Nelia was naturally part of this decision.
Duke Hart recalled the conversation he had with Nelia in the morning.
“Of course, I wish to continue this relationship. To marry and become a couple.”
“Ah, marriage and becoming a couple… yes?”
Nelia was greatly flustered by the mention of marriage.
Having spent the night as if entranced, she was naturally unprepared.
The talk of marriage was half in jest, half serious.
Nelia needed time to ponder, was the reply that came back. Duke Hart was thankful that she didn’t outright refuse on the spot.
She may not realize it, but Nelia is a very tender person. She can’t ignore someone pitiable.
That’s why he hesitated to propose seriously. He worried she might accept out of pity.
Though he wanted to keep her by his side, even if it was for the wrong reasons, Nelia would wilt quickly. He too would grow increasingly distressed watching her.
Proposing under such circumstances would be foolish.
That’s why he wanted to propose confidently when he himself had no flaws, when Nelia felt no pity for him.
Therefore, the curse must be lifted.
He had never considered or tried lifting the curse before, but now he was serious. Hope arose that if he lifted the curse, they could live a normal life like everyone else.
Revenge on his father, as his mother suggested, was not yet something he could give up…
If he spent a cozy and warm daytoday life with Nelia, might he not grow indifferent to revenge?
He vaguely harbored such hopes.
Just then, the Duchess’s worried voice was heard.
“Is there a way?”
The Duke folded his deepening thoughts and nodded.
“Siegfried’s heart.”
The Duchess looked dumbfounded for a moment but soon regained her composure and asked.
“You believe… in that legend?”
“Mother, Siegfried’s heart really exists.”
Siegfried’s heart.
Before dying, Siegfried hid his heart, claiming it would grant the finder’s wishes.
His interest in it was not originally to lift the curse. He had learned of it only because the Emperor often spoke of it.
But as he researched, it seemed the absurd legend might be true.
Not only in his own kingdom but in neighboring countries as well, they were seriously looking for the heart. No one had found it yet, of course.
So, there was still a chance for him.
Being near the Emperor gave him access to valuable information that could not be obtained elsewhere. The Emperor was desperate to find the heart.
Combining all that information would narrow down the heart’s location.
“Well… if the curse can be lifted, it’s worth pinning hopes anywhere.”
The Duchess still seemed not to believe in Siegfried’s heart.
But that didn’t matter to Duke Hart.
He was confident he would find Siegfried’s heart.
No, he had to.
Because that was the only way to lift this damned curse.
(This is a time marker.)
That evening, Nelia met with the Duchess again for dinner and chatted about various matters.
The Duchess, being the sole Duchess of the Empire, had a preconception of being overly refined and haughty.
But as it turned out, like when they talked during the day, she was an exceedingly courteous and polite person.
She had worried that the Duchess might be like the frightening mothers of male protagonists in morning dramas.
“Nelia, it was really nice to meet you, though it was brief.”
Contrary to expectations that she would stay for at least a week after meeting her son, the Duchess returned to her duchy the very next day.
The relationship between Duke Hart and the Duchess was drier than expected. He had roughly guessed as much, seeing how Duke Hart rarely talked about his mother, but what was surprising was the Duchess’s side.
Duke Hart, despite being an only child, had a rather informal manner. So, it felt as though the two had an incredibly close and comfortable relationship, but there were times when it oddly felt awkward.
Nelia thought it was just because she hadn’t seen him in so long and brushed it off.
“Whenever you feel bothered by our Silian, feel free to send a letter. I’ll give him a stern talkingto.”
He was, nonetheless, someone who cheered you up when you talked to him.
Nelia smiled lightly.
“Yes, I will.”
The Duchess offered a warm smile before turning her head to Duke Hart.
“Silian, get along with Miss Nelia.”
“There’s no need to worry.”
It was a brief exchange.
The Duchess climbed into the carriage.
On another note, the carriage looked really large and nice. It even had more horses than the average carriage. Somehow, it felt like it would get to its destination comfortably and quickly.
As the carriage left, Duke Hart’s hand rested on Nelia’s shoulder. It was as if he was enveloping her shoulder.
“Nelia, shall we go inside?”
Turning around, she saw the Duke smiling warmly. Nelia replied softly.
“Yes…”
Now that they were alone, tension filled the air.
“There are conversations we haven’t had because of my mother, remember?”
Apparently, the Duke hadn’t forgotten either.
Nelia knew that once the Duchess returned to the duke’s residence, the Duke would bring up the topic of marriage properly.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
