Riccardo, holding the sword in his left hand, swung it again, displaying an inscrutable smile. A chill ran down my spine.
“What? Were you left-handed?”
“No.”
Riccardo, keeping his gaze on me, extended the sword towards Harold. Harold gasped, stepping back as the sword stopped right in front of his throat.
“I’m ambidextrous.”
“Why…?”
“Do I need a reason to be ambidextrous?”
As if to prove his point, he adjusted his stance. Did it look more perfect with his left hand than with his right, or was that just my imagination?
“You’re trying to break my wrist so I can’t draw, aren’t you?”
“No, no! Not breaking it!”
Riccardo laughed out loud. His refreshing laughter caught in my throat. I rubbed my face harshly to regain my focus. In two days, Lord Fennel and Justin would return to the mansion.
“If I lose and become unable to use both hands, you’ll have to attend to all my needs.”
Riccardo smiled brightly and aimed his sword at Harold again. Harold, who had been dumbfounded by our exchange, finally composed himself and took a defensive stance.
“Of course, I’m not going to lose.”
This time, Riccardo was different. He seemed to have learned all of Harold’s moves in just one bout, his movements were faster and more precise.
“Ouch!”
Harold tumbled awkwardly, pushed back by Riccardo’s strike. I glared at him, and he started making excuses.
“I, I’ve never faced someone who uses a sword with their left hand.”
Typical. Complaining about a child one moment, and now this.
Riccardo’s swordsmanship was indeed remarkable. But I couldn’t back down now. I went to the rack of wooden swords and picked one made of the darkest wood.
“What? That one…!”
Harold seemed to shout something, but I didn’t hear him.
I closed my eyes and swung the sword as hard as I could. Riccardo didn’t attack, just kept defending.
“Come on! Since you already know my intention, just let yourself get hit.”
“Why should I?”
He smirked mischievously. Did I ever know he could smile like that?
I shook my head to clear it and focused on the sword in my hand. Then I heard Harold’s shout.
“Please handle it gently! That’s a sword made of Black Forest wood.”
“So what?”
“It’s very expensive!”
Really? Then it must be strong. I took a few steps back and charged at Riccardo. He seemed to smirk, but I had no way out. He would let himself get hit by my sword. I was sure of it.
But then…
“Huh?”
I tripped over my own feet. Realizing I had stumbled, I fell forward. In that moment, Riccardo dropped his sword and reached out to catch me.
“Thump!”
With the force of my fall, I hit something hard with my wrist. When I opened my eyes, my sword had struck Riccardo’s forehead.
We locked eyes.
“I didn’t mean to.”
As I stammered an excuse, a blinding flash of white light enveloped everything. Then darkness enveloped my vision.
‘What’s this?’
“Ricca? Where are you?”
Reaching out for him, I felt a burning sensation all over my body.
‘It’s hot.’
Fear surged as another flash of light blinded me. Then I realized what was happening.
Ah… This is it.
The Awakening.
The first demonstration of the abilities possessed only by the royal family and the three major ducal families of the Dermeyer Empire.
At that moment, words from a dream I had years ago repeated in my ears.
“A girl from the East, illiterate, was eventually burned at the stake.”
As the words ended, Riccardo’s entire body was engulfed in bright flames. Not the red hues of a fireplace, but a blindingly white light from the sky.
Only Riccardo and his surroundings shone like a ray of light in a world of darkness. Far away, the sun, once obscured by the moon, began to reveal itself again.
“Daring to take the place of a Saint as a witch is a grave sin.”
As I watched the sun brightly illuminate the land once hidden by dark clouds, I suddenly realized something.
Ah, I’m doomed. Completely doomed.
Overwhelmed by the immense power, I lost consciousness. That was my last thought.
In all ducal families other than Rochester, the successors suddenly manifest their abilities one day. Afterwards, they follow their ancestors’ guidelines to awaken their power and eventually become the head of their family.
However, every noble family, including the royal family and all ducal houses, must pay a corresponding price to wield their power.
The ability naturally manifests in one descendant during childhood, and over time, they learn to freely control this power.
But Rochester was different.
The manifestation and awakening of Rochester occur only through a Saint.
The Saint of Rochester, who is also the consort. It seemed irreverent to call the woman who would be the consort of the duke, not the empress, a Saint, but there was no other name for her.
Although the empress-to-be is sometimes determined by an oracle, it’s not always the case.
Only the consort of Rochester is predetermined by the divine from birth.
I couldn’t regain consciousness after Riccardo’s manifestation.
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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