Do your best. If you successfully pull it off as promised earlier, I’ll grant you a day out.
Of course, I was determined to persuade Reidox—not just for the outing privilege, but to prevent a catastrophe.
“I’ve come here because there is something I must absolutely inform you, Marquis.”
“Something I must absolutely know?”
“Do you know Valije Tahigon?”
“Of course I do. Isn’t he the consort of Princess Veronia? Because of him, Princess Veronia was excluded from succession. Had it not been for that spirit master, the princess would have become this country’s monarch. In that case, the late deposed king wouldn’t have ruined state affairs, and the current king wouldn’t even exist.”
That was tantamount to saying that without the current king, Sikar Blake wouldn’t have been able to play king either. After saying that much, Reidox looked pointedly at Sikar as if for his benefit, then lifted his teacup.
“Isn’t that right, Duke?”
‘This is exactly what Reidox said to Sikar in the original story!’
In the original story, right after this, Sikar pretended to slip and pulled out a jackknife, cutting Reidox’s face.
Surely he wouldn’t do that? He wouldn’t ruin everything like that?
I glanced anxiously at Sikar, but fortunately, he was merely watching with an expressionless face.
“That’s right.”
Thank goodness. I didn’t realize how much my nerves had been frayed during those moments. I let out a sigh of relief and continued the conversation, now with renewed frustration.
“Do you know that Princess Veronia has a son under her care?”
Of course you don’t. I asked knowing you wouldn’t know.
At that moment, Reidox’s eyes suddenly flashed. His previously friendly gaze toward me instantly turned wary.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The princess has a seven-year-old son under her care. He is His Majesty the King’s nephew.”
Reidox chuckled as if he’d never heard such an absurd thing before.
“Did you come here thinking I might know or be hiding the princess’s son? If so, you’ve come to the wrong person. I know absolutely nothing about such matters.”
Ah. He could misunderstand it that way.
“No, Marquis. Quite the opposite.”
“Are you aware, Duchess, that the more I listen, the less I understand? What do you mean by ‘the opposite’?”
I couldn’t easily speak, as I was about to drop a time-bomb-like statement. My heart pounded wildly at the thought of revealing Kian’s existence.
I glanced at Sikar once to confirm he was ready. Sikar nodded toward me as if urging me to go ahead.
“We’ve come to inform you that we have adopted Princess Veronia’s son.”
“What do you mean…?”
Reidox looked utterly shocked. He stared at me with a hollow, disbelieving expression, then turned his gaze to Sikar.
“Why are you telling me this? Is it not enough for the Duke to keep the king as a puppet? Now you intend to seat the royal heir on the throne and become the king’s father?”
So, he interpreted it that way after all.
“That’s not it. For a very long time, the king has imprisoned Princess Veronia somewhere and has been searching for the royal heir. During that process, the spirit master Valije met his death.”
“But how, Duchess, could you possibly know all these details so precisely?”
“Because we discovered His Highness the Royal Heir and heard it directly from him.”
Reidox wore an expression of utter disbelief.
“I recently heard that the Duke registered a golden-haired, blue-eyed child. Rumor had it he was your biological son, which I found strange—since I’ve seen you, and you have black hair and black eyes. Why did you register His Highness the Royal Heir as your son?”
“His Highness the Royal Heir does not yet know he is the royal heir of this country. But His Majesty the King is searching for him. That’s why we registered him as our son—to protect him.”
A brief flash of anger crossed Reidox’s otherwise dignified face. He knew Sikar wasn’t the type to risk danger for a royal heir, so his expression also conveyed he wouldn’t be fooled by our schemes.
“That makes it even stranger! Why would the Duke register His Highness the Royal Heir—the very person His Majesty is searching for?”
“It’s because the current king will follow the same path as the deposed king.”
Reidox’s face contorted more severely than before.
“So, are you claiming to foresee events that haven’t even occurred? Or perhaps, Duchess, are you a fortune-teller? The king isn’t currently walking the same path as the deposed king, nor will he?”
Reidox stood up as if deciding further conversation was worthless.
“I don’t know your intentions or purpose in coming to me, but let me say this one thing: I will never side with the Duke. Nor will I allow this kingdom to fall into the Duke’s hands. Now, please leave.”
The moment Reidox turned to leave without even looking back, a jackknife flew out and embedded itself in the door ahead of him.
I whipped my head around to stare at Sikar. Sikar looked at Reidox with calm, indifferent eyes, as if nothing had happened.
“We’re not done talking. Sit down.”
“Duke, you truly do as you please.”
“If you know that well, sitting down would be better for your own good.”
We agreed to resolve this peacefully, and yet he does this again. Again.
I gritted my teeth and whispered to Sikar as if ventriloquizing.
“We agreed to speak nicely. And that’s not what you’re supposed to say now. Stick to the plan. The plan.”
Sikar gave me a sharp glare, then swept his hair back and said in a languid voice,
“My wife sees the future. That’s why I’m telling you to sit down.”
Even Reidox would recognize that, all things considered, this was quite a polite way of speaking.
Reidox tilted his head a few times and blinked several times, looking alternately at us as if overwhelmed by nonsense.
His eyes seemed to ask, ‘Are you out of your mind?’
“Are you asking me to believe you see the future?”
“You may not believe me, but yes, that’s right. Do you remember when I brought Lucy here not long ago? That wasn’t coincidence.”
“It sounds as if you deliberately encouraged Lucy to run away.”
“I knew she would loiter there after running away. You won’t believe me, but exactly three days from now, Lucy will run away again.”
Reidox, convinced such a thing would never happen, looked at me with even greater disbelief.
“Do you really think so?”
“The day we found Lucy for you, Marquis, you told her her mother had become a star in the sky, and you believed she would never run away again. I know that too.”
For the first time, Reidox’s expression—previously fixed in absolute disbelief—changed. He hadn’t expected me to know even that.
Again, Reidox wore a look of disbelief, but this time it meant something entirely different: astonishment that I knew even that detail.
“But Lucy will search for her mother. She believes she’ll meet her mother-star. So from now on, she’ll wander outside at night. I’ll say no more today. If you ever feel inclined to hear more of our story, send a letter to the Duke’s residence anytime.”
I told him only this much—because only then could I anticipate a next meeting with him.
Outwardly I showed nothing, but I was so tense that as soon as I boarded the carriage, I gulped down water.
“You really can’t break that habit.”
“This isn’t something I can just fix. I have no idea how tense I was.”
Had I not practiced repeatedly as Sikar instructed, I wouldn’t have spoken so calmly.
Sikar sat with his arms crossed, seemingly reflecting on the conversation with Reidox.
“Reidox probably won’t believe us. He’s skeptical. Maybe he’ll believe us slightly only after Lucy definitively runs away next time.”
“It seems Lucy will have to attempt running away a few more times before he believes… But I doubt they’ll just let Lucy run away.”
“Likely. They might assign someone to watch her.”
“Still, if Lucy keeps attempting to run away, Reidox will come to us. Whether he believes us or not, he’ll do anything for his daughter.”
“That’s right. The problem is, I wish it wouldn’t take that long.”
“For now…”
“Yes. I just remembered. Soon, in Yukanadar, the mother of a golden-haired, blue-eyed boy will die. Gillian’s guards will be searching for Kian and end up killing the wrong person—and because of that, Reidox will rage against Gillian. We can use that. We must wait until that boy’s mother dies.”
Right. That’s when the child’s mother died. If I didn’t know, fine—but now that I recalled it, I couldn’t possibly let that woman die.
“No, Sikar. We have to save her.”
“Why.”
“Because I can’t just let her die knowing she’s going to die!”
“You want to save the bait when you need to catch the fish? That’s absurd.”
This cold-blooded bastard.
“We just need to think of a way to save her and still make Reidox take the bait.”
“You can’t convince me with that reasoning. If you truly want to save her, persuade me with a clear, valid reason.”
A clear reason…
“Right! I told you I see the future! If I claim to see the future but just stand by while this happens, Reidox won’t trust me at all! When that woman dies, Reidox will remember his own wife and become furious. Seeing a child growing up without a mother, he’ll think of his own children. That’s why he won’t forgive Gillian. If I just let that woman die, to Reidox, I’ll be no different from Gillian!”
Did Sikar yield to my persuasion?
I watched his expression anxiously. Sikar, naturally expressionless, gave nothing away—his blank face revealed nothing of his thoughts.
He merely looked at me with indifferent eyes and said plainly,
“Well argued.”
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.
