By now, Riley would have come across this article. Even without seeing her face, it was clear what expression she would make. Imagining her awkward appearance made him smile. It felt both pitiful and cute to see her in such a dilemma.
“Why are you laughing like someone who suddenly burst into tears?”
At Sak’s question, Gibben immediately composed himself.
“When did I…”
“…I must have seen it wrong.”
“Go and do your job.”
“Yes.”
Sak discreetly fled the scene.
Left alone, Gibben managed his expression for a moment before lifting the corners of his mouth again.
Ah, I should have seen her struggling face.
“Heard it? Heard it? The Dark City Lord is getting married!”
“Who could be the other party?”
“Isn’t that the woman who was involved in the scandal before? The one whose picture was taken entering Ingsinia together.”
“Oh, the woman who was veiled?”
“Even this time, the identity of the other party hasn’t been revealed. At this point, I wonder who it could be. How remarkable must that woman be for the Dark City Lord to keep her identity hidden?”
“Well… It’s somewhat different from the previous rumors, isn’t it? Until now, the line-up was quite colorful. They were all well-known people that everyone knew.”
Ah, I want to go home.
Within just a few hours, Riley felt like she was rapidly aging.
All students from the Department of Magic gathered in the auditorium to use the high-capacity teleport to Ingsinia, and amid the commotion, everyone was buzzing about Gibben’s marriage rumors.
Perhaps due to being from the Department of Magic, they seemed to be more interested in Gibben, the Dark City Lord, than anyone else.
Too interested, in fact.
“Do you know about this, Riley? Rumor has it that the bride is not from the Blesstige family.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, considering that nobody here knows anyone from the Blesstige family, they seem to have concluded that they are not from the same faction. If influential families were involved in the marriage proposal, it would be impossible to keep it a secret. Don’t you think?”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
“Who could it be? I’m curious.”
“…Why? Why are you curious?”
“Well, isn’t other people’s love stories the most interesting? And, on top of that, the Dark City Lord, who has been avoiding the imperial marriage proposal, is getting married at such a time? A man who even rejected the princess’s proposal? At this point, it’s intriguing. Just how remarkable must this woman be for the Dark City Lord, who turned down the imperial proposal, to decide to get married.”
I see, other people’s love stories are interesting.
Riley awkwardly lifted the corners of her mouth. The reaction was more significant than expected, and Riley squirmed, glancing around. The attention directed toward her made her stomach churn, and she felt nauseous.
If the fact that she and Gibben were getting married became known, the peaceful and quiet life she was currently leading would surely be shattered.
Would she be able to focus on her studies? Would she be harassed by the quiet Blesstige students again?
Unlike Gibben, who had lived off public attention all his life, Riley had no immunity to such widespread interest. It was a feeling of unease that twisted her insides.
Moreover, she didn’t feel good about deceiving Hila.
Should she tell Hila in advance… But thinking about it, it hadn’t even been a month since they met, and she wasn’t sure if Hila would believe her. She might treat her like a crazy person and distance herself. Then she would become a perfect loner.
“But, even if we don’t know who it is, it’ll be quite a struggle.”
“…Why?”
“Well… the Dark City Lord’s private life is a bit chaotic.”
“…”
“From the beginning, there were countless rumors about his private life.”
That was true.
Of course, among them, Gibben claimed that most were false. Even so, the truthful “this one” would still not be a small number, and the truth would not be completely negligible.
“Well, to put it nicely, he’s a free spirit, but to put it bluntly, he’s a bit of a troublemaker… That’s how it is. Honestly, I feel a bit uneasy. If my husband is constantly entangled in scandals with other women, it would make me hesitant. Just thinking about it, isn’t it tiring?”
Riley was about to retort in response to Hila’s words, but she closed her mouth.
“…He’s a good person, though.”
“I don’t mean anything bad towards the Dark City Lord. It’s just… it would be challenging to live as his wife as a woman. Can just anyone endure the position where you inevitably become the sacrifice of gossip?”
Thinking back to when the scandal about the engagement broke, it was indeed challenging.
Even though Riley herself hadn’t uttered a single word, just witnessing Gibben’s name being mentioned incessantly all day long made her consider how overwhelming the numerous curious gazes and attention must be.
Not anyone could endure it. It would undoubtedly not be easy.
“Moreover, how considerate was Princess Nine towards the Dark City Lord…?”
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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