Chapter176

"Your Highness, Imani won't disturb you and your brother anymore. But you must remember what I just said. Every word came from my heart. My body and soul will always belong to you. I'll be in the little courtyard, waiting for your orders at any time."

After speaking, Imani picked up the food box and slowly stood up. He was only wearing a bright red robe, and his tall figure made no effort to cover the large areas exposed on his chest and between his legs.

But once he passed Oswyn and was about to step out of the hall, he immediately reached out to fasten his clothes. He wrapped himself tightly from head to toe before leaving the courtyard.

Elara, still sitting in place, watched the whole scene silently. She stared at Imani's back in the distance, speechless at the deliberate tricks he had just used to show off.

She had only lived in this world for a few months. She still didn't fully understand the status and situation of men here. Even though she could grasp the reason behind Imani's behavior just now, still...

"What are you still looking at!"

Elara pulled her gaze back, and suddenly a furious face filled her entire view.

She saw Oswyn, who had somehow appeared right next to her, almost pressed against her. Just as she was about to speak, her face was suddenly cupped tightly by both of his hands.

Then, the corner of her lips that had just been kissed by Imani was forcefully rubbed by Oswyn's fingers!

"You! How could you let him kiss you!"

"How could you let someone like that kiss you!!"

Oswyn was practically staring at Elara's mouth with reddened eyes. Even back when she first crossed over and went to find him, she had never seen this kind of expression on his face.

Elara frowned. Her cheek being pinched and her lips being rubbed didn't hurt, but this action was far too disrespectful for someone like her who had held high positions in both lives.

She raised her hand, wanting to push away this clearly emotionally unstable man.

But the moment she grabbed Oswyn's wrist, he grabbed her hand back instead!

Thud!

With a muffled sound, Elara, who had been sitting in front of the desk, was now pinned down behind it with her hands held down by Oswyn.

Suddenly pushed over by Oswyn, Elara stared in shock at him hovering above her. He was now completely on top of her!

In the past few months they had spent together, the closest they had gotten was when testing or taking medicine or during massages.

Now that she was suddenly pinned under him, Elara realized that despite his rebellious, almost teenage-like nature due to his volatile temper, Oswyn was actually a full-grown man over 180 centimeters tall. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs, easily capable of covering her entirely.

But no matter how tall or strong he was, that didn't justify him pressing her down like this!

Elara didn't like being restrained in this way. It was too much, even worse than when he had grabbed her face earlier!

She frowned and stared at the young man above her whose eyes were red. Her mouth opened again, but once more, no words came out.

Because just as she opened her mouth, Oswyn, who had been rubbing the corner of her lips with his fingers, suddenly lowered his head and bit her lips hard!

"Disinfecting!…"

"Let me disinfect… you… mm!…"

Elara was suddenly pinned to the wall and forcefully kissed by a beautiful man, but she didn't feel a single ripple of emotion inside. She simply raised her hand, ready to signal Uno to pull the crazed man off her.

But before she could move, two warm drops of water suddenly fell on her face.

Her hand paused. She lifted her eyes to look at the handsome face so close to hers.

Oswyn, whose eyes were still red as he kissed her, wore an expression of anger as if he wanted to devour her.

But at the corners of his eyes, warm tears were flowing unconsciously, falling onto her face.

Elara: ...Wasn't she the one being forcefully kissed and pinned down? Why was he the one crying?

And this man who always lost his temper so easily, could cry too?

Maybe it was because the heat and dampness on her face was too obvious. Elara stopped her raised hand and didn't signal Uno to act.

But the young man kissing her didn't continue for long.

It seemed like he had never kissed anyone before. Other than biting by instinct, he didn't even know how to breathe.

Though he was glaring at Elara with hatred, he was kissing her so hard he ran out of breath.

When he was finally about to suffocate, Oswyn pulled away from her lips. Tears were still silently falling from his eyes.

He stared at her for a few seconds, and before she could say anything, he suddenly got up and ran out of the hall in big strides.

...

Back courtyard.

Oswyn had just entered his own courtyard when the redness of his eyes and the wetness on his face startled his personal medicine servant.

The servant quickly put down the mortar in his hands and rushed to Oswyn with a worried face, not daring to touch him.

"Y-young master, what happened to you?"

Oswyn saw the medicine servant. His dazed eyes finally began to focus. Then he suddenly seemed to remember something and grabbed the servant tightly.

"Xiao Shi, do... do we really have to share our wife with others in the future?"

"She... can't she belong to me alone?"

Oswyn himself didn't even know what he was saying. His entire mind and heart were in chaos.

Those hazy, confused emotions hadn't even been sorted out yet. But today's shocking scene had hit him like a heavy blow.

His head was spinning, and his chest ached with a sourness that made it hard to breathe.

That woman... Wasn't she always someone who tormented men? How could she let a man get close to her?

Not only did she hug him so tightly, she even let him kiss her...

She... she could also interact with men so intimately? She could even give a man promises and say she'd marry him?

Xiao Shi was shocked. He quickly looked around the courtyard. Seeing no one nearby, he let out a breath and closed the door.

After making sure no one outside could hear, his expression turned a little sorrowful as he said to Oswyn:

"Young master, although you grew up in the valley and weren't much influenced by the outside world, in this world, if a man wants to marry a woman, he usually has to share her with others."

Oswyn's grip on Xiao Shi's arm suddenly tightened.

Xiao Shi had followed Oswyn closely for the past few months. He had seen firsthand how Oswyn's attitude toward the princess had changed bit by bit.

Back in Anju Town, when he saw the young master give his life-saving Nine-Turn Pill to the princess without blinking, he had already guessed something.

But since the young master had always been innocent and unfamiliar with such things, and after that didn't seem particularly close to the princess, Xiao Shi had assumed it would take a long time for anything to develop.

Now, seeing Oswyn's tear-streaked face, he realized he had been wrong.

He felt sad, sad for his young master. But since Oswyn had asked such a question, it meant his heart had already been moved.

"Young master, if you truly have feelings for the princess, then what you just asked... will definitely happen in the future."

Even in ordinary official families, the daughters often have three or four husbands. The princess, being a royal, could never have only one husband.

"If you're truly serious about her, then no matter how painful it is, you must prepare yourself and never think about having her to yourself."

"Otherwise, for husbands in the back courtyard, that's one of the Seven Taboos. You might be disliked or abandoned by your wife."

The Seven Taboos are strict rules that men must follow after marrying into a wife's household.

Even though this world has more men than women, the women as wives live comfortably at home while men are expected to work and provide.

Still, to restrict the men, the Seven Taboos are enforced after marriage.

Breaking even one could mean being divorced, imprisoned, or even losing their life.

Especially thoughts of wanting to have the wife all to oneself. That type of jealous thinking is one of the Seven Taboos.

If the wife is kind and doesn't mind, then it's fine. But if she doesn't like it, she could abandon or punish the husband.

Xiao Shi's words rang in Oswyn's ears. Every word made his head buzz.

Long ago, his master had warned him about this. If they ever married, they had to learn patience, tolerance, and the ability to share the one they loved.

He had ignored those words back then. Now they stabbed into his heart like sharp thorns.

Dislike... Heh. But hasn't every man in the princess's back courtyard been beaten and punished by her?

She's used such harsh methods on all of them. Doesn't that count as dislike?

Oswyn's hands clenched unconsciously at his sides. His knuckles turned white, but he didn't notice.

The tears at the corners of his eyes were still falling.

...

Back in Elara's study.

Watching Oswyn's retreating figure, Elara raised her hand to touch the wetness on her face and pondered over his sudden outburst.

Though Elara was cold in love, she wasn't completely clueless. Judging by how Oswyn had changed over the past few months and what had just happened...

She guessed Oswyn probably liked her. He must have been triggered by the kiss Imani gave her on the corner of her mouth.

This didn't make Elara particularly happy.

Oswyn had indeed helped her a lot along the way, but rather than seeing him as a man, she considered him more of a partner in cooperation.

Now this partner had feelings for her... Elara had gone through this in her past life. It had its pros and cons.

The advantages were obvious.

But the disadvantages were plenty too. For example, it could be unstable. If one wasn't careful, it could easily throw things off course, or even twist something straight into a bad ending.

Elara frowned slightly. Though most of the time, she would do anything to achieve her goal as long as it stayed within her bottom line, she would never mess with feelings unless it was absolutely necessary.

The extra feelings Oswyn had for her were now a minor but real inconvenience.

How should she handle it… in a way that keeps things smooth...

While thinking, Elara lowered her eyes and looked again at the slightly crooked official documents on the table, which had been disturbed earlier.

She reached out to organize them. Just as she picked up two, a pair of thin arms suddenly wrapped around her waist from behind.

Then a young boy's body squeezed into her embrace. His belly, recently fed and slightly plumper, pressed tightly against her. His voice, low and hoarse from puberty, was close to her ear.

"Sis, you really are too attractive."