“Father, are you going to the Sanctuary again today?”
Vialle’s clear question prompted him to respond with a contented smile, as if it were the most natural thing.
“Of course. Isn’t it the closest place to hear the voice of the deity?”
Anticipating a suggestion for them to accompany him, Gaijen hurriedly spoke up.
“I have to take care of Father’s work today, so I’m busy. Sister, you’re busy too, right?”
“Yes, I have a lot of reading to do in my room.”
At this, their father reluctantly nodded, resigning himself to the situation.
“I’ll be leaving late in the afternoon, so you two have dinner without me.”
“Yes, Father.”
After breakfast, Vialle went up to her room and examined her bed frame, looking for a note secretly placed by a maid she had previously entrusted with a task.
She had to go through some trouble to find the well-hidden note, tucked away in a deep part of the bed, as promised.
Upon retrieving the paper, Vialle unfolded the note to read its contents:
The note indicated that at around 10 PM, a private carriage would be waiting near Weber Forest, and she could obtain the information she sought at Bernard’s on 34th Street in the dark world.
Hesitant due to not having visited Weber Forest since Dension’s death, Vialle nevertheless waited for nightfall, as it was the only route she could take unnoticed.
Late into the evening, the corridors of the duke’s mansion were silent, devoid of any activity.
Most of the servants, except those guarding the main gate, had returned to their quarters early. Gaijen, having returned from his trading duties, conveyed that he would be training with Sir Liardun late into the night due to his recent inability to train.
After checking the time, Vialle discreetly donned a robe from her closet and carefully descended the stairs. Avoiding the patrolling knights, she moved in the opposite direction.
She headed towards a secluded spot, visible from her room, near an old tree. There, amidst thickly overgrown vines, she found a small hole.
It was a small space, only discoverable by carefully navigating through the intertwined foliage. Vialle and Gaijen had discovered this hole in their youth, though he seemed to have forgotten about it.
She crouched down and crawled through, then quickly headed towards Weber Forest. As the maid had said, a private carriage was waiting there.
The coachman, having been prepaid, didn’t ask any questions and took Vialle aboard.
The carriage traveled on less-trodden paths, resulting in a bumpier ride and some delay.
“Are we almost there?” Vialle asked, opening the carriage’s sliding window to inquire of the coachman.
“Almost, Miss. But are you sure you must go there?”
His hesitant question suggested his unease about the destination.
“Is there a problem?”
“That place isn’t suitable for a lady like you to go alone. Maybe you should bring a mercenary…”
“It’s fine. I won’t stay long.”
Vialle, having already been thoroughly warned by the maid about the dark world, was aware of the precautions she needed to take.
Unable to defy the high-ranking person’s insistence, the coachman sighed, promised to wait nearby, and stopped the carriage. Vialle nodded as she got down, draped herself in a robe to cover her face, and boldly stepped into the underworld.
As she had heard, the place reeked of rot and decay, with mold creating a damp and dismal atmosphere. People were dying on the streets, ignored by passersby as if it was a painfully normal scene. Shocked, Vialle clenched her mouth shut, overwhelmed by her thoughts of Dension.
‘Following this road should lead me to…’
She was nearing her destination, Bernard’s at 34th Street. As she approached, her heart raced with anxiety, and she paused to catch her breath.
In an alley, children’s ball had landed on an awning. A man in a robe reached up to retrieve it.
‘Sir Liardun…?’
She noticed a long scar on his arm, identical to Sir Liardun’s. Initially, Vialle doubted it was him, but the more she observed the scar, the more convinced she became. Liardun used to laugh about this scar, a badge of honor from sword training with her father.
‘Why is Sir Liardun here?’
He should be training with her brother, Gaijen, at the training ground. Gaijen often complained about Liardun’s strict adherence to schedules.
This made Liardun’s presence here all the more puzzling.
‘Could something have happened to Gaijen?’
After returning the ball, the man patted the children’s heads and hurriedly walked away. Vialle felt compelled to follow him, as if being controlled.
Despite being close to Bernard’s at 34th Street, she couldn’t stop herself.
She thought to briefly check why he was there, then head to her original destination.
Vialle followed him quietly, and when he entered an abandoned building, she quickly hid, realizing someone else was already waiting for him inside.
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.”
