So I left the house.
To separate the monster from my fragile wife.
Hoping she would escape a bit from her fear, and find color in the gloomy shadows.
Yes, that was certainly the case.
…Should this be called a success?
Somehow, rather than finding color, it’s become a jumbled rainbow of mixed colors.
Dante was changing clothes in the remaining room after receiving a report that Serpina had been laid down in the bedroom.
In his mind, the image of Serpina sprawled out as soon as the door opened and Serpina coughing with her waist bent kept repeating endlessly.
The sight of the woman withering away locked in her room was nowhere to be seen.
Dante, who was taking off his outer garments, stopped his actions blankly.
“My lord? Why are you like that?”
Until Barhan, who had entered at some point, pointed out his behavior.
Startled, Dante continued undressing while scolding him.
Asking why he entered without making a sound.
To this, Barhan replied as if feeling wronged.
“I knocked dozens of times. When there was no response even though my knuckles were about to peel, I thought you might have fainted, so I came in.”
He knocked dozens of times?
I didn’t hear it even once.
However, Barhan’s reddened and swollen knuckles proved that this was not a lie.
“…Next time, knock a little louder.”
“My goodness. It seems you intend to completely destroy this old man’s hands.”
Barhan showed a hearty laugh as he took Dante’s outer garments.
Barhan maintained a light smile throughout.
His thin smile and tightly closed lips seemed unlikely to open.
Dante glanced at him once, twice, three times.
As he kept staring at the tightly closed lips, Barhan said with a hardened expression.
“Please stop glancing at my lips. It’s making me a bit uncomfortable.”
“What an irreverent thing to say…!”
“That’s why. Let’s not create any more mutually unpleasant situations. If you’re curious about something, feel free to ask comfortably.”
Dante held his breath for a moment at the words that struck right to the point.
Then he soon sighed while rubbing the bridge between his eyebrows with his index finger.
“How is my wife doing? Do you think we need to call a doctor?”
Though it was clearly a question, Barhan looked like someone who had heard a satisfactory answer.
But this was only for a moment.
The face that had maintained a relaxed smile all along darkened in an instant.
“…Could it be that something’s wrong? Should we call a doctor right away?”
“No, that’s not it. The madam is resting now, and her cough stopped quickly.”
“Then why do you have that expression?”
“Well, you see…”
Barhan hesitated for a moment.
Whether it would be right or wrong to say this. However, the Duke was the madam’s husband and the master of the mansion.
It meant he had the right to know about the rumors here.
Barhan steeled himself and opened his mouth.
“There are rumors that the madam seems to be unwell.”
Dante’s face froze coldly upon hearing those words.
She’s sick?
Come to think of it, his wife was extremely thin.
She looked so slender and fragile, as if she might break if gripped wrongly.
Even earlier, when just a few maids supported her, weren’t her legs dangling in the air?
The image of her pitiful toes waving in the air was vivid in his mind.
“Has a doctor been called for an examination?”
“Yes. According to the doctor’s opinion, she’s just a bit weak, but there’s no major problem. He said it could be easily resolved with regular meals and nutritional supplements. But…”
“It seems there’s something that still bothers you.”
This time, it was Dante who struck right to Barhan’s point.
Instead of making excuses, Barhan nodded.
“I’m a bit concerned about some strange things the madam said.”
“What did she say?”
“When I asked why she suddenly started growing medicinal herbs in the garden, she replied that it was because she wanted to live the rest of her life without regrets… No, never mind. I misspoke.”
Saying this, Barhan bowed his head and left the room.
Leaving only the message that dinner was prepared and to come to the dining room on time.
Left alone again, Dante’s mind was complicated in many ways.
First of all, number one.
Growing medicinal herbs in the garden?
Because Barhan had mentioned it so casually as if it were nothing, he had to doubt his ears for a moment.
It wasn’t that the madam said she wanted to plant flowers in the garden, or plant trees in the garden.
She said she’s growing medicinal herbs in the garden?
Since Barhan who could answer had left, there was no one to ask.
“Well. She could grow them.”
Soon, Dante chose to quickly accept it rather than ask questions.
Since she’s a woman from the fast-paced capital, perhaps growing medicinal herbs in gardens is trendy in the capital.
Let’s not think with a narrow mind.
But then, worry crept in.
“Wanting to live the rest of her life without regrets…”
In some ways, it sounded like the words of someone who had gained insight into life, and in other ways, it felt strangely ominous.
Especially when thinking about her coughing with her waist bent earlier and her frail, thin body…
Dante thought he should go see Serpina right after changing clothes.
As secretly as possible, so that Serpina wouldn’t notice.
No matter how much Serpina had changed, seeing him might bring back the fear that had disappeared.
Perhaps Serpina had come out of her room because he wasn’t there.
Thinking this made him feel a bit bitter.
Just as Dante, with his upper body bare, was about to sigh while sitting on the desk.
Bang.
“My lord, why are you he…!”
…
…
A thin, energetic voice suddenly leapt in as the door flung open, then cut off abruptly upon seeing Dante’s naked body.
Blue eyes and green eyes collided with each other.
And the green eyes slowly, very slowly moved down… down… down…
“My, my lady?”
Drawn downwards, they were caught by Dante’s call and came back up.
A pale, clear face stared blankly at Dante.
Then, like a flower bud bursting and blooming, she smiled brightly.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. I unconsciously gave in to my instincts.”
[This is the timeline separator]I’ve realized something anew.
Namely, that my husband’s face is insane.
Oh my goodness, heavens above.
Is this truly a face that can exist on a real human being? Isn’t it a sculpture? I truly cannot contain my astonishment.
Moreover, my husband’s body was also perfect.
The muscles were firm and so well-defined, it felt like I was looking at the furrows I used to make in my fields.
Oh. My goodness.
But why was I so afraid of this man before?
I couldn’t understand my past self from just a few months ago.
It seems my eyes were blinded by fear, temporarily degrading even my actual eyesight.
While I was unable to contain my admiration and kept savoring the intense face imprinted in my mind, a voice came from behind me.
“You can turn around now.”
I slowly turned around.
Having changed his clothes, the male lead was standing stiffly in neat indoor attire.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I should have knocked, but I was in such a hurry that I opened the door first.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Though his tone was blunt, it sounded kind.
Is it because his face is kind?
Well, what does that matter?
Whether it’s his face or personality, it means at least one of them is kind.
“More importantly, how are you feeling? Is it alright for you to be up and about like this?”
“Of course. Earlier I was just out of breath because I ran too much.”
“Ran…?”
“Yes. I sprinted with all my might when I heard the Duke had arrived. I wanted to go out and greet you.”
In the end, I failed though.
I wanted to welcome him home, but I just ended up showing him something crazy instead.
“You… sprinted with all your might to greet me?”
“Yes. You must have had a hard time away. I wanted to tell you I’m glad you returned safely despite the difficulties.”
Dante was silent.
He just stared at me intently with an unreadable expression.
I didn’t try to decipher that expression.
Instead, I decided to quickly get through the things I needed to say while he was silent.
First of all.
“I’m sorry about before.”
Starting with an apology.
“Although our marriage was a political one, that must have been the same for you too. I feel like I was the only one trembling in fear and avoiding you without even trying to adapt. Thinking about it now, I realized you must have been displeased. If I kept reacting like I’d seen a ghost every time we met, it would probably make you feel awful.”
“No. I never thought that way.”
“…Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow. My goodness, your heart is as vast as the Pacific Ocean. Ah, no. Here it should be the Sahavra Sea, not the Pacific. Your heart is completely like the Sahavra Sea.”
I was sincerely amazed.
If I were Dante, I would have really felt awful.
Thinking, ‘Am I excrement or a bug? Why are you avoiding me to such an extent?’
Well.
The Dante in the original story was that kind of person too.
A man who, instead of resenting his wife who couldn’t adapt, gave her alimony and a house and divorced her.
Even though he himself suffered considerable emotional wounds and even took on trauma.
This outwardly cold but inwardly warm northern man!
Recalling the Dante from the original story while facing the Dante before me, my heart swelled with emotion.
I approached him in big strides and grasped Dante’s hands tightly with both of mine.
“From now on, let’s get along well. Let’s eat together, do various things together, and make lots of memories. Let’s be like good friends!”
And then, after getting along like good friends, we’ll part ways beautifully.
Without any trauma at all, with a healthy and happy mindset.
After that, the male lead will have a happy ending with the female lead. And I’ll have a happy ending with my medicinal herbs!
My eyes sparkled at the perfectly completed future plan, but somehow Dante’s expression was strange.
Should I say it looked slightly disgruntled?
…What is it? Does he not want to be friends with me?
He was fine when I was avoiding him, but now that I’m saying let’s be friends, is he a bit angry?
Did he just now realize how ridiculous it was and feel annoyed?
While I was worrying about what to do if that was the case, I suddenly remembered what was in my pocket.
Ah, right. That was there.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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