The man’s purple eyes somehow resembled that night sky. Ansi, who had been staring at them, suddenly became embarrassed and turned her gaze to the floor as she asked.
“On a floor like this?”
“It was an even messier floor than this.”
It was hard to believe that a man with such a noble appearance would have done such a thing. However, given what she had seen of Damion de Orphera so far, it seemed plausible.
“Don’t suggest we lie down here together now.”
Damion burst into laughter at her genuine concern. Fortunately, it seemed he had no such intention.
“Instead, could you teach me about that star, if you know about it? I’ve been curious for a long time.”
Ansi looked up at the sky where Damion’s fingertip was pointing. It was a star that shone particularly brightly among all the stars.
“It’s Arcturus. It means ‘guardian of the bear’, and it’s the brightest star in the constellation Boötes.”
“Do you like stars?”
“A little.”
“I suppose the shepherd’s livestock to tend is a bear, then.”
“No, the bear he guards is not livestock, but his mother. She was turned into a bear by the wrath of the gods. The shepherd watches over his mother in the sky for eternity.”
At those words, Damion’s eyes narrowed. He asked in a casual voice.
“If they become an unrecognizable different creature, and eventually die and disappear, are they still family?”
“Yes, I think that’s what family is. What do you think, Lord Damion?”
Ansi looked straight at Damion as she asked.
If family was like that to him as well…
Ansi stared at the man’s lips, tinged with darkness. Soon, the closed lips opened.
“I’m glad you have such thoughts, Ansi. I, too, think I could give my life for family.”
Ansi’s gaze trembled. This young master who spoke so easily about giving his life for family, not knowing what kind of person his brother was, or what he had done to her.
Indeed, this man was the one Ansi should hate.
He was the villain who should be pushed into the fire pit along with the witch.
She bit the inside of her lip hard, then smiled deliberately as she replied.
“We think alike, my lord.”
“I think it’s time to drop the formalities. Call me Damion, Ansi.”
“…Damion.”
The man smiled brightly. Seeing the happiness on his face in the moonlight, Ansi was overwhelmed by a dirty and miserable feeling.
Two emotions mixed in disorder.
The hatred of him being the enemy’s brother.
And the guilt of deceiving an innocent man who knew nothing.
Neither was a good feeling.
Nevertheless.
Ansi had a premonition.
That no matter how their story ended, she would never forget this flood of stars and the memory of the maze for the rest of her life.
[This is the timeline separator]The gentle voice of a boy echoed in Damion’s head.
A painful groan escaped through Damion’s lips as he closed his eyes. One drop, two drops. Along with the feeling of something falling on his arm, extreme pain engulfed him.
The boy let out a laugh. Damion, who had been squeezing his eyes shut, opened them and spoke. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
What came out of his mouth was the voice of a crying child. On his arm, droplets of hardened candle wax could be seen. The wheat-haired boy in front of him, Kardian, looked at him with coldly frozen eyes.
Kardian, who had been speaking as if scolding a mistake, thrust the candle he was holding directly onto Damion’s arm.
Damion let out a loud scream. The sensation of the flame and candle directly touching his arm was so hot that he would never forget it for the rest of his life. As Damion screamed and frantically shook his arm, Kardian burst into laughter.
That’s when it happened. The door flung open. The Duchess, Marianne, had rushed in with several people, alerted by the scream.
Kardian spoke calmly as he lowered Damion’s sleeve that he had rolled up.
Damion rushed towards Marianne, almost falling. Thinking that now an adult who could save him from his brother’s hands had come, he would be alright.
Damion raised his arm where he felt extreme pain. And just as he was about to grab his sleeve that had fallen to his wrist with his other hand.
Marianne firmly grasped the child’s hand, stopping his movement. Her gaze swept over the extinguished candle rolling on the floor, Damion’s hand, and Kardian’s golden eyes staring blankly at his mother with round eyes.
After a moment of silence, she swallowed dryly and opened her mouth.
She was still holding his small hand tightly, preventing him from rolling up his sleeve completely.
That day, Damion realized. Just like the children trapped in the gingerbread house in fairy tales, there were no adults here to save him.
Because it was none other than the child’s parents who had abandoned the child in that gingerbread house.
He had to escape from the villain’s hands by himself.
Without anyone’s help, on his own.
“Ugh… urgh…”
The body of the child who cried alone in the dark room, swallowing his sounds, grew and became who he is now. Yet, his surroundings were still dark.
He couldn’t breathe. Damion clutched at his own neck, choking. His chest felt tight and not knowing how to breathe, he just kept inhaling until he let out a scream.
At that sound, the door burst open.
“Master! Master!”
Someone shook him awake. Damion’s eyes flew open at the urgent touch.
“Haa…!”
Damion exhaled loudly, then breathed out roughly. His body was drenched in cold sweat.
The head maid Elma repeatedly stroked Damion’s back.
“You had a nightmare. It’s alright.”
Damion, who had been staring into space with bloodshot eyes, finally regained his composure after a while.
“…I’m fine now. Thank you.”
A cracked voice escaped through his lips. Elma looked at him with pity before leaving the room.
Elma had been watching over Damion since he was 8 years old when he first set foot in the Orphe family, and she was the one who followed Damion to his new home after he moved out post-military service.
Just when I thought things had calmed down lately, it seems he’s having nightmares again.
“Poor young master.”
Elma sighed bitterly in front of the closed door before turning away.
She decided to relay the Duke of Orphe’s order to come to the mansion as soon as he woke up after the young master had caught his breath and had breakfast.
Elma hoped and prayed that the lady the Duke had in mind as a match would become a proper family for the young master.
[This is the timeline separator]“Rain! Open the door, will you!”
Ansi frowned at the sound of someone banging on the door early in the morning.
Her body felt heavy. And for good reason. After returning from last night’s ball, she had thrown off the dress that man had gifted her, and by the time she started preparing for bed, dawn was already breaking.
“Ansi, I think Lady Roma has arrived.”
However, when Sofia rose from the opposite bed with surprised eyes, Ansi finally raised her tired body.
As she opened the door, Roma tried to enter as if she had been waiting. Ansi blocked her.
“Even if it’s your house, barging in is not okay. We paid for staying in this room, didn’t we?”
Since they hadn’t found a house in the capital yet, they decided to stay at Roma’s house for a few days. It was the most reasonable choice as a safe space to stay at an affordable price.
They had considered Ansi coming to the capital alone first, but leaving Sofia alone in the southern house where Geris might show up at any time didn’t sit well with her.
Fortunately, Roma’s house was quite comfortable.
There was just one problem – the owner of the house was too talkative.
“You, what on earth is this about? This picture in Morning Noblesse, it’s you, isn’t it?”
Roma held up a gossip magazine, alternating her gaze between the black and white picture and Ansi. Her eyes, which couldn’t believe what they were seeing, soon landed on the unique ornaments of the dress that was casually hung up.
“It is, it is!”
“Yes, it is.”
“My goodness, how could such a thing happen? I was so surprised I gulped down my coffee, and now my heart is racing even more. Rain! No, I’ll call you Ansi from now on. That’s okay, right?”
“You have to. I won’t be using the name Rain anymore.”
“I see the situation roughly. Don’t worry. You know I can keep a secret, right?”
Ansi nodded.
The reason they came to this house despite the chatty owner was because she was someone who didn’t speak carelessly. It was a know-how and principle she had built up while running a business handling numerous people’s requests.
“Anyway, I’ve confirmed it, so that’s that. It’s amazing.”
“Yes, please rest.”
“That fountain pen sold. Here’s the price.”
Roma held out a wad of cash. Judging by its thickness, it seemed to have sold for a high price.
He said it was worth a day’s life, but it seems he didn’t consider it that cheap. As the man’s arrogant words came back to mind, a laugh escaped from Ansi without her realizing.
“Why? Did you expect more?”
“No. It’s larger than I expected.”
“Buy something delicious with your mother. More importantly… It was good that you went out that day, wasn’t it?”
That day? Ah.
Ansi realized what Roma was talking about. Come to think of it, meeting Damion de Orphe again was thanks to her going out in place of the young lady of the Larwill family.
The very person who had led her to take a big step towards revenge. Ansi bowed her head to Roma with sincere gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, you! I didn’t say it to receive thanks.”
But seeming pleased, Roma laughed softly before slamming the door shut as she left.
Ansi lay down on the bed.
One step.
She had really taken one step.
Mulling over this fact, Ansi closed her eyes again.
[This is the timeline separator]Light collided with the crystal chandelier on the high ceiling and poured down. It was like a baptism of light welcoming the man who had visited the mansion.
Through that light, Damion moved with cool steps straight towards the dining room.
The door was open, but Damion knocked on the open door as a matter of courtesy.
Marianne’s expression, who had been smiling while using her fork, hardened. Her face turned red with anger as she put down her fork with a clatter.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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