El couldn’t imagine the event that had occurred, feeling a fever rise to her head, it seemed like it would explode.
She had completely lost her mind.
“Lapellian, that’s enough for now.”
Mikaela couldn’t leave El, who was distressed, alone.
At her order, Lapellian stepped back for the moment.
Still, El continued to tear at her fingertips, her face pale.
Mikaela let out a small sigh and took El’s hand.
“I want to live with you too. I won’t force you, so stay here until the wounds heal, and think it over.”
“You don’t have to…”
“If you hadn’t gotten involved with our house, you wouldn’t have been hurt. We have to take responsibility for that. Get proper treatment here.”
Mikaela sent a firm look, showing she wouldn’t give in on this.
El, pushed by her force, could not refuse.
“Yes. I understand.”
“You don’t need to rush. However, we must think about the adoption.”
The previous statement was directed at El, but the concluding remark was directed at Lapellian.
Mikaela’s gentle gaze at the child changed to something stern and firm when it turned to Lapellian.
Lapellian calmly met her eyes.
The look he returned was not very gentle.
Within the subtle tension between them, El swallowed dryly and replied to Mikaela.
“That, that’s right. Adoption into a Ducal house like me… I can’t even imagine it.”
How could she even dare to imagine it?
Yesterday’s actions were what anyone could do, and what anyone ought to do. That was why she acted. What happened afterward, she couldn’t remember, but it was certain that she was at a loss for how to explain.
But such an excessive reward.
El shook her head desperately, uncaring of her dizziness.
‘I don’t want to bring unnecessary trouble into these peaceful people’s world because of me.’
Mikaela frowned at El’s meekly bowed head.
“El, it’s not that you’re lacking, so we must consider adoption. Don’t degrade yourself like that.”
“No. It’s not that… I’m truly worthless. I hope I don’t make things difficult for you.”
“There are no worthless beings in this world. And you did something that anyone can do, but no one else could. Mind and body often act separately. First, stay here comfortably and think about what you want.”
Mikaela comforted El, never mentioning what had happened the previous night.
El stared at Mikaela, struck by the warmth in her voice.
‘Is it natural for people from great families to be so generous and magnanimous?’
Everything about her felt warm.
El felt what it was like to be cared for, for the first time.
So she might have gathered courage.
“Um…”
El chewed her lip and then, with a deep breath, hesitantly opened her mouth. She could no longer keep silent in front of those who made her feel valuable.
“What is it?”
“I have something to tell you honestly. I’m not a pickpocket, but I lived in a pickpocket den. I didn’t mean to deceive, but I’m sorry.”
El’s tensionfilled voice followed.
“I was even useless in the pickpocket den. The boss always said that I’m useless and defective, that even an orphanage wouldn’t take me. Why are you good to me? Why don’t you ask anything? Why don’t you doubt me?”
El recalled the words she had always heard from the pickpocket boss, both in the south and here in the north.
That you are a bad child just by living with us here.
That no one will believe you. That no one will take you in, so you must listen to me. If not, I will abandon you.
El felt depressed just thinking about the words she had heard so far.
Her lips naturally drooped, and sadness filled her eyes.
“It’s not your fault that you ended up in such a situation.”
“Huh?”
Lapellian said, stroking the back of El’s head.
El, who had been downcast, lifted her head and looked at him.
Then Mikaela added with a small smile.
“It’s the responsibility of the adults. The sin created by the wicked adults. And my sin. Managing this territory and protecting the subjects is my duty.”
“Actually, I don’t have a grudge against anyone here….”
But being an orphan abandoned as soon as she was born, El trailed off the sentence, unnecessarily watching her reactions.
“What’s important about having a grudge? You’re in my land now, anyway. So you’re my subject, whom I have to protect.”
Mikaela shrugged and spoke nonchalantly.
Following her, Lapellian also added indifferently.
“We’ll only believe you whom we’ve seen ourselves. And we’ll protect you. So put away any unnecessary thoughts.”
El felt a tingling in her heart.
‘I’ve never heard such words before.’
A strange feeling welled up, as if she might cry or laugh.
The corners of El’s mouth, which had been drooping, twitched.
Her body, tense with anxiety, also relaxed a bit.
‘They believe only what they see in me… that I’m someone to protect.’
Her heart, where relief and anxiety coexisted, tilted heavily towards relief.
And where relief grew, excitement and anticipation filled as well.
“I’ll only make you laugh. I don’t know what decision you’ll make, but at least while you’re here, please live without worry, laughing as much as you want.”
Mikaela tapped El’s nose and softened her eyes.
El drew a shy smile at the flawlessly beautiful smile.
Mikaela patted El’s shoulder and then turned her gaze to Irina and commanded.
“Irina.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Since El will stay here until her wound heals, we need to prepare the necessary supplies.”
“Yes. Please order me.”
“Call a hairdresser to take care of El’s hair. And since it’s now business hours in the shopping district, have El choose clothes and shoes to wear right away.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“Also, shall we buy some jewelry?”
El, momentarily savoring the unfamiliar experience of being taken care of, was once again astonished.
As Mikaela’s orders continued to flow, El seemed to turn pale again.
It seemed to take some time for El to accept this situation and make ‘enough thought.’
After instructing for rather extensive preparations that seemed too real for ‘temporary supplies,’ Mikaela left the dining room and said to Lapellian.
“Lapell, let’s talk a bit.”
“Yes.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
