“At least to the extent that he would beg and cling.”
It was a distinctly provocative statement.
Though spoken softly enough that Reynard probably didn’t hear, he seemed to sense something from their expressions and was walking towards them.
His tightly closed lips and narrowed brows conveyed his irritation.
Reynard approached and, standing in front of Laila, looked down at Lord Millei’s hand resting on her delicate shoulder and growled threateningly.
“Lord Millei, what are you doing with my fiancée?”
My fiancée.
Although he hadn’t treated her properly, and it seemed he might have forgotten, those words came from Reynard’s mouth.
He then stepped closer and sharply knocked Lord Millei’s hand off.
Finally, Lord Millei let go of Laila’s shoulder and stepped back.
After a moment of tense staring between them, Lord Millei slightly bowed with a faint smile.
“My apologies, Your Highness, the 7th Prince.”
Reynard let out a sigh, an act revealing his incredulity.
However, he said no more, just firmly pulled Laila’s shoulder towards him.
Pulled into his embrace, Laila closed her eyes and held her breath. Not only because his scent was mixed with the perfume of the woman he had danced with but also because Reynard’s own sweat smell was overpowering.
At that moment, Lord Millei’s expression hardened, but only Reynard saw it.
Catching a glimpse of Lord Millei’s true feelings, Reynard twisted his mouth.
“It’s good you know you’re being rude, Lord Millei. However, I might have to formally protest to the Empire.”
“…….”
“Surely you anticipated this when you flirted with my betrothed?”
His rebuke was harsh. Laila’s heart started to pound, fearing a major incident due to her indecisiveness in firmly rejecting Lord Millei.
But then.
Roll… roll…
A nearby stone rolled. The sound, amplified on the stone path of the garden, drew the attention of the three.
The stone seemed to move as if powered, not by the wind or a kick. Laila’s eyes widened.
‘Psychokinesis…?’
Realizing the unusual phenomenon, Laila momentarily forgot she was in Reynard’s arms and looked towards Lord Millei.
But Lord Millei remained calm, as if the moving stone had nothing to do with him. Even Reynard’s warning seemed not to intimidate him much.
“Of course, I’ve been prepared for that ever since I first saw the Princess.”
As if he would be afraid of that?
The unsaid words echoed in her ears.
Reynard’s eyebrows furrowed sharply at the response, but Lord Millei stepped closer, whispering something in his ear too softly for even Laila in his arms to hear.
Yet, Laila felt it.
Reynard’s hand holding her tightened significantly. His eyes, which had held a trace of confidence, now widened in shock at whatever Lord Millei was whispering.
Soon, Lord Millei pulled back with a smooth smile on his lips.
“Then, Your Highness, the 7th Prince.”
“…….”
“I will take my leave now. It’s too tiring to stay for the entire banquet.”
The attitude was quite rude for a guest from another country, but Reynard did not scold or hold Lord Millei back any longer.
“I hope you will attend the engagement ceremony tomorrow.”
Lord Millei, with a smile in his eyes, now brazenly reached for Laila’s hand in front of Reynard and lightly kissed the back of her hand in farewell.
“Princess, I hope our meeting continues tomorrow.”
Thud.
The moment the carriage door closed, a deep sigh rose from his belly.
As he ran his large hand roughly through his well-groomed hair, a lieutenant waiting inside the carriage since their arrival at the palace spoke up.
“You’ve returned earlier than expected.”
The man glanced sideways with his blue eyes, and the other added a title to his address.
“Your Highness.”
At the same time, the carriage they were in started moving.
Rattling, the somewhat shabby-looking carriage began to move away from the palace.
Lord Millei, uncomfortable in the awkward carriage, glanced at the door before speaking in a low voice tinged with displeasure.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore.”
His lieutenant, Lilburn, noticing his lord’s heightened tension, showed his hands.
“Excuse me for a moment, Your Highness.”
As he said this, the features on Lord Millei’s face began to subtly shift. His facial features rearranged, his eyes returned to their original violet color, and his hair changed from dark black to silver.
In an instant, ‘Lord Millei’ was gone, and he returned to his true identity: Adrian Pinter Rains, the Crown Prince of Hankin.
Adrian touched his face as if it felt unfamiliar, and Lilburn asked cautiously.
“Was it Reynard? That 7th Prince must have been hard to tolerate.”
Adrian paused his hand movements. His violet eyes deepened.
“It’s not just him who’s lost their mind.”
Since coming to the Kingdom of Filmer in disguise, Adrian had seen the royal family in disarray – the king indulged in debauchery, the princes drowned in alcohol and lust, and the princesses were no different.
His disguise as a wealthy noble selling luxury yachts for leisure had made infiltration easier, but witnessing the filthiness firsthand was unpleasant.
And then.
Adrian’s violet eyes narrowed as he recalled a scene.
“You’re nothing but a half-wit without any powers. I should teach you a lesson so you won’t act so high and mighty.”
“Who exactly needs to be taught a lesson?”
His voice was laced with mockery.
When he heard that comment from the 7th Prince right outside the door, he seriously considered throwing the man out the window for a moment.
But revealing his psychokinetic powers and identity wasn’t an option then, so he had restrained himself.
…Although he had slipped up earlier because of that ‘my fiancée’ comment.
Chewing on that phrase, he ground his teeth, but Lilburn’s businesslike voice brought Adrian back to the present.
“By the way, Your Highness, we’ve nearly completed the financial assessment of the Kingdom of Filmer, as you ordered.”
Adrian refocused his previously unfocused gaze.
“Really? How does it look?”
“It’s worse than we suspected… much worse.”
Lilburn picked up some documents he had placed on one side of the carriage. Given his meticulous nature, he probably had reviewed and memorized them several times while Adrian was at the banquet hall, but he deliberately looked through them again as he spoke.
“As you know, the amount borrowed from Hankin alone exceeds the annual budget of the Filmer royal household. There are about two years left until the repayment deadline, so it might not seem like an immediate problem, but they haven’t borrowed only from us.”
“Where is the largest loan from, excluding us?”
“From Puatira, located to the east of Filmer. The repayment for this debt is due in just over two months.”
“Really? Then I should tell the 1st Prince that we will repay all of Puatira’s debt on their behalf.”
While speaking, Adrian vividly mapped out his future plans in his mind. Repay the debt, reduce the interest rate, and in the meantime, withdraw as much of Hankin’s currency from Filmer as possible to increase the value of Hankin’s currency.
This strategy would increase the burden of interest and principal repayment, pushing them into a situation where they couldn’t pay the interest, gradually leading to the accumulation of debt and eventually causing the default of the Kingdom of Filmer.
After that.
Adrian paused his thoughts for a moment, and Lilburn asked.
“Your Highness, why are you devoting so much time to ruin a small country like this?”
“…….”
Adrian hesitated to answer.
He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
That it was all to get her, Laila, back.
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.]
