Nelia pondered why she had been so elusive about marriage. She suspected it might be for the sake of some greater purpose in preparation.
As she thought, her disconcerted feelings quickly dissipated.
Once again, she was reminded that the world Duke Hart lived in was far from ordinary.
Duke Hart had even tried to kill the Emperor. In the end, he would cross swords with the Crown Prince.
‘Why is the Duke so obsessed with revenge?’
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand his sorrow, but living a life focused on killing one’s enemies was a dark and miserable existence.
At least, that’s what Nelia thought.
‘Such a foolish Duke.’
Nelia forced a frown from his face, and miraculously, the Duke stopped his mumbling. His expression soon relaxed.
Relieved, Nelia straightened her body and lay down again.
For a moment, Nelia pondered what she would say if the Duke earnestly proposed to her.
It didn’t take long to come to a conclusion.
The Duke was not someone she could handle. How could she accept someone who lived for the purpose of killing as a spouse?
She felt pity for the Duke and wanted to dissuade him from his quest for revenge, but it would be difficult unless he brought it up first.
Nelia closed her eyes.
‘I don’t know.’
Whether the Duke would listen to her dissuasion or how long their relationship would last in this way.
(This is a time separator.)
Nelia had a dream that night.
Again, a large snake appeared in the dream. The snake was none other than Duke Hart.
The Duke was just a small snake, yet he appeared as a terrifying being in her dream for some reason.
Moreover, this time Duke Hart tried to eat her.
Panicked, she fled, but her steps were sluggish.
Looking down at her feet, she saw tiny paws. It wasn’t human feet at first glance.
‘Huh…?’
Her hands were small too. Her body was also covered in fur.
‘What is this!’
A shocked Nelia felt her face.
A snout protruded slightly, and her ears stood straight up. She even had a bushy tail.
Nelia took refuge near a pond and looked down at the water surface. A tiny face reflected back. She had transformed into a squirrel.
‘So… is that why the Duke is trying to catch me?’
Nelia was scared.
Sometimes when she was in front of him, she felt like a small animal in front of a predator, but it had only been a feeling.
But now, she was truly a small animal in front of a predator.
As if discovering the scampering squirrel, the giant snake was soon getting closer.
Duke Hart looked down at Nelia with terrifying eyes.
‘Duke, it’s me…!’
Please. Nelia appealed earnestly, but she couldn’t be sure if a snake and a squirrel could understand each other.
The snake opened its mouth wide.
…Evidently, her earnest appeal had not been heard.
As the Duke’s approaching mouth came into view, Nelia clenched her eyes shut.
But then,
‘Huh…?’
The snake was licking her.
Her fur got as soaked as if it had been rained upon.
Confused, Nelia found his action gradually becoming ticklish.
Smooch. As if actually kissing.
Soft sensations were felt all over her face.
Nelia, who had awoken from the terrifying dream, gently opened her eyes. And she was taken aback by the silvery irises right in front of her.
“Duke…!”
Duke, who was kissing her cheek, closed his eyes and smiled.
“Nelia, you’re awake.”
As if it’s normal to ask if she’s awake after kissing her face. Nelia pushed away the overly close Duke and spoke.
“W, what are you doing right now…!”
The Duke withdrew with a regretful expression.
“It’s your fault, Nelia. You’re too adorable this morning.”
Nelia was speechless, her lips just flapping. Why did he seem even more shameless now…?
And a question mark popped in her head.
‘Does he really like me…?’
Unlikely as it was, how could I bring myself to say such awkward words?
I couldn’t muster the courage to ask, “Duke, do you like me?”
I was afraid of his answer.
If he said yes, I would be confused; if he said no, I would feel bad. Either way, it would imply we had spent the night together without any feelings involved.
It was a question with nothing to gain.
Right. Nelia gave up on asking.
If the Duke seriously confessed his feelings someday, I could consider it then. But not now.
“Thanks to Nelia, I slept very well.”
The Duke’s cheerful voice reached my ears. Observing him stretch, he looked genuinely wellrested.
“I did have a nightmare briefly, but I quickly got out of it.”
Nelia looked at the Duke in awe. Could it be true that his good sleep was because she was next to him?
For a moment, she entertained the ridiculous thought that she might have some unknown ability to improve sleep. Then she abruptly stopped herself.
Because she realized he hadn’t transformed into a snake even once yesterday.
“Duke, did you by any chance take any medicine while I briefly stepped out of the room?”
The Duke blinked and then nodded.
“Yes… now that you mention it.”
An emotional Nelia grabbed the Duke’s hand.
“Wow…! You didn’t turn into a snake!”
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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