Kian. You are such a good child. The Duke must be very pleased inside.
Kian seemed most delighted to have received praise from me. He lightly touched his nose, then scratched the back of his head.
“Since Mother is happy, I am happy too.”
With his hands now fully recovered, Sikar Blake resumed folding colored paper, and we managed to complete everything we aimed for before dinner time.
All finished items were placed into glass boxes—the thousand paper cranes went to Kian’s room, and the thousand paper roses were kept in my room.
That night, before going to bed, I visited Kian’s room and saw him praying toward the box containing the cranes, but I didn’t press him for details. I simply hoped his precious prayer would be fulfilled.
And to help Sikar earn a few points with Kian after his prayer ended, I said:
“Look, Kian. These cranes were made together by the Duke and me, and that dreamcatcher was made for you by the Duke.”
Kian hugged me tightly, clearly uninterested in Sikar.
“Thank you, Mother. I think I’m really a lucky child.”
Still, I thought his heart might have softened a little after seeing him thaw Sikar’s frozen hand earlier—but apparently not.
“Kian, how do you feel about the Duke?”
Kian hesitated, debating whether to tell the truth, but eventually told me exactly what he felt.
“Hmm… cold.”
Was it more important for Sikar to open his heart than for Kian to?
“Kian, even if someone occasionally gives off a cold aura, they can still be good people.”
“Can someone with a cold heart truly be good?”
“Yes. Some people have cold hearts but righteous minds. The Duke is one of them.”
“Is the Duke really like that?”
Looking at me with bright, innocent eyes, Kian’s pure gaze made me feel a twinge of guilt—but I was certain that as long as Kian remained necessary, Sikar wouldn’t harm him.
“Of course. Right now he’s awkward at expressing emotions, but someday he’ll learn to show warmth.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So all you need to do is grow up strong and healthy, soaking in all our love.”
Kian made a doubtful, uncertain face, then nodded.
“I’ll think about it carefully.”
I smiled at Kian as warmly as I possibly could, then kissed his forehead. Kian wrapped his small, delicate hands tightly around my waist.
“Sleep well, Kian.”
“Good night, Mother.”
I gently patted his belly until he fell asleep, hoping he wouldn’t have nightmares tonight.
When I glanced at the back of his neck, the royal crest was still clearly visible. We needed to hide that mark quickly so he could move freely outside.
Checking the time, it was about when Lucy would be leaving the house.
Please, let Reidox’s heart change today.
Though Reidox didn’t believe Yura’s words, he couldn’t shake the nagging “what if.”
‘It’s ridiculous to believe such things—but just in case.’
So Reidox only slipped out of the room after confirming Lucy was completely asleep.
He walked down the lonely hallway, muttering to himself that the Duchess’s words were mere nonsense.
While Reidox sang lullabies to help her sleep, Lucy gazed out the window at the glittering stars in the night sky and remembered an old fairy tale.
It was about a boy who missed his mother so much that on a freezing winter day, he wandered the streets searching for her until he collapsed—and his mother, who had become a star, came down to find him.
Lucy thought—if she too wandered the streets searching for her mother and collapsed, perhaps her mother would come for her.
‘On a night like tonight, with stars shining so brightly, it’ll be easier for Mother to find me.’
When everyone was asleep, Lucy slipped out of the house and walked aimlessly.
Just like in the fairy tale, she felt she had to wander until collapsing to meet her mother. It didn’t have to be tonight—even tomorrow night, she just wanted to see her mother’s face once. She missed her mother so much.
Walking the streets on that cold day, Lucy didn’t get far before collapsing.
That was exactly what she wanted. As she lay on the freezing ground, she felt a warm touch near her.
Though she couldn’t clearly see the figure, the warmth made Lucy certain her mother had descended from the heavens.
‘Mother… you came to find me.’
Lucy wanted to open her eyes and see her mother—but instead, she lost consciousness as if falling asleep.
Reidox’s heart sank when he found Lucy collapsed on the road. Her body temperature had already grown cold.
He held her tightly to prevent further heat loss and climbed into the carriage.
He had clearly checked that Lucy was asleep—but for some reason, Yura’s warning nagged at him, so he went to check on her again, only to find she had vanished.
After hearing the physician say that even a slight delay might have resulted in death, Reidox felt it was entirely his fault—he had failed to properly protect his child.
He knew Sikar wasn’t the type to make idle talk or be swayed by others’ words—but because he didn’t want to join hands with him, he had pretended not to know.
But now, he felt he could no longer avoid it.
Reidox gazed at the night sky—the same sky his child had looked up at—and sank into deep contemplation.
I came down to the dining room for breakfast, but Kian was nowhere to be seen.
Grandmother had gone to the Grand Temple due to worsening symptoms; Durion was eating in his own room to avoid disturbing us; Vika Lamberst, who always disliked sharing meals, ate alone.
With Kian also absent, only Sikar and I remained at the breakfast table.
“Why isn’t Kian coming down?”
“Kian is eating with Vika.”
“Why isn’t he eating with us?”
“Apparently, starting today, they’re having meals while playing ‘spirit games’.”
“Spirit games?”
“You saw it yesterday too, didn’t you? Kian’s skills have improved dramatically. In the novel, it says Kian won’t handle spirits well until age eight. But while pretending to play spirit games with Vika, his abilities have been improving daily.”
Sikar spoke casually, but I wondered if he had already planned this and deliberately chose Vika as Kian’s caretaker.
“Sikar, I have a request. Could you try to like Kian just a little? They say coldness keeps flowing from you.”
“Do you think I can easily like someone who’ll try to kill me when they grow up? And I’ve always been like this. You said you were confident—so you change him. Or change me. You must do your best to make my life a happy ending.”
Cold-hearted bastard.
“By the way, Lucy left the house last night.”
“You saw Lucy? How did you confirm it?”
“Just in case, I was keeping watch in front of the Marquis’s mansion last night, and saw Reidox rushing out in panic to search for Lucy. Seeing his own daughter leave home in the dead of winter—surely Reidox’s thoughts will change now.”
So that’s why he went out with Durion last night. I hoped his heart would change quickly, without needing to wait two more days.
Right now, our top priority was hiding the mark on the back of Kian’s neck. It pained me deeply to see Kian trapped inside the manor, unable to go anywhere because of that mark.
“By the way, are you searching for Valije’s body?”
“We’re searching, but it’s hard to find in the snowy mountains. Even if we look through your memory of the novel scenes, the exact location isn’t specified, so it’s difficult to locate.”
True—the original work said it took several months.
After hastily finishing our meal, we rose from the table to play with Kian again today.
“This period feels like the most exhausting time in my life. Even when Agathion cursed me, it wasn’t this grueling.”
“That’s why they say it takes a whole village to raise a child.”
Durion, following us down the corridor, nodded in agreement as he massaged his stiff shoulders.
“Exactly. Even after training in the practice hall, I’ve never been this tired. I nearly fainted after folding a thousand sheets of colored paper over two days!”
“If anyone heard you, they’d think you made them all alone. You didn’t even make a hundred. It’s impressive you learned swordsmanship at all, being that slow.”
“If it had been about tearing paper instead of folding it, I’d have been the fastest.”
“Then you’d have had a hard time leaving a good impression on Kian.”
Durion waved his hands dismissively, as if saying such nonsense was absurd.
“The young master treats me more kindly than even Vika—he said he can feel a faint warmth from me.”
“At least Kian seems to open his heart to you—that’s fortunate.”
Durion smiled brightly, pleased, then suddenly remembered something.
“Duke, surely you’re not planning to do that strange paper folding again today? How about sledding? The snow on the hill behind the house is perfect for it.”
That didn’t sound bad—active play is good for children. But Sikar’s reaction was negative.
“No sledding.”
“Then how about building a snowman? The yard is full of snow.”
“That’s also not allowed.”
Durion looked disappointed. I almost asked why not, but then remembered the original plot and stayed silent.
In the original story, Kian had gone sledding with Reidox’s children, Lucy and Luid, and burst into tears when memories of his father Valije surfaced. Sikar must be forbidding sledding because of that.
Was this due to his excellent memory—or his pity for Kian? I hoped it was the latter.
“Then how about trying something Kian hasn’t done before?”
“What’s that?”
“Clay play.”
Both Sikar and Durion stared at me as if asking what kind of game that was.
“Clay play?”
“It’s playing by making various things with clay—good for children’s emotional and cognitive development.”
Sikar took my hand to understand better, while Durion turned his head away, acting shyer.
“The Duke must truly love the Lady—holding her hand right in front of me like that.”
Sikar seemed indifferent to whatever Durion said, but I was speechless and could only force a hollow laugh.
‘Ha. Ha. Ha.’
Perhaps all children like similar things—Kian quite enjoyed clay play. Vika poked the clay indifferently with his fingers, but this time, even Durion began enthusiastically making various things with clay.
Kian made a bear; Durion made unidentifiable slime-like creatures; Vika merely pressed the clay half-heartedly with his fingers, pretending to join in.
Unexpectedly, Sikar molded a crown-shaped piece of clay and placed it atop Kian’s head.
“It suits you well.”
Was he imagining how Kian would look seated on a throne? I clapped for Kian, who watched me with a dazed expression.
“Goodness, it suits you so well—you look like a little prince.”
“A prince?”
Yes, since you’ll become king when you grow up, you’re a prince now.
I looked toward Vika and Durion, as if asking if they agreed. Vika gave a half-hearted nod; Durion clapped and cheered like me.
“Exactly! If there’s a real prince, it must be our young master! You’re magnificent, young master!”
Into this warm, cheerful atmosphere, Andrea hurriedly entered the room.
“Duke, I have urgent news to deliver.”
“What’s so urgent? Just speak.”
Andrea handed a letter toward Kian and said:
“It’s a messenger bird from His Majesty the King.”
“Gillian’s messenger bird?”
Sikar quickly unfolded the letter, then looked at me with a displeased expression.
“Gillian says he’ll come to see Kian tomorrow—immediately.”
Tomorrow immediately? We haven’t hidden the mark on Kian’s neck yet—what should we do?!
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
