Well……. as long as he doesn’t stay in the form of a snake all the time…… I think it would be okay.”
Duke Hart looked at her with a bit of surprise.
“……Really?”
Nelia deepened her thoughts at his question of whether it was really true.
“I’d probably be more concerned about other things? Like his personality, wealth, and appearance.”
Her answer was a bit more realistic, but it was closest to her current thoughts.
“What if the conditions were the same as mine?”
A more difficult question was thrown. Nelia frowned and thought carefully.
It was a tricky balance game.
Duke Hart was a good person as a husband candidate, with a kind personality, excellent looks, and tremendous wealth, but he had the disadvantage of turning into a snake.
‘Well……. If it’s the Duke’s conditions, wouldn’t that be enough to cover?’
Just as Nelia was about to come to a positive conclusion, she suddenly stopped the fork she was holding in midair.
There was something that bothered her.
The fact was that the Duke intended to take revenge on the Emperor. In the process of his revenge, he would sacrifice many people.
Even if he appeared kind and affectionate, the perfect husband to her, she could never accept him as her husband, given this fact.
This was a completely separate issue from the Duke’s recent pitiful appearance.
Nelia again slowly moved her fork, skewering a shrimp that lay on her plate.
‘But why ask such a question?’
It seemed as if he was asking how she saw him as a husband.
“Duke, why do you ask such a question?”
“I was curious about what Nelia thinks of me.”
His answer was vague.
Faced with his unfathomable question, Nelia decided to answer honestly.
“Honestly, how can I judge when I haven’t seen much of you, Duke?”
Nelia added with a smirk, looking at the Duke.
“I just like kind people.”
“……”
“People who don’t harm others, or behave wickedly.”
In that sense, the Duke was disqualified as a potential spouse.
“Even if I turn into a snake?”
“Yes. Whether you turn into a snake or a dragon, I don’t mind as long as you’re kind and sincere.”
The Duke seemed thoughtful.
Leaving the Duke to his thoughts, Nelia hurriedly moved the knife and fork she had been holding. The shrimp was growing cold.
Nelia cut the shrimp into a bitesized piece and brought it to her mouth.
‘Delicious!’
A happy smile surfaced on Nelia’s petite face. In contrast, the food on the Duke’s plate hardly decreased.
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.”
