The five days flew by in the blink of an eye. People talked a lot about the Count and Countess’ sudden and prolonged absence, but no one dared to ask them directly about their journey.
“Madam, have a fun trip.”
Emily believed the Count and Countess were leaving for a sweet reason. She packed Cordelia’s luggage enthusiastically with a contented smile.
“I made sure to pack only what’s necessary since you’re going alone without any maids. Don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Emily.”
Cordelia, with bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep due to the increased amount of homework, bid farewell to her servants. The Count’s entourage was surprisingly small. The coachman was someone she had never seen before, and the only knight escorting them was the recently knighted Belucci Ingrian.
“Please get in, Madam.”
“Thank you, Baron.”
Baron, disguised as the coachman, opened the carriage door for her.
It felt strange seeing him in a real, wrinkled old man’s form after only seeing him in solid water form.
Cordelia boarded the carriage, greeted by the people, including Baron Lancaster. Leonard was already inside.
As soon as she sat down, he handed her a bunch of papers.
“What’s all this?”
“What else? It’s for you to study on the way.”
“Can’t I just sleep a bit?”
“Sleep? Sure. How many minutes?”
“Minutes? Why is it in minutes?”
“I wouldn’t be so cruel as to say sleep for just a few seconds.”
“Great, thanks. I’m so moved I could cry.”
“No need to cry.”
Cordelia clenched her teeth and took the papers he handed her. As expected, they were filled with various magic circles. The carriage finally started moving with a jolt.
“It’s not too late to reconsider, you know?”
“Reconsider what?”
“My doubts about being able to see Dilona’s barrier, even if I cram. Wouldn’t it be better for the three of you to go without me?”
“Don’t worry, my disciple. If you can’t see it, we’ll stay there until you can.”
Leonard reassured his anxious disciple in a mockingly gentle and merciful tone. Cordelia, though feeling exasperated, kept her frustration in check.
Then there was a sharp knock from outside. Leonard opened the window.
“There’s a dog following us.”
“A dog?”
Baron, looking back from the driver’s seat, said. Leonard half-opened the carriage door to check.
“A stray pack?”
“No, it seems more like the dog Cordelia Madam has been keeping.”
“My dog?”
She thought, ‘What dog do I have?’ and then a name popped into her mind.
“Could it be Lottie?”
“I’m not sure, but a dog that looks like the one I saw before has been following us since we left.”
“Please stop the carriage for a moment.”
The carriage soon halted, and Cordelia jumped out.
“Lottie!”
She called out loudly, and a dog trotted from a distance. It was indeed Lottie. Cordelia, delighted, ran to embrace Lottie…
“Weren’t you here to see me?”
As Cordelia tried to hug her, Lottie swiftly turned and avoided her. Cordelia awkwardly retracted her hand and crouched a little distance away, making eye contact with Lottie.
“Lottie, I told Emily to take care of you. She’ll give you meat every day. So go home and wait. I’ll be back soon.”
Cordelia took out a bunch of jerked meat she had packed to eat in the carriage and handed it to Lottie.
“Here, eat this. Finish it and go back to the castle. You understand, right?”
Usually, Lottie would have eagerly devoured the jerky, but strangely, she didn’t even glance at it this time and kept staring intently at Cordelia. It was the first time Cordelia had stared into Lottie’s blue eyes for so long.
Although Lottie might not consider her as her owner, Cordelia felt a pang of gratitude that Lottie had followed her like this.
“Is that your dog?”
“Huh? Oh, you’re here? Just a moment. I’ll send her back right away.”
“Since when have you been keeping it?”
“I haven’t really been keeping her, just occasionally feeding her. The servants say she’s a stray that used to roam around the castle.”
Leonard looked down at Lottie for a while and then reached out his hand. Suddenly, Lottie bared her teeth and growled.
“What, what did you do?”
“That’s not a dog.”
“What do you mean? Is Lottie some kind of cat then?”
Cordelia laughed it off, thinking Leonard was joking, but her smile faded when she heard his next words.
“It’s not a dog. It’s a beast.”
“A beast?”
“A magical beast. It barely has any energy, so it seems like a lower-grade beast.”
“What do you mean a magical beast? Lottie? A magical beast? She’s so gentle and well-behaved.”
Magical beasts were creatures she had only read about in books. They were said to be demonic, half-beast entities living in the Forest of Grief and Corruption in the far south.
“Lottie, a beast? It seems impossible to believe.”
“It’s unusual. It’s not a familiar, yet it roams around like this.”
“What’s a familiar?”
“A magical beast tamed by humans. In Alino, they call those who tame beasts ‘Nasteng’. Hmm. Maybe it’s a lost familiar or one abandoned after its Nasteng died?”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
