Long lashes quivered as eyes slowly opened. Pupils reminiscent of dewkissed leaves wavered momentarily, scanning the surroundings as if to comprehend the situation.
It was a large bedroom, surrounded by antique murals and cornice decorations. As the bed curtains were drawn, a wellmaintained vast garden was visible through the window straight ahead. One thing was certain—this was not the room she woke up in every day.
‘I left the count’s house yesterday.’
Only now did it feel real. The fact that she had left the count’s house she had so desperately wanted to leave, albeit not in the way she had imagined…
‘Caeron Roman de Elyos…’
Thinking of the man who had extended his hand in her moment of utter despair, Idel clenched the sheet. She still couldn’t decide if holding his hand had been the wise choice.
“You’re awake.”
“Ah… hello.”
With a brief knock, the door opened and a middleaged woman walked in. Her neat, wrinklefree attire and hair tied up without a single stray strand seemed to represent her dignity. Bowing politely, the woman introduced herself.
“I’m Marlyn, the housekeeper of the Duke’s house. From now on, I will serve Lady Idel, the prospective Duchess.”
At the words “prospective Duchess,” Idel’s body flinched. All of this was becoming a reality that couldn’t be undone. Seeing her confusion, Marlyn spoke in a gentle voice.
“You must not remember since you fell asleep immediately yesterday. This is the Duchess’s room. From now on, it will be your space, Lady Idel.”
“The Duchess’s room…?”
“Yes. It’s prepared both in the ducal estate in Elyos and in the duke’s residence located in the capital. It’s a place of longstanding tradition dating back to the time of the Roman Duke’s house.”
The name ‘Roman’ was both the Duke’s middle name and the name of the Duchess’s family, who were once the top aristocrats in the empire before the Duke’s house.
With the Emperor’s ascension to the throne, his elder brother was given the title of Duke of Elyos, and the Duke inherited the vast fortune and territory of the Roman Duke’s house, which was without an heir. She remembered reading an article about it.
“I didn’t know when the mistress of this room would arrive, so I was worried. Now I’m relieved to meet you.”
With a twinkle in her eyes, as if she was full of emotion, Marlyn led Idel to the bathroom inside the room.
“First, wash up and get ready. His Highness has requested to have lunch together.”
“Alright. Thank you, Marlyn.”
Despite just having woken up, she looked elegant with her straight posture and fluid movements. Even from their short conversation, her demeanor and way of dealing with her subordinates were clear.
‘She truly is the Duchess brought here by the Duke himself.’
A soft smile spread across Marlyn’s lips. She was pleased with the prospective Duchess at first glance. Considering that the Duke had held her in his arms and brought her here, it was clear that she held a special place for the Duke, and Marlyn’s impression of her was favorable.
Looking at the Duke’s coat lying on the bed, she was reminded of him during his princehood. The prince, who resembled the former empress with his graceful features, was extremely beautiful outwardly. However, contrary to his appearance, he was quite indifferent and cold.
One day, a young woman fell for him and like a moth to a flame, she threw herself at him. The lady, who intentionally bumped into him, pretended to fall and hoped that he would catch her. In the end, someone did catch her. It was because the young woman had grabbed his coat and held onto it herself.
I’m… I’m sorry. I twisted my ankle…
The young woman apologized to him, her face red. When he coldly stared at his coat in her hand, she quickly let go, embarrassed. Without a word, the Duke took off his coat.
Throw it away. Marlyn.
It was a perfectly good coat with no damages, but his attitude seemed as if the touch of another person contaminated it. As the Duke turned away coldly, leaving the lady, whose face was beet red and looked as if she could burst into tears at any moment, behind, Marlyn recalled her thoughts at the time.
‘I thought he had mysophobia…’
The Duke, who was notably germaphobic, especially towards strangers and more so towards women, brought a woman wrapped in his own coat to his home just yesterday.
Furthermore, as if there was an urgent matter that made her leave her Earl’s house unprepared, he had ordered in the afternoon to invite Madame Pompmeunieu, the empire’s top female fashion designer, to prepare for the prospective Duchess who had not managed to pack all her belongings.
Not only that, he had ordered to ensure the comfort of the prospective Duchess, and commanded a reinspection of the facilities within the Duke’s mansion.
Thanks to that, they began to renovate the office that the prospective Duchess would be using from the early morning, and even ordered books of the level of the Royal and University Library for the lady who was said to enjoy reading to be placed in the Duke’s library.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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