It was a morning with warm sunlight shining.
Anna and I arrived in front of the greenhouse deep inside the palace. Warm sunlight streamed through the glass, and a large swimming pool occupied one corner.
The palace people called this place ‘the princess’s secret greenhouse’.
It got that name because it was always locked except when Ariel entered.
Lilas was a small blue flower and fragrant, while Japaros flowers were white and had no scent. As flowers from the demon realm, both had a strong power to enchant people.
Before the regression, courtiers enchanted by the scent of Lilas unknowingly ate the flowers, and without fail became violent and attacked others. Knowing this, Ariel installed locks from the beginning this time.
“Aren’t you going in?”
Anna’s voice brought Ariel’s mind back to reality.
“Let’s just go back today.”
After closing and locking the greenhouse door she had opened, she headed towards the North Palace where her quarters were located.
“Lady Ariel, Lord Ludvian is waiting in the reception room.”
As she returned to the North Palace and was changing out of her pants into a dress, a servant delivered the message. Ariel would make oil from the demon realm flowers, and Ludvian would come periodically to take it.
It seemed he had come today to receive the Lilas and Japaros oil. She took two bottles from the glass oil storage cabinet, placed them in a paper box, and headed to the reception room.
“You’re here, Ludvian.”
She held out the paper box to him.
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
Leaning deep into the sofa with one long leg crossed over the other, Ludvian stared at Ariel intently and gave a meaningful smile.
“You’re twenty years old this year, aren’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
This was around the time when that evil demon started to earnestly extend his claws towards Ariel. In her previous life, Ariel had been captivated by his sculpture-like appearance from the beginning, so he had won her heart without much effort.
Seeing that he wasn’t taking the oil and was making unnecessary conversation, it seemed he had rushed over because of the news that the Klardeus delegation was coming for the engagement.
“Your favorite chocolate cake.”
Ludvian placed a cake box on the table. A silent, mocking laugh escaped between Ariel’s lips as she looked at it.
“Take it with you. I won’t eat it.”
“It’s cake from your favorite store.”
He had befriended her mother and found out what Ariel liked, then suddenly brought gifts like this.
“I heard there’s a puppet show in the square today. Shall we go watch it together?”
That gentle voice reminded her of the threats from a year ago. Despite never once accepting his constant invitations to go somewhere, he kept trying endlessly. It must be because his desire to become the Demon King was so strong.
“Go by yourself. Take the cake with you too.”
She refused without a moment’s hesitation. The cake before her eyes was a bit of a shame, but she could just go buy it herself. As Ariel stood up, he leaned forward on the sofa and began to open the cake box.
“Sit down.”
“…”
“It would be better if you sat. Don’t forget that what happened before can happen again at any time, Ariel.”
She would have to deal with this demon who constantly threatened others’ lives for another year. Ariel sat down with a quiet sigh as he held out a piece of cake. She snatched the fork from his hand and began to eat the cake.
“Well done, Ariel.”
When she had eaten about a third of the cake, Ludvian’s hand moved towards her head. Ariel quickly dodged his hand and put down the fork.
“Don’t touch my body carelessly, and please leave now.”
She stood up, leaving the box with the oil bottles on the table. His laughter could be heard behind her as she turned to leave. A mocking laugh escaped at his confident attitude.
Ludvian probably thinks everything is going according to his wishes right now. The moment I find the demon realm plant guide and detoxify Kaius will be when he gets a huge taste of frustration.
Enjoy this time as much as you can. That way, the pain when you fail will be even greater.
It would be so satisfying when that time comes. I was curious to see his expression.
[This is the timeline separator]The delegation from the Klardeus Empire unpacked their luggage in the outer palace of the Letiana Kingdom. As their arrival time was late, the official audience was postponed to the next day. That night, Ariel moved quietly to meet Kaius.
“This is where he was found.”
In her previous life, he had not attended tomorrow’s audience. They said it was due to travel fatigue, but in reality, it was because he had been found wounded in the North Palace overnight. She didn’t know why Kaius had come all the way to the annex of the North Palace, far from the outer palace where he was staying, but thanks to that, she could easily remember.
To avoid being caught by the patrolling knights, she turned off the lights in the annex and opened the curtains to receive help from the moonlight. Still wearing the transformation artifact, Ariel hid in a dark corner where she could see the bedroom door and listened carefully.
Soon, a clicking sound was heard twice in succession. He appeared, leaning against the door with his eyes closed, accompanied by pain-filled breathing. Thinking he would never discover her since she was hidden in the darkness, Ariel gazed at him intently.
In Ariel’s memory, it was Kaius. Even in the moonlight, she could recognize him. He was the husband who had died because of her, and no one else.
His last appearance before the regression was death. Their first meeting after the regression wasn’t much different from then, but at least he was alive. That was enough.
Welcome, Kaius.
In her previous life, she had been busy avoiding him whenever she saw him. His eyes, which always silently looked at her, were always cold and made her shrink away. That’s why she leaned more towards Ludvian, who was always kind to her. Not knowing it was all a lie.
Even at a glance, his wounds seemed serious, and she wanted to treat him quickly. Those wounds were all because of her too, making the thorn in her heart grow even larger. But she couldn’t approach carelessly. Even sitting haphazardly due to his injuries, the pressure he exuded was great.
Kaius had noticed the quiet breaths being exhaled since entering, but decided to wait a little to see what action this presence would take. As he focused on the person in the darkness, Kaius’s breathing became slower.
Just as Ariel had made up her mind to reveal herself to him, Kaius opened his closed eyes. His gaze slowly moved to focus precisely on where Ariel was hiding.
“How long do you plan to hide? Come out now.”
At his words, the person hiding in the darkness slowly walked towards where the moonlight was shining. More precisely, towards him. Kaius raised an eyebrow. It was a small woman.
“Are you injured?”
The presence of the woman approaching with the moonlight backlighting her was strong.
The voice that came was filled with worry rather than trembling from fear. Kaius found his current state unbearably ridiculous. It meant that even a woman he had never seen before was showing cheap sympathy, indicating how much of a mess his current appearance was.
Ariel was startled by the strong smell of blood, but she approached Kaius further and tried to support his body. Or rather, she tried to. In the blink of an eye, Ariel was laid on the floor, her shoulder pinned down.
“Why, why are you doing this? I’m trying to treat you.”
“Who are you?”
She roughly knew why he was so on edge right now. He probably couldn’t sleep properly, not knowing when an attack might come.
“I’m the person who will save you.”
Kaius examined the woman before him a little more closely. He couldn’t understand the words of a woman who seemed to have no abilities whatsoever. Not unless she had a potion or something.
“How?”
“I have healing abilities.”
At Ariel’s words, Kaius let out a snicker.
“Then prove it right now.”
His gaze turned to his left arm. Even at a glance, the wound was deep, and blood from his arm was staining the cold marble floor. The sight made her swallow dryly.
“Well, for that, you’ll have to let me go first and close your eyes and wait, then I’ll treat you right away. I know it’s hard to understand and believe, but…”
Kaius let out another snicker, and his hand moved towards her neck. Becoming urgent, Ariel quickly added:
“Wait a moment! I don’t have the strength to harm you, nor do I want to. You can see that. I don’t have a single weapon. Even if you’re injured, there’s no way you couldn’t stop me. So…”
Ariel, who had been speaking without pausing once in the middle, took a deep breath and opened her mouth again.
“Just give me one chance to prove myself. Please.”
Fortunately, Kaius didn’t strangle her neck. However, he didn’t grant her request either.
“Just go.”
The lowly uttered voice was cold.
“Lie down on the bed.”
Ariel stood up, ignoring his words, but didn’t dare to try supporting him again.
“I told you to leave.”
His voice, which had become even lower, was intimidating, and his eyes were chilling. It was exactly the same as the appearance that used to frighten Ariel in the past. It was when she heard a groan from him that she realized she was backing away from Kaius.
This wasn’t the time. To prevent the broken engagement, she had to prove her usefulness to him. Clenching her fists tightly, she walked towards him.
That man is not scary anymore.
Repeating that thought like a mantra, she approached him as he was leaning against the wall and supported his arm.
“Don’t stay on the cold floor, let’s go to the bed.”
Kaius slowly opened his closed eyes towards the woman who had not left despite being clearly sent away and had approached again.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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