Ch. 48
The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became ObsessiveThis chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
Notes
TL: Heyo everyone ~ how have you been doing? Laila and Ardion is doing better. What do you think? Comment below!
This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
TL: Heyo everyone ~ how have you been doing? Laila and Ardion is doing better. What do you think? Comment below!
Chapter 48
“Then, the person you brought yesterday… Is it her?”
“Don’t pressure her, Laila needs to rest right now.”
“But can anyone refuse Your Highness's proposal?”
“I’ll just try harder to win Laila’s heart.”
With that, Ardion started walking towards the stairs. I quickly retraced my steps, almost running, and entered the room.
“Master, the water…”
“Derol, I’ll get you water later,” I said quickly.
Derol nodded. His gaze was still puzzled, but he seemed to understand me for now. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. I took a deep breath and opened it.
“Your Highness?”
“Laila, you’re awake already?”
“Yes, the sunlight is lovely,” I said with a smile.
Ardion gently cupped my cheek. “I’m glad I came just in time to see you awake.”
“Why?”
“Now I can speak with you before I leave.”
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m just going to handle the Jonok matter.”
“Your Highness, isn’t it dangerous for you to go out? The imperial knights knights are chasing you…”
“I’ve spoken to Delzion. It’ll be safe around where I’m going.”
“But…”
Ardion stepped closer to me and gently tucked my hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing against my earlobe. “Laila, sometimes I appreciate your concern, but I think you’ve forgotten who I really am.”
His voice was low, almost teasing. He met my gaze and smiled before pressing a kiss on my cheek. I froze, not sure how to react. At some point, his touches had become so natural.
“Since you’re not feeling well, stay in the mansion. I’ll be back soon.”
I didn’t answer. I just watched him as our eyes met once again.
“Laila, I’ll be back soon.” Ardion repeated the same words, seemingly waiting for my reply.
I stared at him for a moment before slowly speaking. “Be careful.”
Finally, Ardion smiled. “Alright, I’ll be careful.”
The corners of his mouth curled so widely it almost reached his ears. He grabbed my hand for a moment, then left the room.
I stood there, dazed. For some reason, it felt like this was a scene of a couple bidding each other farewell.
Just then, Derol ran up to me. “Master, should I bite Ardion?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“But Ardion is being disrespectful to you. He even took your hand without permission.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Master…”
“Do you think it’s right for me to marry Ardion?”
Derol looked at me carefully, trying to sense the confusion in my expression. He tilted his head slightly in silence.
I gently picked him up and placed him on the bed. “I’ll get you some water, Derol.”
As I opened the door and started heading downstairs, I ran into the old servant from earlier.
“Are you Laila, by any chance?”
“Yes, hello.”
“I should have introduced myself earlier. I am the butler of this mansion. Sometimes, I handle tasks on His Highness’s behalf. Is there anything you need?”
“Some water and perhaps some nuts for Derol to eat?”
“Yes, I’ll prepare them for you. By the way, is there anything else you might need?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Since earlier, I hadn’t had much of an appetite. I wasn’t even in the mood for water and just wanted to lie in bed.
As I climbed the stairs and opened the door, Derol came rushing to me. I lay down on the bed and pulled him close. Shortly after, the butler arrived with a generous portion of food for Derol.
Upon closer inspection, there were even wriggling mealworms. I was startled but tried to smile nonchalantly. “Thank you.”
“It’s the least we can do. Please, rest well.”
The butler left, and the door closed. I sighed softly as I watched Derol munch on the wriggling mealworms. The little creatures disappeared into his mouth one by one. I turned my head away.
While I lay there, lost in thought, Derol nuzzled my hand with his head.
“Derol, aren’t you eating more?”
“I’ve eaten enough, Master. I don’t need more.”
I got up to check the food dish. It was completely empty. Derol’s previously thin belly had grown round and full. I smiled and patted him gently.
But Derol stared at me with his dark eyes.
“What is it?”
“Master, you don’t seem well today. Should I go out and find something for you to eat?”
“No, I think it’s just that I’ve been using too much mana lately. I’m just tired.” As I spoke, the thoughts that had been circling in my mind came to the forefront.
Marriage.
It certainly seemed like marrying Ardion would be advantageous for me right now. But my social standing was far too low to match someone like him.
And suddenly, marriage!
It felt like reality had just hit me, and a sense of responsibility weighed heavily on my shoulders.
“Master!”
Suddenly, I heard Derol’s voice. I looked up and saw him waving from the windowsill. He quickly ran out through the gap in the door.
“Derol, it’s dangerous!” I hurriedly got out of bed.
“Master, how about we go outside for a bit?”
“Go outside?”
“Yes, you don’t seem to have much energy. Maybe if you move around outside, you’ll feel better.”
I glanced out the window. Although Ardion’s mansion was on the outskirts of the capital, it didn’t seem too far from the city center. I could easily take a carriage to get there.
Besides, Derol had an adventurous personality. He might find it stifling to stay here all the time.
“Derol, do you want to go outside?”
Derol hesitated before slowly nodding. “Yes, I’d like to go out with you for a tour.”
I looked at my hands. They weren’t trembling as much as before.
I didn’t think it would be too dangerous to head to the capital for a short while. Besides, staying here all the time wasn’t helping, and gathering some information could be more useful.
After all, I hadn’t seen Serina since that day, and right now, Ardion was in more danger, so it made sense for me to help him as much as I could.
The famous market street, Allendo’s Street, was busy with activity. People were buying and selling, sometimes arguing, as they went about their day.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, the ground was littered with garbage, dried fruit peels, and scraps of paper, including the most eye-catching of all: the ‘ghost newspapers’ that were often seen on the streets.
These small, palm-sized papers had bold letters that were easy for anyone to read, and they were quickly passed around by the public.
[The arson incident at Duke Orchid’s residence, the day when countless servants died innocently, suspected to be the crown prince’s doing…]
[Why did they have to die?]
People passing by looked at the newspapers thrown on the ground.
“Did His Highness the Crown Prince really burn down Duke Orchid’s residence?”
“Heh, I don’t know. All the things they say in the ghost newspaper are conspiracy theories.”
“But still, some of the things that come out there are true.”
“Well, His Highness the Crown Prince only gave a few pieces of meat to the commoners who returned from the frontier to keep them quiet, so it would be hard to say that he didn’t do something like that. And there were rumors that he forcibly sent his half-brother to the frontier.”
“If it turns out to be true, it’ll be noisy for a while.”
With their tongues clicking, they gradually moved away from the newspapers on the ground.
At that moment, someone picked up the newspaper. He was a man with thick hair, and his hand holding the newspaper was shaking slightly. “This, this is…”
His eyes grew wider as he read the newspaper. Soon, he raised the corners of his mouth bitterly. “Are Rowell’s misdeeds finally coming to light?”
Jonok, once a noble young master of Duke Orchid, had lost his family in an instant.
More than anything, he wanted to reclaim his family—not as someone who lived such a dirty and shabby life but as someone who had inherited the title of duke.
Jonok had seen his father die before his eyes.
It was Rowell.
He had ordered everything, but he had been afraid of his identity being revealed, so he had cut everything off completely. However, Jonok had watched it and quickly ran away.
He had no intention of saving his father. He would have died anyway if he had jumped in. It was a better decision to save his life and dream of revenge later.
However, the world was cruel.
Rowell had already burned everything related to Duke Orchid and had made it impossible for the Orchid family to use the name in the empire. In addition, all the nobles related to Duke Orchid were busy escaping.
Jonok held the newspaper tightly in his hand and walked quickly, heading to a gambling house in a remote alley in the market.
As soon as he arrived at the gambling house, he exchanged the money he had barely won yesterday for gambling chips. However, there were only six gambling chips coming out of the small hole.
"Is this all I can get?"
"Is this your first time gambling? Or have your eyes gone somewhere?"
"Damn it, if someone stays here long enough, you can give them more, right?"
"If you have any complaints, just leave!" A sarcastic voice came from the other side of the curtain.
Jonok snorted and nervously put the six gambling chips in his pocket.
He walked a few steps, took out all the gambling chips on the table, and sat down. However, there were not many people in the gambling house today. “Damn, there’s no one here at this time.”
He had to collect the retrial fee today. He didn’t want to work hard in the first place. That was something only fools did. If he just used his head a bit, gambling would be successful. If luck came to him, even more success would follow.
Jonok clenched his fist nervously. It’s just that luck hasn’t come to me yet. But look, luck is starting to work on me little by little.