Ricardo clicked his tongue without any attempt to hide it. Normally, Julian openly ignored the Second Prince. But that was before the Crown Prince had fallen to his knees and succumbed to his condition.
“Do you intend to squander all your wealth as death approaches?” asked Ricardo.
The Crown Prince looked at him with an innocent expression, as if questioning what Ricardo meant.
“Isn’t that too easy a bet?”
“Is it?”
Incredibly, the Crown Prince seemed surprised. Of course, Ricardo was not fooled by Stuart’s amateurish act. But that was no reason to refuse the bet.
“I will wager my townhouse in Sevran that Julian will approach the Second Prince before he even finishes a glass of wine.”
A townhouse in Sevran was one of the prized possessions of the Rochester family, known for its beautiful gardens. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Ricardo’s yet, but it was part of the inheritance he would receive upon his engagement.
“If Julian… is that predictable?”
“Of course. So, what will Your Highness wager?”
“Even if he’s an opportunist, he has a sense of loyalty from all these years…”
Ricardo smirked. If there was one thing that didn’t suit Julian, it was loyalty. The Crown Prince thought for a moment and then, with a somewhat playful smile, made his decision.
“I’ll put up the Schneider family sword given to me by the Emperor.”
Ricardo’s face stiffened at the Crown Prince’s ridiculous wager.
The Schneider sword was a treasure that only the heirs of the royal family could possess, passed down since the first Emperor. It was rumored to have been bestowed by the gods themselves or won from a war with the gods. Regardless of its origin, it was a symbol of the imperial family.
“Are you serious?”
“Why would a dying man lie? After my death, the Schneider sword won’t protect me.”
“Planning to appoint me as the Crown Prince, are you?”
Their serious conversation mixed with laughter. The Crown Prince laughed softly too.
“Let’s have it presented at the palace banquet.”
Ricardo’s eyes gleamed sharply as he looked down at the hall. The palace banquet would be the grandest event following his engagement ceremony.
Imagining the scene where Stuart would hand him the sword in front of the Emperor brought a smile to his face. It would be a declaration, a direct message from Stuart Reid Schneider to his father.
And accepting it would be Ricardo’s declaration of following the content of the prophecy.
Having won the bet, there was no reason or way to refuse the sword.
Ricardo looked at Stuart with new eyes. Indeed, he was a Schneider, persistent and exceptionally clever.
Then, Stuart’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Ricardo found it fascinating that a human being could still find joy in things even facing death.
“Look, there’s the new Yellow Rose.”
Ricardo’s gaze naturally followed the direction the Crown Prince pointed. But the new Yellow Rose the Crown Prince referred to was already turned away from them. Her beautiful silver hair and dress, slightly lighter in color, rippled like waves, showcasing her grace.
“You didn’t see her face, did you? I need to take another look myself.”
The dress, unable to hide the elegant lines of her body and revealing her long neck, was perfectly suited to stir the desires of men. It wasn’t as blatantly revealing as other women’s dresses, which made it even more captivating.
“Choosing such a dress shows she’s not of ordinary taste.”
Ricardo, no expert in women’s ball gowns, still found the silhouette of the woman standing afar to be beautiful. Beautiful… Had he ever harbored such sentiments before?
“No matter how I look at it, she doesn’t seem like a lady from an ordinary family. Why would she be holding a yellow rose?”
“How do you know such things?”
“About women’s clothing?”
“That’s the difference between a bachelor and a married man. Or, forgetting that, it’s strange you don’t know. It’s obvious at a glance that her dress is incredibly expensive. Mariette always says that price reflects taste.”
In the Dermaire Empire and in many countries Ricardo had visited, silver hair was not common. Furthermore, with such a beautiful back, she would undoubtedly become the highlight of tonight’s ball.
Even Julian, handing a glass of wine to the Second Prince, couldn’t help but glance in her direction.
Was she going to be the one to achieve a rise in status this year?
Ricardo calmly thought the evening’s new developments were particularly entertaining.
“It doesn’t matter how beautifully one dresses on the outside. If the content is vulgar, that doesn’t change.”
“You lack flexibility in most things, but most of all in understanding. I would not call all the women wearing yellow roses vulgar, but rather fierce.”
“Isn’t this fierce competition because the Emperor has been too liberal with granting noble titles?”
It was a time of many wars. Most defeated nations were forcibly integrated into the Dermaire Empire, and it was difficult to maintain control through force alone.
“I haven’t denied it. Just asking for understanding.”
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
