For several days after that, Melly was immersed in depression.
‘Right. The madam must have her own circumstances. What does it matter if her feelings weren’t entirely genuine? I should be grateful for being fed and sheltered all this time.’
She tried to comfort and reprimand herself, but it was of no use. The fact that Lady Pelton had never truly cared for her kept Melly from escaping her sadness.
She was gripped by a deep sense of skepticism, to the point where her disappointment in Lord Blair seemed like nothing in comparison.
Because of this, she couldn’t manage her expressions properly, but fortunately, Eida didn’t notice.
‘You must still be heartbroken, Melly.’
Eida, convinced that Melly’s gloomy countenance was due to the incident with Lord Blair, comforted her kindly.
‘Don’t worry, child. Lady Galen visited today, and it turns out one of her distant nephews is looking for a wife. They say all that matters is that she’s kind and gentle, what better conditions could there be?’
‘…’
‘He’s only six years older than you, and he’s about to inherit a viscountcy. It seems like you’ve finally found your match this time.’
The madam smiled with the kindest face in the world, but Melly could no longer look at her with innocent eyes. She had come to know too much for that.
‘They say you should forget a person with another person. Speaking of which, I’d like to set up an appointment as soon as tomorrow. What do you think?’
‘I’d like to just stay in this house a little longer.’
That’s what she intended to say. It was the best option. But… the words wouldn’t come out.
The conservative customary laws of the empire strictly limited women’s labor and independence.
This was especially strictly applied to noble women. It wasn’t as strict for commoners because otherwise, noble houses wouldn’t be able to find female servants.
In the end, noble ladies, especially unmarried young ladies, had no choice but to live depending on someone.
Melly once again went through her relatives to see if there was anyone she could rely on, but there was practically no one.
Her mother was an only child for two generations, and although her father had siblings, they all cut ties when he fell into debt.
If Melly were to visit them, it was obvious they would all be terrified as if they had seen a ghost.
In the end, the Pelton mansion was the only answer.
‘Stay here. Don’t worry about Mother.’
That’s what Edric said. Since he was the head of the family anyway, he said if Melly just made her position clear, he would take care of the rest.
But Melly still wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do.
Edric was soon to marry Rosalyn, and she still harbored feelings for him.
Therefore, even if he only thought of her as a sister, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was inappropriate.
Every time she faced Rosalyn, she would bow her head in guilt. She wouldn’t be able to look straight into her enchanting ruby eyes, and she would have to be conscious every moment not to look at Edric with adoring eyes in front of her.
As long as her feelings remained, it would always be like this.
As long as her feelings remained…
“Melly.”
After helping with cleaning up after the meal, as she was turning the corner to return to her quarters, she heard someone calling her from behind.
When she turned around, Edric was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
Judging by the location and his posture, it was clear he had been waiting for her.
“Can I see you for a moment?”
Edric turned around with a grin. She seemed to know what he was going to say. Melly followed him with an uneasy feeling.
Edric led Melly towards the supply closet at the end of the corridor.
That windowless, secluded place was gloomy even in broad daylight. This made Melly feel uncomfortable, as if this meeting was even more inappropriate.
“Why didn’t you say anything to Mother earlier?”
Edric immediately got to the point.
“If it’s hard for you to say, should I say it for you?”
“Ah… no, I’ll say it.”
Melly hurriedly dissuaded him. She thought that if he intervened, Eida’s pretense would no longer remain just pretense.
Edric didn’t insist on doing it himself anymore. He gently urged her as he removed a brown hair stuck to her collar.
“If you’re going to say it anyway, it’s better to say it quickly. Before Mother sends a letter to the Galen family trying to arrange your marriage.”
“…”
“We shouldn’t trouble Mother with such efforts, right, Melly?”
Edric spoke in a gentle voice, almost whispering.
Melly nodded with a troubled expression.
“Rosalyn is supposed to come this afternoon. I plan to tell her when she arrives. That you’ve agreed to live with us.”
“…”
“Rosalyn is very excited about it. She says she’ll treat you like a sister. She wants to go to the opera together, eat delicious food together. She says it’s been her wish to live like that with a female sibling.”
Edric was in a very good mood as he said this.
They say you lose one thing when you gain another, but that didn’t apply to him.
Melly was a special friend like a sister, and she would continue to live in the same house even after he got married.
He imagined sitting in the living room armchair, watching Rosalyn and Melly chatting amicably and playing chess together.
The mere thought of it brought peace to his mind. He could even clearly envision a child being born and favoring Melly over its mother.
Rosalyn was too extroverted to focus on domestic affairs and childcare. On the other hand, Melly was modest and cautious, and patiently listened well to others, so the children would surely follow her well.
“Edric.”
Melly called him in a low voice. Edric responded cheerfully to Melly’s call, in continuation of his happy thoughts.
“Speak.”
He was in a generous enough mood to listen to anything right now.
“What if I become your family?”
Melly added in a seemingly resolute tone.
“Not fake, but real family.”
“…”
“I’m asking you to accept me as your legal sibling.”
Edric’s smile slowly faded.
[This is the timeline separator]It wasn’t a decision made after careful consideration.
In fact, it was closer to an impulsive decision.
But somehow it seemed like the right path.
Then people would no longer find it strange that the Duke and Duchess Pelton and Melly lived together in the same house.
Above all, the fact that Melly herself could give up on Edric most quickly and surely seemed to be the biggest advantage.
If nothing else, she was confident that she wouldn’t do something as foolish as liking a man who had become her legal brother.
She was worried about the opposition from the previous Duchess, but she decided to think about that later.
For now, the most important thing was Edric’s will. He was the head of the Pelton family, and the head could do anything he wanted.
But she wasn’t worried about being rejected.
She thought he would naturally agree since he had always thought of her as family, or even more than that.
But.
“I don’t think that’s quite right.”
“…”
Unexpected words flowed from Edric’s mouth.
The faint smile on his lips felt colder than a blank expression.
Melly was suddenly curious about why he opposed, but thinking about it, she had some idea.
“If, if it’s because of the inheritance, Edric, don’t worry about that. I won’t take a single penny of the mansion’s fortune. I’ll write a statement if you want me to.”
She meant it sincerely.
Melly had no interest in any benefits she might gain by becoming a member of the ducal family.
She only needed an excuse to completely give up on him in her heart.
“…”
Suddenly, even that subtle smile from earlier disappeared from Edric’s face.
“Melly.”
His voice calling her name was as cold as ice.
“This issue is much more complicated than you think.”
He seemed to be somewhat angry.
‘Is it because I mentioned inheritance? When I should be grateful just for being fed and sheltered all this time, how dare I bring up such a thing?’
That seemed to be the only reason. Suddenly, Melly felt very ashamed of herself.
She felt like she needed to apologize immediately.
“I’m sorry, Edric. I mentioned inheritance to let you know that if that’s the issue, you don’t need to worry at all…”
“Melly.”
Edric cut off her apology with a firm voice. His expression had become even more subdued.
“If you become a member of the ducal family, inheritance is natural. It’s not something you can choose to take or not take as you please. I have no intention of being stingy with such things to my legal sibling.”
Even in the midst of confusion, his determination to point out what was wrong made his gaze even sharper.
“Let’s think about this issue for a while. It doesn’t seem like something we can easily talk about here.”
“Okay…”
The conclusion was thus vaguely postponed.
Her suggestion to become legal siblings was unexpected, but his disagreement was also quite unexpected.
She had clearly thought he would like it.
“I’ll go first.”
Edric brushed past Melly. His face, which had seemed so full of life when they arrived here, now only showed weariness.
‘I shouldn’t have said that.’
Just as she was about to regret it,
“Oh!”
Edric turned back.
“Let’s keep this conversation just between you and me for now. I’ll tell you my decision when the right time comes, so don’t tell anyone until then. Understand?”
Since she had no intention of telling anyone in the first place, Melly answered without hesitation that she would do so.
Edric turned away coldly, without even showing the smile he usually wore, and walked away with long strides.
The feeling was strange.
While she felt disappointed in him for refusing when she asked to become family, given that they were supposed to be like family, she also felt that she shouldn’t have said anything.
Asking to be adopted as a daughter of the Pelton family.
Even she thought it was a ridiculous proposal, so how much more so for Edric.
‘I was foolish.’
Melly regretted her rashness as she watched his retreating figure.
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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