Cordelia calmed her startled heart and cautiously approached the entity.
“Who, who are you?”
“My apologies for the late introduction. Greetings, I am Baron Langsha.”
The entity, still uncertain if it was human, bowed politely in greeting. Cordelia, with a mix of curiosity and fear, responded.
“Baron Langsha?”
“I am Leonard’s first servant and a symbol of loyalty and unwavering integrity.”
“Leonard? Are you talking about Leonard Atlay?”
“Yes.”
“The same Leonard Atlay who complains about every meal and has no sympathy for women and children?”
“Um, cough… Yes.”
Baron awkwardly cleared his throat and averted his gaze. Cordelia, having confirmed his identity, finally smiled and approached him.
“So, how should I address you?”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Alright, Baron. Are you here because Lord Leonard sent for me?”
“No, Leonard is unaware that I have revealed myself to you, Lady Abrams. But.”
“Call me Cordelia. I don’t like being referred to by that surname.”
Cordelia frowned slightly, prompting Baron to promptly change his address and continue.
“I’ve taken the liberty to appear here to offer you assistance.”
“Assistance for me?”
“To help you become Leonard’s disciple.”
He said this with a meaningful smile and a subtle confidence that he wouldn’t be refused.
“Why?”
Cordelia’s unexpected question briefly silenced him.
“I expected you to ask ‘how’, not ‘why’.”
“Isn’t it normal to first understand the intentions of someone who suddenly offers help to a stranger?”
Her tone was casual, but her point was sharply accurate. Baron was momentarily taken aback, then laughed.
“Now I see why Leonard keeps you close.”
“Keeps me close? Lord Leonard is trying to keep me as far away as possible.”
“You’re alive despite knowing his true identity. That’s quite remarkable.”
Cordelia was momentarily at a loss for words. Leonard’s definition of ‘keeping someone close’ was evidently different from hers.
“So why do you want to help me, Baron? It doesn’t seem like you’re acting with Leonard’s permission.”
“As you know, Leonard is in a very dangerous situation. If Maximilian finds out he’s alive here, he won’t leave him be. Moreover, the state of the Abrams estate is so dismal that it wouldn’t be surprising if his food gets poisoned.”
“I see.”
“In other words, a collaborator here is desperately needed.”
“I’ve thought the same. But seeing you by his side, it seems my help isn’t much needed.”
Cordelia doubted whether she could truly be of any help to Leonard. The only thing she had done for him was throwing a letter in the air.
“I occasionally have to leave Lord Leonard’s side. If you were to poison his food during my absence, I would lose my master a second time.”
“So, you need my help not because it’s beneficial but because you want to ensure I won’t harm Lord Leonard.”
“That would be a more accurate description.”
Baron spoke with a polite but firm tone. Cordelia pouted.
“That’s harsh. Where will you find someone as kind as me?”
“Of course, I’m aware of your kind nature, but having once lost my master due to trusting in human goodwill…”
It makes sense. Leonard was betrayed and killed by his own kin. It’s natural to distrust humans.
“Helping me become a disciple is part of that plan, isn’t it? If I become his disciple, I wouldn’t harm him.”
“You are astute to understand my intentions without needing a separate explanation.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill me?”
“…”
“Killing me would be the cleanest solution to silence me.”
Baron, somewhat reminiscent of Leonard, casually made this chilling suggestion. He licked his lips and spoke frankly.
“That option wasn’t overlooked, but having a trustworthy ally within the Earl’s household seemed a better choice. And I’d prefer to stay out of any trouble until Lord returns to his rightful place.”
“So, are you going to use a weakness of his against me? Blackmail me into becoming a disciple?”
Cordelia’s eyes twinkled sharply as she said the word ‘blackmail’. Baron, a bit flustered, stammered in response.
“Well, not a weakness per se, but rather how to stay by his side longer.”
He spoke as if he was granting her a great favor. Cordelia frowned in response.
“I don’t really want to stay beside that man for long. I just want to learn some magic to become a magical appraiser…”
“No!”
Baron interrupted her, eyes wide with indignation.
“A magical appraiser? Do you plan to take up a profession? Good heavens, if it becomes known that Leonard’s disciple is a magical appraiser, it would tarnish his reputation.”
“Your reaction is just like his. Is that something to be so surprised about?”
“Cordelia, if you officially embrace magic, you’ll understand its significance.”
Baron shook his head and sighed shallowly.
“I’ll help as much as I can. Besides, it seems Lord regards you favorably, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Favorably? Based on what?”
This was truly puzzling. Leonard always seemed irritable, telling her to leave whenever she spoke. What basis did Baron have for such a claim?
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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