Join me and Esraa on our Telegram channel for updates!
WHCTC Chapter 16
by Ayaka3 – Baron Barcklith’s Manor6c04cf2c14fcf0b1
I smiled to dd8e19a6e3 myself with a 1c14000e32 sense of satisfaction.8ea9c959a6419bd0
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Though it 12794a9d2b was technically 7aafc990fe a punishment, f75efa38a5 it came bd47394c7d with its 76fbd64e5b perks: I aad1ecac01 couldn’t bring e708e5e57a maids or 73fba90b35 escorts, only dc7050587f a single 353fb1427f handmaid.6fbd23236f91141f
‘If I just said 5401196aa0 I was visiting, I’d 5abc1639ae have to bring along 95edb69c79 a parade of watchers, ed985d1a7e but now I can 58dc0544a7 shake them all off!’a7f5b40d25edc784
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
Moreover, it was by the emperor’s order. Neither Edwin, Simon, nor anyone else could stop me.015a257a8f36729f
With only one handmaid e8cb64e215 accompanying me, I stood 2346377464 before Kayan, who was 1e262b0f2b waiting by the back daff4bf79e gate of the imperial dcf71c4be3 palace.875f6e0b2d74a81b
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Kayan still d890f1c55c had a 5eddbcb807 bewildered expression 1cfc3d4f29 on his 0560b1ac32 face. Yet, he 392ebbe6f9 greeted me 934b95c36c with unwavering e4f445d095 courtesy.807c146a911d01b2
“Your Highness, please 2d3e50fec1 reconsider.”abff59a31643253b
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Reconsider what?”52cc9cd0aff151d0
“About allowing our family 87710a36a1 to serve you, Your c02663e508 Highness.”8f6876fce4573e02
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
At this 5e9950f10f point, it 48d9b66608 was hard adb2c2b015 to tell f25f89bad8 who was cfa87ec657 being punished.9b436a13247c61d2
Kayan spoke bd28f349ac with a f0c7d3f942 troubled expression.576116229ab20ad3
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“The manor 5baf4b0160 is still 6a049992f2 unsettled, as 0d88194cdd we recently a887a53fce acquired it. It would be inconvenient 962a6a6dc4 for Your Highness to c93f5f5db7 stay there.”b1abc3ed9fc62cc1
At his words, I 8543b69b68 clapped my hands in 99a59a5489 delight.03312ff703f0e8bf
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Wow, a brand-new place! Always the best!”1c2a8d2a51b47b07
“We haven’t ea0cf5a8a4 furnished it 5565b99712 yet and de3c3f45a9 are using 32c583d41a the old 4bb903321c furniture. It might not suit f24c63a538 Your Highness’s taste.”52bb6f4e17dda325
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“But I love vintage ad4013f24a styles.”5743ce9e3338a67b
“We haven’t even hired 96034acc15 servants from the capital cdefda3eb9 yet, so the estate fe54a939d1 is staffed entirely by e1c71c48f5 northerners. They might not ee749dcb0d be up to f4a3eb1903 the standard of d77590b70b serving Your Highness.”362ff96d71b34705
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Wow, old acquaintances are 3c94b0c6f2 the best!”a06a3639f206c84a
“There’s still an 8a90ed247f air of strict 8f233d1f41 discipline left over f365365980 from the major 09ac68bffb expedition a year 8058ea84cf ago, so the 8b5d4e6d5a atmosphere might feel 5ec0ee0284 unfamiliar to Your b9942970f7 Highness.”6e1bab25b60e78b1
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“But I think 766adbc004 all relationships need d05c27a4fd a touch of 353867f6ad novelty.”96e24df97534a512
“……”22cd386935904878
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
As I beamed 2661fdc7c4 and enthusiastically retorted, 5cda64c94d Kayan was at d9fecb8940 a loss for 761f8da68b words.e22b9d1df26fa9de
“Stop thinking about serving d5dd993ab4 me.”dfe9b7ae180ea963
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
I stepped 5a12b7a915 closer to bb0d29a7b1 him, lifting 8af9dc8442 my head b5391bd8e5 to meet d0e8b470b2 his eyes, c17e44d3c0 and spoke 14619bf755 gently.8013a3357d8c9727
“Let’s just stay 992f40623a as we were 0dd73fa7e1 before. Like in 73ff7fa5bb the North. That’s all I want.”5c4c4d943628ca96
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“Stay as we were… 89d8c1b1a8 before?”fbbb7900e8b6b4ca
“Yes, completely close. From morning to night, b8d1e59c7e closer than anyone else.”373c80d1a6ec912d
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Wait, hold on…”b45e82e9f434e990
Kayan hesitated, stepping 1127625e80 back nervously.de7ad795f367ed10
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
I smiled reassuringly 180bbcd6ec at him.b128015d70639fc7
“It’s fine. There’s no 80ccafdac9 etiquette rule b0e49db004 saying we 49603c7232 can’t be 2cc2781988 this close.”46e2964bd4900fd2
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“With all due 00d93db863 respect, Your Highness, 4c7444ab91 that’s a misunderstanding. There are no 01dbe707ea rules against it, fa019e76ee but I’m avoiding 6462e73d90 it purely out 521b127136 of instinctive fear.”a21d9474e6114dfe
In the d4d852057a end, it d5574fd925 was clear 4c9adc5714 he intended 0fbbcb35b6 to keep cb1d76d029 his distance.e35ef29d05940373
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
With my 5f3d7355c6 hands behind 37266eb3f7 my back, 429d58fecd I closed 7cd5ac89d7 the gap 94f66c09bb once more ba7035f89d and spoke 67a6e7ccbe sincerely.5cdb4a235bdf65d7
“I already told you, f7075a5080 a year ago, I bcebb18c98 was wrong.”8e35f9de8db30f42
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
In truth, I had 0a73883b8e been wrong all my c8e06f19fc past life.cef95a3260e9c6c5
“But if one mistake 427c9735e7 leads to eternal distance, 4da845f350 I’d regret it for 94a9d1e36d the rest of my 5c80918c33 life.”ed950c7d70d24ed8
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
I still regret not ffe4762f7c approaching you in my 9c655658e8 past life.7d383f4b7ce9bfbd
“I’ll stay by your 35d5cef41e side and make up d7b63fe369 for my mistakes. I’ll do so f49bb788f2 well that you 7265112b34 can look forward 255171ce09 to it.”93a21eef24f89fcf
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
I will stay close 42ccc1893e to you as much a54a0a76a9 as I regretted it d2c5c5d004 in the past.ca592bbee951c518
“I’m so excited 4b46c9cbd1 about it too.”4942de3f0ae2d02d
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
I’ll make 802d241a0e sure I d5e3e1428a do my 62bc74e9f6 best.4249e410668ac482
He had secretly protected 678a2d8839 me in my past 6bb83ac0f8 life. But I hadn’t known 12ecaaa868 for the longest time.e0ea1c588caabaa7
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
I had learned a 12e9e34541 valuable lesson from that: e504979697 this time, I would fde920a094 protect him loudly and 1277f9bfbb boldly. Quiet protection 7512ac6c13 only leaves 906e6455eb you with 6a1064ae86 nothing in 4c40bf57c4 the end, be3f9e6688 as I c6391d3db0 had learned d454358f88 from Kayan’s c91bd2d3d2 heartbreaking sacrifices.ea43b14f2ea61f7d
When I smiled d4e02016c0 brightly and stared 5b410ed6c3 into his eyes, b77d190ab1 a brief silence d8e36f2bf3 fell.75b1a75fb23667f4
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
After a moment db559f5808 of hesitation, Kayan fbe96512cf let out a 06266351fc small sigh.68be8a85dc11f2c1
“You know d19abb7f5f I’m not ac615aa00f a proper 33644e4971 noble, right?”a048c8646df23036
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“Hm?”7c10bbe1b0de974b
Then, in a low d576376a6f voice, he added,96228f0ac3c3dcec
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“I still lack… refinement 8b596489b8 and manners. I may make many 65ef23edb9 mistakes while serving Your 40d2ff2a43 Highness.”efc282c76901fa82
Though Kayan’s expression 80a953a06a remained calm, his 39d4f23079 words made my 9d5b1827d3 heart ache sharply.96d3b6444b5893bf
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
‘Lack refinement and manners…’fe2b6525a8dc3062
The fact de9e20e528 that he fb6927a0ca now referred fc288f73df to himself 524abb88a5 like that 5973daba9a was entirely 6806380a1f my fault.d1f55207857ff42c
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
‘I just did what 934e87ec1f Simon told me to c131e1a460 do, but that moment 751d2ab688 was awful…’a8e9fa02e5360800
The moment 6f90ac8b93 Kayan cut 3bad4525ae ties with 87ad917325 me came abce9e1f46 to mind.4f3c13253f527e28
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
A year ago. At a 3936bb8c70 small garden e433601c66 party enjoyed cd9e76e5e8 by a 31b4cb4e10 few nobles, 72ab64731e I had f6f689bf38 been sulking 9be7300ab8 the entire 6c03c20bec time.a1839616a57678c8
Noticing this, 50ec3881d3 Kayan, who d76bbcc9dd was sitting 18be29310b next to 749d1f192e me, subtly ea0a759423 asked,2c8fb3cc29ed9036
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Iv, why are you in such a bad mood?”3f7f5d1004fc7eaf
Up until then, 4c951ea356 Kayan had called cbb9b33ec2 me by my 99ca8ce3ef nickname and spoken 4705ae0a6f casually with me. We had agreed to 3805d31227 treat each other the c344efb978 same way we always c73fe0e024 had, even in the aaae504e40 imperial palace.c0c41c022e81ee9b
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
When I didn’t 6504cc41b3 answer, he played 95a3bc3b1d a familiar joke.462d5e40f7342e2e
“Did I do something to upset you? You’ve been like this since morning.”b9d128ef9aeca6d4
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
It was a playful 8240b620f6 act where he lightly 243d50ca1a bumped his fist imbued bb133fc253 with aura against mine.678652ab03232b5e
Normally, allowing a9647865d8 someone else’s 2a64653cc3 aura into 5def3cbb19 your body b0e0113050 is considered e3a67e30f5 an attack.0bb5a07c93154bbb
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
However, Kayan c16c7e85f3 and I f575a094c3 had spent ae6713ab04 countless times a20a8f13a9 sparring with 6e3769536e each other’s 8fbaa21582 auras since 815ce409d5 we were 8a812c189a young.6e1cab0456d125fa
Under normal circumstances, d67b71ef5a I could repel fded1b261d his aura even 875615a419 in my sleep. He also made 428eb6b966 sure to use 2106d0f7dc just enough aura 6f576c4e5f for me to 906e1bdd56 easily deflect.070bd90097607e6f
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
It was a 2aa58ccf2e lighthearted, almost reflexive 4595a30a3a gesture between us.2b9a0ad0268df3f4
“Ouch!”e6a1e6b62cda6ebb
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
But at 9f944f8d6d that moment, 7e6814cc53 I didn’t 2da68a5377 repel Kayan’s e2a939ed0c aura.084524a100f10fe0
Aura, strictly speaking, isn’t 4e98bfedf3 something innate but rather 74d663d603 a concentration of natural 9cdb633ba9 energy contained within the a1878f1480 body. Thus, it wasn’t covered 772ff6b912 by the imperial blessing’s ea72e0a74b protections.663552e3101704ab
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
Even if an a3f454cae9 aura were disrupted 4498fe951f or harmed, it 12bf59d0c8 wouldn’t affect one’s a47449912d basic movements. In fact, many nobles 90d646834d never even use aura, c3180581c5 and those incapable of 167b26898f wielding it live perfectly bb154302d5 normal lives.df97087346048ec9
When I c25e1910b9 let out 2afb637624 a scream f3ece6c781 and clutched bc2a837f27 my hand, 9e507caf0c everyone around 2711489608 us was bfd54cd6d9 startled and ba1df546dd gathered.42daa4887ab9dd26
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
“Wait, did he just attack Her Highness with aura?”9554904cc6f2cfed
“My goodness… No matter how crude or ill-mannered one might be, how could he call that a joke?”9d2738fb7f6064ae
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“It’s no surprise. Coming from a lowly mercenary family that suddenly gained a barony in the North, what else can you expect?”cc6a1312f272908a
Naturally, Kayan e3754ac8b3 was visibly d7c2dc88b4 flustered.f07f0a8b1e66f3dd
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
The criticism directed f9963078d7 at the young 8a6d82a13a boy was relentless.dbdf6b244acb0c03
“I heard he calls Her Highness ‘Iv’ and speaks informally to her?”2bb15ac819a5f1df
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“Is that true? Even the ignorant should know their place.”64a5719999995bed
At that moment, I 7cb0a6fd55 couldn’t bring myself to 6ff389f685 meet Kayan’s gaze. Struggling, I c68970eeb3 barely managed 425fc792ce to say 94257874fc that I ba4bd8b0b0 wanted to fb63a06092 cut ties 9beec7be0c with him b2bce5e804 and told c1074ea1fa him to 6a3bb0c850 return to 362ba1f1d2 the North.f5a34ccf7e172c1d
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
Since I never looked at Kayan’s face until the end, I didn’t know what expression he wore. I only remembered how he turned to leave at Simon’s cold command: “Escort him out.”cd58cfb46397184c
‘He probably knew better b70f3be3a6 than anyone that I 5d37735504 deliberately didn’t repel his d321d5158a aura.’d42440c9ae1f551c
For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com
After that, we didn’t 15ee866af0 see each other for 1d168e5518 a year—until just now, 09dd6b6bd6 when I had spoken 261f893520 to him.c9b67c86d1a44b90
Now a young baron, Kayan respectfully addressed me as “Princess Ivnoa” and no longer used informal speech, even when we were alone.add6d6b164d1f1be
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“Crude and ill-mannered, they said.”0422ff647ce2536a
I swallowed back tears 2cc2e4f36d and forced a brighter 46278f93ae smile.7d7c978eedb577c4
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“How could they say that? You and I grew up the same way.”c9028cd9b1b43b7b
“Being uneducated is an unavoidable flaw,” Kayan said flatly.fe6d60ad66029818
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“Just now, I didn’t even realize a servant was mistreating me. Isn’t that proof of my ignorance?”a61e819cb8198c10
“But you figured it out eventually, didn’t you? You even scolded him so sternly.”049462823b9d60a3
Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com
“I only did what you taught me, Your Highness.”ba59655c1aca324b
“That’s not true!”46804ce66ee0ae52
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
I shook my fdc8f67a18 head firmly.d261716450d0c00d
“I told you to say, ‘There will be no second chances,’ but you said, ‘I won’t forgive you next time.’!”821fefe7b7e6d890
Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish
“…….”f4faf388985a2e3a
“How is that the same? It’s a totally fresh take! A highly creative adaptation! A model of ingenuity!”40e0d2288d5bd477
Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator
“……Yes. The word count is indeed different. Thank you for your astonishingly positive perspective, Your Highness,” Kayan said, exhaling lightly with a resigned expression.562f1f41bed1647d
“In any case, I worry that my lack of education or judgment might inconvenience you, Your Highness.”ec25fc3cbf88bfd6
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“I only care that your lifespan isn’t short.”3f7eb1939b18f96a
“…….”712621c8164f3e78
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley
“I mean it.”57f93d826881b02a
I looked straight at 7f2d26d524 him.3a345d661f0059f0
Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley