Late in the afternoon, the number of carriages passing through the streets increased all at once. The testtakers of the Imperial Academy entrance exam were returning home together.
Looking at it made my heart race.
My original plan was to sneak out of the examination hall around noon and return to the front of the hall when the test was over.
But coming to the herbalist’s shop to pass the time, I didn’t want to go back, no matter what. Not to the examination hall, nor to the Earl’s house.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t feed a kid like me.”
When I muttered, the old herbalist shouted, ‘What?’
“No, I think I should go now.”
“Yes, yes. Come again tomorrow.”
“I’ll come again. I don’t know if it’ll be tomorrow.”
I walked slowly back to the Earl’s house. I couldn’t step forward, but I didn’t want the Countess to react sensitively as if I had run away.
Now I had only one hope. I staggered and muttered with force.
“Misha, you pass at least.”
When I returned to the Earl’s house after sunset, the Earl came to my room but did not ask when he saw my face.
Instead, I asked.
“Misha did well, right?”
“They say many of the past exam questions that the home tutors taught appeared.”
“Thank goodness. Congratulations, Earl.”
In the Empire, not all nobles were the same. Among nobles, they were divided into grades by Academy and nonAcademy graduates.
The Academy provided both honor and connections, and there it was common to establish lifelong relationships with royalty, and of course marriages.
It was a matter of course for the Earl’s honor.
So it was something to congratulate.
“……Rest.”
The Earl just said that and left. Instead, Teria told me to say anything I wanted to eat.
But I had no appetite. I only drank a piece of bread and water and fell asleep.
(This is a time separator.)
The results of the Academy entrance exam were announced a week later. As befitting the Empire’s top educational institution, the notification was delivered to the examinee’s home.
Misha’s face was almost pale while the Countess opened the envelope. But when the Countess screamed with delight after reading the contents, Misha screamed along.
I heard the Countess’s inelegant scream for the first time. The Earl also laughed joyfully.
I discreetly left the scene so the family could enjoy the moment together. I already knew what was in my envelope.
The Earl came to my room much later. It was after confirming the notice of failure.
“You’ll be able to concentrate more on studying next year since the mansion will be quiet. I need to book lessons with the home tutors who took care of Misha this year.”
“No, Teacher Julia’s skills are not at all…….”
I stopped talking. What did I have to say?
Then the Earl sighed heavily.
“Lorisha, we sometimes go slow and sometimes go fast. There’s no need to mistake going slow for failure.”
I stared at the Earl and said,
“Um……. Will you leave me an inheritance?”
“What?”
“That is, I need to know how much money I need to collect for my business in advance…….”
The Earl was clearly flustered by that. I realized that I was saying something wrong. I wanted to slap my lips.
“I’m sorry. Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“……Rest.”
The Earl looked bewildered at the wall for a moment, then turned around.
“Sigh… You’ve gone completely mad, Lorisha.”
I slumped into the chair, cursing myself.
Then, Misha came into the room, smiling broadly.
Damn it.
I gritted my teeth.
Let’s sincerely congratulate her. Congratulate her. Congrats, congrats!
“Misha, congratulations on passing!”
Misha laughed so much that her mouth seemed to twitch. She sat down in front of me, rubbing her cheek.
“Oh, it was nothing. The Roar family has always been smart, you know. My father’s intellectual ability was what resurrected our family from the brink of ruin since my grandfather’s time, remember?”
It was a familiar story. A time when the former Roar Earl was living an almost exiled life in his fiefdom, hated by the Emperor.
The Earl met my mother during that time. And the strategic marriage with the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who had won the favor of the Emperor, was the way out of political isolation.
“I see.”
For the first time, I saw Misha sincerely smile warmly at me. Was it the generosity naturally exuding from one who had won the world? Anyway, that’s how it was.
She even leaned towards me in a friendly manner.
Don’t do this, it’s scary!
“I saw your result notification, you know?”
“Is… that so?”
“It was 0 points.”
“Ah… You know, I guess I only read the wrong books since I studied almost on my own.”
I broke out in a cold sweat. I thought they’d only tell me if I passed or failed, not send my scores.
Misha’s eyes sparkled as she whispered.
“You did take the exam, right?”
“Huh…?”
“The teachers were so surprised to see your notebook. But you got 0 points? I saw you go into the examination room.”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
