“W-What are you saying? Ormia, you shouldn’t lie so blatantly. People will believe it’s true. It’s all my fault, let’s go home and talk.”
Jeffrey stammered, unable to hide his embarrassment.
He was still trying to pin the blame on me, but people had seen Jeffrey’s behavior.
“Should I say it? The woman you’re meeting would be ashamed, is it okay to say it here?”
“Well…”
Jeffrey shut his mouth.
Unfortunately, that action proved my words to be true.
The watching princes and dukes let out dry laughs. To them, this drama of passion was mere entertainment. Even though I, a princess, had been insulted.
“Ha, Jeffrey Olan. An affair just 3 months after marriage?”
“A person should have some shame. At least be careful not to get caught for 6 months.”
A nobleman’s affair is not a major flaw.
Not all noble couples were like this, but husbands’ infidelities occurred frequently, and as long as they didn’t bring mistresses or illegitimate children into the house, wives turned a blind eye.
“Since he married a princess, did he even properly live as a couple? A princess that people don’t even approach for fear of her misfortune rubbing off.”
“It was a marriage the princess desperately clung to. When he was a bit nice to her, she threw herself at him, Lord Olan must have been troubled.”
“Didn’t he receive a title in exchange? If he didn’t have feelings, he shouldn’t have married in the first place. He lacks even the most basic courtesy.”
“Divorce just for meeting another woman? And a princess at that.”
The king wore a bored expression.
The king also knew the customs of noble families, so he didn’t take it seriously.
“Ormia Olan.”
“Yes.”
“I cannot permit a divorce. If a husband makes a mistake and meets another woman, a wife should resolve it through conversation and show the magnanimity to forgive generously.”
Jeffrey bowed deeply before the king, sweating profusely.
“Your Majesty, thank you. I will be careful not to let this happen again and get along well with the princess.”
I had expected the king to react this way. There was no way he would readily permit a divorce.
But the wife with the cheating husband wasn’t just a simple noblewoman, but me, a princess of Glisia.
“Jeffrey Olan betrayed and deceived me, a princess. Your child, Your Majesty.”
At my words, the king finally understood the situation.
If it were just my personal matter, he would ignore and overlook it, but Jeffrey had insulted the king’s child. The king’s daughter had been betrayed by her husband.
He had tarnished the king’s face.
“Viscount Jeffrey Olan.”
The king was angered.
Only after realizing that this was an issue that damaged his own face.
“Is what the princess says true?”
“That is…”
“Princess, you must have evidence? Who is the woman that met Jeffrey Olan, who had the audacity to marry a princess?”
“Ah, no!”
Jeffrey fell for the king’s leading question.
Jeffrey hurriedly tried to stop it, and the king’s face contorted.
If he had brazenly denied the affair completely, it might have been different, but the king became even angrier at his clumsy bumbling, worried that the other woman might be discovered.
“I gave you a title because you said you would marry the princess. But what is this behavior! You dare deceive me!”
“Y-Your Majesty! I’m sorry. I just met her briefly! The princess is like a block of wood… Please understand my circumstances.”
“Jeffrey Olan! How far do you intend to insult me!”
“Eek.”
Jeffrey tried to deflect the situation by disparaging me as usual, but unfortunately, it was in front of the king.
Even if they don’t acknowledge me, everyone knows I am the king’s child and daughter.
His daughter had been insulted in front of people.
Though I’m a child he doesn’t treat warmly and ignores, as a father, no, even more so as a king, he cannot tolerate it.
“Jeffrey Olan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I will summon the princess in a month to see if there has been any change in her heart. You must show your sincerity through actions from now on.”
“Yes, I understand. I will strive to change the princess’s heart.”
“Tsk, I’m already irritated because of the empire, and now you’re making me uncomfortable too.”
“May I sing a song for you? I’ll cheer up Your Majesty’s mood.”
As Leticia stepped forward with a bright smile, the dukes welcomed her.
“They say her singing of hymns in the temple is praised as beautiful.”
“People say a saint has been reborn. There is widespread praise that people’s hearts are healed after hearing Princess Leticia’s hymns.”
“How fortunate we are to hear Lady Leticia’s song today.”
“Very well, let’s hear it.”
The king gave permission with satisfaction, and Leticia came to the center and sang a hymn.
As her pure and clear voice resounded, the atmosphere that had been ruined by the affair drama disappeared.
As people’s attention focused on Leticia, Jeffrey, his face bright red, grabbed my forearm. He gripped so tightly that a groan escaped me.
“We need to have a proper conversation when we get back.”
Jeffrey dragged me out of the reception room.
As we left the banquet hall, my eyes met with Liam’s, but I had to turn away to follow Jeffrey.
[This is the timeline separator]The man who hadn’t entered the marital bedroom even on the wedding night entered together for the first time.
In my first life, he slept with me just once.
It was before the empire’s invasion.
When I found out he was meeting another woman, I clung to him, crying and begging.
Worried about being abandoned, about ruining what little relationship we had left, about the king and royal family looking at me with contempt for not even being able to properly hold onto my husband’s heart.
I foolishly worried about such things.
The relationship was already broken, Jeffrey didn’t give me an ounce of warmth, and the king and royal family had no interest or expectations for me.
I was deluding myself alone.
Perhaps I wanted to endure like that because I knew the reality.
Because I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t distort reality to accept it.
I was servile, and Jeffrey enjoyed seeing me, a princess, in such a mess.
Just once.
He slept with me while calling out that woman’s name.
Jeffrey slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud bang.
“How dare you, you embarrass me like that in front of His Majesty and the dukes?”
Jeffrey’s face was red with anger. His shoulders trembled, unable to contain his fury.
My former self had been careful not to upset Jeffrey’s mood.
No, not just Jeffrey. I had been wary of everyone, careful not to make them hate me more, always watching their reactions.
“Family matters should be handled within the family, didn’t the princess learn that supporting her husband is part of her royal duties? How could you disrespect your husband like that in front of everyone!”
Jeffrey shouted, stomping his feet, but now I only felt indifferent watching him.
‘He can’t even control his emotions.’
I felt pity for the flaws of a person I ‘knew’.
“When Duke Haiman was about to include me in the warhorse business, saying I’ve suffered much sacrificing myself as the princess’s husband!
Now that you’ve spoken so publicly, how will he see me! He’ll think I’m an idiot who can’t even properly manage family affairs!”
Jeffrey wasn’t angry about having his affair exposed publicly, but worried about his face and business.
‘Even without this incident, Duke Haiman doesn’t trust you.’
The business Duke Haiman had given Jeffrey was all show with little profitability anyway.
It may have been a test to gauge Jeffrey’s abilities, but he wasn’t particularly skilled at business, and even when he was scammed, his pride and bluster remained unbroken.
The number of warhorses under his responsibility didn’t increase until the empire invaded. He lived saying that next month Duke Haiman would greatly expand the business.
He only had hope until Glisia fell.
“Let’s divorce.”
“Who says! Divorce is absolutely not happening! Do you know with what heart I married a princess!”
“I’ll ask His Majesty to let you keep your title even after the divorce.”
I intend to give him that much alimony for marrying me, whom everyone hates and calls a divine rejection.
“No, the princess absolutely cannot divorce. You shouldn’t have begged to marry in the first place!”
“We’re going to get divorced.”
“That will never happen!”
Even though I had already said I knew his weakness, he seemed to have forgotten our conversation in the reception room and vehemently refused.
If his business was so important, and he knew I was such an inappropriate partner, he should have restrained himself, but Jeffrey couldn’t control his impulses and crossed the line.
That woman is also to blame for committing adultery knowing he was a married man, not just Jeffrey.
“If you won’t agree to divorce, I’ll reveal who your mistress is.”
I reminded him again of what I knew.
Jeffrey glared at me with wide eyes.
His neck flushed red and veins bulged.
“I’ll also hold that woman accountable for having an inappropriate relationship knowing you were a married man.”
Slap, my head turned.
Before I could process what had happened to me, a stinging pain exploded on my cheek.
One side of my face burned hot. When I raised my head, I saw Jeffrey looking shocked at what he had done.
This kind of pain was nothing compared to people’s stoning, or the duke breaking my leg so I couldn’t escape, or the fearful gazes of the king and queen as they watched.
This much couldn’t shock me.
Ridiculously, Jeffrey seemed more surprised than me who had been hit.
The timid and pretentious Jeffrey was shocked that he had struck me.
“T-This is…”
I don’t want to be involved in this affair drama.
I’m tired.
Jeffrey felt chills run down his spine.
He had always hated Ormia’s eyes that craved affection. They suffocated him, choking his breath.
He had married the princess and received a title out of a sense of responsibility to restore the Olan family. Having obtained what he wanted and entered high society, Ormia was nothing more than an ornament to him.
She was just a being that needed to be by his side when he needed her.
The illegitimate princess. The incompetent one. The useless royal.
Gloomy Ormia Beltoa who couldn’t speak properly, cowed, and only gazed at him from afar.
‘But what is this?’
In a moment of losing control of his anger, he had struck her cheek. He had put so much force into it that his palm stung.
Her body staggered, and her hair fell messily, covering her face.
“T-This is…”
But when Ormia raised her head, her eyes were calm.
She didn’t lunge at him in anger, nor did she reproach him for how he could hit her. She showed no regret for creating this situation.
This wasn’t the Ormia who suffocatingly begged for affection.
“You…”
“It’s not like we married for love anyway. I don’t intend to blame you for your infidelity, but I don’t want to waste any more time.”
She spoke calmly.
“I’ll let you go. Get a divorce and meet that woman openly.”
Ormia had always clung to him, and Jeffrey had shaken her off. He had left first, annoyed, leaving her behind.
It had been a one-sided relationship where Ormia held onto him.
“Let’s divorce.”
But today, Ormia informed him in a voice devoid of any affection and left the bedroom.
She went first.
“I’ve left the papers on the desk in the study.”
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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