“Waaah!”
Valerie’s cries merged with the noises of the knights bustling about to treat Carl’s wounds, creating an unbearable din. It was natural for the child’s anxiety to intensify in such chaos.
“There, there, it’s okay. Shh, I’m right here. Easy…”
“I’ll take care of Valerie, milady. Are you injured?”
“No, I’m fine, Hanna.”
Carl had shielded me with his body.
Coincidentally, Carl had assumed the role of my shield. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, I was too disoriented to notice anything strange, but upon reflection at the police station, Carl’s behavior struck me as peculiar.
‘If Celeste is the mother and that man is the father.’
It implied a certain relationship between them. But when? How? And more importantly… why?
Was there truly a romantic relationship between Celeste and Carl? If so, it made sense why he risked his life to save me. The male protagonist in the novel would go to any length for his beloved.
The now transparent potion still haunted me. Witnessing a truth unknown to anyone was overwhelming. Too much information was pouring in all at once, and I had to bear it all alone!
Squinting as much as possible, I scrutinized Carl’s entire figure. Narrowing the field of vision sometimes helps to see the target more clearly.
His neatly tailored uniform lost its original color due to the explosion debris, and the shoulder area was a mess with mixed blood and ash.
But the protagonist’s charm was indeed formidable. Even covered in ash, he resembled a shining statue, almost like a movie character with special effects. Neither bloodstains nor ashes could mar his appearance.
So, this man is the baby’s father. The female protagonist went off somewhere else to have a child, huh…
After scrutinizing him for a while, one ridiculous thought crossed my mind,
Even with ash-covered hair and a messy appearance, Carl Ludwig Johann Albrecht was undeniably handsome.
Considering Celeste’s extreme emphasis on physical appearance, such handsomeness could have indeed sparked a love that didn’t exist before.
Could there have been a peculiar chemistry between them due to Celeste’s intense pursuit?
“…I’m not sure if that was true love.”
“Pardon? What did you say, milady?”
“Oh, nothing. Are you really okay?”
Hanna, who said she raised nine younger siblings, seemed genuinely adept at it. While in my arms, Valerie refused to calm down, but as soon as Hanna held her, she stopped crying.
With the child’s cries gone, my mind began to clear.
Yes. Celeste must have first fallen for Carl Albrecht’s striking looks. Wasn’t that the case in the original story?
Although Celeste had a boyfriend named Franz, she often tried to seduce the male protagonist, Carl, only to be rejected.
But if that was the case for Celeste, what about Carl…? No matter how much I speculated, I couldn’t find a reason for Carl to fall for Celeste. He was portrayed in the story as someone who never frivolously succumbed to a woman’s physical appearance.
Which meant, while Celeste could have been enamored by Carl’s looks, it was unlikely the same for him.
Sitting there, I glanced at the mirror on the opposite wall. Reflected was a beautiful woman with intriguing purple hair, a beauty that could captivate any man, befitting Celeste’s reputation.
Her face was small enough to be covered with one hand, with unusually large eyes. The elegant curve from her high nose bridge to the tip was as delicate as a fairy’s.
Even without any makeup, her naturally rosy lips sparkled, rumored to invite kisses. Indeed, they were so beautiful, one could never forget them once seen.
It feels odd to say this myself, but it’s the truth. Celeste was characterized as the most beautiful woman in this world.
Yet, Carl values a person’s inner qualities more than their outward appearance. He’s not someone to fall for Celeste’s beauty trap.
Could he have fallen for her inner qualities? That seems unlikely. After I inhabited Celeste’s body, maybe, but the original Celeste could almost be considered morally bankrupt.
‘I really don’t understand.’
The potion wouldn’t lie. The fact that a child exists means they were intimately involved, making the baby a decisive proof of their physical relationship.
His hand must have touched hers, his lips must have met Celeste’s…
“Louise, Countess.”
“Yes, yes?”
Carl suddenly turned his head to look at me. I felt caught off-guard, like a child sneaking a glance at someone’s side profile.
Even though he didn’t know what I was thinking, my face flushed as if he had read my mind.
“The explosion earlier…”
“Copperfield, the chief of the Urentum police station, at your service!”
Fortunately, my embarrassment was interrupted as a middle-aged man with grizzled hair burst into the station. His loud introduction drew everyone’s attention.
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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