Chapter 7
We arrived quite quickly at the territory of the lions.
‘I have to adapt to this place to live well!’
Sophina was quite determined, but fortunately or not, only peaceful days continued.
The lions seemed unhappy with Sophina, but they didn’t touch her.
The situation in which they had a fraudulent marriage and the bride brought in by the head of the family seemed quite different.
‘It’s like a scene from a fairy tale that there’s a tree with pure white leaves in the garden.’
Especially in the realm of the lions, there were so many strange things that there was no room for boredom.
Anyway, I spent my time studying the customs, history, and family of the lions in order to build up my basic knowledge.
I’ve been training in my spare time.
As a result, about a month passed and spring came.
So Sophina turned 14yrs old.
‘But when the hell will the male lead return?’
Sophina pouted her lips as she fell into thought.
The male lead, who had left to settle a dispute with other beasts, has never been seen the entire time Sophina stayed in the lion territory.
Apparently when he returns it would be our wedding.
‘I don’t care about it as much as my mother said she would prepare it for me.’
Since the bride and groom are young, it would be a simple wedding anyway. What should I say?
Soon, Sophina shifted her thoughts elsewhere.
‘What happened to my older sisters and brother, apart from the male lead?’
As she had witnessed when she left, the Eagle family was ruined.
Half of it.
Just because the mansion was burned down didn’t mean the whole family was completely destroyed.
‘I heard that my father and older sisters barely survived the fire and escaped.’
Sophina felt a little uncomfortable.
It was unexpected, and I thought I’d make up some kind of amusement for revenge.
Anyway, they were stripped of their homes and hidden property, as well as their landlord status.
Khan also chose an eagle, a relative of Sophina’s family, to sit as the new head of the eagle.
Burning the mansion in the first place seemed to be a ruse for him.
As a result, the alliance between the lions and the birds continued.
‘Well, I guess that’s because lions are known for their fairness, so it ended like this.’
All of this wasn’t included in the original.
When I realized that reality was different from the flow of the novel, I felt fortunate.
‘Let’s just avoid the dead end.’
There were a total of three things I have to do for that.
First of all, let the male lead be free instead of being obsessed with him.
Next, unlike the original, I should help manage the estate competently to be recognized by the lions.
Finally, get a divorce at the right time so I won’t be framed.
‘Whether running a business or whatever, I have to prepare money for my retirement.’
As soon as my thoughts were about to deepen, a maid came in with a light knock on the door.
She was one of the three maids assigned to Sophina on temporarily.
“The Lord called for you.”
“Yes? Thank you for letting me know.”
The maid gently lowered her gaze and shook head before she left.
At first glance, it was polite, but Sophina could tell.
‘That maid certainly hates me.’
Maybe because I’ve only received hate since I was born, I was able to quickly recognize these negative feelings.
‘It would be more strange if a fearsome lion was loyal to a small bluebird, from the very beginning.’
It was expected.
The maid was polite in her words and actions on the outside, so it was subtle to nitpick her accusations.
So I have to watch for the time being. Not everything could be comfortable.
‘Step by step, I’d get better and better.’
After organizing her thoughts, Sophina wore a light shawl and headed to her mother’s office.
“Come here, daughter-in-law.”
“Mother!”
Her mother, who was wearing glasses with a gold dongle and was handling the documents, welcomed Sophina familiarly.
I also became close to my mother-in-law, who was always expressionless and blunt.
To the point where we often have tea together.
“Sit down.”
Khan offered a seat in a more relaxed tone than in their first meeting.
As Sophina sat down in the chair, she poured tea directly in their teacups in a graceful manner.
Slowly, the tea water flowed and settled in a white cup.
The bitter scent of tea and steam tickled the tip of my nose.
‘What was the relationship between Sophina and her mother-in-law in the original?’
Suddenly, I became curious.
Because my mother-in-law had little importance in the novel.
She was like a reclusive master who wandered all over the world, devoting all her power to her son, the male lead.
‘It’s still the time when the male lead hasn’t reached adulthood yet so mother-in-law was still keeping the head position.’
Sophina shrugged her small shoulders and brought the teacup to her lips.
Without even having the time to savor the taste of tea, Khan delivered the news out of the blue.
“The wedding is scheduled the day after tomorrow.”
“Yes?”
A blue light flashed in Supena’s deep brown eyes.
No, I haven’t even seen the male lead’s face yet?
My mother drank the warm tea in a gulp and continued to speak.
“Tomorrow, the man who will become your husband is coming back.”
‘Who will be your husband?’
It was a very concise and tough expression.
Sophina replied dazedly, fiddling with the handle of the teacup.
“That’s very fast.”
Even if it’s sudden, it would be okay.
Ricardo Chadwick, my husband-to-be and the male protagonist of this world.
I felt like I was really thrown into reality when I heard that he would appear.
Didn’t the novel say that he’s two years older than Sophina?
I thought Sophina said in the original that the male lead was 16 when she got married to the Chadwick family.
It fits perfectly in terms of age.
Actually, I forgot his name until I came here and saw his portrait.
What the hell, I only vaguely remembered.
That would be…
-…Ilya Liam, what am I to you?
-…la-landlord?
-Then what should I call you?
Because the name of the male lead that the heroine refers to in the original has always been like that.
Maybe she wasn’t taken hostage in the first place.
For your information, Ilya Liam was the name of the female lead.
Anyway, the male lead could be called the true old-fashioned madman of this era.
‘I’ve got to be careful.’
As such, I was determined not to be involved in a relationship with the opposite gender.
I don’t want to take the position of the heroine!
Sophina didn’t know if she would die of shock before she even tried to do something of her own.
I shivered with goosebumps just imagining it.
Then, out of nowhere, my mother’s worried voice came to my mind.
“Why are you frowning all of a sudden? Are you sick?”
“No, not at all!”
Sophina wiped the corners of her mouth with her hands and shook her head desperately.
‘I must be crazy!’
Then, she slapped her soft cheeks alternately.
Khan comforted Sophina by interpreting the unexpected behavior.
“The man who would be your husband may be unpredictable, but he’s not trash.”
Mother said unconventional words with unshakable eyes.
Sophina’s eyes grew as if it were about to pop out while sipping her tea.
“If he doesn’t listen to you, kick his ass.”
“Yes?”
“And then tell him I allowed it.”
Me? To the male lead?
“Ahaha!”
Sophina responded with an awkward laugh.
Khan also followed Sophina and gently smiled. It was a trustworthy figure, as if it were really okay to do so.
The teacup, which had been full, was soon emptied.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door from outside.
“Come on in.”
Khan said as she frowned.
Then the secretary who opened the door came in quickly.
“Lord, as I told you earlier, the snake that was caught in the border area was hungry and went on a rampage…”
Border area? Snake?
Did something happen?
While Sophina feeling her doubts, Khan was savagely moving around.
“I just hope you don’t disturb our tea time with such things. Take care of it in moderation.”
It was the appearance of a cold-hearted leader that Sophina didn’t know well.
“Yes! I’ll take care of it quickly!”
At Khan’s command, the secretary quickly disappeared, leaving a response in a disciplined tone.
“Hmm.”
Khan sighed and glanced at the clock.
It’s already time to call it a day.
In fact, this tea time was made by Khan.
Contrary to the look she had just shown her to her secretary, she gently gave her congratulations to Sophina.
“Oh, my, time flies. I’ll introduce my son properly later.”
“Yes, I’ll take my leave now, mother.”
Sophina greeted politely, then left the office.
She walked in the hallway with relaxed steps.
As soon as I turned around the corner, a low-pitched voice bothered me.
“Did you hear the news? The Lord would be returning..”
“Then would that bluebird really become his wife?”
It was the voice of my maid.
‘I’m the only blue bird in this world.’
Sophina’s steps stopped and she listened to their story for a moment.
The maids gossip about Sophina like a snack.
“Honestly, it hurts my pride to serve that bluebird.”
“But you can’t disobey the Lord’s orders. Well, could there be any other way?”
‘You hate me this much.’
Sophina cut in on the maid’s chatter in a subdued tone.
“Are you guys talking about me?”
I didn’t mean to start a fight.
However, it was obvious that I would look easy if I didn’t respond.
I couldn’t pretend like I didn’t know even after hearing this.
The maid, who had been swearing at Sophina bitterly, stuttered and she was startled.
“…how did you hear…”
“Then I shouldn’t have heard that?”
Sophina took a step towards the maids and proudly asked back.
She spoke to them in a rather determined manner, the maids unable to speak at all, as if they were a mute.
“I don’t care if you hate me. But could you keep me from hearing all this nonsense?”