The sudden sound of the baby crying startled me as well.
If the baby hadn’t cried, I would have recited the spell and bound the man.
“Waaaah, waaaah.”
The baby must have woken up sooner than usual. It seemed like they didn’t fall into a deep sleep and woke up almost immediately.
“Excuse me, just a moment. The baby is crying.”
I stood up, seeking his understanding, not that I genuinely hoped for it.
The baby’s crying sounded unusually distressed, as if startled by something. In my rush up the stairs, I didn’t notice the bewilderment and shock that colored the man’s face.
Reaching the upstairs bedroom, I opened the wooden door to find the baby turning towards me with a red face.
“Waaaah!”
The baby, recognizing me, burst into even more sorrowful crying and stretched out chubby maple-leaf hands. It was a clear plea to be held.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay. Don’t cry. Stop. Shush.”
“Waaaah. Waaah. Mama.”
It seemed the baby was quite startled to wake up and not see me. Pushing aside the pillows meant to prevent rolling off the bed, the baby sat in the middle, looking pitifully at me.
I picked up the baby and looked down at their tear-streaked face.
“Shh. It’s alright. Stop.”
“Mama. Mama.”
“Uh…?”
And then, staring at the man’s face all this while, I finally recognized the source of the déjà vu I’d been feeling. It was in the baby’s eyes.
Deep ocean-blue eyes. The same eyes as the man sitting downstairs.
One of the empire’s four great noble houses, the Duchy of Schwaben.
It was just two months ago that the young Duke of Schwaben, who had taken over the title less than ten years ago, was found dead, his body cold.
The cause of death was determined to be shock from acute drug poisoning. It was murder by poisoning.
Given the stature of the title, the royal court immediately assembled an investigative team. The case was too significant for the Schwaben family name to be left solely to the capital’s police.
Being from a prestigious family, the Duke died without leaving an heir. His father and grandfather were both only children, making the search for a successor to inherit the title and wealth a significant issue.
The imperial investigative team split into two groups, each with its own mission.
The first group was to find the murderer of the Duke, and the second was to find a successor to inherit his title, with Duke Albrecht appointed as the overall head of the investigation.
Known for his intelligence and unshakeable composure, he was expected to swiftly solve the Duke of Schwaben’s murder case.
Immediately upon receiving his new mission, Karl headed to the Schwaben estate. Despite the vastness of the dukedom, the mansion itself was surprisingly modest.
‘The first principle in suspecting a murderer is to find who benefits the most from the person’s death.’
Karl ordered his agents to find who would gain the most from the Duke’s death. Ironically, this overlapped with the second team’s mission.
The one who stood to gain the most from the Duke’s demise would be his successor. In other words, the person who would benefit the most was the heir to the Duke’s estate.
“The Countess of Louizet.”
“What?”
“Her full name is Celeste Aisha Louizet. She recently inherited the title of Countess.”
When Karl first heard Celeste’s name from his agents, he doubted his ears.
He had never imagined that she and the Schwaben family would be connected in such a manner.
The unexpected mention of her name left Karl reminiscing about a night two years ago, momentarily at a loss for words.
“But Countess Louizet has been missing for several months. No one in the capital has seen her.”
“From now on, Alpha Team will join me in immediately tracking down Countess Louizet. Beta Team, continue your efforts to identify other suspects.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
After about a month, Karl successfully tracked down Celeste’s whereabouts.
In fact, for the past two years, he had been making efforts to meet her. However, since Celeste rarely left her family’s estate, it had been difficult.
Moreover, her sudden disappearance a few months ago had left him in a quandary.
Lacking the freedom to use his resources openly due to prying eyes, Karl faced difficulties. However, an unexpected source led him to her.
“Celeste…”
The last trace of Celeste was found in the southern grain-producing region. This area was a hub for transportation throughout the south.
Intuitively sensing that Celeste was hiding in the south, Karl hesitated not and immediately headed there.
He did not know why she suddenly left the capital to hide, but he needed to meet her. There were things he wanted to ask her.
“There’s no one here, Your Grace.”
Karl had tracked down every estate owned by the Louizet family in the south but found no sign of Celeste. As he visited an increasing number of estates, his agents began to tire.
Finally, in the small village of Urentum, located at the very end of the south, Karl found traces of Celeste’s life.
Urentum was so small that the private lives of its residents were an open book to their neighbors, which, to the investigation team, was an advantage.
The villagers of Urentum readily shared everything they knew about a violet-haired woman who appeared about six months ago, even things Karl hadn’t asked about.
In fact, the description of a beautiful woman with long purple hair was all he needed to hear. Violet hair was almost a symbol of the Louizet family.
“At last, I’ve found you, Lady Celeste.”
Gazing at the two-story log cabin she was said to be staying in, Karl was wrapped in a mix of tension and an indescribable emotion for a while.
Concerned that Celeste would be alarmed by strangers, he left his agents and approached her abode alone.
It was a reunion after two years.
How should he start the conversation upon seeing her? While Karl pondered various scenarios, his face hardened at the sound of rushing footsteps towards the door.
But…
“Oh, hold the baby properly!”
His meticulously imagined reunion scenarios did not include being scolded the moment he met her.
“How… how am I supposed to…”
He had come alone to converse with her. Yet, there was someone else besides Celeste in the house.
“Waaaah, aaah, mama, mamama.”
Celeste went upstairs at the sound of crying and returned holding a baby, its face red with tears.
What was this situation? As he stood dumbfounded, Celeste approached him, handed the baby over, and asked him to hold it for a moment.
Karl’s posture was awkward and rigid.
Struggling in his stiff embrace, the baby kicked and squirmed. It was a maddening situation.
The powerful Karl Albrecht, second in line to the Emperor, was here in this humble country cottage, reduced to pacifying a child.
“Really, can’t you even look after the baby for a brief moment while I warm the milk?”
Celeste filled the teapot with water, placed it on the stove, and walked back towards him with heavy steps.
“Here, little one. Eat this in the meantime.”
She handed a freshly sliced apple to the baby, who, having ceased its tears, started munching on it contentedly.
“He usually sleeps deeply after his nap. Maybe he didn’t have enough milk.”
Celeste provided an unsolicited explanation about the baby.
The piercing noise that had been ringing in his ears subsided, allowing Karl to finally think clearly. He alternated his gaze between Celeste and the baby sucking on the apple in his arms, with a serious expression on his face.
Celeste and a child? What an unexpected combination.
“Could you check the diaper? I’m not sure if he’s done a number two.”
“Ah… what?”
Surely, the ‘number two’ Celeste mentioned couldn’t be what he was thinking.
No, it couldn’t be.
The idea of Karl Albrecht, shining second in the imperial succession, being asked to check a baby’s dirty diaper was inconceivable.
However, Karl momentarily forgot that Celeste was always a woman who surpassed his expectations in the most surprising ways.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
