‘I really need to feed her more to fatten her up. Health comes first.’
Then, finding his own thoughts amusing, he twisted the corner of his mouth.
‘Just kissing, and already I’m imagining such things.’
There were still many things to do before making a baby.
Nelly felt so pure and small that he hesitated to go beyond that level of intimacy, yet these imaginings were too hasty.
‘No, but imagination is free, right?’
As he shook his head, this feeling crept up on him again. It was then that Cedar was grinning again, thinking of Nelly.
Hail frowned and asked Cedar.
“Did something good happen?”
Cedar replied indifferently.
“What good thing could there be?”
“Why don’t you look in a mirror before you speak?”
Hail wore an exasperated expression. Flustered by this, Cedar looked in the mirror and hung his head low.
“…Have I been making such a foolish expression all this time?”
“Yes.”
To think I’ve been grinning like an idiot like this. Cedar quickly rubbed his face with his palm.
Normally, Hail would have glared at such a superior, but he was being very generous because he too was recently in love.
Hail smiled brightly and began boasting about his fiancée, which he had wanted to do for a while.
“But I can understand. Ever since I met Maggie, every day feels like a dream and I can’t control my smile. Why didn’t I know before that such happiness existed in this world?”
This time Cedar was disgusted. He snapped back in a very cold voice.
“If you’re going to be sappy, do it alone facing the wall.”
“How cold! I’ve put up with all sorts of nonsense from you, Captain!”
“If you don’t like it, become a Sword Master yourself.”
Hail grumbled about him being a devil and not human.
Annoyed at hearing even that, Cedar was about to smack the back of his head, but instead let out a sigh through his nose.
“…For someone who’s just going around dating all the time, the Aura Swords you’re creating seem to be getting more intricate.”
It wasn’t just empty words; Hail’s skills had truly improved from before.
He hardly showed his face at the knights’ order, always saying he was taking care of Nelly, so it was incomprehensible.
‘When did he find time to train with the sword while dating, doing other things, and going around selling medicine?’
Undeterred by Cedar’s suspicious gaze, Hail smiled smugly.
“Hehehe, it’s the power of love.”
What nonsense about love. Cedar wrinkled his face in disgust.
“If you don’t want to tell me your secret, just say so. Don’t say such strange things.”
“But that really is the secret! Isn’t that too harsh! Then you shouldn’t have asked!”
Hail shouted, feeling wronged.
But soon, as if realizing that even he thought the ‘power of love’ line was a stretch, he added in a very small voice.
“…Young Master examined my internal magic circuits and that was helpful. He advised me on how to more efficiently convert the mana stored in my heart into Aura.”
“Grisha did?”
He knew Grisha had been getting along well with the members of the Dragon Knight Order recently, but he didn’t know he had examined their magic circuits.
‘Unexpectedly, it seems quite effective.’
It was surprising, as until now it was thought that analyzing a Sword Master’s magic circuits wouldn’t make just anyone a Sword Master.
‘It might be good to keep Grisha in the knights’ order and continue research like this.’
Keeping Grisha close was actually burdensome. But there was another reason for reconsidering this.
‘Nelly seemed very worried about Grisha.’
It was because Nelly was worried that Grisha might go astray.
Considering Grisha’s situation, Nelly’s concerns were not at all excessive.
Right now, Grisha must be in deep despair, feeling that nothing in the world was going his way.
‘I too was going to step back out of guilt towards Grisha. In the end, my heart turned towards Nelly.’
It seemed ideal if they could give Grisha some position and observe him from nearby.
It would also allow them to make use of Grisha’s talents.
‘But he probably won’t want to be near me.’
Considering their relationship, it seemed clear Grisha would refuse.
Unable to do this or that, Cedar pressed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
“How has Grisha been doing lately?”
Unaware of the complicated situation, Hail tilted his head and replied in a light tone.
“How? He helps the lady make magic potions. Usually he stays at the mansion until the Captain arrives, but yesterday he left early.”
“Hmm.”
He could guess what had happened without seeing it.
‘It seems he was deeply shocked when Nelly rejected his confession.’
While he was overjoyed and grateful that Nelly had chosen him, he couldn’t be entirely happy when he thought of Grisha.
Moreover, Grisha had just been betrayed by the Duke right before, hadn’t he?
‘Even if Grisha and I weren’t on the best terms to begin with, Nelly will be concerned.’
He could just ignore it and cover it up, but for Nelly’s sake, he had to do something about his relationship with Grisha.
‘I’ll have to sit down with Father and Grisha together. If we offer Grisha the duke title instead of Nelly, it might hurt his pride, but…’
Just then, there were several letters on his desk that had arrived for him. Among them was a letter from Cedar’s mother, Lady Briar.
He thought he had made himself clear yesterday, but she was incredibly persistent.
Normally he wouldn’t even bother to reply, but having sorted out his thoughts to some extent, Cedar wrote a reply to the letter from his mother.
Strike while the iron is hot – he intended to settle the matter of titles tomorrow with the three of them: himself, his father, and Grisha.
Cedar handed the written letter to Hail and asked.
“Do you know where Grisha is staying?”
“Yes. At a hotel downtown.”
“Then deliver this letter to Grisha.”
“Understood.”
The corners of Hail’s mouth moved strangely, like a wriggling earthworm, as he received the letter.
Not just his face, but his legs were bouncing as if he might dash off somewhere at any moment.
It wasn’t hard to guess where. There was a shop run by Hail’s fiancée in the city.
Cedar let out a deep sigh and said one thing.
“…I understand you’re at a time when you really want to see your fiancée, but just go see her face and come back.”
“Gasp! How did you know?”
“You’re making a face like a sparrow that can’t pass up a mill. I’d be a fool not to notice.”
“Now that you have someone you love too, Captain, you’ve become more perceptive.”
Hail grinned and poked Cedar’s arm repeatedly for no reason. Cedar snapped back in an irritated tone.
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’ll send someone else.”
“No, no! I’ll be back!”
There was no way Hail would miss this chance to openly meet his fiancée during work hours. He disappeared out of the office with his tail between his legs.
After the door slammed shut, Cedar sighed and picked up another letter.
‘And what’s left is this.’
That letter was none other than one sent by Diana.
What kind of talk, what nonsense.
It was clear she was trying to weasel her way out of a situation she felt was ruinous.
Normally he would have torn up such a letter.
But this time, just like with the Grisha issue, Nelly weighed on Cedar’s mind.
‘If I refuse, she might go cause trouble for Nelly.’
Even if Nelly had given up expectations for her sister, that would deeply hurt her.
Cedar frowned and concluded.
‘I suppose it’s better if I meet her and hear what she has to say.’
If she talks nonsense, I’ll cut her off at my level.
‘It might not be bad to take care of Diana without Nelly knowing, while I’m at it.’
With such thoughts, Cedar wrote a brief reply.
[This is the timeline separator]I was sitting by the window sill, fiddling with Jik. Now, except when making magic potions, the window sill was my fixed seat.
Sitting like that and looking down at the knights’ order, the sounds of training drifted up like a lullaby.
‘I wonder if Cedar is training hard too?’
As I was resting my chin on my hand, imagining this, today a carriage hurriedly entered the knights’ order. I blinked my eyes.
‘It looks like our family crest?’
Not the Granite crest, but the Periway family crest.
Since I had left the family, there was only one person who could be riding in that carriage now. My sister Diana!
But I couldn’t find any reason why Diana would meet Cedar.
After parting ways like that at the last ball, she would hate to even accidentally brush past him, let alone meet him.
‘Ah, I must have seen wrong. There’s no way Diana would go to meet Cedar.’
It was seen from so far away, so it wasn’t certain. I concluded that I must have seen wrong.
Apart from the carriage entering, there was nothing else particularly special.
When the exact time came, the sounds of training also died down. It would soon be dinner time. The time for Cedar to return.
But even as the sun set and the sky turned dusky, Cedar didn’t return.
I hesitated to close the window despite the chilly night air.
‘Cedar is late today.’
My gaze kept drifting towards the knights’ order. I patted the egg and spoke to it.
“Jik, are you hungry? I wish Daddy would come quickly.”
I said that simply because only Cedar could supply magic power to Jik.
But after saying it, I realized I had naturally progressed from taking our married relationship for granted to a new family relationship.
I cupped my burning cheeks with both hands.
‘Daddy, really. I’m embarrassed even saying it myself.’
Would Cedar have burst out laughing if he heard? In our relationship where kissing was still everything, I was already saying ‘Daddy’.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead