“Eat up, eat up. When else will we get to taste such a delicacy?”
“Since we’re leaving tomorrow anyway, what’s the harm in us having some?”
They hid in a corner of the kitchen, hurriedly stuffing chocolate cake into their mouths.
“The Second Prince won’t even know it’s gone.”
“That’s because you keep eating it all.”
“Well, that’s true.”
The maids giggled as they quickly maneuvered their forks.
“I wonder where the housekeeper gets these things from.”
“Pretending to be so devoted to the Second Prince. Hilarious.”
“Exactly. And who knew the Second Prince would become a key figure in the palace? The clever housekeeper is now outdated.”
While they giggled and mocked the housekeeper, they were being watched by someone. It was the Second Prince himself. Leaning against the kitchen door, he casually observed their antics before speaking out.
“Tasty, isn’t it? You’re enjoying it.”
The maids gasped in surprise and swallowed their breaths when the Second Prince slowly stood up and glanced indifferently at the chocolate cake they were eating.
He was never particularly interested in food or much else. That’s why he had turned a blind eye to the maids secretly taking his food. But this time was different.
‘Amy likes chocolate cake.’
He remembered Amy’s proud face as she persuaded the royal chef to secretly bring the cake, insisting that he should eat it all even though she clearly wanted some herself.
With an expressionless face, the Second Prince gestured with his chin.
“Go.”
“Excuse me?”
Confused, the maids blinked as the Second Prince frowned.
“You’ve done enough, you can leave now.”
He knew they were spies watching him on someone else’s behalf. The maids stiffened and just moved their eyes.
They had underestimated the young prince, but facing him directly, they felt a chilling presence. His usually gentle demeanor around the housekeeper made this even more jarring.
Turning to leave, the Second Prince suddenly looked back. His golden eyes shone like a wild animal.
“Make sure to say goodbye to the housekeeper.”
Then he swiftly turned and left, creating a gust of wind.
The maids, pale-faced, watched his retreating figure, then looked at each other. They decided to abandon the cake and their spy mission and hurriedly fled the palace.
“That’s why…”
One maid gulped and said,
“Amy, the housekeeper, threatened us with a beating if we didn’t leave immediately…”
Another quickly agreed,
“We already knew we were being spied on.”
The Crown Prince’s obsession with the former housekeeper was well known in the palace. They thought blaming her would save them.
“…Amy sure is quick-witted.”
As expected, the Crown Prince frowned but did not reprimand them further. The maids secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Someone watched them with displeasure. A maid standing at the end of the line of servants. With common brown hair, frightened green eyes, freckles on her thin face, her anger soon faded, replaced by longing.
She seemed to hear a soft voice in her ear.
“Sally, always keep a low profile. Especially you, since you’re not very observant. Never stand out, understand?”
Sally’s thin lips tightly pressed together before she murmured a name.
“Amy.”
At that moment, the Crown Prince spoke with an annoyed expression.
“Well, things have come to this. I must go see Mother.”
As he stood up, the servants immediately bowed their heads in unison. The Crown Prince walked past them with brisk steps. Soon after, Sally straightened her back and watched the Crown Prince’s retreating figure with a resentful gaze.
The carriage came to a halt, and Amy stood up, saying,
“Noah, we’re staying here tonight.”
Noah, looking out at the increasingly darkening surroundings, raised an eyebrow.
“Are we still heading north?”
“…….”
Amy, who had been gathering papers from the carriage, was surprised. They had arrived slightly off the main road to the Grand Duke’s domain. She honestly confessed,
“It’s a bit of a detour. There’s something I must take care of here.”
“I see.”
Noah, who had been suspicious if the coachman had other intentions, relaxed his guard a bit. Amy looked at him admiringly.
“How did you notice?”
As they walked to the inn’s entrance, Noah shrugged silently in response to her question. Amy was curious but had more pressing matters to attend to, so she entered the inn, pushing her curiosity aside.
“Welcome!”
The amiable innkeeper rushed out with a broad smile. His eyes busily assessed the worth of his guests.
‘The material of their robes is extraordinary. The luster flows brilliantly, and the clasps… are those black pearls?’
After a quick evaluation, his hands rubbed together more quickly, and his smile deepened.
“Will you have dinner first, or should I prepare your rooms?”
Amy glanced around the interior and calmly replied,
“We have a party of twelve, so let’s start with dinner.”
“Yes, yes!”
The innkeeper dashed into the kitchen. Amy took off her robe and began attending to Noah. Noah, seated, asked in a low voice,
“Who are we meeting here?”
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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