“Why is that too much? You know, elder brother. I have no mother, no father, and no close relatives to take care of me. If it weren’t for Duke and Duchess of Elinak, your parents, I would have died miserably wandering the streets or been sold off somewhere. When elder brother Lotus suddenly passed away, I became alone again, and now you’re saying that it’s wrong for me to like you, elder brother.”
Matiel’s brow furrowed deeply.
He rubbed his temples like someone with a headache, then looked down at Edessa again with a cold expression.
“How old were you when my parents brought you to the duke’s family, Edessa? Four? Five? Such a young child, without parents, would indeed have been sold or died as you say. My father fulfilled his duty by taking in a distant relative, and since my elder brother liked you and you followed him, they arranged your engagement. That was entirely your and my brother’s choice, it had nothing to do with me. Now that my brother has passed away, isn’t it too brazen to try to transfer that obligation of choice to me?”
“Oh…”
“I’m not finished speaking. You’re not four or five years old anymore. You’re twenty-five. His Majesty the King has graciously allowed you to stay in the palace considering your convenience and circumstances, and I too, pitying your situation, have given you more than half of my brother’s estate despite you being just a fiancée. That should be enough for you to take care of yourself now.”
Edessa’s red, plump lips pressed tightly together.
Her appearance, with tears falling, looked pitiful enough to make anyone want to embrace her, but it was not enough to move Matiel’s heart.
“You’re really too much.”
“How many times are you going to repeat the same words? I clearly said you’re the one who’s too much. If you bring this up again, I’ll treat you as a complete stranger, so keep that in mind. Out of the bond of growing up together, I’m acting as your elder brother, so if you find someone to marry, I’ll go as far as checking if he’s a decent man. But don’t expect anything more from me. You should know best that it’s out of the question.”
Matiel brushed past the crying Edessa and left the corridor.
A maid embraced Edessa’s shoulders as she sobbed with her face covered, but the sound of crying did not stop easily.
* * *
Charlotte was sitting behind the counter as usual, trimming dried herbs, but she couldn’t quite concentrate.
She kept glancing at the sign turned to ‘Open’, and whenever a long shadow lingered near the door, she craned her neck to look outside.
When the silhouette of a man wearing a silk hat appeared through the glass door, Charlotte abruptly stood up, almost tossing aside the herbs she was tying.
However, the man just walked past the pharmacy. It was even a stranger she had never seen before.
“I think I’m going crazy.”
Charlotte muttered to herself as she slumped back into the chair, completely abandoning the herb trimming work.
Last night, while riding in the carriage of the Duke of Elinak’s family, she had fallen asleep without realizing it.
When the carriage started moving, she thought she might really vomit from the nausea, but it lasted only a moment.
The sound of the smoothly running four-wheeled carriage’s wheels soothed her tense body, and she couldn’t resist the drowsiness.
When the carriage stopped and she suddenly opened her eyes, Charlotte realized she had slept as if she had fainted and blushed.
Moreover, seeing the large jacket covering her body made her feel even more embarrassed.
Matiel, who had taken off his jacket for her, was sitting with his arms crossed, wearing only a vest and shirt, with his eyes closed.
Matiel’s voice, as he opened his eyes, was husky and low.
He alternately looked at Charlotte, who was holding his jacket with a bewildered expression, and out the window, then said,
At those words, Charlotte felt her jumbled thoughts suddenly fall into place.
She handed the jacket back to him, almost throwing it into his arms, and jumped out of the carriage.
At that, a faint smile appeared on Matiel’s lips, and then the carriage door closed with a thud.
After that, the carriage smoothly exited the narrow alley as if without any lingering attachment.
Charlotte, as if enchanted, opened the door of the pharmacy, went upstairs, and collapsed onto the bed.
The scent that had permeated Matiel’s jacket was now coming from her own body.
Along with a faint musk smell, there were also scents of palmarosa and high-quality prunella. There was also a smell like good firewood slightly charred by clean flames.
Lost in thought, Charlotte suddenly lifted her sleeve to smell it. It smelled of various herbs and medicinal plants, but of course, the scents she had smelled yesterday were not present.
Feeling a faint disappointment and relief at the same time, she reached out again to the pile of herbs she had abandoned.
No matter how intensely it strikes the senses, fragrance disappears quickly and is therefore ephemeral.
Matiel was the same kind of existence. The longer she thought about it, the more she stood to lose.
When she had made the sixth bundle of herbs, the silver bell on the door jingled loudly.
It was a boy with a pale face, and Charlotte recognized him.
He was a boy who bought oranges, apples, and pears from fruit wholesalers and sold them going around the alleys in the early morning.
Charlotte had occasionally bought pears and plums from him too.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“Um, excuse me. Do you sell, uh, rat poison here?”
Charlotte’s eyebrows drew together.
“Rat poison? You mean poison to kill rats, right? Not medicine to treat sick rats.”
The boy nodded as if it was obvious.
“Poison to kill rats! Um, I need a lot. There are so many rats in our basement, my father and uncle are trying to drive them out now, but…”
“If it’s rat poison, there are separate stores that sell that. Go to a store that sells pest control chemicals. Or go to a hardware store and buy traps.”
Charlotte said, but the boy clenched his teeth and shook his head vigorously.
“We’ve tried everything! We’ve tried everything, but there are too many! We keep driving them out, but they keep coming back! Mom said I should come to Ms. Berrett’s pharmacy. Please, I’m begging you!”
This is maddening, Charlotte thought. On the other hand, she also found it strange.
During rainy seasons or winter, there were times when rat infestations would plague homes through pipes or cracks in walls, but this wasn’t the time for that.
If anything, it would be more likely in forests or streets…
“Please!”
As the boy urged again, Charlotte sighed briefly and waved both hands.
“Alright, alright. But this is an herbal shop. We don’t keep things like rat poison in stock. Do you understand?”
“In… stock? What does that mean?”
“It means we don’t always have it prepared. So I’ll have to make new rat poison, and if it’s as much as you say, enough to kill all the rats swarming in your basement, it won’t be ready until tonight.”
“Tonight? That’s too late…”
Charlotte tapped the counter with a thud.
“I might have a talent for quickly making all sorts of medicines, but I’m not someone who makes rat poison. So, little one, make your choice. Go back and help your father and uncle sweep them out diligently with brooms, or wait until tonight.”
“Ca-can’t I wait here? I don’t want to go home.”
The boy fidgeted, stamping his feet. Charlotte put her hands on her hips, rolled her eyes, and shook her head.
“No. To make the rat poison you’re talking about, I need to go find ingredients, which means I have to leave my post.”
“I, I’m good at calculations! I’ll watch the store, please!”
“Don’t say such nonsense, and write your address here. Then I’ll make the rat poison and bring it to you.”
The boy still hesitated, staring down at the paper.
“You’re not going to write? Fine then.”
“No, no! I’ll write it.”
The boy, holding the pencil, wrote each letter with a trembling hand.
Charlotte waited until the boy finished his clumsy signature and then picked up the paper.
“Alright. Is this Bloz your name? Bloz Treyker.”
The boy said,
“No, that’s my father’s name. My name is Derry Young Bloz. My friends call me Del.”
Charlotte nodded indifferently, then pinned the paper with the address in the center of a cork board.
“Okay, Derry. Now go back home and help your father and uncle. I should be able to make the rat poison and bring it by around 8 o’clock this evening.”
“8 o’clock. Okay. You’ll definitely come by then, right?”
“Yes, yes. Now go. I’ll collect the money from your parents later.”
The boy fidgeted with the hem of his sweat-soaked shirt, then left, opening the door with a dejected look on his face.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
