“You’ll understand what I mean later. You don’t need to do anything special to become a disciple. Even if you try, he’s unlikely to accept it easily.”

“Then what am I supposed to do… Forget it, just tell me one of his weaknesses. I won’t say I heard it from you.”

“There’s a much simpler way.”

“And what would that be?”

“To persuade a traveler to remove his cloak, the sun is better than the wind. Compassion is the only way to melt his hardened heart.”

Baron smiled meaningfully. Cordelia was about to question the feasibility of evoking sympathy from such a cold-hearted man.

“Miss Abrams.”

A sudden voice from behind interrupted their conversation. Cordelia awkwardly turned around.

“Hmm?”

“Have you been here?”

The stableman in charge had arrived. Cordelia glanced sideways, hiding the water trough with her back. Luckily, Baron was already gone.

“Ah, yes. I was just taking care of Roti.”

“The dog? But…”

The stableman frowned at the sight of the mongrel in the Earl’s stable, obviously disapproving.

“What’s your name?”

“Peter, Miss Abrams.”

“Peter. Roti is my favorite dog in this castle. He resembles a hunting dog my father kept when I was young.”

“Is that so?”

Peter looked bewildered by her unexpected explanation.

“So, if I ever find out that you’ve kicked or mistreated Roti in my absence, I might just have you thrown out of the castle.”
Though she spoke kindly and tenderly, the warning in her words was blatant. The servant immediately bowed and apologized, which Cordelia graciously forgave, true to her benevolent nature.

“So, Peter. What brings you here?”

“Oh, the Lady of the house is looking for you.”

“Of course.”

She had hoped it might be Leonard, but as expected, it wasn’t. Disappointed, Cordelia left the stable, not bothering to hide her feelings.

Even after meeting with Baron, Leonard’s attitude remained unchanged, if not more brusque. But Cordelia treated him with even more kindness and grace.

“Is today’s food to your liking?”
“Shall I open the window a bit more?”
“Any letters you need to send?”

Gradually, Leonard seemed to grow accustomed to her presence.

“Lily is arriving now?”

“Yes. She’s just passing through the outer castle now.”

Cordelia’s composure cracked at this unexpected news. She thought Lily wouldn’t arrive until next week.

“Happy news.”

“Ugh. The maids are all gloomy. She’s likely to stay for a while and will probably be quite demanding.”

As Emily grumbled, Cordelia responded with an ambiguous smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Walking down the corridor, she noticed Helena’s back. Unusually, her step seemed light, probably because she was going to meet her only daughter. Cordelia quietly followed her.

“Mother!”

“Lily. Let me look at you. Oh my, you’ve slimmed down. You should visit more often. How many months has it been?”

The mother and daughter engaged in warm conversation, enjoying each other’s company. It was only after passing through the gate that Lily noticed Cordelia.

Cordelia offered a greeting first.

“Welcome, Lily.”

“Your husband lies ill in bed, and you’ve gained weight quite comfortably.”

“…”

“Fortunate, aren’t you? If Craig had worsened, you might have been completely thrown out.”

“…”

“Ah, disgusting. I knew we should never have accepted you into this family.”

Dealing with Helena would have been preferable.

At least Helena ignored Cordelia as if she didn’t exist, not snarling at her every time their eyes met.

Responding would only exhaust her physically and mentally. She endured the insults with practiced resilience.

‘It’s okay, it’s nothing. Just bending a bit for the future.’

Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.

The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…

Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.

Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.

The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”

When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…

The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced