Simmons, familiar with the routine, opened the lid of the tin box and picked a butter-scented cookie, biting into it thoughtfully before speaking.
“I wonder if it’s alright for me to talk about this… You know, working in the royal palace requires discretion.”
This was something he always said when bringing up various stories related to the palace. Despite his claim of being discreet, he always ended up sharing everything. Carrying many secrets is burdensome, even for someone as tight-lipped as him.
“Of course. I’m well aware. Your longstanding respect and position in the palace are due to your ability to keep secrets.”
“Ha, Miss Jane is the only one who understands me. I know you won’t talk about it elsewhere, so I’ll tell you. I’ve been wanting to share with someone.”
I showed him a smile of trust, one I usually reserved for reassuring anxious patients. It seemed to work just as well on Simmons.
“Well, it’s already widely known throughout the capital. Do you know about Lady Mackein who nearly got trampled trying to save Prince Daniel?”
I nodded. The story of the fragile noble lady intervening to save the Prince from a rampaging horse was quite famous.
“I have a rough idea about the incident… But why was the horse so agitated? They wouldn’t normally let the Prince ride a dangerous horse. He could have been seriously injured.”
“Actually, that horse belonged to Prince Ian.”
“Prince Ian’s horse?”
“It’s a horse that has been with Prince Ian for a long time. It was a wild horse with a stubborn streak, refusing to be tamed easily. Prince Daniel insisted on having it as a birthday gift and tried to ride it forcibly…”
It seemed the whole incident was due to Prince Daniel’s unnecessary stubbornness. It was unfortunate for Lady Mackein, who got hurt trying to save him.
“Is she alright?”
“She hasn’t shown signs of recovery… Getting kicked by a panicked horse…”
It seemed there was little chance of her regaining consciousness.
“The royal palace is in a quandary about how to repay her for saving the Prince. In the midst of this, Prince Ian is bothered by a dream, hence sending me here…”
“I’m perfectly fine, as you can see.”
Satisfied with my response, he nodded and took another sip of his brandy-infused tea. Noticing his shivering, I added more brandy to his cup.
He thanked me and took another sip. Mid-drink, he suddenly looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the pharmacy.
“Speaking of which, that clock…”
“Ah… It doesn’t quite fit in here, does it?”
The pharmacy, packed with herbs and lacking even small ornaments, made the gold dragon-decorated clock seem out of place.
“It’s not that it doesn’t fit, but it’s rare for someone to own a dragon decoration, typically a symbol of the Emperor.”
“Indeed.”
I just laughed it off.
The clock was a family heirloom, originally adorned in real gold, gifted by the royal family to my great-grandfather. When our family fortunes declined, the gold dragon was sold, and a local woodworker painted a wooden replica in gold.
It was one item my grandfather never discarded, even when moving between countries.
Gradually, the rain outside lessened. Simmons neatly folded the blanket from his shoulders and placed it on the chair before standing up.
“I must go now. I need to inform Prince Ian that Miss Jane is safe and sound.”
“Take care on your way back.”
As I saw off Simmons, I thought the incident involving Lady Mackein had nothing to do with me. I just considered it an unfortunate event for a young lady, never imagining that her story would soon become my own.
I wrote smoothly on the paper with a pen that felt prestigious just to hold, its handle adorned with elegant silver decorations.
“The more I think about it, the more things seem suspicious.”
If nothing special had happened to me, I would have passed these as everyday occurrences. But waking up in another person’s body after dying made even the slightest details seem significant.
“Moreover, the gaps in my memory are strange…”
What I was writing down were the events of the past month, specifically the month leading up to my death.
“My memory is so fragmented.”
Of course, no one remembers every single moment in detail, as memories are volatile and fade away. But my memory of that one month was absurdly chaotic.
I only realized how messed up my memory was by chance.
While talking with Ileina, the topic of the Portree Festival came up. It’s a festival where red powder is thrown to ward off bad luck for the year.
On that day, the streets are filled with red mist. Everyone wears white and throws red powder at each other. As a pharmacist, I found the festival less enjoyable due to people suffering from powder in their eyes or getting injured in the crowd.
Not remembering anything about a day when the pharmacy was busy treating people covered in red powder was definitely odd.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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