“Your Excellency, do you really intend to get engaged to the princess?”
Kaius’s aide Lemon asked in a tone full of discontent. It was an order that was as good as Emperor Hart’s scheme. The engagement was just a procedure. Soon after marriage, he would become the son-in-law of the poorest country on the continent, and what followed was obvious. How much they would ask for handouts.
“Well…”
Kaius, who was drinking coffee, gave an ambiguous answer. He knew well what Lemon was worried about. So the princess’s proposal was the most realistic alternative for now. Kaius’s eyes were calm as he recalled the letter that the princess’s maid had delivered early this morning.
As he had guessed, the woman from last night was the princess.
“It might be better to break off the engagement and take the punishment that follows.”
That could be so. In fact, that’s what he had in mind when he came to Letiana.
Going to the North Palace where the princess was said to be last night was an impulsive action. He didn’t know what he was trying to confirm. But as he approached, the barrier of the magical beast opened, and he was wounded more severely than expected.
There was a woman with healing abilities where he hid, and she healed him. His speculation that she might be the princess turned into certainty due to her letter delivered this morning. At the end of the radical marriage proposal was a question about whether he often got hurt like yesterday. If it weren’t for that incident, he wouldn’t even be considering this.
“If you had married Lady Lantiano, the Elbartan family would have become even more solid. But Emperor Hart interfered knowing that.”
Lemon was busy cursing Emperor Hart, pacing around the room as if bursting with indignation. But that was Lemon’s misunderstanding. Kaius had already met Lady Lantiano and told her to cancel the marriage talks before Emperor Hart’s interference.
Elbartan didn’t need help from other families. Also, knowing Emperor Hart’s twisted obsession well, a union with Lantiano was out of the question.
Moreover, the woman he needed now was none other than Princess Ariel.
Even he, who prided himself on having quite remarkable intelligence, didn’t know about the ability she possessed. That fact proved that she was quite tight-lipped. It also meant that there was no chance of his injuries leaking out through her.
Kaius’s lips curled up slightly at the thought that this visit to Letiana might turn out to be better than expected.
[This is the timeline separator]As Ariel left the greenhouse and entered the corridor leading to the North Palace, maids were moving busily and shouting.
“Why is it so noisy?”
Anna grabbed a passing maid and asked.
“Everyone’s in an uproar after seeing Duke Elbartan from the Empire.”
“Why?”
“He’s so handsome.”
Ariel couldn’t help but laugh at the maid speaking with a dreamy expression. Shaking her head, she turned into the corridor leading to her bedroom, where Kaius was talking with his aide Lemon.
He seemed to have come to confirm if Ariel was indeed the woman from last night after receiving the letter she had sent in the morning.
Kaius’s gaze turned to her, perhaps sensing her presence as she stood still. His eyes lingered on Ariel’s face, then slowly moved downward. The loose shirt carelessly tucked into pants, and muddy boots.
Then back to her face.
He stared at that face for a long while. She certainly looked like the woman he saw yesterday, but something was different. He wondered if it was because of the different attire, or maybe because her hair was tied up. He wanted to check more closely.
As he took a step forward, she also took a step closer.
“I greet Duke Elbartan.”
Ariel greeted him first while examining him. It was an ordinary, neat black suit, but she understood why the maids were running around so noisily. The classic design gold cufflinks on the white shirt particularly caught the eye, and his fair skin blended well with the current attire, making him even more attractive.
Ariel smiled softly as she saw him hesitating, looking at her attire. It was natural for him to be confused since her outfit when going to the greenhouse was pants, not a dress.
“This person is…”
Anna stepped forward. However, Ariel didn’t want to continue the conversation in her current appearance. There was a scheduled audience soon anyway.
“Anna, let’s go.”
Ariel cut off Anna’s words and walked past Kaius. As she passed by him, a cool scent different from last night’s thick smell of blood wafted over.
Meanwhile, as Ariel walked past him, Kaius caught the same fragrant scent as the woman from last night.
“Wait.”
Kaius blocked her way.
“Are you perhaps Princess Ariel?”
“Yes.”
He had received reports beforehand that she often walked around in pants, but it was beyond what he had imagined. Her attire was by no means what one would think of as a princess. Kaius’s gaze fixed on Ariel’s clear brown eyes.
For a moment, the golden eyes from last night flashed in his mind, but that must have been an illusion due to losing a lot of blood and the moonlight.
“Pleased to meet you, Princess Ariel.”
As his gaze persistently looked at her, memories of the past overlapped. Just like now, after looking at her searchingly, insulting and cold words would spew from between his lips. As that memory surfaced, her body began to tremble.
“I’m pleased to meet you too. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Ariel, calming her trembling heart, slowly walked past him. Showing an appropriately polite smile.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you spare me a moment?”
Ariel hesitated at his request for conversation and stopped walking. She thought she had already shown all the cards she could show him. She had informed him that her healing ability could be helpful to him, and had presented an alternative to the marriage he didn’t want.
Was he curious about why she was in that room? Since it was an annex of the North Palace, there were plenty of reasons for Ariel to be there. Rather, if anything, his situation was suspicious.
As she was pondering whether talking would be good or bad for their relationship, Ludvian appeared behind Kaius. It wasn’t even time to receive oil.
Why on earth did he appear?
“Here you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Ariel.”
As Ariel’s gaze turned to Ludvian, Kaius also turned towards him. Sensing the atmosphere between the two changing subtly, she quickly spoke words of introduction.
“Ludvian, this is Duke Kaius von Elbartan of the Klardeus Empire. This is Ludvian Beloas… Marquis.”
The two men nodded to each other in lieu of a greeting. Feeling uncomfortable, Ariel glanced sideways at Kaius. Despite surely knowing about Ludvian, his eyes were surprisingly indifferent.
That’s a relief.
That was her first thought. As she was thinking about Kaius’s attitude, he also looked at Ariel. As she turned her gaze away in embarrassment, Ludvian said something unexpected.
“Ariel, doesn’t the firefly festival start today? I came to go together.”
“Ah… the festival.”
A quiet voice flowed from between Ariel’s lips. Although the firefly festival was Ariel’s favorite event of the year, she had completely forgotten about it.
Ludvian should know that there’s a welcome banquet after the delegation’s audience today, right? Ariel, who had been staring quietly at Ludvian, realized his intention and chuckled.
The festival was just an excuse.
He was trying to prevent her from attending the banquet. In the past, Ludvian had disliked her getting close to Kaius. Thinking back, it was around this time that Ariel and Ludvian became full-fledged lovers.
Frowning at the unpleasant memory that suddenly came to mind, Ariel shook her head slightly.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go to the festival. I have to attend the banquet today.”
Despite hearing the words of refusal, Ludvian still looked at Ariel with a smile. Her refusal was like a predetermined order anyway.
The smile disappeared from Ludvian’s face when his gaze turned to Kaius. The man he must kill to become the Demon King. That was the qualification proof that the demon elders demanded of Ludvian.
If Ariel married Kaius, they would have to grow the underworld flower at the Elbartan mansion. Although the flower would continue to be grown since the king and queen were in his grasp anyway, it would be impossible for him to come and go freely like now.
Moreover, Ariel escaping from his grasp?
That fact oddly grated on Ludvian’s nerves. For the next year, until Kaius died, Ariel had to stay quietly by his side. So he had to separate the two. Although he had been by her side for the past time, Ariel, unlike other women, had not opened her heart to him. It would be impossible to win her heart now.
Then.
It would be enough to make Kaius von Elbartan withdraw on his own.
Meanwhile, Kaius watched Ariel with an interested gaze. It was quite unexpected that she didn’t show any confusion despite being between the man she had to marry and the man she liked. How about her attitude towards Marquis Beloas?
The straight head, eyes that seemed indifferent, and even the cold tone of voice. It was as if she was dealing with someone who had no personal feelings at all. Of course, it must be because he was nearby.
A dry smile flashed across Kaius’s lips at the thought that her acting was top-notch.
Kaius shifted his gaze to Marquis Beloas. The relationship started about a year ago, was it? The smiling face and affectionate tone throughout dealing with her. Anyone could see he was a man who liked the woman in front of him.
Chuckling once again, Kaius turned his gaze back to Ariel just as she looked at him.
“Duke, would you like to go to the festival with me? Not today, but how about tomorrow or the day after?”
Kaius stared at Ariel for a long time, who had asked an incomprehensible question. To me right after rejecting your man who’s right beside you? Moreover, unlike her attitude towards Ludvian, her eyes were clear and bright.
What on earth is this situation?
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
