At Elize’s words, Aelfrie hung her head. Ultimately, it was a statement that she was a disgrace for not being married yet.
“So, starting from the next party, you will be taken along too. No matter what happens, it seems she’s determined to marry you off within the year.”
“But the dowry is…….”
“Ah, the dowry. She’s just going to give up on that. If you can maintain a minimum amount of face, she’ll approve of your marriage to whoever proposes.”
“…….”
Aelfrie couldn’t say anything.
In Denerthum, when a woman gets married, the groom’s side pays a large sum to the bride’s family, known as a dowry.
That money, also called a bride price, is a tribute to the parents’ efforts in raising the bride.
Of course, if the amount isn’t satisfactory, the bride’s parents can refuse the marriage.
As soon as Aelfrie became an adult, Lord and Lady Aradis tried to marry her off. Naturally, their goal was the dowry.
Even though the Aradis family was only a noble house in name, lowerranked men would still want to marry her.
Lord Aradis had no intention of passing the lordship to Aelfrie, so the groom would merely marry ‘the daughter of a lord’, but Lord Aradis thought that was still an honor.
‘Besides, I have to recoup some of the money spent on bringing her mother.’
To Lord Aradis, Aelfrie was the biggest failed investment. To make up for that loss, he had to recover past losses from the man who would take her.
Also, he wanted to use that money to provide the best for Elize’s debut in society.
When Aelfrie first appeared in society, a few men found her acceptable, and she even received some proposals.
To them, Lord Aradis immediately sent a reply, stating the amount of dowry he wanted.
Soon after, people in society began to murmur and send incredulous laughter at Aelfrie.
As if they were telling Aelfrie, they mentioned the amount of dowry that Lord Aradis had demanded from the suitor.
Hearing that amount, Aelfrie was shocked, dropping the fan she was holding.
“100,000 gilder……?”
It was an outrageous sum.
What kind of madman would pay such a sum to marry a daughter of a noble family without any power?
Especially when not even the lordship was passed on.
In the end, no more proposals came, and Aelfrie became the laughingstock of society.
When Lord Aradis decided to lower the dowry, another incident erupted. A quarrel had broken out between Aelfrie and a commoner professor at the academy.
It was not even something that could be called an argument. It was a matter of that nobleman unilaterally hurling insults at Aelfrie and attacking her.
The beginning was trivial. A few nobles, including that nobleman, began to chatter about the empire next to Aelfrie.
As the nobleman elaborated on the trade between the empire and other countries, Aelfrie, who had been listening next to him, soon realized that there was a big mistake in his explanation.
So when their conversation was momentarily interrupted, she carefully asked the nobleman, “There seems to be a part that is a little different from what I remember,” politely questioning him.
At that moment, the nobleman threw the wine glass he was holding right next to Aelfrie and screamed loudly.
“You! Are you saying I’m wrong! You, a woman who hasn’t even learned properly, to me, a professor at the academy!”
It was later found out that the nobleman was a writer famous for his nasty temper even at the academy.
He was someone who was always right and took any doubt against him as an attack against himself.
With the glass rolling around next to her and the incessant screams, there was nothing Aelfrie, who had just made her debut in high society, could do.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
