A snake of immense size revealed itself, its massive head scanning the area as if searching for prey.
‘That snake is…’
Nelia realized she recognized the form of the snake.
She had seen that enormous, terrifying snake several times in her dreams.
She had wondered why the Duke appeared not as a small, ordinary snake in her dreams, but as a creature close to a monster. It seemed her dreams had foretold the Duke’s form.
However, Nelia had no time to marvel at the giant snake standing before her in reality.
The snake stared intently at the area, as if about to hunt its prey. It seemed to slither smoothly toward her.
The moment she thought it was over, the snake was flung back into the warehouse.
Creeeeak[Dash]!
A scream from the snake pierced her eardrums.
Looking down, she saw the snake wrapped in chains. One was broken, but another chain still held it fast.
‘That chain, is it the binding gear the mages mentioned…’
According to Layton, the Duke had gone in bound by chains, presumably the binding gear he wore before becoming a snake.
Then Ton approached and spoke.
“That remaining binding gear won’t last long.”
It did look like the binding gear clinging to the Duke’s body would snap soon.
“Most people seem to have evacuated, we should leave too.”
“…Yes.”
She felt uneasy hearing the snake scream in pain, but there was nothing they could do at the moment.
Nelia and Ton hurried toward the main gate.
Just as they were about to leave, the main gate slammed shut with a thud[Dash].
Startled, Nelia looked at Ton. He also seemed perplexed by the current situation.
Ton urgently knocked on the door. However, no sound came from outside.
Given that the mansion was under a magical barrier, no matter how much they knocked, people outside wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“Why did it suddenly shut?”
“I don’t know.”
It’s not like they would lock us in… People outside would surely know that Ton hasn’t escaped yet.
Ignoring her pounding heart, Nelia subtly turned her head.
Only then did she seem to understand why the door had been shut.
The snake had broken the last remaining binding gear.
Given the incredible power it possessed to even break through strong magic, trapping its prey wouldn’t be a difficult task.
“Ton, we can’t keep knocking on the door.”
Nelia pulled at the fabric of Ton’s clothing.
Turning to look back, Ton seemed to grasp the situation.
“…There’s a basement space behind the main building. It’s hard to say it’s safe, but for now, it’s our best bet.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
As Nelia moved cautiously in agreement with him, she asked.
“When will the Duke return to his human form?”
“When the sun rises.”
There was still quite a bit of time until then, but they couldn’t keep running. Hiding somewhere, as Ton suggested, was the best they could do right now.
Nelia calculated the shortest distance to the back of the main building and spoke to Ton.
“On the count of three, we’ll run.”
“Understood.”
One, two, three. She looked at Ton and quietly counted, ready to run when—
Screeeeeech.
A snake screamed, slithering at an unbelievable speed.
The speed was so fast that it could arguably be faster than anything on Earth.
Despite knowing that now was not the time to admire its speed, Nelia was filled with skepticism about this otherworldly being.
Maybe she could afford to think calmly about what this being was because she felt that everything was already over. Standing in front of such a strong and great being, one would inevitably feel utterly insignificant.
It was the same now.
Could she dare to stand up to this menacing monster?
But Ton seemed not to have given up yet.
“Nelia, I will buy us some time… Run to the underground space.”
Ton stepped forward and spoke quietly. Nelia, who had momentarily lost her bearings, snapped back to reality.
“What are you saying…! What will happen to you, Ton?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve served the Hart family my entire life; this was to some extent expected.”
Nelia shook her head.
“Who would expect to die…! I can’t run away and leave you behind!”
“Nelia, I personally owe much to the Duke. Even this is not enough to repay him.”
A faint smile appeared on Ton’s lips.
Nelia resented the situation. Seeing Ton’s roboticlike smile at a moment when death was imminent.
“Above all, if you get hurt or die because of the Duke… he won’t be able to live normally.”
Upon hearing this, Nelia’s heart sank.
‘If someone precious gets hurt because of him, he would feel a tremendous sense of guilt…’
That’s why Nelia couldn’t run away. Ton, who had protected him all his life, was also among those precious to the Duke.
“Ton, I can’t run away alone either.”
A resigned sigh came from Ton at Nelia’s resolute voice.
He no longer tried to persuade her. Probably because he knew he couldn’t.
“What shall we do now?”
“I’ll… try petting its head. It turned back into a human when I did that as a snake.”
Ton, who was watching the snake, turned his head. He was clearly displeased with the plan.
“That’s suicidal. The Duke is not that little snake now.”
“We won’t know unless we try.”
Normally, when the Duke turned into a snake, he would revert back to human form when petted on the head.
She hadn’t had a chance to touch his smooth scales recently, but nonetheless.
Whether it’s that little snake or this monstrous one, their soul is still Duke Hart’s. Wouldn’t the same method work?
“We can’t run anymore, anyway. We’ll die regardless, so we might as well try something.”
Nelia felt that no matter what, it was worth a shot.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
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