“Wasn’t that Lucas?”
I was sure our eyes had met.
If it were him, he would have recognized and approached me, but he didn’t.
“Guess not.”
It seemed I had mistaken him for someone else due to the distance.
Brushing off the incident, I climbed into the carriage and headed to the Laverion residence with the gift for him.
After a swift journey, the carriage soon arrived at the Laverion residence.
Before getting off, I straightened my attire and quickly organized in my mind what I needed to say to Caern.
‘Can I do this well?’
As the moment approached, a wave of nervousness washed over me.
No, I can do this.
I’ll explain calmly, and surely Caern will respect my wishes.
With that reassurance, I grabbed the gift for him.
But upon opening the door, I was faced with an unexpected person.
“Duke?”
Surprised, I looked at Caern, who was extending his hand towards me.
Confused, I alternated my gaze between his face and hand.
“Your chin is high, take my hand and step down slowly.”
“Oh? Thank you.”
Following Caern’s instruction, I quickly regained my composure and took his hand.
I felt the warmth enveloping my hand from his large one.
Thump, thump.
Despite trying to maintain my composure, my heart began to beat faster.
‘Please be quiet.’
I tried to hide my inner turmoil while stepping down from the carriage.
Once my feet touched the ground, unlike last time, he promptly let go of my hand.
Feeling a momentary sense of loss, I quickly hid my hand in the folds of my dress.
It was a strange feeling.
I had wanted to distance myself from him before, but now I missed the warmth from just moments ago.
I stared blankly at his hand.
“Helena.”
His voice snapped me out of my daze, and I looked up at Caern.
“Yes?”
“What are you looking at?”
Caern’s gaze followed where I had been looking.
“Oh, nothing. Just… your hand is quite large and pretty.”
“My hand is pretty?”
“Yes. It’s long, straight, and pale, attracting my attention.”
I smiled slightly, and Caern looked at me with an indecipherable expression.
Feeling the weight of his gaze, I almost looked away but decided against it.
I might not see him after today.
So, I should etch his image into my memory.
As I stood looking into Caern’s eyes, I realized he had called me by my name again.
“Oh, you called me by my name again.”
Caern’s eyebrows twitched at my comment.
I quickly added, anticipating another misunderstanding.
“I was actually envious.”
With the end approaching, I felt a surge of courage.
I couldn’t confess, but I wanted to show him a piece of my heart.
It seemed like a way to let go of some of my feelings for him.
“What do you mean?”
Caern asked for clarification.
“You always called Adelia affectionately, and that sounded nice and made me envious. You always referred to me as Lady Rosentia. I’m not your sister, so it’s natural, but…”
Caern seemed like a good brother, even from childhood. Busy with royal duties and battles, but he still made time to visit Adelia.
〈To meet my brother, inviting Helena to the duke’s residence seemed to be the right answer.〉
〈Oh, that fool… What will he do when I get married?〉
Adelia often left those cryptic comments, but surely, they were with me in mind, being an only child.
Anyway, that’s why I always looked forward to meeting Caern.
I hoped that one day he would call me by my name, just like he did with Adelia.
But my hopes were always beautifully dashed.
He never once called me Helena in front of Adelia.
It was upsetting and disappointing, but I thought it couldn’t be helped.
But then, on Adelia’s wedding day, he called my name for the first time.
I can’t describe how I felt then.
It was more than just happiness.
I tried not to show my feelings to him, but I couldn’t help but smile.
“You are not Adelia.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Adelia is his sister, and I’m just another person.
Understanding his words, I tried to hide my bitter feelings as I responded.
I already knew the fact, but my elated heart sank to the bottom in an instant.
“Adelia is the Duke’s sister, but I’m no different than a stranger…”
“Stranger?”
He questioned me as if wondering why I would say that.
Why is that?
I hadn’t said anything wrong, had I?
I glanced at him cautiously, trying to gauge his expression.
“Why would you and I be strangers?”
“Uh? Because I’m not family like Adelia…”
I trailed off, trying to cover up my words.
“Family, huh…”
Caern murmured, pondering over my words.
Then, suddenly, he looked at me intently and spoke.
“Let’s call each other by our names from now on.”
“Names?”
It was fine for him to call me by my name.
Caern was older and of a higher rank than me.
But for me to call him by his name was a bit…
Confused, I couldn’t hide my surprise and reflexively asked him back, only to see his brows narrow again.
“Do you dislike it?”
“No, not at all. It’s fine.”
I asserted, denying any dislike and nodded eagerly.
But I realized too late what I had agreed to.
He had given his permission, so there was nothing more I could do.
Though I doubted there would be an occasion to call him by his name in the future.
Still, it felt good to feel a bit closer to Caern now.
Unable to hide my feelings, I smiled brightly at him and repeated.
“It’s fine. I’m really happy.”
But he just stared at me silently.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No. Let’s go inside.”
Confused, I asked him, but he turned and led the way.
“Alright.”
Following him into the residence, I noticed the garden.
The space touched by my hands still shone beautifully.
Proud, I was about to pass by when I remembered something and stopped.
“Duke.”
He turned back to look at me.
“May I tend to the garden for a moment? I brought some flowers to plant.”
Pointing to the carriage, his gaze followed.
“Flowers?”
“Yes. I brought new flowers to plant. Can I do that before going in?”
Thankfully, Caern remembered even the passing comment I made and nodded calmly.
“I’ll finish quickly and come in. It might take some time, so please go ahead.”
With his consent, I turned back to the carriage.
“Please bring the flowers from the trunk to the garden.”
“Understood.”
I called Amy, who followed me, and asked the coachman to move the flowers from the trunk.
The trunk contained white and pink flowers, well-packed with their roots.
But among those flowers, there was one single red flower beautifully placed in a pot.
I had specially prepared this pot separately.
So, I bent down carefully to carry the pot with the red flower myself.
But just as I was about to embrace the pot.
“I’ll do it.”
I was startled by Caern’s voice right behind me, thinking he would have already gone inside the residence.
Surprised by his voice, I immediately turned around.
There, closer than I expected, stood Caern, swiftly taking the pot I was about to hold.
“Duke, oh, you haven’t gone in yet?”
Feeling his scent right in front of me, my heart started racing wildly again.
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.”
