“Don’t hesitate, speak. We have plenty of time. We don’t have to rush back,” the Emperor quickly interjected, hoping she would suggest visiting another location.
But Arabel, as always, went against his expectations.
“Your Majesty, there’s… chocolate on your lip.”
Blushing slightly, Arabel pointed out, causing the Emperor’s lips to twist awkwardly. He defined his feeling as not disappointment but embarrassment for losing his composure as Emperor.
Wiping his mouth carelessly with a napkin, he placed it down, only for Arabel to say, “It’s still there.”
“Here? No, a bit lower. No, more to the side…”
As her round eyes lingered on the Emperor’s lips in a non-seductive manner, yet making his lips warm, he swallowed dryly. His eyes sparkled briefly.
Dropping the napkin onto the table, the Emperor gruffly said, “We can’t delay any longer. Hmm… it seems you’ll have to help me.”
Reversing his earlier statement about having time, he now insisted they were short on time.
Arabel looked at him, puzzled, as the Emperor continued in a monotonous voice, “We must return to the camp, so you’ll have to wipe my lips.”
Her eyes widened, then she responded with a steady but cautious voice, “How could I dare to touch the Emperor’s sacred face? Moreover, it’s not appropriate for a young man and woman. It would not bode well for Your Majesty.”
She was right. Imperial customs were strict about the conduct between unmarried men and women of marriageable age.
Realizing Arabel’s unexpectedly firm stance, the Emperor gazed at her, momentarily pondering.
“I have no choice. I can’t see where the chocolate is, so I must go on like this. People might whisper and point fingers at my lack of decorum, but it’s my own carelessness, so I must accept it. Huh…”
The Emperor averted his gaze from Arabel, who was looking up at him, and sighed deeply.
“They’ll probably talk about me, the unaware Emperor, for a long time. But don’t worry, they may laugh behind my back, but they wouldn’t dare in my presence. Let’s get up now.”
As the Emperor, always haughty, slightly lowered his chin and began to rise,
“If you allow me… I’ll wipe it off for you.”
Arabel’s voice halted the Emperor, and his lips twitched back to their usual place.
She couldn’t let the Emperor become the subject of gossip. Determined, Arabel clenched her fist with resolve.
With an almost grave expression, she picked up the handkerchief. As she reached across the table, the Emperor leaned forward, extending his neck as if waiting, even slightly puckering his enchanting red lips.
Arabel, nervously yet firmly, moved the handkerchief to clean the area around the lower left corner of the Emperor’s lips.
Suddenly, something hot and damp swept over her fingers. Shocked, Arabel dropped the handkerchief, unable to exhale.
It was definitely from the Emperor’s lips. Her wide brown eyes, confused, quickly lowered their gaze.
The Emperor, opening his eyes, spoke nonchalantly, “I thought it was the handkerchief. I wanted to taste the chocolate on it.”
His satisfied red eyes captured her fleeing gaze, his tongue slowly wetting his lips as if showing precisely how he had licked her fingers.
The sensation, hot as if burning, lingered on her fingers, making her heart race uncontrollably. Clenching her fists in her lap, she feared the Emperor might hear her pounding heart.
Not only Arabel dropped the handkerchief.
The waiter bringing the chocolate box, young women peeking through the window at the Emperor’s handsome face, and his knights sitting at the opposite table all couldn’t close their agape mouths.
“I’m so happy to see the ‘Mountain of the Lake’ I’ve only heard about in stories.”
On the way back to the camp in the mountains, Arabel spoke with great enthusiasm.
The Emperor, matching his stride with hers, raised his brows playfully.
“I didn’t know the southern mountain of the Hilk Ice range is called ‘Mountain of the Lake.'”
“It’s a name given by mountaineers. The trees are so tall and dense that from the peak of the adjacent mountain, it looks like a lake due to the lush leaves. It’s truly beautiful in person.”
Arabel chattered excitedly, her usual shyness and reserve nowhere to be seen. She named each passing tree and plant, explaining which animals lived within them.
“Our mountain is mostly rocky, making it hard for animals to build homes, but this place is perfect for them. A single oak tree can house owls, squirrels, foxes, and badgers – a family of six animals. It’s a grateful forest where they can hide from hunters.”
The dark, damp, and moss-covered forest, seemingly unremarkable, came alive with vibrant colors and life through Arabel’s stories.
Not only the Emperor but also the guardsmen, who had been listening quietly behind, looked around the forest for the first time with newfound interest.
Miraculously, the mystical plants and animals that Arabel described began to appear before their eyes. The forest now seemed more beautiful than the bustling town within the famous territory of Count Lorel to the south.
“I never knew this tree, under which we took shelter from the sun on the battlefield, is called a eucalyptus,” said a soldier, after Arabel entered the tent set up for her. The other soldiers nodded, looking around the surrounding woods.
“Suddenly, I feel like picking up a brush I haven’t touched in years to paint this mountain. Ha, ha.”
“Commanders, the Emperor is waiting inside the tent for you,” reported Kyle, the Emperor’s aide, to Jacob and Peter, who were mingling with the soldiers.
As the two knights entered the tent with Kyle, the Emperor turned to greet them, clad in a silver chainmail armor plate.
The Emperor spoke in a cool tone to the wide-eyed knights, “Tonight, we will set fire to the forest on the other side of the river. We’ll burn the woods below to split the mountain in half, cutting off the paths of those rats.”
“Rats, you mean…?” questioned a knight.
“Didn’t you see in the village today? Disguised, but definitely soldiers from the Northwest Continental Alliance. I knew Count Lorel was joining forces with the Alliance and building military strength, but it’s clear they’re bringing in new weapons. The blades hanging in the village’s mill and butcher shop were not from our Empire,” the Emperor concluded, sheathing his sword.
“We’ll attack Lorel’s castle simultaneously while his forces are distracted by the fire.”
The men in the tent were speechless, gazing at the Emperor. Each of them was among the finest knights in the continent, but they paled in comparison to the Emperor’s brilliant mind and animal-like intuition.
“That means… half the forest will turn to ash?” Peter hesitantly asked.
The Emperor turned his gaze towards him.
The playful sparkle seen in his beautiful ruby eyes in the village was gone. Instead, a chilling, merciless blood-red gaze met them, sending shivers down their spines.
His low, emotionless voice brought a chilling atmosphere to the tent.
“So, is that a problem?”
Faced with his terse question, the three knights bowed their heads, ready to carry out his command.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
